THE POSTAL SYSTEM OF THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS
1
An account of the establishment and operation of the postal
system of the Republic of Texas will necessarily date from Octo-
ber, 1835. This paper is not concerned with the system of mail
transportation in operation during the period of Mexican rule,
nor has the system of communication of the committees of safety
and correspondence preceding the revolution been included. The
records are fragmentary and incomplete, and this account is as
full as has been possible in the face of this condition.
On October 20, 1835, Mr. A. Thomson made a motion in the
Permanent Council that a committee be appointed to look after
mail routes. The President appointed J. S. Hood, Joseph Bryan,
and A. Houston.
2 This is the first record of any action to estab-
lish a mail system in the Republic of Texas. On October 23,
the Council went into a committee of the whole on the subject
of mails, and, "after due deliberation, appointed John Rice Jones
postmaster-general to take charge of the affairs and put them
into operation."
3 He was to do this as soon as possible.
This committee on mail routes also presented on the 30th an
outline plan for carrying out the organization of a post-office de-
partment. It set forth the need of communication between the
different parts of the country, and recommended that weekly
service be put into operation from San Felipe to San Augustine,
from San Felipe to Velasco, from San Augustine to Bevil's Mill,
from San Felipe to the Sabine River, and, as soon as it could be
clone with safety, from San Felipe to Bexar. It recommended
that the postmaster-general be authorized to open subscriptions to
obtain contributions or loans to aid in putting the project into
immediate operation. And it resolved further, that the post-
master-general be empowered to ask and demand and receive
fixed rates of postage for all letters and packets transported by
mail.
4
On November 3, 1835, the Permanent Council reported to the
Consultation that it had ordered to be carried into effect, by
subscription and under certain regulations, a mail service from
San Felipe de Austin to Cantonment Jessup in the United States,
to the headquarters of the army, or to Bexar, and to Velasco. It
recommended that the Consultation take up the subject at a suit-
able time and that branch routes be ordered.
5
Governor Henry Smith made reference to the post-office depart-
ment in his message to the General Council on November 16,
1835. He commended the action of the previous council and urged
an extension of the work and its continuation during the war. He
also recommended the appointment of a postmaster-general.
6
The Council accordingly referred this portion of the message to
the committee on state and judiciary, which was composed of
D. C. Barrett, Daniel Parker, and J. A. Padilla. On November
27 this committee reported. They reviewed the partial organization
of the post-office department by the Permanent Council; spoke of
Jones, the temporary postmaster-general, in high terms, calling
attention to the governor's endorsement of him, and urged that
he be made permanent postmaster-general; and offered an ordi-
nance creating a permanent general post-office department. This
report was adopted,
7 and on December 7 the ordinance creating
the general, post-office department was passed.
8 It was approved
by the governor December 13, 1835. The ordinance embraces
thirty-five sections and sets forth in detail the postal laws and
regulations. For a clear understanding of the foundation of the
system, the first section, establishing the system, is quoted:
Sec. 1. ... There shall be, and there is hereby created
and established a General Post-Office, to be under the charge and
direction of a Postmaster-General to be appointed by the Gen-
eral Council, who shall give bond with approved security, in a
sum not less than five thousand dollars, payable to the Governor
for the time being, and his successor in office. The Postmaster-
General shall have power to appoint the necessary assistants and
clerks for doing the business of his office; he shall establish Post-
Offices and appoint postmasters at such places as he shall deem
expedient, on the Post-Roads that are or may be established by
Ordinances and Decrees of the Provisional Government; he shall
give instructions to the postmasters and all other persons he
shall employ, or who may be employed in any of the departments
of the General Post-Office, relative to their several duties; he
shall provide for the carriage of the Mail on all post-roads that
are or may be established by the Ordinances and Decrees of the
Government aforesaid, as often as he shall think proper, having
regard to the productiveness thereof; he shall obtain from the
several postmasters their accounts and vouchers for the receipts
and expenditures of their several offices once in every three months,
or oftener if he think proper, showing the balance thereon in
favor or against the General Post-Office; he shall pay all neces-
sary expenses incident to the General Post-Office in consequence
of mails, collection of the revenue, and in the general manage-
ment thereof, from the incomes of the General Post-Office De-
partment, if the receipts thereof be sufficient, otherwise he shall
report the deficiency to the Governor of the Provisional Govern-
ment, who shall submit the same to the legislative power for
providing ways and means for such deficiency; he shall prose-
cute, or cause to be prosecuted, all offences against the General
Post-Office establishment; he shall render an account, current,
to the Provisional Government of Texas once in every three
months, of all the receipts and expenditures in the said Depart-
ment, to be adjudicated and settled as other public accounts, at
the same time stating generally the condition of the Depart-
ment, suggesting such improvements as, in his opinion, may be
useful and necessary, and he shall render his first quarterly ac-
counts on the first day of March, eighteen hundred and thirty-
six; he shall have a general superintendence of the business of
the said Department in all the duties that are or may be as-
signed to it; provided, that in case of death, resignation, or re-
moval from office of the Postmaster-General, all the duties of
the Department shall be performed by his assistant, or chief clerk,
until a successor shall be appointed to take charge of the General
Post-Office Department.
9
When the First Congress of the Republic assembled, the matter
of the post-office department was brought before that body, and
on December 20, 1836, Congress passed and President Houston
approved an act creating a general post-office department and
making provisions for carrying it into effect. This was almost
identical with the law of December 7, 1835, having only the fol-
lowing variations: that the postmaster-general should be nomi-
nated by the president, subject to approval or rejection by the
senate; that he should hold office for a term of three years; and
that he should render his first quarterly account on the first day
of April, 1837.
1
This act was in operation, with a few amendments, until Feb-
ruary 5, 1840, when the Fourth Congress passed an act "to amend
and reduce into one, the several laws regulating the post-office
department."
2 This provided that the postmaster-general should
make a report every three months to the secretary of the treasury
of all receipts and disbursements, that the bond of the postmaster-
general should be increased to twenty-five thousand dollars, and
that a number of new mail routes should be established.
