Jesse Grant
| Jesse Root Grant | |
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| Born |
January 23, 1794 Greensburg, Pennsylvania |
| Died | June 29, 1873 (aged 79) Covington, Kentucky |
| Nationality | American |
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| Known for | Father of Ulysses S. Grant Controversial editorials Abolition advocate |
| Spouse(s) | Hannah Simpson |
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Jesse Root Grant (January 23, 1794 – June 29, 1873) was a farmer, tanner and successful leather merchant who owned tanneries and retail shops in several different states throughout his adult life. He is best known as the father of Ulysses S. Grant and the one who introduced Ulysses to military life at West Point. Jesse was born in Greensburg, Pennsylvania and was one of seven children. He was a self made man who rose from poverty to become a somewhat wealthy merchant. At age five, Jesse's family moved to Ohio and settled in the Ohio River Valley. Unable to support all his children Jesse's father arranged for his apprenticeship at farms and tanneries during his youth. Jesse married Hannah Simpson and they became the parents of three boys and three girls, with Ulysses being their oldest. Raised in a poor family that was forced to split up and having to work at an early age, Jesse persistently encouraged his sons in the ways of education, industry and hard work, his methods sometimes testing his father-son relationship with Ulysses. As a young man he worked for and came to know Owen Brown and soon acquired strong abolitionist sympathies. Originally a Jacksonian, Jesse eventually broke with the Democrats as he developed anti-slavery leanings, and for a time wrote a number of controversial editorials in support of abolition and about other issues, including Ulysses at Shiloh. He became involved in local politics and was elected Mayor in Georgetown and later, Bethel, both in Ohio. During the American Civil War Jesse and his two partners became involved in cotton speculation and personally prevailed upon his son Ulysses, now a Commanding General, requesting permits to deal in cotton in Grant's district, causing serious complications. Soon after the war Jesse stood next to his son Ulysses while he was sworn in as President, thereafter becoming a frequent visitor to the White House, while living out his final years in Covington, Kentucky.
Jesse's paternal ancestor, Matthew Grant and wife Priscilla and their infant daughter, embarked from Plymouth, England, with a party of 140 emigrants who had been gathered chiefly from South West England. After a 70-day journey the party arrived at Massachusetts Bay colony in Nantasket, on May 30, 1630. It was one of many Pilgrims of the Puritan movement who fled England to escape religious persecution. Later generations of the extended Grant family migrated westward into Pennsylvania, Ohio and Kentucky. Jesse's grandfather fought in the French and Indian War, and his father, Noah Grant, served in the American Revolution, including the Bunker Hill, soon advancing to the rank of Captain.
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