George Partridge Sanger (November 27, 1819 – July 3, 1890) was an American lawyer, editor, judge, and businessman who served as the United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts from 1873 to 1886 and was the first president of the John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company.
George P. Sanger | |
|---|---|
 | |
| United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts | |
| In office 1873–1882 | |
| Preceded by | David H. Mason |
| Succeeded by | George M. Stearns |
| Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives | |
| In office 1873 | |
| District Attorney of Suffolk County, Massachusetts | |
| In office 1861–1869 | |
| Preceded by | George W. Cooley |
| Succeeded by | John Wilder May |
| In office 1853–1854 | |
| Preceded by | John C. Park |
| Succeeded by | George W. Cooley |
| Member of the Boston Common Council | |
| In office 1860 | |
| Judge of the Massachusetts Court of Common Pleas | |
| In office 1854–1859 | |
| Member of the Charlestown Board of Aldermen | |
| In office 1851–1853 | |
| Member of the Charlestown Common Council | |
| In office 1849–1850 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 27, 1819 Dover, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | July 3, 1890 (aged 70) Swampscott, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Sherburne Thompson |
| Alma mater | Harvard University Harvard Law School |
| Signature |  |
Early life
editSanger was born on November 27, 1819, in Dover, Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard University in 1840 and after spending two years as a teacher in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, returned to Harvard as a Latin tutor and a law student.[1][2]
Legal career
editSanger graduated from Harvard Law School in 1844 and was admitted to the bar in 1846.[1] He spent the next three years practicing law in Boston, first with Stephen Henry Phillips, and later with Charles G. Davis.[2] In 1849, Sanger was named Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts.[1]
Sanger was a member of the Charlestown Common Council from 1849 to 1850, and the Board of Aldermen from 1851 to 1853.[3]
In January 1853, he was appointed to the staff of Governor John H. Clifford. In September of that year he was appointed District Attorney for Suffolk County, Massachusetts. The following year he was appointed Judge of the Massachusetts Court of Common Pleas. He remained on the bench until the Court was abolished in 1859.[2]
In 1860, he was a member of the Boston Common Council.[3]
From 1861 to 1869, Sanger again served as District Attorney for Suffolk County, Massachusetts.[4][5]
In 1873, he was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Following the death of David H. Mason, President Ulysses S. Grant appointed Sanger United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts. He remained in this role until 1882.[1]
Editor
editSanger worked for Little, Brown and Company, where he was responsible for editing the Law Reporter and The United States Statutes at Large.[6][7]
From 1842 to 1860, he was the editor of the American Almanac.[2]
John Hancock Insurance
editOn October 14, 1862, the John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company's Board of Directors elected Sanger the first president of the company.[8] He held this position until August 1863.[9]
Personal life
editSanger married Elizabeth Sherburne Thompson of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in 1846.[1] The couple had four sons:[10]
- John White Sanger
- William Thompson Sanger
- George Partridge Sanger Jr.
- Charles Robert Sanger.
Death
editSanger died on July 3, 1890, in Swampscott, Massachusetts.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, ed. (1899). "Sanger, George Partridge". Universities and Their Sons: History, Influence and Characteristics of American Universities, with Biographical Sketches and Portraits of Alumni and Recipients of Honorary Degrees. 3: 96. Retrieved September 18, 2011.
- ^ a b c d Davis, William Thomas (1900). History of the Judiciary of Massachusetts.
- ^ a b A catalogue of the city councils of Boston, 1822-1890, Roxbury, 1846-1867, Charlestown, 1847-1873 and of the selectmen of Boston, 1634-1822: also of various other town and municipal officers. 1891. pp. 157, 221–223.
- ^ The Boston Directory. Boston: George Adams. 1861. p. 554.
- ^ Pederson, Jay P. (2001). International directory of company histories, Volume 42. St. James Press. ISBN 1-55862-447-3.
- ^ "Newspapers, Etc., In Boston". The Boston Directory for the Year 1852: Embracing the City Record, A General Directory of the Citizens, and a Business Directory, with an Almanac from July 1852, to July 1853: 35. 1852.
- ^ Law books and their use:a manual of legal bibliography, legal research and brief making for lawyers and students. Lawyers Co-operative Publishing Company. 1936. p. 11.
- ^ "John Hancock - History". Manulife Financial. Retrieved September 18, 2011.
- ^ Encyclopedia of insurance in the United States. Index Pub. 1920.
- ^ Suter, John Wallace (1921). Report of the Secretary of the class of 1881 of Harvard College. The University Press, Cambridge. pp. 197–201. Retrieved September 24, 2011.