This law was in operation until the Republic of Texas became
a State and the mail service was absorbed by the Government of
the United States. A few amendments were made, however, of
which one may be noted. On January 18, 1841, an act was passed
by the Fifth Congress abolishing the office of postmaster-general,
and creating in the state department a bureau styled "The General
Post-office." A clerk was to be appointed by the secretary of state
to perform the duties of the postmaster-general.
This gives briefly an account of the establishment of the post-
office department in the Republic of Texas and of the main acts
governing its operation.
We have seen that the Permanent Council appointed John Rice
Jones to act as postmaster-general, and that when the Consulta-
tion met in November Governor Smith recommended that Jones
be confirmed, which was done. Jones continued in office until
1836, when he was succeeded by Robert Barr. Barr held the
office until his death in October, 1839, when E. S. C. Robertson
became acting postmaster-general and served until December, 1839,
when John Rice Jones was again appointed. This time Jones
kept the office until it was abolished in January, 1841.
3 During
the operation of the general post-office as a bureau of the state
department, the following served as chief clerks: George W.
Sinks, A. C. Hyde, W. D. Miller, John Hall, Dan T. Toler, and
Joseph Daniels.
4
The acts described in the preceding part of this paper show
that the duties of the postmaster-general were many and arduous.
The establishment of post-offices,, appointment of postmasters, and
the making of contracts for carrying the mails in a country sparsely
settled and having bad roads, and with no money provided for
carrying on all this business, called for the activities of a master
mind. The whole plan, as established and put into operation by
the first postmaster-general, John Rice Jones, was modeled after
the system of the United States. Forms and blanks were sent to
the governor and Council from the United States for that pur-
pose by Edward Hall in 1835.
5
The duties and salary of the postmaster-general remained prac-
tically the same as under the Provisional government. The salary
was two thousand dollars a year. The act of 1840 increased the
bond of the postmaster-general to twenty-five thousand dollars.
After the abolition of the office the clerk in the state department
received from six hundred dollars to nine hundred dollars a year.
When the Permanent Council proposed the first mail route from
San Felipe de Austin to Cantonment Jessup, to the headquarters
of the Army, or to Bexar, and to Velasco, the expense was to be
met by subscription supplemented by the income from the postage
rates as fixed by the Council. This was the beginning of the mail
service in Texas before the Republic was organized.
6 The Gen-
eral Council made no appropriations for the post-office department,
but instructed the postmaster-general to report the deficiency and
this would be met by the ways and means committee of the legis-
lature.
The First Congress appropriated on December 20, 1836, one
thousand dollars "for the purpose of facilitating the transportation
of the mail, the same to be paid out of any money not otherwise
appropriated."
7 The next day Congress passed an act providing
that any one, who had accounts against the post-office department
for transporting the mail any time during the year 1837, might
take the same in land at fifty cents per acre by paying the fees for
recording and surveying; provided, that the land should be located
in tracts of not less than three hundred and twenty acres in the
form of a square. The certificate of the postmaster-general should
be sufficient evidence of any such claims in any land office in the
Republic. It was further provided that the lands could not be
located until six months after the land office had opened.
8
In November, 1837, Congress passed an act appropriating ten
thousand dollars for the use of the post-office department.
9 This
was to supplement the income from postage fees, which were used
to support the system.
On December 13, 1838, an act was approved by President Lamar
appropriating twenty-five thousand dollars for the use of the de-
partment;
1 fifteen thousand dollars additional was appropriated
January 26, 1839.
2 This was done because the duties of the de-
partment had greatly increased, many new routes had been estab-
lished, and weekly mails were substituted for the semi-monthly
mails on many routes.
In the general appropriation bill for 1840, approved February
3, 1840, the following items were appropriated for the post-office
department: For compensation of the postmaster-general, $3,000;
for compensating the clerks of the bureau, $4,700; for contingent
expenses of the post-office department, $1,400; for transportation
of the mails under orders and direction of the postmaster-general,
for the year 1840, $100,000.
3 By act of January 28, 1841, $50,000
in promissory notes and all the moneys arising from the receipts
of the department during the year were appropriated for the year
1841.
4
than ten dollars a mile per annum shall be paid to Highsmith
and Jones for carrying the mail on Route 30, between Austin and
Houston." 5 A supplementary act on February 3, 1842, appropri-
ated: For salary of chief clerk, $600; for probable deficiencies,
under contracts for carrying mails, etc., $5,000; for amount due
mail carriers for 1841, $4,258.81, to be apportioned to each ac-
cording to the sum due him, this appropriation being only one-
half the whole amount due. 6
The general appropriation bill, approved January 6, 1843, set
aside the following for the post-office bureau: For contingent
expenses, $500; for transporting the mails, $12,000, and all the
moneys arising from receipts of the department during the year
1843.
7
On January 14, 1843, Congress passed an act authorizing an
audit of the residue of claims against the government for carrying
the mails during 1841 and 1842, and appropriated $600 to pay
mail contracts for 1839. This act provided that when the claims
should be audited, they should be receivable in payment of direct
taxes, at the same rate as exchequer bills were received for the
same dues.
8
The next year, on January 6, 1844, Congress appropriated
$3,742.36 for the purpose of continuing the mails until March 1,
1844;
9 and the general appropriation bill, approved February 5,
1844, carried the following items for the post-office bureau: For
contingent expenses (printing, fuel, mail bags, mail locks, etc.),
$500; for transporting mails for 1844 and part of 1845, $12,000,
and all the moneys arising from receipts of the bureau and salary
for two clerks, amount to be taken out of $11,600, appropriated
for payment of sixteen government clerks.
1
An act approved February 1, 1845, making appropriations for
the support of the government, set aside the following for the post-
office: For contingent expenses, $1,360; for transporting the mails,
$15,000, and all the moneys arising from receipts of the bureau
and salary of two clerks, amount to be taken from $13,250 appro-
priated for payment of government clerks in different departments.
2
April 22, 1846, the First Legislature passed a joint resolution
asking relief for mail contractors who had continued to carry the
mails after February 16, 1846, the date when annexation became
effective. This called attention to the fact that after February 16,
1846, the transportation of the mails was chargeable to the United
Statets government, and that Texas had so notified her contractors,
but had suggested to them, to continue to carry the mails and to
open accounts with the Federal Government after that date.
