 He was first a Democrat, then became a Whig in the 1830s, was an "out-and-out Native American party man" the 1840s, and in the 1850s joined the newly founded Republican Party, for which he served as a presidential elector in 1856.The pilot boat "Moses H. Grinnell" was built in 1850 for the Jersey pilots and designed by George Steers.It was owned by George W. Blunt.