Part 1

Produced by Adrian Mastronardi, Stephen Blundell, The Philatelic Digital Library Project at http://www.tpdlp.net and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by Cornell University Digital Collections)

THE POSTAL SERVICE

OF THE UNITED STATES IN CONNECTION WITH THE LOCAL HISTORY OF BUFFALO.

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READ BEFORE THE SOCIETY, JANUARY 6, 1865.

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BY HON. N. K. HALL AND THOMAS BLOSSOM.

No very satisfactory account of the origin and progress of the Postal Service of the country, in its more immediate connection with the local history of Buffalo, can now be compiled. The early records of the transportation service of the Post-Office Department, were originally meager and imperfect; and many of the books and papers of the Department, prior to 1837, were destroyed or lost when the public edifices at Washington were burned in 1814, and also when the building in which the Department was kept was destroyed by fire, in December, 1836. For these reasons the Hon. A. N. Zevely, Third Assistant Postmaster-General--who has kindly furnished extracts from the records and papers of the Department--has been able to afford but little information in respect to the early transportation of the mails in the western part of this State. Indeed, no information in respect to that service, prior to 1814, could be given; no route-books of older date than 1820 are now in the Department, and those from 1820 to 1835 are not so arranged as to show the running time on the several routes.

The records of the Appointment Office, and those of the Auditor's Office of the Department, are more full and perfect; and from these, and from various other sources of information, much that is deemed entirely reliable and not wholly uninteresting has been obtained.

Erastus Granger was the first Postmaster of Buffalo--or rather of "Buffalo Creek," the original name of the office. He was appointed on the first establishment of the office, September 30, 1804. At that time the nearest post-offices were at Batavia on the east, Erie on the west, and Niagara on the north. Mr. Granger was a second cousin of Hon. Gideon Granger, the fourth Postmaster-General of the United States, who held that office from 1801 to 1814.

The successors of our first Postmaster, and the dates of their respective appointments, appear in the following statement:

Julius Guiteau, May 6, 1818. Samuel Russel, April 25, 1831. Henry P. Russell, July 26, 1834. Orange H. Dibble, August 28, 1834. Philip Dorsheimer, June 8, 1838. Charles C. Haddock, October 12, 1841. Philip Dorsheimer, April 1, 1845. Henry K. Smith, August 14, 1846. Isaac R. Harrington, May 17, 1849. James O. Putnam, September 1, 1851. James G. Dickie, May 4, 1853. Israel T. Hatch, November 11, 1859. Almon M. Clapp, (the present incumbent) March 27, 1861.

The Buffalo Post-office was the only post-office within the present limits of the city until January, 1817, when a post-office was established at Black Rock. The appointments of Postmasters at Black Rock have been as follows:

James L. Barton, January 29, 1817. Elisha H. Burnham, July 11, 1828. Morgan G. Lewis, June 29, 1841. George Johnson, July 7, 1853. Daniel Hibbard, (the present incumbent) June 1, 1861.

In July, 1854, the Post-office of Black Rock Dam, now called North Buffalo, was established. The name of the office was changed to North Buffalo, February 10, 1857. The appointments to that office have been as follows:

Henry A. Bennett, July 12, 1854. Charles Manly, March 17, 1856. George Argus, May 20, 1859. William D. Davis, July 29, 1861. George Argus, (the present incumbent) 1864.

The Buffalo Post-office was kept, during Mr. Granger's term of office, first on Main Street, near where the Metropolitan Theater now stands, and afterwards in the brick house on the west side of Pearl Street, a few doors south of Swan Street, now No. 58 Pearl Street. Mr. Guiteau first kept the office on Main Street, opposite Stevenson's livery stable; then on the west side of Main Street about the middle of the block next south of Erie Street; and afterwards on the northwest corner of Ellicott Square. It was kept in the same place for a short period at the commencement of Judge Russel's term of office, but was soon removed to the northwest corner of the next block above, where it remained until after the appointment of Mr. Dibble. It was removed by Mr. Dibble about 1836, to the old Baptist Church then standing on the corner where the post-office is now kept, and it was kept in that building until after Mr. Haddock took the office. He removed the office to the northwest corner of Main and Seneca Streets, where it remained until it was removed, in August, 1858, into the Government building in which it is now.

The gross receipts of the post-office at Buffalo, for the years given in the following table, have been as follows:

1805 $ 90.83 1825 $ 2,840.60 1806 120.13 1830 6,695.34 1807 122.82 1835 19,219.34 1808 173.63 1840 25,501.49 1809 217.49 1845 22,681.26 1810 291.46 1850 39,644.01 1812 963.61 1855 47,458.67 1813 Imperfect returns. 1860 44,800.94 1814 488.37 1862 55,265.57 1815 1,932.98 1863 48,238.53 1820 1,463.21

The gross receipts at the offices of Black Rock, Black Rock Dam and North Buffalo, for the years named have been as follows:

At Black Rock:

1817 $ 56.88 1845 $ 467.32 1818 134.34 1850 776.62 1819 237.96 1855 420.24 1820 239.38 1860 317.74 1825 737.41 1862 389.50 1830 493.08 1863 461.52 1835 617.49 1864} 234.52 1840 712.77 to July 1.}

At Black Rock Dam (North Buffalo):

1854 $ 108.47 1862 $ 463.27 1855 419.82 1863 650.73 1860 303.15 1864} 319.75 1861 307.20 to July 1.}

The aggregate amount of the postage received at the different post-offices must always depend, in a greater or less degree, upon the extent and frequency of the mail transportation by which such offices are supplied, and the rates of postage charged, as well as upon the number, education, character and occupation of the population within the delivery of such offices. Other causes, some of them local or temporary, may at times affect the revenue of an office, but only the population of the neighborhood, the frequency and extent of the transportation service, and the general rates of letter postage, will be here considered.

The first census under the authority of the United States was taken in 1790; probably in July and August of that year. In that portion of New York lying west of the old Massachusetts preemption line it was taken by General Amos Hall, as Deputy Marshal, and an abstract of his list or census-roll is given in Turner's "History of Phelps and Gorham's Purchase." The number of heads of families then residing west of Genesee River, and named in that list, was 24; but it is probable that the deputy marshal did not visit this locality, as neither Winney the Indian trader, nor Johnston the Indian agent and interpreter, is named; although it is probable that both of them resided here. Winney, it is quite certain, was here in 1791, and it is supposed came about 1784.

The whole population west of the Massachusetts preemption line, which was a line drawn due north and south across the State, passing through Seneca Lake and about two miles east of Geneva, as given by Turner from General Hall's census-roll, was 1,084, as follows: males, 728; females, 340; free blacks, 7; slaves, 9. In the State census report of 1853, the population of Ontario County in 1790 (which county then embraced all that territory) is stated at 1,075. The difference between the two statements is caused by the omission of the slaves from the latter statement. In 1800 the population of the same territory (then the Counties of Ontario and Steuben) was 15,359 free persons and 79 slaves.

In 1808 the County of Niagara (embracing the present counties of Niagara and Erie) was organized, and its population in 1810 was 6,132. Of these 1,465 were inhabitants of the present County of Niagara, and 4,667 of the present County of Erie. There were then in the county 8 slaves, which number should probably be added to the aggregate above stated.