3 The
contractors, with a few exceptions, relying on the justice of the gov-
ernment, continued to carry the mails until superseded by other
contractors. In view of these facts, the legislature instructed the
United States senators from Texas to urge the passage of a law
authorizing the postmaster-general of the United States to pay
these contractors.
In his annual report for the year ending June 30, 1846, the
first assistant postmaster-general of the United States, S. R. Hob-
bin, said that $9,189 had been paid out for the operation of the
mail service from February 16, 1846, to June 30, 1846. He
stated that other expenditures incident to transportation, such as
amounts paid for ship, steamboat, and way letters, etc., was not
included in this amount, because these accounts were paid from
a separate appropriation. According to this report, there were
3,786 miles of mail routes in operation in Texas at that time.
Continuing, Mr. Hobbin made the following statement concern-
ing the operation of the mail service in Texas at this time:
The service in Texas has not been satisfactorily performed.
Upon the passage of the act of May 29, 1846, establishing post-
routes in Texas, the late Postmaster-General of Texas, Daniel J.
Toler, was appointed the special agent of the department, and
despatched with proper instructions to put the routes in opera-
tion, and superintend the service generally. A contract was made
with Charles Morgan, to transport the mails from New Orleans
to Galveston and back, once in every five days, in ocean steamers.
The Galveston
and New
York
were engaged in the performance
of this service, when the New
York
was lost in a storm, on the
gulf. The agent, Toler, was on board, and reported the loss of
his papers connected with the service, which had been prepared
for the department. The other vessel, the Galveston,
it is under-
stood, has been much engaged in the transportation of troops and
supplies to the Rio Grande. Irregularity in the delivery of the
mails to Galveston ensued. Independently of this, great derange-
ment of the mail service existed in other parts of Texas, and was
justly the cause of much complaint. So soon as the department
was informed of this state of things, which information was
greatly delayed from some unknown cause, a second agent was
despatched to Texas, with proper instructions for the regulation
of the service; and the postmaster at New Orleans was directed
to forward the mails to Galveston whenever opportunity occurred,
under the provisions of the 17th and 18th sections of the act of
1825. The facts of the case did not seem to warrant an annul-
ment of so favorable a contract as the one with Mr. Morgan, who,
it is expected, will, at no distant day, supply the place of the
New York, and cause the service to be again regularly performed.
Recent reports from the agents in Texas induce the belief that
the whole service in Texas will soon be in operation, as author-
ized by the act of Congress.
4
In the decree creating a general post-office department, passed at
San Felipe, December 12, 1835, the following rates of postage
were adopted: Letters containing a single sheet of paper and
conveyed any distance not exceeding twenty miles, six and one-
fourth cents; over twenty miles and not exceeding fifty miles,
twelve and one-half cents; over fifty miles and not exceeding one
hundred miles, eighteen and three-fourth cents; over one hundred
miles, and not exceeding two hundred miles, twenty-five cents;
all distances exceeding two hundred miles, thirty-seven and one-
half cents; on all ship letters, six and one-fourth cents additional
to be charged. On all letters containing two pieces of paper,
double these rates was to be paid; on all containing three pieces
of paper, treble these rates; and for any packet containing four
or more pieces of paper or other things, and everything of one
ounce, quadruple these rates; and in that proportion for all greater
weights. On all letters and newspapers going out of Texas the
postage must be prepaid.
5 The act of December 20, 1836, recom-
mended practically the same rates as those fixed by the Permanent
Council in October 30, 1835, which were not materially different
from those just listed.
6
On December 18, 1837, Congress changed the rates as follows:
For every letter composed of a single sheet of paper and conveyed
any distance not exceeding forty miles, twelve and one-half cents;
over forty miles and not exceeding one hundred miles, twenty-five
cents; over one hundred miles and not exceeding one hundred and
fifty miles, fifty cents; upon all ship letters, six and one-fourth
cents additional was to be charged. For every package composed
of four or more pieces of paper and weighing one ounce,
quadruple those rates; and in that proportion for all greater
weights. Newspapers carried not over one hundred miles, one
cent each; over one hundred miles, two cents. Pamphlets carried
not over one hundred miles, one and one-half cents per sheet;
over one hundred miles, two and one-half cents. On all mail
matter going out of Texas postage must be prepaid.
7
The act of February 5, 1840, did not change the rates of postage
on letters and newspapers, but fixed the following rates on pam-
phlets: Pamphlets carried not over fifty miles, per sheet, one
cent; not over one hundred miles, per sheet, one and one-half cents;
over one hundred miles, per sheet, two and one-half cents.
8
By an act of the Fifth Congress, approved January 28, 1841,
the rates of postage as provided by previous laws were doubled.
And on all letters intended to be conveyed by any ship or vessel
beyond the sea, or received from any place beyond sea, there was
to be paid an extra fee of fifty cents at the time of its reception.
9
A law of February 1, 1842, provided that all postage should be
paid in gold, silver, or exchequer bills authorized to be issued by
the act of the Sixth Congress. The following rates were to go into
effect after March 31, 1842: For each letter composed of a single
sheet of paper and conveyed not to exceed fifty miles, twelve and
one-half cents; over fifty miles and not exceeding one hundred
miles, eighteen and three-fourths cents; over one hundred miles
and not exceeding two hundred miles, thirty-one and three-fourths
cents; on all ship letters, six and one-fourth cents additional was
to be charged; on all double letters, double the above rates; on
each newspaper conveyed not exceeding one hundred miles, one
cent; over one hundred miles, two cents; on all pamphlets or
books for each sheet the same as newspapers. For all free letters
received and distributed, postmasters were entitled to receive one
cent and should retain this amount out of the quarterly returns.
Postmasters were required to pay the master of any foreign vessel
two cents for each letter delivered within twenty-four hours after
their arrival.
1
On January 16, 1843, the Seventh Congress reduced the postage.
