Stagecoach Mary: America's First African-American Postal Carrier

Public Domain

I can barely parallel park my car, so I am always impressed when I find out about other women who drive tractor-trailers, bulldozers, and other large vehicles. Then I stumbled on the story of Mary Fields who became a postal carrier at the age of sixty in the wilds of Montana and was even more amazed. Can you imagine controlling four horses to pull a two-thousand-pound swaying vehicle with little suspension over rocky and often barely perceptible roads?

Yeah, I would have found another job.

Not Mary Fields. She was born into slavery sometime during 1832, perhaps 1833. Not much is known about her growing-up years, although most scholars seem to agree that she was owned by the Warren family in West Virginia prior to Civil War. After being freed in 1865, Mary worked her way up the Mississippi River working on steamboats. She ultimately ended up in Toledo, Ohio where she was employed at Ursuline Convent of the Sacred Heart. Again, records are sketchy so it is unknown why she left the convent, but she headed west.

Mary once again found work at a religious order when she landed at St. Peter’s Mission near Cascade,

Courtesy Ursuline Nuns
of Youngstown

Montana. Accounts differ as to how she ended up there, but the mission was also run by Ursuline nuns, and the Mother Superior, Mary Amadeus was related by marriage to the family that had enslaved Mary Fields, so perhaps there was a connection from earlier in her life. She cultivated the garden, hunted game, and coordinated the delivery of supplies, but refused wages which allowed her to come and go as she pleased.

She “cussed a blue streak” as my grandfather would say, wore pants, and frequented the saloons which were interestingly overlooked by the nuns. However, things came to a head when she got into an argument with one of the male janitors at the mission, and the two pulled their guns. Neither fired, but the incident was the last straw for the area bishop who insisted that Mary’s employment be terminated.

Trying (and failing) at a number of things, including running a restaurant, Mary secured a contract to be a Star Route Carrier for the US Post Office Department (precursor to the US Postal Service). Some sources indicated she was awarded the contract through the assistance of the nuns; another claims she got the position because she hitched a “6-up team” faster than anyone else.

Courtesy Ursuline Sisters Archives, Great Falls

Mary’s thirty-four-mile round trip route ran between St. Peter’s Mission and Cascade. She carried multiple weapons including a .38 Smith & Wesson and a rifle to keep herself safe from bandits and wildlife. She also endured harsh winter weather, sometimes snowshoeing rather than leading the horses.

Unsurprisingly, she built a reputation for being fearless during her eight years of working the route. After retiring, she ran a laundry business and babysat for families in Cascade. Well-known and respected, she was granted an exemption by the mayor allowing her in saloons after a law passed prohibiting women from entering such places of business. Schools were also closed each year on her birthday, and she became the mascot for the town’s baseball team.

Here's a short video about the life and times of this intrepid woman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMxSTtRBa-o

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Linda Shenton Matchett writes about ordinary people who did extraordinary things in days gone by. A native of Baltimore, Maryland, she was born a stone’s throw from Fort McHenry (of Star-Spangled Banner fame) and has lived in historical places all her life. She is a volunteer docent and archivist at the Wright Museum of WWII and a former trustee for her local public library. She now lives in central New Hampshire where she explores the history of this great state and immerses herself in the imaginary worlds created by other authors.

Beryl’s Bounty Hunter – Coming soon!

Can a thief and a lawman find happiness?

Orphaned as a child, Beryl Atherton has lived on the streets of London as long as she can remember. Reduced to stealing for survival, she is arrested. During her incarceration one of her cellmates shows her a newspaper ad for an American mail-order bride agency. But all is not as it seems, and moments after landing in Boston, she must run for her life. Will things be no different for her in the New World?

Working as a bounty hunter since The War Between the States, Lucas Wolf just needs a few more cases before he can hang up his gun, purchase a ranch out West, and apply for a mail-order bride from the Westward Home & Hearts Mail-Order Bride Agency. While staking out the docks in Boston, he sees a woman fleeing from the man he’s been tailing. Saving her risks his job. Not saving her risks his heart.

Postal Delivery in America

By Elaine Cooper

One never knows what unexpected discoveries await when a history lover on a research trip takes a road that veers away from the main highway. I almost let the opportunity slip away but my inner history geek followed my senses.

