Did you wonder how the mail could get to Alice so quickly?
In 1882, same-day deliver of residential mail was common in Cincinnati and other major cities. Robert wrote on the envelope of his letter to Alice that it was to be delivered by 2 p.m. This was the letter about packing their trunks for the honeymoon, and the wedding was to be at 7 p.m. that very day. Time was of the essence!
According to the United States Postal Service,1 letter carriers in major cities in 1880 were expected to make deliveries “as frequently as the public convenience . . . shall require,” Monday through Saturday. By 1905, carriers who worked out of New York City’s main post office made nine daily deliveries! Such service eventually became too expensive to continue. In 1950 the nation's postmaster general ordered postmasters to limit the number of deliveries in residential sections to one per day.
Endnotes
1 U.S. Postal Service Publication 100: The United States Postal Service – An American History 1775-2006, accessed online 20 June 2016
Other Sources:
Michael Todd, A Short History of the U.S. Mail, published in Pacific Standard online newsletter 6 February 2013. Accessed at https://psmag.com/economics/a-short-history-of-mail-delivery-52444 on 4 February 2019
Blog of the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum, accessed 4 February 2019 at https://postalmuseumblog.si.edu/2016/04/daily-deliveries-down-to-one-1950.html
2 comments:
Australia Post should take lessons. Loving your blog
Thanks, Lilian. I'm looking forward to digging deeper into your Lilian's Tree site. I'm intrigued by your "Disclosure" tab. I had never thought of posting one. Also, I see a "GeneaBloggers" badge. How do I become a GeneaBlogger? (I assume I'll need to wait until I have more on my blog to do that.)
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