For letters the rates were to be again the same as those fixed by
the law of December 18, 1837. For letters or packages made up
and sealed in letter form, weighing one ounce and less than two
ounces, conveyed not to exceed fifty miles, quadruple the rate of
a letter for that distance; over fifty miles and not to exceed one
hundred miles, or over one hundred miles and not to exceed two
hundred miles, quadruple the rate for single letters for these dis-
tances; for packages of two ounces, six times the amount of single
letters, and so on in like proportion. Ship letters were to be
charged twelve cents additional; letters lodged for delivery were
to be charged twelve and one-half cents additional; way letters
were to have on them a postage of twelve and one-half cents
additional. Each newspaper, conveyed not exceeding one hundred
and fifty miles, two cents, over one hundred and fifty miles, three
cents. Books and pamphlets were to have the same rates as news-
papers per sheet.
2
January 27, 1844, the Eighth Congress again modified the rates
of postage: On each single letter, conveyed less than one hundred
miles twelve and one-half cents; over one hundred miles, twenty-
five cents; double letters, double this amount; treble letters, treble
this amount; packages of one ounce, quadruple the above rates;
and so on in like proportion. On ship letters the extra fee was
to be six and one-fourth cents; on way letters, six and one-fourth
cents. Newspapers conveyed one hundred miles or less, one cent;
over one hundred miles, two cents; foreign papers, one cent addi-
tional to the regular rates. Books and pamphlets were to be
charged the same rates as newspapers. The postage was to be
paid in gold, silver, or exchequer bills.
3
The rates were lowered by the Ninth Congress, on January 30,
1845, to the following: Each single letter, conveyed less than one
hundred miles, ten cents; over one hundred miles, twenty cents;
double letters, double this rate; treble letters, treble this rate, and
so on; each package quadruple this rate, if it weighed one ounce
or less; ship letters five cents extra; way letters, five cents; news-
papers, conveyed one hundred miles or less, one cent; over one
hundred miles, two cents; foreign papers, one cent additional;
books and pamphlets the same rates as papers.
4
In the changes pointed out in the above paragraphs, two im-
portant facts appear: (1) The high rates charged as compared
with the present day rates; (2) the frequent changes made in the
rates. The high rates may be accounted for by remembering the
sparse settlements, the bad roads, the dangers encountered in
transporting the mails, and the depreciated currency in which the
postage was paid. The frequent changes are due to the fact that
the government was handicapped financially and endeavored to
meet the deficiencies in the department by changing the rates to
gain more funds.
By the first decree creating a general post-office department,
franking privileges were allowed the following officers: Each post-
master, provided the package did not exceed half an ounce in
weight; the president and members of the General Council of the
Provisional Government; secretary of the General Council, during
actual attendance upon a session of the Council and for thirty
days thereafter; the governor of the Provisional Government,
treasurer, and postmaster-general; officers of the army and navy,
officers of the revenue, when communicating on subjects connected
with public service. These persons must all write their names and
offices on the outside of letters and manuscripts they wished to
frank; and the officers of army, navy, and revenue must add, "On
Public Service." This provision allowed letters or packages going
either to or from these persons to be carried free of charge.
All publishers of newspapers in Texas could send free of post-
age one copy to each of the other publishers in the State. Pub-
lishers were allowed to send out or receive from out of the State
as many as fifty copies post free under such regulations as the
postmaster-general might provide.
The act of the First Congress, approved December 20, 1836,
continued franking privileges to the same persons, and in the
same way. In January, 1839, it was discovered that the franking
privilege was not extended to the vice-president of the Republic,
so by a special act, approved January 23, 1839, this privilege was
accorded to him and to other officers of the Republic. The frank-
ing privilege continued, with a few minor changes, until the end
of the Republic. The act of 1840 provided that publishers of
the newspapers could receive or send out of the State only thirty
papers free of charge, instead of fifty.
5
The ordinance passed by the General Council in 1835 empow-
ered the postmaster-general to appoint postmasters at such places
as he deemed expedient. It provided also that he should allow
to postmasters such commissions on the money arising from
postage on letters as should be adequate for their respective
services and expenses. But it further provided that the said com-
mission should not exceed thirty per cent, of the first hundred
dollars each quarter, twenty-five per cent, on a sum over one hun-
dred and not exceeding three hundred dollars, twenty per cent.
on any sum over four hundred dollars and not exceeding two
thousand dollars, and eight per cent, on all sums exceeding two
thousand dollars. Postmasters employed in receiving and de-
spatching foreign mails were allowed a sum not to exceed twenty-
five dollars a quarter over and above the regular commission.
Those who were required to keep a register of the arrival and
departure of the mails were allowed ten per cent. for each monthly
return thereof to the postmaster-general.
6
The First Congress in 1836 made a few unimportant changes
in these rates. It empowered the postmaster-general to appoint
postmasters at such places as he should see fit, authorized him to
allow postmasters such commissions on money arising from post-
age as should be adequate to their duties and expenses, and pro-
vided that these commissions should not exceed twenty-five per cent.
on the first hundred dollars, twenty per cent. on amounts over one
hundred and not exceeding three hundred dollars, ten per cent.
on any sum over three hundred and not exceeding two thousand
dollars, and five per cent. on any sum collected over twenty-four
hundred dollars. Postmasters employed in receiving and despatch-
ing foreign mail were allowed twenty-five dollars extra per quarter;
fifty per cent. was allowed on all postage arising from newspapers,
magazines, and pamphlets; and two dollars per month for each
register showing the arrival and departure of mails.
7 So far as
can be ascertained this same method and rate of compensation re-
mained in operation until the postal system of Texas was trans-
ferred to the United States in 1846.
No record is available as to the exact date the first route went
into operation in Texas, but it was about 1835. We have already
noticed the recommendations of the Permanent Council that mail
routes be established by subscription, under certain regulations,
"from San Felipe de Austin to Cantonment Jessup in the United
States, to headquarters of the Army or to Bexar, and to Velasco,
and that branch routes be established at suitable times."
