Annual Report of the Postmaster General,1789-

Early editions of the Annual Report (title varies slightly) offer only brief summaries of a few pages each on mail service nationwide, but by the 1840s the report begins to include statistical tables on everything from missent mail (by state) to international money orders issued (by state). Although the subjects of the statistical tables vary year by year, the following remain fairly constant (year of first appearance given in parentheses):

More detailed financial statistics are often available on the largest U.S. Post Offices — for example, receipts, expenses, and money allowed for clerk hire and rent, light, and fuel. The 1970 Annual Report has a statistical overview of the history of the Post Office Department from 1789 to 1970, such as number of Post Offices and revenue. In 1971, the report reverts to a limited format, with statistics available for the most part on only a national basis.

Benjamin Franklin was appointed the first Postmaster General™ under the Continental Congress on July 26, 1775. He and his successor, Richard Bache, kept a ledger of the quarterly accounts of the General Post Office from 1775 to 1778. This ledger includes sums paid to and received from Post Offices — serving as a useful list of early Post Offices — with postmaster names sometimes noted.

Federal census records are available for every 10 years from 1790 through 1930, though most of the 1890 records were destroyed by fire. Records before 1850 contain little information beyond the name of the head of household. Beginning in 1850, the records list every household member by name, along with their age, occupation, and other information. The records are arranged by state and county, then by township or enumeration district, and then by household in the order visited by census takers. For information available by year, see “Availability of Census Records About Individuals” by the U.S. Census Bureau at www.census.gov/prod/2000pubs/cff-2.pdf.

Several of the largest U.S. cities had city directories by the end of the 1700s. By 1861, directories were printed in more than 80 cities. These directories list businesses, public and private institutions, residents and their addresses, and often contain detailed city maps. Occupation and race of residents are often noted in directories in the 19th century. City directories usually contain a separate section on the Post Office, listing the address and the name of the postmaster, and sometimes every employee, Post Office hours and mail schedule, and postal rates and regulations.

Surviving records of the Confederate Post Office Department are located at the National Archives and at the Library of Congress.

Records at the National Archives include:

A list of Post Office establishments, discontinuances, and name changes in the Confederate states beginning in 1861 (undated).

A register of accounts, 1864 to 1865, for Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas, listing name of Post Office, county/state, and receipts.

An undated list of Kentucky Post Offices, by county.

Confederate records on mail contracts and routes in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.

Confederate Post Office Department records at the National Archives are part of the War Department Collection of Confederate Records, Record Group 109.

Records at the Library of Congress include:

An Appointment Bureau list of Post Offices, 1861 to 1865, with establishments, discontinuances, and name changes noted, along with names of postmasters and appointment dates, for Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas.

A register of accounts for the quarter ending March 31, 1862, for Arkansas, Florida, Tennessee, and Texas (includes Post Office and postmaster name and financial information on the office — sometimes incomplete).

An Appointment Bureau list, 1861 to 1865, in no discernable order, of postmasters appointed in Arkansas, Indian Territory, Louisiana, and Texas (provides dates of appointment, bond and commission of the postmaster, the name and reason for leaving of the previous postmaster, the county of location, sureties' names, and miscellaneous remarks).

Journal and Orders of the postmaster general (contains lists of hundreds of postmaster appointments in the summer of 1861).

Letters sent by the postmaster general, 1861 to 1862 (contain occasional references to postmaster appointments).

Appointment Bureau letters sent, 1861 to 1865, partially indexed through November 4, 1863.

Letters sent by the Contract Bureau,1861 to 1864, mainly to contractorsand postmasters, which are indexed by recipient or Post Office name and provide details on mail service.

Confederate records on mail contracts and routes in the states of Mississippi and Virginia.

From about 1817 to 1890, the Serial Set contains records of mail contract routes (also called “star routes”). Reports show the termini of the routes, the names of the contractors selected, and other information. General indexes to the Serial Set provide the years and volume numbers of mail route records, but they contain few references to specific mail routes.

Registers of contract routes (also called “star routes”) from 1814 to 1817, in 1824, from 1828 to 1870, and from 1917 to 1960 (years vary by state) usually list names of stops along routes, names of bidders for the contracts, frequency of service, distances involved, and modes of transportation. They generally do not show the names of subcontractors or carriers employed by the contractors. In some time periods, there are indexes to mail routes by Post Office.

