George P. Sanger Explained

George P. Sanger
Birth Date:27 November 1819
Birth Place:Dover, Massachusetts, U.S.
Death Place:Swampscott, Massachusetts, U.S.
Nationality:American
Spouse:Elizabeth Sherburne Thompson
Alma Mater:Harvard University
Harvard Law School
United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts
Term Start:1873
Term End:1882
Predecessor:David H. Mason
Successor:George M. Stearns
Office1:Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Term1:1873
Title2:District Attorney of Suffolk County, Massachusetts
Term Start2:1861
Term End2:1869
Predecessor2:George W. Cooley
Successor2:John Wilder May
Term Start3:1853
Term End3:1854
Predecessor3:John C. Park
Successor3:George W. Cooley
Office4:Member of the Boston Common Council
Term4:1860
Office5:Judge of the Massachusetts Court of Common Pleas
Term Start5:1854
Term End5:1859
Office6:Member of the Charlestown Board of Aldermen
Term Start6:1851
Term End6:1853
Office7:Member of the Charlestown Common Council
Term Start7:1849
Term End7:1850
Signature:Signature of George Partridge Sanger (1819–1890).png

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.

Early life

Sanger 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

Sanger graduated from Harvard Law School in 1844 and was admitted to the bar in 1846. He spent the next three years practicing law in Boston, first with Stephen Henry Phillips, and later with Charles G. Davis. In 1849, Sanger was named Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts.

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.

In 1860, he was a member of the Boston Common Council.

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.

Editor

Sanger 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.

John Hancock Insurance

On 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

Sanger married Elizabeth Sherburne Thompson of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in 1846. The couple had four sons:[10]

Death

Sanger died on July 3, 1890, in Swampscott, Massachusetts.

Notes and References

  1. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain . Joshua L. Chamberlain . 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. 1899. 3. 96. 18 September 2011.
  2. Book: Davis, William Thomas. History of the Judiciary of Massachusetts. 1900.
  3. Book: 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 . 157, 221–223.
  4. Book: The Boston Directory. 1861. George Adams. Boston. 554.
  5. Book: Pederson, Jay P.. International directory of company histories, Volume 42. 2001. St. James Press. 1-55862-447-3 .
  6. 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. 1852. 35.
  7. Book: 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 . 11 .
  8. Web site: John Hancock - History. Manulife Financial. 18 September 2011.
  9. Book: Encyclopedia of insurance in the United States. 1920. Index Pub..
  10. Book: Suter, John Wallace . Report of the Secretary of the class of 1881 of Harvard College . 7 . The University Press, Cambridge . 1921 . 197–201 . 2011-09-24.