In section 34 of the ordinance passed by the General Council
on December 12, 1835, a mail or post route was established from
the General Post-office to the principal town of each municipality
of Texas. These routes were to go into operation as soon as con-
tracts could be made by the postmaster-general for transporting
the mails, the postmaster-general being authorized to regulate and
determine the post-roads on which said mails were to be carried,
and how often they were to be carried, etc.
8
office to the headquarters of the Army; also to Gaines's Ferry on
the Sabine River, via Washington, Nacogdoches, and San Augus-
tine; also from Velasco, via Brazoria, Columbia, and Washington,
to Viesca; from Liberty, via Jasper and San Augustine to Nash-
ville in Shelby County. These routes went into effect as soon as
the postmaster-general could make the proper contracts. 9 In
June, 1837, he was authorized to extend mail routes via Ballou's
and Gaines's Ferries, so as to communicate with the United States
mail, and to pay for any services already rendered to effect that
object. 1 In December, 1837, he was instructed to establish as
soon as practicable a mail route from Nacogdoches, via Epperson's
Ferry on the Sulphur Fork, to the county seat of Red River
County, Jonesborough, to the county seat of Fannin County,
and to look to it that the mail was carried over said route once
every two weeks. Such post-offices were to be established along
this route as the postmaster-general should deem necessary and
proper. 2 In May, 1838, bi-weekly service was ordered from Gal-
veston to Matagorda and Texana via Velasco and Quintana. At
the same time the following routes were ordered into operation:
From the town of Bastrop to the residence of Reuben Hornsby
on the Colorado River; from Anahuac, Liberty County, to the
house of Thomas Stubblefield on Trinity River, in Liberty County;
from Shelbyville, in Shelby County, to the town of Milam, in
Sabine County, via Hamilton on the Sabine River. 3
In December, 1838, the route from Houston to Nacogdoches
via Cincinnati was changed so that after leaving Cincinnati it
passed by Mustang Prairie Post-office, thence to Crockett, in
Houston County, thence to intersect the existing route at Wil-
liams's on the Neches River.
4 Another route authorized at this
time, proceeded from Houston to San Augustine via Captain
Hiram's on the Trinity River, Belt's on the Neches River, B. W.
Harvey's on the Angelina River, and Nathaniel Hunt's on Ayish
Bayou. Mail was transported weekly over this route. A bi-
weekly route was also established from Jasper to Belgrade.
5
In January, 1839, weekly routes were established: From Texana
to San Antonio, and from Victoria to Live Oak Point; the mail
leaving Texana immediately after the arrival of the mail from
Houston.
6 About the same time a bi-weekly mail was inaugurated
from Clarksville to Shelton on Sulphur Fork; a weekly route from
Crockett to [Fort] Houston via Brownville; from Myrtle Springs,
in Red River County, to Fulton on Red River; from San Augus-
tine to Port Caddo, via Shelbyville and Shelton's store, with post-
offices at Shelton's store, at Bristow's Ferry, at Thomas Timmons's,
and at Port Caddo. This route was extended from Port Caddo
to Coffee's Station in Fannin County.
7
The act of February 6, 1840, which reduced into one the vari-
ous laws relating to the post-office department, abolished all routes
except the following thirty-six:
No. 1. From Houston to Galveston, via Harrisburg, Lynch-
burg, Spilman's Island, and New Washington.
8
No. 2. From Houston to Cincinnati, via Spring Creek, Mount
Vernon, and Huntsville.
No. 3. From Cincinnati to Nacogdoches, via Neches, Mustang
Prairie, Crockett, and Mount Sterling.
No. 4. Nacogdoches to McClannahan's Post-office, Louisiana,
via San Augustine, Milam, Gaines's Ferry, and Sabine Town.
No. 5. From Nacogdoches to Epperson's Ferry.
9
No. 6. From Epperson's Ferry to Jonesboro, via Myrtle Springs,
Dekalb, and Clarksville.
1
No. 7. From Jonesboro to the seat of Justice of Fannin County,
via Franklin, Johnson, Raleigh, and Lexington, Fannin County.
No. 8. From the seat of Justice of Fannin County to Coffee's
Station, via Warren.
No. 9. From Clarksville to the seat of Justice of Fannin
County, via Lexington, Red River County, and Shelton's and
English's.
2
No. 10. From San Augustine to Port Caddo, via Shelbyville,
Shelton's, and Elysian Fields.
3
No. 11. From Houston to Swartwout, on Trinity River.
4
No. 12. From Liberty to Lyons' Post-office, Louisiana, via Pine
Island, Patillo's, Richland, Jefferson, and Beaumont.
No. 13. From Jefferson to Hamilton, on Sabine River, via
Jasper, Zavala, San Augustine, and Shelbyville.
No. 14. From Jasper to Salem.
No. 16. From Matagorda to Egypt, via Preston's and Peach
Creek.
No. 18. From Egypt to La Grange, via Columbus.
No. 19. From Velaseo to San Felipe, via Crosby's, Brazoria,
Marion, Orozimbo, and Big Creek.
No, 20. From San Felipe, to La Grange, via Dr. Punchard's,
Centre Hill, Cedar Creek, Washington, Independence, Gay Hill,
Oak Grove, and Rutersville.
No. 21. From Independence to Franklin, via Mound Prairie,
Fort Oldham, Tenoxtitlan, and Nashville.
No. 22. From Montgomery to Washington, via Rusk, and Fan-
thorpe's.
No. 23. From Brazoria to Matagorda, via Williams's at Caney
Crossing.
No. 24. From Huntsville to Swartwout, via Carolina.
No. 25. From Houston to Washington, via Myrtle Turf, and
Groce's Retreat.
No. 26. From Crockett to Fort Houston, via Bennett's Post-
office, and San Pacero.
No. 27. From Victoria to Live Oak Point, via Lamar.
No. 28. From Quintana to Galveston, via San Luis.
No. 29. From City Sabine to Beaumont.
No. 30. From Austin to Crockett, via Nashville, Franklin,
Dunn's Post-office, Tinnen's, Robins's Ferry, on Trinity River, and
Mustang Prairie.
5
No. 31. From Austin to San Antonio, via Gonzales, and Seguin.