Contract route registers are located at the National Archives as part of the Records of the Post Office Department, Record Group 28.

In 1792, the Statutes begin to list post roads established and discontinued by Congress, with stops on the routes noted. While there is a general index by subject (“post roads”), there is no index by Post Office.

Federal Statutes are generally available at your local library.

Hugh Finlay was appointed surveyor of post roads by the British postmaster general in 1772. He kept a journal from September 13, 1773, to May 24, 1774, in which he described in rich detail the Post Offices, postmasters, and mail routes he encountered in his journeys through New England and the South. Finlay also included a description of his travels through Quebec and touched on mail service in the cities of New York and Philadelphia.

The Ledgers of the General Post Office contain the quarterly accounts of the General Post Office. These accounts include mail contractor names, their routes, and sums paid, and an alphabetical listing of Post Offices, including the postmaster's name, letter and newspaper postage collected and the postmaster's commissions on the same, and sums paid for ship letters.

The earliest letters sent by the Postmaster General, between October 3, 1789, and December 31, 1836, are arranged chronologically in 50 volumes with an index of names of addressees. The letters reference specific Post Offices, postmasters, and mail contracts, and discuss mail transportation, postal laws and regulations, and budgetary matters, among other things.

Early newspapers often contain advertisements for mail route bids and for service on various routes. They also might contain the schedule of mail arrival and changes to mail service, Post Offices, and postmasters. Note: In the 18th and early 19th centuries, postmasters were sometimes also the local newspaper editor/printer.

The biennial Official Register lists Post Offices and postal employees and their financial compensation in 1816, and in odd-numbered years from 1817 to 1911. The earliest editions of the Official Register list Headquarters employees, postmasters, Post Office clerks, and mail contractors. Route agents and mail messengers are first listed in 1855. Railway Mail Service employees and city carriers are listed beginning in 1867, and rural carriers beginning in 1899. From 1877 to 1905, the Official Register is indexed by employee name.

The Orders of the Postmaster General, referred to as the 'Journals', are arranged chronologically in bound volumes covering the period from July 7, 1835, to March 5, 1953. Noted in these volumes are Post Office establishments, discontinuances, and name and site changes, as well as information on mail routes, contractors, and carriers. Also noted, upon their dates of appointment, are the names of postmasters appointed to Post Offices, as well as the names and reasons for leaving of the previously appointed postmasters (“moved away,” “resigned,” “declined position,” etc.). Although these volumes are unindexed, they are useful to Post Office historians as a secondary source to verify pre-1880 information found in the Record of Appointment of Postmasters. (After 1880, the Postal Bulletin is available and is easier to use.) The 'Journals' are also helpful in identifying individuals who were appointed to the position of postmaster but who did not take office.

Personnel records for many postal employees whose service ended after approximately 1910 are available at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Note that some employees at smaller Post Offices — such as clerks and assistant postmasters — were employed directly by the postmaster, so federal personnel records are not available. Also, personnel records were not kept for people who carried mail on a contractual basis.

The Postal Bulletin (entitled Daily Bulletin of Orders Affecting the Postal Service prior to 1919) lists postmaster names and dates of commission until 1942. Acting postmasters are listed from 1884 to 1942. Star (contract) route establishments, discontinuances, and schedule changes are listed from 1880 to 1942, and rural route establishments, discontinuances, and changes are listed from 1898 to about 1934. The Postal Bulletin also gives Post Office establishment and discontinuance dates, as well as information on Post Office name and site changes. Beginning in 1907, the establishment and discontinuance dates of Post Office stations and branches are also provided. Note: Since the Postal Bulletin is largely unindexed, it is useful mainly as a back-up reference.

Postmaster Finder is a database maintained by the historian of the United States Postal Service. It provides the establishment and discontinuance dates of Post Offices and the names and appointment dates of postmasters, acting postmasters, and officers-in-charge who served in between the tenure of two postmasters. Dates of Post Office name and county changes are also recorded. Since its creation in 1986, Postmaster Finder has been the sole national repository of postmaster names and appointment dates, by Post Office. Pre-1986 information on Post Offices is gradually being added to the database and currently is available for about 30 percent of active Post Offices.