It was on that road I discovered a stone marker near Brookfield, Massachusetts. At first I thought it was a grave marker with it’s curved design. It was, in fact, a remnant of the post riders trail from long ago, still telling travelers along the way: “67 miles to Boston, 30 miles to Springfield.”

What a delightful find! An ancient marker—crude but effective—pointing the way for postal riders. Imagine how welcoming those words etched in granite were to weary horsemen carrying missives to awaiting recipients.

This unexpected find encouraged me to investigate our mail system here in America that so many take for granted. 

I was surprised to learn the history of our postal service in America is older than the country itself.

The Pilgrims had only been in America for 13 years when the first official mail deliveries were begun. The General Court of Massachusetts designated Richard Fairbanks’ tavern in Boston as the exchange point for mail between the colonies and England. This was in keeping with the British tradition of using coffee houses and taverns as the mail drops. 

By 1673, a trail for a post rider was set up between New York and Boston. That trail, called the Old Boston Post Road, is today part of US Route 1.

Pennsylvania was next in setting up a post office ten years later. Then colonies in the south set up their own message system between plantations, with messages sometimes carried by slaves. 

A centralized postal system for all the colonies was not set up until 1691. The delivery system expanded and spread under the guidance of numerous Postmasters General, who were still under British rule. 

In 1737, 31-year-old Benjamin Franklin was named Postmaster of Philadelphia. The struggling publisher of the Pennsylvania Gazette made numerous improvements in the mail system, including cutting the delivery time between Philadelphia and New York in half by running mail wagons both day and night. He also devised the still-used rate chart based on distance and weight of the parcel—in principle, still used today, although I think the rates have climbed somewhat since the 1700’s.

As we all know, Mr. Franklin—who by now was called the Joint Postmaster General for the Crown—began to be involved in the cause for liberty from England, which did not sit well with his British employers. He was fired in 1774.

He was not unemployed for too long, as the Continental Congress appointed Franklin to the position of Postmaster General of the United Colonies on July 26, 1775. 

The members of the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia wrote:

“That a Postmaster General be appointed for the United Colonies who shall hold his office in Philadelphia and shall be offered a salary of 1,000 dollars per annum for himself, and $340 per annum for a secretary and comptroller, with power to appoint such, and so many deputies as to him may seem proper and necessary. That a line of posts be appointed under the Postmaster General from Falmouth in New England to Savannah in Georgia, with as many cross posts as he shall think fit.” 

By the time Franklin was sent on his diplomatic assignment to France in 1776, he left behind a greatly improved colonial mail system with routes from Maine to Florida.

In 1790, there were 75 post offices in America. By 2018, that number grew to 34,772 retail offices with over 146.4 billion pieces of mail handled in that same year. Total delivery routes in 2018 had expanded to 231,843. Mr. Franklin would be proud.

There is a postal museum at the Smithsonian. You can visit the site here http://postalmuseum.si.edu/

Elaine Marie Cooper has two new historical fiction books that just released: War’s Respite(Prequel novella) and Love’s Kindling. Love’s Kindlingis available in both e-book and paperback. They are the first two books in the Dawn of AmericaSeries set in Revolutionary War Connecticut. Cooper is the award-winning author of Fields of the Fatherlessand Bethany’s Calendar. Her 2016 release (Saratoga Letters) was finalist in Historical Romance in both the Selah Awards and Next Generation Indie Book Awards. She penned the three-book Deer Run Sagaand has been published in numerous magazines and anthologies. You can visit her website/ blog here  www.elainemariecooper.com

You've Got Mail: A History of the Mailbox with Giveaway!

Blogger: Amber Schamel

There are a lot of things in our everyday life that we don't even think about, but without them our civilization would be drastically different. One of these is the mailbox. I'd never paid much attention to them, but one day as we were driving along and I was staring out the window trying not to get car sick as we wove in and out of the Missouri Ozarks, my brow quirked. How did mailboxes come about? They're all the same shape and very uniform in most cases. When did that happen?

Before the 1850's, mailboxes didn't exist at all. When you had to go to the post office to purchase postage anyway, there was no need for a mail receptacle anywhere else. But with the invention of the postage stamp, came a need for such a device.

Around 1863, folks in the United States began enjoying Free City Delivery. Letters and mail would be delivered to each doorstep, free of charge. During this time period, you would have the letter carrier knock on your door and wait for you to answer. He'd then hand you your mail with a smile, say a few neighborly words, and be on his way. This worked for quite a while, but eventually the business side of letter delivery won out. Around 1916, efficiency experts estimated that a mailman lost about 1.5 hours every day waiting for patrons to open their doors and receive their mail. That's when the Post Office Department issued an order that every household or business had to have a mailbox or slot to receive mail.

The first form of mailboxes were attached to an outer wall, and this developed as early as the 1880's. But often, doorsteps are far away from the street, and it takes time for a mail carrier to walk back and forth from his vehicle. To reduce the time required, a proposition was made to attach the mail receptacle to fence posts, lamp posts, etc. While this idea was initially rejected in the city, it did catch on in rural areas. This allowed a postman to deliver mail to several farms in a more efficient manner using a horse drawn wagon, or eventually, a motor vehicle. But it wasn't until 1923 that the Post Office Departement mandated a curbside mail reciprocal for every household and business.

US Rural Free Mail Delivery to curbside mailbox, circa 1905

Where did the unique shape come from?

Did you know the mailbox shape actually has a name? It's called the Joroleman Mailbox, named after the Post Office employee that designed it. Joroleman had a degree in mechanical engineering. In 1915, he designed a light gauge, painted steel box of a rectangular shape, but with a domed top which prevented rain and snow from accumulating too heavily, would hopefully decrease deformation of the boxes, and decreased mass production time to boot.  His finished design was durable and inexpensive and became increasingly popular.

Rural Mail Carrier circa 1910

In 1923, the United States Post Office Department (now known as the USPS) gained the authority to regulate mailbox sizes and designs. This is why your mailbox is stamped with either "U.S. Mail" or "Approved by postmaster."

And what about the little red flag? Joroleman had that on his design as well. Originally it was used not just to alert the postman of outgoing mail, but also for the postman to indicate to the patron that he had delivered the mail. A real convenience in nasty weather.

There you have it, a summary of the history of the mailbox. AND since today is the release day of my new book, DAWN OF LIBERTY, I'm going to give you the chance to have a new book delivered to yours! Leave a comment to get your name in the drawing for an autographed paperback copy. (US addresses only.)

Amber Schamel writes riveting stories that bring HIStory to Life. Visit her at www.AmberSchamel.com, or subscribe to her Newsletter.

Snowshoe Thompson: Mail Carrier Extraordinaire

by Keli Gwyn

Do you smile when you receive an honest-to-goodness handwritten letter delivered by snail mail? Although that happens less and less in these days of email, texts and instant messages, nothing makes my day like finding a card or note from a friend in my mailbox.

In the early days of California when my story featured in A Cup of Christmas Cheer: Volume 3, Heartwarming Tales of Christmas Past takes place, mail from back home was a rarity. The arrival of a letter was often cause for celebration.

Soon after I moved to the Sierra Foothills’ town of Placerville, I learned about a mail carrier who had made a difference in many people’s lives. John “Snowshoe” Thompson heard that the U. S. Postal Service was seeking someone to take mail over the mountains during the winter months and applied for the position.

This rugged Norwegian-American got the job. Snowshoe Thompson, as he was called, strapped a pair of handmade twelve-foot wooden skis on his feet and set off from Placerville to Genoa, Nevada. He could make the ninety-mile trek in three days.
 

I’ve lived in Placerville over twenty years and have driven by my town’s monuments to Showshoe Thompson hundreds of time. I’ve seen his skis on display in our county’s historical museum and heard tales about his travels.

However, it wasn’t until a trip to Genoa, Nevada in the summer of 2013 that I became fascinated by this local legend. I visited Thompson’s gravesite and spent a delightful hour in the Genoa Courthouse Museum, which is home to an enlightening display honoring this famous mailman.

When Thompson set off from Placerville, he would heft a sixty- to one-hundred-pound mail sack on his back. The only personal items he took, other than food, were matches and his Bible. 

Thompson delivered letters, magazines and newspapers, but that wasn’t all. On several occasions, he carried much-needed medicine. He would purchase items in Placerville at the request of people in Genoa, such as sewing needles, a glass chimney for a lantern and a fiddle string, and deliver them to grateful recipients.

For twenty winters, beginning in 1856, Thompson made two to four trips a month. Although he was hired by the Postal Service, he never received any wages. The only money he earned was the one-dollar-per-item fee he was allowed to charge for his labor. There were some who couldn’t afford to pay him, but that didn’t keep Thompson from delivering their letters or packages.

One year Thompson was asked to vary his route. The winter of 1866-67 was the worst on record, leaving the mining town of Meadow Lake high in the Sierra buried beneath up to thirty feet of snow. Thompson was asked to take mail to the isolated town.

When I set out to write my story, “A Father’s Gift,” I wanted to showcase Snowshoe Thompson. This remarkable man exemplified a generous, godly nature.

I set my story in Meadow Lake during that record-breaking winter. The main character receives an unexpected package delivered by a much-loved mail carrier: Snowshoe Thompson.
While my character’s story ended happily, Thompson’s did not. In May of 1876, at the age of forty-nine, he died of appendicitis that developed into pneumonia. Because he had never signed a contract with the Postal Service, when he went to Washington D.C. to attempt to receive his back pay, his claim was denied. When the Smithsonian Institute created an exhibit chronicling the history of the Postal Service in the 1990s, they failed to include Thompson for the same reason.

Although Snowshoe Thompson didn’t receive payment or official recognition in his lifetime or even posthumously, he left quite a legacy. Monuments to this beloved legend abound throughout the Sierras and beyond. Whenever I see one, I’m inspired by this kind soul who put the needs of his fellow man above his own.
 

 

Snowshoe Thompson mural in downtown Placerville, California

Keli Gwyn writes stories that transport readers to the 1800s, where she brings historic towns to life, peoples them with colorful characters and adds a hint of humor. A California native, she lives in the Gold Rush-era town of Placerville at the foot of the majestic Sierra Nevada Mountains.

When Keli's fingers aren't hovering over the keyboard of her newfangled laptop, she enjoys strolling past stately Victorian houses in her historic town, burying her nose in reference books as she unearths interesting facts to include in her stories and interacting with other romance readers. Her favorite places to visit are her fictional worlds, historical museums and other Gold Rush-era towns.

Mailing Babies

By Marilyn Turk

True or False? At one time, it was legal to mail babies through the U.S. Postal Service.

True. On January 1, 1913, sending packages via the U.S. Parcel Post Service began. Regulations stated that packages could not weigh more than fifty pounds. The service was not intended as a means to ship children, but there were a few instances when it happened. Although the photo above was supposedly staged as a joke, the following stories recount some real cases of children being shipped.

The New York Times reported in an article that a mail carrier in Batavia, Ohio, delivered a baby from his parents to his grandparents:

Vernon O. Lytle, mail carrier on rural route No. 5, is the first man to accept and deliver under parcel post conditions a live baby. The baby, a boy weighing 10-3/4 pounds, is the child of Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Beagle of Glen Este. The boy was well wrapped and ready for mailing when the carried received him today. Mr. Lytle delivered the boy safely at the address on the card attached, that of the boy's grandmother, Mr. Louis Beagle, who lives about a mile distant. The postage was fifteen cents and the parcel was insured for $50.

A year later, the Times reported a similar instance of a small boy being shipped by his grandmother to an aunt via Parcel Post:

Mrs. E.H. Staley of this city received her two-year-old nephew by parcel post today from his grandmother in Stratford, Oklahoma, where he had been left for a visit three weeks ago. The boy wore a tag about his neck showing it had cost eighteen cents to send him through the mails. He was transported 25 miles by rural route before reaching the railroad. He rode with the mail clerks, shared his lunch with them and arrived here in good condition.

On February 19, 1914, the parents of four-year-old May Perstorff mailed her from Grangeville, Idaho, to her grandparents in Lewiston, Idaho. Mailing May was apparently cheaper than buying her a train ticket. The little girl wore 53-cents worth of postal stamps on her jacket as she traveled in the train's mail compartment.

After hearing of such instances, the Postmaster General issued a regulation forbidding the sending of children in the mail, stating that "children did not come within the classification of harmless live animals (bees and bugs) which do not require food or water while in transit."

Although these examples were misinterpretations of the purpose of the post office, they do attest to a time when travel was difficult for most people. They also reflect the trust people had in the mail carriers to take care of their most valued possessions, their children.

If it were legal, would you mail your child today?