6
No. 32. From Gonzales to Victoria.
No. 33. From Austin to Houston, via Comanche, Bastrop,
Primm's, La Grange, and San Felipe.
No. 34. From Texana to La Grange, via Stapp's, Zumwalts',
Chadoins', and Lyons'.
No. 35. From Quintana to Texana, via Matagorda.
No. 36. From Swartwout to Jasper, via Barclay's.
The postmaster-general was to inaugurate service on each of
the above routes, not already in operation, and to regulate and
determine the roads upon which the mail was to be transported.
These routes were to continue in operation during the year 1840.
On December 21, 1841, the secretary of state was authorized
to establish a weekly route from Port Lavaca to Victoria, pro-
vided, service did not exceed the average cost per mile on other
routes.
7 In January, 1842, he was authorized to establish a weekly
route from Fanthorp's post-office, in Montgomery County, by Boon-
ville, in Navasota County, to Dunn's, in Robertson County.
8
A law of January 6, 1843, amending the several laws relating
to the post-office, established the following twenty-one routes, and
no others, on which public mails should be transported:
No. 1. From Galveston to Matagorda, via San Luis, and
Velasco.
No. 2.
From Galveston to Houston.
No. 5. From Houston to Egypt, via Richmond.
No. 6. From Egypt to Victoria, via Menefee's.
No. 7.
From San Antonio to Rutersville, via Obarr's and
La Grange.
No. 8. From Rutersville to Cincinnati, via Mount Vernon, In-
dependence, Washington, Montgomery, and Huntsville.
1
No. 9. From Cincinnati to San Augustine, via Crockett, and
Nacogdoches.
No. 10. From San Augustine to Sabine Town, via Milam.
No. 11. From San Augustine to Daingerfield, via Shelbyville,
and Marshall.
No. 12. From Daingerfield to Fort English, via Boston, De-
Kalb, Savannah, and Clarksville.
No. 13. From Jasper to Sabine Town.
No. 14. From Velasco to Washington, via Brazoria, Columbia,
Richmond, San Felipe, and Burleigh.
No. 15. From Matagorda to La Grange, via Egypt, and Co-
lumbus.
No. 16. From La Grange to Austin, via Bastrop.
No. 17. From Victoria to Gonzales, via Cuero.
No. 18. From Independence to Nashville, via Caldwell.
No. 19. From Washington to Franklin, via Booneville.
No. 20. From Huntsville to Swartwout
No, 21. From Swartwout to Jasper, via Town Bluff.
2
On January 30, 1845, a route was established from Galveston
to Point Bolivar and attached to the route leading from Point
Bolivar to Patillo. At the same time all routes were revised and
weekly service provided as follows:
La Grange to Fanthorpe's, via Rutersville, Shelby's, Sieper's,
Buster's, Brenham, Independence, and Washington.
Fanthorpe's to Crockett, via McGuffin's, Huntsville, and Cin-
cinnati.
Fanthorpe's to Huntsville, via. Rusk, Jacob Shannon's, Mont-
gomery, Lone Oak, and Collard's.
Crockett to San Augustine, via Masters', Mount Airy, Douglass,
Nacogdoches, Melrose, and Flournoy's.
San Augustine to Sabine Town, via Milam.
Nacogdoches to Marshall, via Wm. Wooten's, and Henderson and
Hiram Walker's.
San Augustine to Marshall, via Shelbyville, Hilliard's, Mount
Mourn, and Parry's.
Marshall to Boston, via Daingerfield, and Weaver's.
Boston to Bonham, via DeKalb, Savannah, Clarksville, Blossom
Prairie, Paris, and Honey Grove.
Austin to Columbus, via Smithwick's, Bastrop, Mount Pleasant,
Cunningham's, Miller's, La Grange, and Frail's [Frels'] on Cum-
mings' Creek.
Columbus to Matagorda, via Egypt, Peach Creek, Preston, and
Caney.
Columbia to Galveston, via Hines', Brown's, Liverpool, and Vir-
ginia Point.
Velasco to San Felipe, via Brazoria, Columbia, Orozimbo, Big
Creek, and Richmond.
San Felipe to Franklin, via Bostwick's Crossing, Travis, Cedar
Creek, Washington, Boonville, and Wheelock's.
Franklin to Dallas, via Alta Springs, Parker's Point, Melton's,
and Chambers' Creek.
Dallas to Bonham, via M'Garrah's.
Fanthorpe's to Crockett, via Mitchell's, Leona Mills, Alabama,
and Mustang Prairie.
Crockett to Fort Houston, via Pettett's.
Washington to Houston, via Arnold's.
Houston to Galveston, via Lynchburg.
Houston to Egypt, via Hodge's Bend, Richmond, and Damon's
Mill.
Egypt to Victoria, via Texana.
Independence to Franklin, via Mound Prairie, Caldwell, Dil-
lard's, and Nashville.
Galveston to Swartwout, via Chambersia, and Liberty.
Huntsville to Jasper, via Rankin's, Swartwout, Criswell's
Hooker's, Eatcliff's, and Town Bluff.
Jasper to Sabine Town, via Williams' on Cow Creek.
Point Bolivar to Patillo's, via David Garner's, and Beaumont.
Matagorda to Port Caballo, via Matagorda Bay.
Port Lavaca to Gonzales, via Victoria and Cuero.
Clarksville to Fort Towson, U. S.
Boston to Fulton, U. S., via Moorsville.
Montgomery to Houston, via Jacob Croft's on Spring Creek.
Marshall to Greenwood, U. S., via Port Caddo.
Sabine Town to McClannahan's, U. S.
3
Contracts on these routes were to hold from April 1, 1845, to-
April 1, 1846. This same law provided for the appointment of
an agent in New Orleans to assort and forward all letters addressed
to Texas. He was to be paid $150 a year for his trouble and
expense.
water (when an opportunity occurred) all mail for Corpus Christi,
and to collect five cents extra on letters so forwarded. A route
was also established from Galveston to Matagorda, via San Luis
and Velasco, and contracts let as for the other routes. 4
In June, 1845, a route was established from San Antonio to
Laredo; and another from Corpus Christi to Point Isabel.
