_List of New York City postmasters from 1687 to date_:
WILLIAM BOGARDUS
April 4, 1687
HENRY SHARPAS
April 4, 1692
RICHARD NICHOL
(Postmaster in 1732)
ALEXANDER COLDEN
(Postmaster in 1753-75)
EBENEZER HAZARD
October 5, 1775
WILLIAM BEDLOE
(Postmaster in 1785, appointed
after close of Revolutionary War)
SEBASTIAN BAUMAN
February 16, 1796
JOSIAS TEN EYCK
January 1, 1804
THEODORUS BAILEY
April 2, 1804
SAMUEL L. GOUVERNEUR
November 19, 1828
JONATHAN I. CODDINGTON
July 5, 1836
JOHN L. GRAHAM
March 14, 1842
ROBERT H. MORRIS
May 3, 1845
WILLIAM V. BRADY
May 14, 1849
ISAAC V. FOWLER
April 1, 1853
JOHN A. DIX
May 17, 1860
WILLIAM B. TAYLOR
January 16, 1861
ABRAM WAKEMAN
March 21, 1862
JAMES KELLY
September 19, 1864
PATRICK H. JONES
April 27, 1869
THOMAS L. JAMES
March 17, 1873
HENRY G. PEARSON
April 1, 1881
THOMAS L. JAMES (acting)
April 21, 1889
CORNELIUS VAN COTT
May 1, 1889
CHARLES W. DAYTON
July 1, 1893
CORNELIUS VAN COTT
May 23, 1897
EDWARD M. MORGAN (acting)
October 26, 1904
WILLIAM R. WILLCOX
January 1, 1905
EDWARD M. MORGAN (acting)
July 1, 1907
EDWARD M. MORGAN
September 1, 1907
EDWARD M. MORGAN
(reappointed)
December 14, 1911
ROBERT F. WAGNER
April 22, 1916. Declined
THOMAS G. PATTEN
March 16, 1917
EDWARD M. MORGAN
(reappointed)
July 1, 1921
[Illustration: _Some of the Early Postmasters of New York City._ ]
_Early New York_
The first ships which arrived after the settlement of New York as New
Amsterdam brought letters, and the first post-office, such as it was,
began to function about the time the city was founded.
When vessels arrived, those letters relating to the cargoes were
delivered to merchants; persons who welcomed the ships received
their letters by hand. If a letter was unclaimed, it was left with a
responsible private citizen until called for.
In time a system of voluntary distribution was developed, which became
known as the "Coffee House Delivery." It was naturally popular and
continued for over a century. At first this method of delivery was used
by vessels and by people from distant points who left their mail for
delivery at some well-known tavern. Here it reposed in a box accessible
to all, or it was tacked to the surface of a smooth board with tape or
brass-headed nails and placed in a conspicuous part of the tavern.
In the year 1710 the postmaster-general of Great Britain designated a
"chief letter office" in the City of New York, Philadelphia having been
the headquarters of the Colonial organization up to that time. In the
following year arrangements were completed for the delivery of Boston
mail twice a month, and a foot-post to Albany was proposed.
In 1740 a complete road was blazed from Paulus Hook, Jersey City, to
Philadelphia, over which the mail was carried on horseback between
Philadelphia and New York.
Alexander Colden was postmaster here at the time of the Revolution,
but when the British troops took possession of New York, the office
was abolished by the provost-marshal and for seven years little
correspondence not connected with the movement of troops was handled.
William Bedloe, after whom Bedloe's Island was named, was the first
postmaster after the war, but in 1786 Sebastian Bauman succeeded him.
_The New York General Post-office To-day_
The world's greatest post-office to-day is the New York General
Post-office, located at Eighth Avenue and West 33d Street, but a short
block from the West Side Office of the Manufacturers Trust Company,
and we are glad to be able to include in this booklet a message to our
readers from Hon. E. M. Morgan, Postmaster, who directs the activities
of that great organization.
[Illustration]
THE NEW YORK GENERAL POST-OFFICE OF
THE PAST, THE PRESENT, AND
THE FUTURE