Return J. Meigs Jr. | |
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| 8thUnited States Postmaster General | |
| In office March 17, 1814 – before June 26, 1823 | |
| President | James Madison James Monroe |
| Preceded by | Gideon Granger |
| Succeeded by | John McLean |
| 4thGovernor of Ohio | |
| In office December 8, 1810 – March 24, 1814 | |
| Preceded by | Samuel Huntington |
| Succeeded by | Othniel Looker |
| United States Senator fromOhio | |
| In office December 12, 1808 – December 8, 1810 | |
| Preceded by | John Smith |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Worthington |
| Chief Judge of the Ohio Supreme Court | |
| In office 1803–1804 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Samuel Huntington |
| Member of the Northwest Territory House of Representatives fromWashington County | |
| In office 1799–1801 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Ephraim Cutler Rufus Putnam |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Return Jonathan Meigs Jr. (1764-11-17)November 17, 1764 Middletown,Connecticut,British America |
| Died | March 29, 1825(1825-03-29) (aged 60) Marietta, Ohio, U.S. |
| Resting place | Mound Cemetery |
| Political party | Democratic-Republican |
| Spouse | Sophia Wright |
| Education | Yale University (BA) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Rank | BrevetColonel |
Return Jonathan Meigs Jr. (/ˈmɛɡz/; November 17, 1764 – March 29, 1825) was aDemocratic-Republican politician from Ohio. He served as the fourthgovernor of Ohio, eighthUnited States Postmaster General, and as aUnited States senator.
Meigs was born inMiddletown in theColony of Connecticut on November 17, 1764. He was the son ofReturn J. Meigs Sr. and the descendant of earlyPuritan settlers in Massachusetts. He graduated fromYale College in 1785 and studied law there. In 1788, after being admitted to the bar in Connecticut, he moved toMarietta, Ohio, where his father had been one of thefirst settlers, arriving earlier that year.[1]
In Marietta, Meigs was a lawyer, storekeeper and farmer, as well as serving in public offices. He was appointed the first court clerk for the court established at Marietta in 1788.[1] When a post office was established in Marietta in 1794, he became its firstpostmaster. In 1798 he was named to a judgeship on theNorthwest Territory's territorial court, and in 1799 he won election to the territorial legislature.[1]
In 1803 he was appointed the first chief justice of theOhio State Supreme Court.[1] In October 1804, he resigned this position to become commandant of U. S. troops in the St. Charles district of theLouisiana Territory. He attained the rank ofBrevetColonel and retained the command until 1806. In 1805 he was chosen as judge of theSupreme Court of Louisiana and then in 1807, judge of theUnited States District Court for theMichigan Territory.[2]
He returned to Ohio in 1807 to run for governor. He won the election but was declared ineligible for failing to meet the residency requirements. He then was appointed to theU.S. Senate to finish the term ofJohn Smith and was re-elected to his own term a year later. He resigned in late 1810 after winning the governorship.
He served two two-year terms, resigning in April 1814 when appointedPostmaster general by PresidentJames Madison. His service as Postmaster General was not without controversy. Congress investigated him twice, and he was cleared both times. The size of the Post Office doubled during his tenure, which implicated financial difficulties.[3] He served until 1823, when he retired due to ill health and returned to Marietta.
Meigs died March 29, 1825, and is buried in Marietta'sMound Cemetery. His grave is marked by a large monument bearing a long inscription reciting his public services and family devotion.[1]
Meigs was married in 1788 to Sophia Wright, and they had one child, a daughter named Mary who married congressman and federal Judge John George Jackson ofClarksburg, Virginia, in 1810.[1][2]
Return J. Meigs Jr. did not have a direct male heir, but two of his younger brothers, John and Timothy, each named a son Return Jonathan Meigs. The first of these—calledReturn J. Meigs III [Wikidata]—passed the bar inFrankfort, Kentucky, commenced law practice inAthens, Tennessee, and became prominent in Tennessee state affairs before theCivil War. He moved to Staten Island, New York, however, at the time of Tennessee's secession from theUnion in 1861.[4] Among those men whoread law under his tutelage in Tennessee wasWilliam Parish Chilton who would become Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court.
Timothy's son, Return J. Meigs IV, married Jennie Ross, daughter of principal Cherokee chiefJohn Ross, and emigrated to Oklahoma on theTrail of Tears.[5]
Meigs County, Ohio, is named in his honor. (Meigs County, Tennessee, is named for his father.)Fort Meigs inPerrysburg, Ohio, was named in his honor during theWar of 1812 byWilliam Henry Harrison.[1][6]
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