Joseph Habersham was born in Savannah, Georgia, on July 28, 1751, to Mary Bolton Habersham and James Habersham. He was major of a battalion of Georgia militiamen and rose to become colonel in the Continental Army. After the Revolution, he served as speaker of the General Assembly, delegate to the Continental Congress, and member of the Convention, which ratified the United States Constitution. From 1792 to 1793 he was mayor of Savannah, and from 1795 to 1801 he was postmaster general of the United States under Presidents Washington, Adams, and Jefferson. Joseph Habersham was president of the Georgia branch of the Bank of the United States at Savannah from 1802 until his death on November 17, 1815.