American History Moment
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send your username and password to you.
In 1789, Samuel Osgood was appointed to be the first Postmaster General under the new U.S. Constitution. Born in Massachusetts in 1748, Osgood graduated from Harvard College in 1770 and became a merchant. In 1775, when the British marched to destroy military supplies at Lexington and Concord, Samuel Osgood led the militia of Andover, Massachusetts in the battle that resulted. After rising to the rank of Colonel in the militia, Osgood resigned to accept election to the Massachusetts Provincial Congress. He served on the Massachusetts Board of War, which oversaw the state militia during the Revolution. He attended the Massachusetts constitutional convention, became Andover’s representative in the Massachusetts Senate and was chosen as a delegate to the Continental Congress. During the second half of the 1780s, Osgood was a Commissioner of the Treasury for the Confederation, moving to New York City to assume his duties. In 1789, when Osgood became Postmaster General, the first seat of the new Federal government was in New York City. Osgood offered his home in the city to President and Mrs. Washington so the President and his wife would have what was considered to be the finest house in the new capital city. Osgood served as Postmaster General for two years. He resigned to take a seat in the New York State Senate, eventually becoming Speaker. In Jefferson’s administration, Osgood was appointed as Naval Officer for the Port of New York. Samuel Osgood ended his long career as the first President of City Bank of New York.
From Jauflione Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution