US POSTAL HISTORY BLOG

“Fellow citizens, I presume you all know who I am…I am humble Abraham Lincoln,” said the future President in a bid for election to the State Legislature of New Salem, Illinois. “I have been solicited by many friends to become a candidate for the legislature. My policies are short and sweet, like the old woman’s dance. I am in favor of a National Bank, I am in favor of the Internal improvement system, and a high protective tariff. These are my sentiments and political principles. If elected I shall be thankful; and if not, it will be all the same.” Continue reading

The Confederate Period in American history begins on December 20, 1860 when South Carolina seceded from the Union. Other states would soon follow to form a confederacy, but official stamps issued by the Confederates would not appear until nearly a year later – October 1861. In the absence of a government-issued postage stamp, Confederate postmasters were faced with a dilemma: how to keep the mail (and postal finances) moving. Most of the time they simply accepted payment in cash and applied a ‘PAID’ hand stamp to the envelope. Continue reading

As the 18th Century became the 19th, the mail was becoming increasingly secure. As a result, people were becoming more confident in entrusting US postal workers with their keepsakes and valuables. Not all mail reached its destination initially and often found itself in the Dead Letter Office. In one year, for example, 71,336 letters contained checks, postal notes, or money orders worth $2,308.046 arrived ‘dead.’ In light of the money, jewels, and other precious treasures that were handled by the DLO, that branch preferred to employ retired clergy as clerks because they felt ‘men of God’ could be trusted with items of value.
 
Woman’s Work – Working women have always been a part of the U.S. Post Office. They were, in fact, considered superior employees compared to men…at least as far as the Dead Letter Office was concerned. In the late 19th Century, postal officials felt that women had better analytical powers than men and were better able to decipher complicated and confusing addresses.