Jotham Post

Jotham Post Jr. (April 4, 1771 – May 15, 1817) was a U.S. Representative from the state of New York and a member of the Federalist Party. He was born near Westbury, New York, on April 4, 1771, into a prominent Long Island family. He was the son of Jotham Post Sr. (1740–1817), with whom he was very close, and Winifred (née Wright) Post (1745–1811). His family was well connected in professional and civic circles; his older brother, Dr. Wright Post, became a noted physician and a professor of surgery and anatomy at Columbia, reflecting the family’s engagement with the emerging institutions of the new nation.

Post pursued a formal education in New York City and graduated from Columbia College in 1792. Following his graduation, he studied medicine, a course of training that was consistent with his brother’s distinguished medical career. Although he completed medical studies, he chose not to enter medical practice. Instead, he turned to commerce, establishing himself in the drug-importing business in New York City. This enterprise placed him at the intersection of medicine, trade, and urban growth at a time when New York was rapidly expanding as a commercial center.

Post’s business and family connections facilitated his entry into public life. He became active in municipal affairs and served as a member of the board of aldermen in New York City, participating in the governance of the city during a period of significant development. He also held a position in the medical and charitable sphere as a director of the New York Hospital from 1798 to 1802, contributing to the administration of one of the city’s principal medical institutions. His early public service reflected both his commercial experience and his background in medical studies.

In state politics, Post served multiple terms in the New York State Assembly. He was first elected to the Assembly in 1795, and later returned to serve again from 1805 to 1808. As a legislator, he took part in shaping state policy during the early years of the republic, when New York was consolidating its political institutions and expanding its economic infrastructure. His repeated elections indicate a sustained level of confidence from his constituents and a growing reputation within Federalist circles.

Post’s state-level experience led to his election to the national legislature. As a member of the Federalist Party representing New York, he was elected to the Thirteenth Congress and served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1813, to March 3, 1815. His service in Congress occurred during the War of 1812, a significant and contentious period in American history. In this context, he contributed to the legislative process and participated in the democratic governance of the nation, representing the interests of his New York constituents at a time when issues of war, commerce, and national sovereignty were at the forefront of congressional debate.

Post’s personal life was closely tied to other prominent New York and New England families. On August 10, 1792, he married Magdalena Blaau in New York City. Together they had eight children: Waldron Blaau Post (1793–1874), who married Sarah Elizabeth Parker; Ur Post (1795–1796), who died young; Julia Lynch Post (1797–1878), who married James DeWolf Jr., son of politician James DeWolf, in 1815; Eleanor Post (1799–1872), who married Francis LeBaron DeWolf, also a son of James DeWolf, in 1820 and, after his death, married John Whipple in 1839; Jotham William Post (1801–1841), who married Angelina Thayer Byers; Edwin Augustus Post (1804–1888), who married Lucretia Ann Main and, after her death, Cornelia Davis; Nancy Elizabeth Mary Post (1806–1895), who married Bernard Rhinelander (1800–1844); and Magdalen Rachel Post (1810–1841), who married Isaac Gibson. Through these marriages, the Post family became connected to influential mercantile and political families, including the DeWolf and Rhinelander families.

After the death of his first wife in 1811, Post remarried. On October 2, 1815, in Albany, New York, he married Julia Strong, the widow of George Wattles. His extended family and descendants went on to include a number of notable figures in public life, business, and the arts. Among his notable descendants are Henry A. V. Post, Albertson Van Zo Post, Henry Post, journalist Robert Post, Regis Henri Post, Mason Sears, Gertrude Rhinelander Waldo, and Rhinelander Waldo, reflecting the continued prominence of the family in subsequent generations.

Jotham Post Jr. died in New York City on May 15, 1817. His life spanned the formative decades of the United States, and his activities in commerce, municipal government, state politics, and the national legislature illustrate the role of Federalist leaders in shaping both New York and the early federal government.