As a child, Ulysses Grant avoided working in his father Jesse's tannery, preferring instead to ride horses, according to the Miller Center.
Because of his son's lack of interest in the family business, Jesse Grant ended up arranging to have him sent to West Point to become a military officer.
Years later, after his military career had stalled out, Grant began looking for a new line of work to support his family. He eventually settled in Galena, Illinois, and began working for his younger brother Orvil at the family's leather goods store.
According to historian Ron Chernow's biography "Grant," the future president was sometimes "easily hoodwinked by customers who suggested lower prices." While Grant was still working in the store, the Civil War would break out. Grant would go on to become the commander of the Union Army.