Postal pioneers Postal pioneers he United States has a rich history of tall tales: stories of the men and women who T helped tame the wilder- Frederick Wolf ness and establish our nation. Think Johnny Appleseed or John Henry or Molly Pitcher—many of these tales are rooted in fact, even as the myths have grown larger and more unbelievable. Letter carriers have their own tall tales of postal pioneers, those letter carriers and others who moved the mail across this wide country, deliver- ing vital news and important materials. These tales remind us that though letter carriers today wear the same uniform and do the same job, they come from a long line of proud individuals who helped bind this nation with the mail. Frederick Wolf In 1794, Congress officially established the Post Office as a permanent part of the federal government and authorized the appointment of this country’s first letter carriers. In those early days of the republic, America’s letter carriers received no salaries but were permitted by Congress to collect a fee of 2 cents for every letter they delivered. 24 The Postal Record September 2020 September 2020 William Carney Although 2 cents was a considerable into downtown Troy, where amount of money in those days, this a firestorm proceeded to de- fee did not guarantee letter carriers stroy 670 buildings. Though a decent living wage. Recipients of the fire killed eight people, it letters had the option of accepting de- could have been much worse. livery service or visiting the post office For Wolf, however, it was to pick up their mail. Since delivery a crushing blow. Many of the of one’s mail was a luxury few people buildings that had gone up could afford, most chose to just pick in smoke bore the marks of it up. postage due to him. Since Things weren’t much better as the Wolf had no other record 1800s rolled on. Though mail delivery of the amount owed him, became more affordable, as the 2-cent he never recovered his lost fee remained unchanged, not every- wages. one had 2 cents when the letter carrier came calling. For many, that meant William Carney waiting until the letter carrier came William Harvey Carney around again. was born a slave in 1840 in Frederick W. Wolf, a letter carrier in Norfolk, VA. He was edu- Troy, NY, was hired in 1854 and served cated at a “secret school” by for 54 years. Wolf came up with an a local minister, acquiring Carney was awarded innovative way to deliver the mail and rudimentary reading and the Con- make sure he got paid. When he would writing skills at the age of 14. Carney gressional go to a house where the customer escaped slavery through the Under- Medal of didn’t have 2 cents, he would deliver ground Railroad, a network of secret Honor for the mail and make a mark on the door routes and safe houses, and made his his service or the side of the way to New Bedford in the free state of in the Civil Frederick Wolf War. house. He would Massachusetts. He and his father, an- then go to that other escaped slave, eventually earned house the next enough to buy the rest of the family day to collect. freedom from servitude. It was a system Carney worked the docks in New that worked well Bedford, a major whaling port, until for him until a he heard the call for Blacks to join the hot and windy Union Army. In a letter to The Libera- May 10, 1862. tor, an abolitionist newspaper, Carney That afternoon, gave this account of his motivations in some sparks joining the 54th Regiment: “Previous setts Infantry. In the midst of withering from the steam to the formation of the colored troops, fire, when the first flag-bearer fell, -Car engine of a train I had a strong inclination to prepare ney took up the regiment’s colors and pulling out of the myself for the ministry, but when the led his fellow volunteers to the crest of downtown Troy country called for all persons, I could the parapet. There, Carney secured the Union Depot best serve my God serving my country banner in the sand as the battle raged. set the Green and my oppressed brothers. The sequel When the federal troops finally fell Island Bridge is short—I enlisted for the war.” back after dark, Carney wrapped the on fire. Strong Carney participated in the suicidal Stars and Stripes around the pole it winds blew assault on Confederate Fort Wagner was carried on and carried the banner burning pieces near Charleston, SC, by the all-Black, back to Union lines, despite wounds of the bridge all-volunteer 54th Regiment Massachu- to his chest, head and leg—the latter September 2020 September 2020 The Postal Record 25 Postal pioneers injury so severe that for more than 30 years he would limp every step of the way as he delivered the mail in New Bedford. As he handed the flag over to other survivors of the 54th, he told them, “Boys, I only did my duty. The Mary Fields on her stagecoach old flag never touched the ground.” For courageous action, Carney be- appointment. He was the only Black accepted the post and held the job until came one of the first Black soldiers to carrier in the city and among the earli- his death on Dec. 8, 1908, as the result of be awarded the Congressional Medal est anywhere. Just two years earlier, in an elevator accident. of Honor. 1867, John Curry had become the na- After recovering from his wounds, tion’s first Black letter carrier, working Mary Fields Carney worked a number of jobs before in Washington, DC. Mary Fields was born into slavery becoming a letter carrier in New Bed- Carney carried mail for more than in the 1830s, by most accounts in Ten- ford in 1869. Many early letter carriers 30 years and—just as he had done in nessee, and worked for a slave-owning were military veterans, since appoint- enlisting for the Union cause—the Civil family in West Virginia (then Virginia) ments often were based on local politi- War hero was quick to step forward in the years leading up to the Civil War. cal connections and it was common for when mailmen around the nation de- After she was emancipated following a town’s prominent citizens, including cided to band together in the National the Civil War, Fields left West Virginia the postmaster himself, to have served Association of Letter Carriers. and worked on steamboats on the Mis- in the Union army. The charter of New Bedford Branch sissippi River, eventually making her 18, issued on March 20, 1890, includes There were just four letter carriers way to Toledo, OH, where she went to Carney’s signature as vice president. In in New Bedford at the time of Carney’s work in a convent. addition to the low Fields washed laundry, bought Mary Fields branch number of supplies, managed the kitchen, and 18, the founding date grew and maintained the garden and makes clear that the grounds. But she was no saint, and her New Bedford carriers quick temper was known to boil over. were among the first There are reports of her yelling at any- members of the NALC, one who stepped on the grass after she which had been found- had cut it—intimidating behavior given ed only seven months her 6-foot stature and hefty frame. earlier. She made her way west to Montana, After nearly 32 years where she worked for Saint Peter’s of service, at the age Mission near Cascade, performing of 61, Carney retired maintenance and repair work, gar- as a letter carrier. He dening, laundering and delivering still needed other work supplies needed for the mission. She because, although he was dismissed from the mission for probably received a her crass behavior, unruly temper, and small stipend for his penchant for drinking and smoking war wounds, postal in saloons with men. According to employees had no legend, she and a male mission janitor retirement benefits at got into a fight and both drew guns. all. In 1901, the Mas- After trying many other lines of work, sachusetts secretary of in 1895 and in her early 60s, with the state asked him to take help of the local nuns, Fields obtained the job of messenger at a contract from the Post Office Depart- the state house. Carney ment to be a star route carrier. A star 26 The Postal Record September 2020 September 2020 Owney in a postal railcar route carrier was an independent was on. When the clerks contractor who used a stagecoach to returned to the main post deliver the mail in the harsh weather office after the deliver- of northern Montana. Fields was the ies, not only was a bag first African American woman and the of mail missing, so was second woman to receive a star route Owney. They backtracked contract anywhere in the country. and eventually found Fields, soon nicknamed “Stagecoach Owney lying on top of the Mary” for her reputation of being fear- mailbag. He guarded the less, not only had to deliver the mail mail pouch until some- but also had to protect it from bandits, one from the Post Office After his death, the weather and even wildlife. She showed up to retrieve it. Owney was preserved and is was known to carry both a rifle and a Reports had him now on display at revolver.