5 At
the same time, the secretary of state was empowered to establish
a route from Galveston to New Orleans and to contract with any
Texan vessel plying between these ports to carry the mail, pro-
vided the cost did not exceed one-half the tonnage duties on the
vessel.
6
The above routes were in operation when annexation was com-
pleted and the postmaster-general at Washington, D. C., assumed
control of the postal system of Texas.
From the reports submitted by the postmasters at the different
offices and from the reports of the postmaster-general, some esti-
mate can be formed of the volume of business transacted. The
reports for all years, however, are not available, and many of
those that are available are so incomplete that it is difficult to
get a clear conception of the system with its workings and income.
Hence, no attempt is made to give all the reports, but some rep-
resentative ones are used to show the volume of postal business.
On October 29, 1840, the postmaster-general filed a report with
President Lamar showing the receipts of the post-office depart-
ment, and offered a number of suggestions for the improvement
of the service. The income for the year 1839 is given in this
report as $12,512.84. The income for the first three quarters of
1840 was $11,640.31. During this period a number of outstand-
ing accounts were collected, making the total cash received
$16,810.54. The expenditures for the first three quarters of 1840
were $75,422.01. It is evident from this report that there was
much irregularity in reporting and remitting by the different post-
masters.
Judging from the recommendation made to President Lamar,
the entire system was in need of much improvement. Mr. Jones
states: (1) That there was great need of mail bags and mail
locks, that these had been ordered from New Orleans several
months before and the order not filled; (2) that a number of
routes had been consolidated because the carriers for different
routes traveled for long distances over the same road; (3) that
a number of offices had been discontinued because the income was
not sufficient to keep them in operation; (4) that legal proceed-
ings had been instituted against several postmasters in order to
collect outstanding accounts.
This report, with its suggestions and recommendations, was re-
ferred to the committee on post-offices and post-roads, and on
November 30, 1840, this committee made its report to Congress
approving the recommendations made by the postmaster-general.
The following are the most important recommendations: (1)
That the existing rates and charges of postage be doubled, which
increase owing to the depreciation of the currency would be but
slightly more than they were in reality a year ago, and would be
generally less than the rates now charged in the United States.
(2) That the commissions now allowed postmasters be reduced
one-half, excepting the postmasters at Austin, Houston, and Gal-
veston. (3) That any office yielding less than twenty dollars
per quarter after the first quarter be discontinued. (4) That no
offices be established or permitted within less than twelve miles
of each other. (5) That printers and publishers be required by
law to put up their papers and packages in substantial wrappers
or envelopes, left open at one end, and the whole securely tied
with strong twine. (6) That postmasters be required by law to
collect postage on newspapers for each quarter in advance. (7)
That the postmaster-general be authorized to prosecute persons
who made proposals for carrying the mail, and afterwards refused
to enter into contract under the bid accepted by the department,
for the difference between the bid so accepted and the sum for
which contracts shall afterwards be made in the same cases.
(8) That the postmaster-general be authorized to contract here-
after for payment of dues of the department in par money, or in
promissory notes at his option. (9) That no semi-weekly mails
be allowed in the Republic, except between Austin and Houston
and Galveston, during the session of Congress only. (10) That
provision be made to compel prompt delivery of all letters carried
by boats plying on the waters of the Republic and that the postage
on ship letters be increased.
7
The postmaster-general's report for the year ending March 31,
1841, gives the following receipts from postage
8:
The most complete report, and in fact the only one in which
the system of bookkeeping is clearly comprehensible, is that of
Dan T. Toler, chief clerk, to Anson Jones, secretary of state. This
report is dated December 2,1844, and it shows the following things:
(1) Quarterly returns from each post-office from October 1, 1843,
to September 30, 1844. (2) Appointments of postmasters. (3)
Cost of mail transportation, under contract from March 1, 1844,
to April 1, 1845. (4) Foreign mail transportation. (5) Com-
parative statement of revenue of various offices from October 1,
1843, to September 30, 1844.
Ninety-eight post-offices reported for the fourth quarter of 1843
and the first three quarters of 1844. A few of the larger ones are
given to show the volume of business transacted:
The total receipts from the ninety-eight post-offices reporting
were as follows:
The postmasters appointed and commissioned from October 1,
1843, to December 2, 1844, were:
The cost of transporting the mail from March 1, 1844, to April
1, 1845, thirteen months, was as follows:
The disbursements for incoming foreign mail paid by R. D.
Johnson, postmaster at Galveston, from October 1, 1843, to Sep-
tember 30, 1844, were:
This brief study of the postal system of Texas during the Re-
public shows a crude organization, but one that served a purpose
and laid the foundation for a better system. The country was
new, roads were poor, distances were great, and money was scarce.
But all these difficulties were surmounted, for communication was
a necessity. The extension of the service is an index of the settle-
ment and development of the country.
Gammel, Laws
of
Texas,
Vols. I-II.
House Journals, Fifth to Ninth Congress, Republic of Texas,
1840-1845.
Kennedy, History of Texas, II.
Post-Office
Directories,
1838-1841, 1839-1842, and 1842-1844.
Vols. 68 to 70. MS. State Department of Texas.
Post-Office
Letter
Books,
1840-1842 and 1842-1846. Vols. 71
and 75. MS. State Department of Texas.
Post-Office
Ledger,
1840-1841. Vol. 72. MS. State Depart-
ment of Texas.
Post-Office
Journal,
1840-1841. Vol. 73. MS. State Depart-
ment of Texas.
Post-Office
Day
Book,
1840-1841. Vol. 74. MS. State De-
partment of Texas.
Post-Office Accounts Approved by the Secretary of State, 1839-
1841. Vol. 53. MS. State Department of Texas.
Reports of Postmaster-General John Rice Jones, 1840-1841.
MS. Texas State Library.
U. S. Senate Documents, 29 Cong., 2 Sess. I, 684, 697.
Thrall, Pictorial History of Texas.
Western Advocate, Austin.
National Register, Austin.
Daily Bulletin, Austin.
Austin City Gazette, 1839-1842.
