NARA–RG 28

A Horse, of Course!

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From colonial times to the early 20th century horses were the primary means of transporting the mail, whether by a single rider on horseback or by wagon or stage coach pulled by a team. Certainly mail was also transported by railroad as as the network of “iron horses” developed, as well as by river- and ocean-going vessels.

The image below is a detail from a poor quality photo postcard from circa 1916. There are two men on horseback. The man on the right is identified as W. H. Bennett of McKee, Kentucky, whose age (in 1959) was 87 years. His horse has two mailbags, one on each side to distribute the burden. The other man is not identified. There are trees and other vegetation behind them but no buildings are visible.

Mail carrier on horseback about 1916. W. H. Bennett, McKee, Kentucky, age 87 in 1959, and an unidentified man from [76] Transportation of Mail – Saddle Bags” (NAID 204376381).

This postcard was privately printed. It is in the U.S. National Archives by an accident of history. On 11 August 1959, Postmaster D. N. Thomas of McKeesville forwarded the postcard along with two leather saddlebags to the Post Office in Cincinnati, Ohio, as “Items for a Postal Museum.” The mailbags were “not desired” and thus were “left in Cincinnati.” The postcard, however, ended up in a collection of “Exhibit Materials Relating to Postal History, 1905-1958” (National Archives Identifier 17027514) assembled by the Post Office Department Library that was subsequently accessioned into the National Archives.

More Post Office Department Records

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The records of the Post Office Department (Record Group 28) can be useful for learning about ancestors who were postal employees, the communities in which they lived, and, of course, the operation of the mail system. As a part of NARA’s ongoing mission to provide greater access to the records in its custody, staff at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC, continue to add descriptions for RG 28 record series to the online National Archives Catalog. Here’s a list of some 133 record series for which descriptions were added to the Catalog in recent months.

NARA Catalog Updated!

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The National Archives Catalog was updated over the Labor Day weekend for the first time since April. Updates had been suspended due to technical difficulties, but hopefully the Catalog will again be updated on a regular basis henceforth.

National Archives Catalog Home Page (detail)

I am not conversant with the full extent of the update, but it’s certain that there are many additional series descriptions, file description, item descriptions, and digital images. Here are some examples.

Digital image updates include Maps and Correspondence Relating to Minor Civil Divisions, 1940-1950 from the Bureau of the Census.

Numerous series descriptions for records in Record Group 28, Records of the Post Office Department, have also been added. These are records that the National Archives received after the publication of Arthur E. Hecht, et al., Preliminary Inventory 168, Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Post Office Department, published in 1967. Watch for additional series and file descriptions to be added over the coming months.

File descriptions provide information about contents of specific files. For some examples, here’s a link to files described in the Records of the Post Office Department.

Recently Described Records of the Post Office Department (Record Group 28)

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Here are some recently described Records of the Post Office Department (Record Group 28). Further information can be found in the National Archives Catalog.

Records of Postal Stations and Branches at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, ca. 1910 – 1952 (NAID 12166787).

Efficiency Reports Concerning City Letter Carriers, 4/1920 – 5/1920 (NAID 12093015) .

Records Concerning City Delivery Allowances, 1912 – 1919 (NAID 12087690).