1804 G. Granger Free Frank ALS, Pierpoint Edwards

Autographs
1804 Gideon Granger Free Frank ALS to Pierpoint Edwards
GIDEON GRANGER (1767-1822). Appointed as 4th U.S. Postmaster General (1801-1814) by Thomas Jefferson.
January 5, 1804-Dated Federal Period, Autographed Letter Signed, "G Granger", as 4th U.S. Postmaster General, measuring 7.75" x 9.75", 1 page, (U.S.) General Post Office, Choice Very Fine. Letter sent to Pierpoint Edwards at New Haven, CT., reading in part: "Dear Friend...I still sustain the opinion I communicated to you at Stratford there is nothing new". Granger adds at the bottom, in part: "Your son is in good health and wishes you... to let Mr. Shaipan know when you intend coming to Washington...". Includes a full transcription page. (2 items)
Gideon Granger (July 19, 1767 " December 31, 1822) was an early American politician and lawyer. He was the father of fellow Postmaster General and U.S. Representative Francis Granger.
Granger was considered a brilliant political essayist. Using the pseudonyms Algernon Sydney and Epaminondas many of his writings, defending Jeffersonian principles, were published in many pamphlets.
He was a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives and ran unsuccessfully for the United States Congress in 1798. A staunch supporter of Thomas Jefferson, Granger was appointed as Postmaster General at the start of his term in 1801. He served in this post until 1814 when Jefferson's successor, James Madison, replaced him.
He is the longest serving Postmaster General as of 2020. In 1802, he convinced Congress to pass a law making postal work white-only. He was concerned that African-Americans would see themselves as [having] a government-worker status and therefore entitled to freedom. That didn't change until the end of the Civil War.
After leaving Washington, D.C., Granger settled in Canandaigua, New York, where he built a homestead that would be "unrivaled in all the nation" from which he could administer the many land tracts he had acquired further to the west. Today his home is a museum. He became a member of the New York Senate and continued to be influential in politics and law including being a key figure in the Erie Canal project.
Ill health forced him to retire early in 1821 and he died the next year on December 31, 1822. He was interred in Woodlawn Cemetery in Canandaigua. Granger is the namesake of Granger Township, Ohio.