Morning
Star,
Houston, 1839.
Telegraph and Texas Register, Houston, 1836-1838.
Colorado Gazette and Advertiser, Matagorda, 1839-1842.
Colorado Tribune, Matagorda.
Matagorda Bulletin, 1837-1839.
Journal and Advertiser, San Augustine, 1840.
Red
Lander,
San Augustine, 1841-1844.
FOOTNOTES:
Among the most important are the following: Journal of the Perma -
nent Council, October 11-27, 1835 (The Quarterly, VII, 249-278). The
Permanent Council was a sort of central committee composed of repre-
sentatives from several municipalities and was called by Stephen F. Aus-
tin to meet at San Felipe to look after the general administration at
the beginning of the Texas Revolution. Journal of the Consultation
(Houston, 1838). The Consultation assembled November 3, 1835. It was
composed of delegates elected by the several municipalities of Texas. It
provided for a provisional government consisting of a governor and a
legislative council, and adjourned November 14. Proceedings of the Gen -
eral Council (Houston, 1839). This was the legislative body created by
the Consultation and its sessions extended from the middle of Novem-
ber, 1835, till the middle of January, 1836. Ordinances and Decrees of
the Consultation and of the General Council (Houston, 1839). Gammel,
Laws of Texas, I and II (Austin, 1898). Post-Office Directory, 1836-1842;
Volumes 68-69, and Post-Office Letter Book, 1840-1842, Volume 71, MS.,
records in State Department of Texas. House Journals, Seventh to Ninth
Texas Congresses, and United States Senate Document No. 1, 29th Con-
gress, 2d Session. A more complete bibliography will be found at the end
of the article.
December, 1836, may be noted. In December, 1838, the Second Congress
passed an act changing the rates of postage, empowering the postmaster-
general to impose fines on mail contractors for a failure to comply with
the terms of their contracts, and making it the duty of every ferryman
or keeper of a ferry on any water course to allow to pass over free of
charge the driver or carrier of the mail and any carriage or horse carry-
ing the same.
official letters signed by these officers. For a brief sketch of John Rice
Jones, see The Quarterly, II, 100-2.
exact date when each clerk was appointed is not obtainable, but it may
be determined approximately from correspondence in this letter book.
George Sinks wrote his first official letter on January 29, 1841; A. C.
Hyde wrote his first official letter on December 21, 1841; W. D. Miller
wrote his, August 10, 1842; John Hall wrote his, December 28, 1842;
Dan. T. Toler wrote his, January 12, 1844; and Joseph Daniels wrote his
first official letter on March 5, 1844.
VII, 277.
gress recognized certain routes established by General T. J. Rusk, and
instructed the paymaster to audit accounts for said routes. No records
are found to indicate just what routes General Rusk established. (Gam-
mel, Laws of Texas, I, 1087.)
the mail from Houston to Galveston twice a week, provided it could be
done for $2,500 per year. (Gammel, Laws of Texas, II, 439.)
person's Ferry was changed November 7, 1841, so as to run from Nacog-
doches to Marshall, thence to Smithland, Daingerfield, and to the county
seat of Bowie County. (Ibid., II, 676.)
changed so as to commence at the county seat of Bowie County and
proceed thence to Dekalb, Clarksville, and Jonesboro. (Gammel, Laws of
Texas, II, 676.) The route from Myrtle Springs to Fulton, Arkansas, was
changed so as to commence at the county seat of Bowie County, and go
via, Colonel Charles Morris's and David Lane's to Fulton, Arkansas.
(Gammel, Laws of Texas, II, 676.)
Red River County, to the county seat of Fannin County with post-offices
at Merrell's and at Fort English. At this time the postmaster-general
also established post-offices at Ward's, Ballard's, Haman's, and H. L. Wil-
liams's on the route from Clarksville to Shelton, and let the coutract to
have the mail carried over this route once a week. The route from Port
Caddo to Coffee's Station, established January 26, 1839, was discontinued
on December 13, 1839. (Gammel, Laws of Texas, II, 421.)
run from San Augustine by Shelbyville, Pulaski, Elysian Fields, and
terminate at Marshall, Panola County. The route from Elysian Fields to
Greenwood, Louisiana, was changed so as to have a weekly mail. (Gam-
mel, Laws of Texas, II, 676.)
lish a route from Swartwout to San Augustine with convenient offices
along the route. Also in January, 1840, the following routes were abol-
ished by Congress: From Neches to Tenoxtitlan; from Houston to Stub-
blefleld; from Houston to San Augustine. (Gammel, Laws of Texas, II,
369.)
a weekly route from Austin to Crockett, via Nashville, Franklin, Tin-
nen's, Robins' Ferry, and Mustang Prairie. The route from Houston to
Nacogdoches was then altered so as to pass directly from Cincinnati to
Crockett, discontinuing that portion of the route from Independence to
Franklin. (Gammel, Laws of Texas, II, 416.)
the same day, and Gonzales was to be made a distributing office for
Victoria, and San Antonio. (Gammel, Laws of Texas, II, 369.) Janu-
ary 5, 1840, a route was established from Colonel Harvey Jones' to
Comanche, and the postmaster-general was authorized to contract for
carrying the mail over this route once a week, provided the expense was
not more than two hundred dollars per year, and that the income from
it would amount to at least fifty dollars per year. (Gammel, Laws of
Texas, II, 408.)
gomery County, to Huntsville was changed so as to pass along the Hunts-
ville road, through Joseph Lenley's settlement, and a post-office was es-
tablished at the house of B. F. Burke at Lone Oak on said road. (Gam-
mel, Laws of Texas, II, 972.)
Journal, Ninth Congress, Appendix, 35-46. All matters under the head
ing of Annual Reports are found on pages 35-43 of House Journals, 7-9
Congress, Appendix, State Library.
How to cite:
W. L. Newsom, "Postal System of the Republic of Texas", Volume 20, Number 2, Southwestern Historical Quarterly Online, http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/publications/journals/shq/online/v020/n2/contrib_DIVL1631.html
[Accessed Mon Nov 23 17:51:37 CST 2009]
