He was the youngest of four children born to Dr. Amos Granger (1748–1811) and Ann Phelps (1753–1806).

[1] His father was a prominent physician who served in the Connecticut Legislature from 1788 to 1791 and also served in the militia alongside General Horatio Gates during the American Revolutionary War[1] He was a first cousin of fellow U.S. Representative Francis Granger through his uncle, Gideon Granger, the longest-serving United States Postmaster General (under Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison).

[2] He moved to Syracuse, New York, in 1820 and engaged in numerous business enterprises.

[1] He was paralysed by a stroke in about 1860, and died after a bout of dysentery in Syracuse, New York, on August 20, 1866.

[2] This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress