Radio Script #870

Little Talks on Common Things
December 6, 1970

Of the many subjects on this program in the past 22 years there has, as far as I know, been no mention of the Waterville Post Office. A few weeks ago the Postmaster handed me, for deposit in the Waterville Historical Society, certain old records of the Waterville office that are no longer of value to the Federal Government, but are worthy of local historical preservation. The oldest of these records is a register of money orders, either drawn or paid at the Waterville post office in the ten years that immediately followed the Civil War, 1865 to 1874.

First let us look at some of the orders drawn elsewhere and payable at the Waterville office to persons in this vicinity. It is noticeable that not all persons who received money orders at the Waterville office lived here. Some of the recipients had their homes in Fairfield, Vassalboro, Winslow, Benton, Clinton or China. The first order was dated July 3, 1865 from Albert Marble of Eastport to Howard Marston of Waterville for $30. The second was from Charles Wells of Milwaukee to Samuel Kimball of West Waterville for $20.

Remarkable is the number of orders drawn by absent husbands or other relatives, made payable to Waterville women. Abel Ware of Washington, D.C. to Mary Ware; Joseph Pearson of Cincinnati to Grace Pearson; Uriah Foster of Burlington, Iowa to Elizabeth Foster; William Mathews of Chicago to Ann Mathews; Charles Decker of San Jose, California to Frances Decker; John Crawford of Helena, Montana to Annette Crawford; George Runnels of Port Huron, Michigan to Frances Runnels; William Redington of San Francisco to Harriet Redington.

What I did not know, and what I suspect will surprise many of my listeners, is that no money order in those days could be drawn for more than $50. If the sender needed to remit more than $50, he had to send more than one money order. Among such payments at the Waterville post office in the 1860’s were four orders of $50 each sent by John Parsons of Black River Falls, Dakota Territory, to Zuloch Washburn of China; Hadley Mathews of Chicago to Francis E. Heath, 3 orders of $50 each; Cornelius Hodges of Helena. Montana to J.H. Mayo, 6 orders of $50 each.

Some of the recipients of money orders between 1865 and 1874 were students at the institution whose name, during those very years was changed from Waterville College to Colby College. Most frequent of the student names appearing in the register was that of Wilder Perry of Camden. His father, James Perry, sent Wilder $20 in April, 1868; $10 in June; and $15 in July. The orders continued at intervals until Wilder Perry graduated in 1872. Wilder was the first of Colby’s prominent Perrys. Wilder’s son Sherman, Colby 1901, became a distinguished physician whose widow, in his memory, gave the Colby infirmary on Mayflower Hill. Another son, James, Colby 1911, was in YMCA service abroad and was killed by bandits in the Balkans. Florence, Colby 1903. married Mr. Hahn of Friendship, the man who collected the most complete library of books and periodicals about Maine ever gathered into any private collection. Still living is Wilder’s son George Perry, Colby 1914, a frequent visitor on Mayflower Hill and a generous benefactor of the college. If you saw the movie Peyton Place — a picture that was filmed in Camden — you may remember that it began with a Maine farmer driving a tractor in a field. That simulated farmer and tractor driver was George Perry.

Other students at Colby who got money orders from home a hundred years ago were Harrington Putnam, who became a justice of the New York Supreme Court; William Marston from Bath; Alfred Meigs from Augusta; E.M. Shaw from Rockland; Jefferson Taylor from Ohio and Horace Stewart from Bangor.

Colby professors as well as students received some of those early money orders. In July, 1868 Henry Sawtelle of San Francisco sent Prof. Charles Hamlin $8. In March, 1869 Prof. John B. Foster got from a man in Pilot Nob, Missouri a money order for $13; and on May 20 of the same year the President of the college, James T. Champlin got an order from Skowhegan for $18.

I would be interested to know the identity of the lady in San Francisco who, on April 28. 1870, sent to Maxham and Wing, publishers of the Waterville Mail, an order for $6. She was Mrs. Louise Marriner. Was she a distant relative of mine? I have no knowledge of such a relative.

Now let us look at the other side of this picture — the money orders issued from the Waterville post office. The year 1865 must have been very near the beginning of postal money orders. At least we know it was the beginning in Waterville for the register starts with Order No.1, issued to Prof. Charles E. Hamlin on August 4, 1865, and addressed to the book dealers, Gould and Lincoln of Boston for $6.56. Many of the money orders were for insurance premiums, usually sent by some local agent. Such orders were addressed to Aetna Insurance Co., Roger Williams Insurance Co., Home Insurance Co., and Bay State Insurance. Patents were sometimes secured by Waterville citizens. On July 1, 1866 G.G. Percival sent a money order for $10 to the Commissioner of Patents in Washington.

Frequent were the money orders issued by C.F. Hathaway. Not all of them were to suppliers for his shirt factory. On April 11, 1868 he sent $20 to John Hathaway in Cincinnati, apparently a relative.

Names of Colby professors appear more frequently on the registry of senders than on that of receivers of money orders. Prof. Samuel K. Smith sent $2.50 to the publishers of the “Advance” in Chicago. Professor George Washington Keely sent $25 to Mrs. Cynthia Hutchins. Librarian Edward W. Hall sent $4.85 to F.W. Christianson in New York.

Many prominent citizens used postal money orders in those days. Dr. N.R. Boutelle in 1874 sent $10 to his young son, George K. Boutelle in Newton, Mass. Francis Heath remitted $20 to G.H. Larrabee in Boston. Rev. D.N. Sheldon, a former President of Colby, paid $7.50 to J.B. Ford & Co. of Bangor. Everett R. Drummond sent $5 to John Brent of Providence. Sheldon was not the only clergyman to use money orders. Henry Burrage, pastor of the Baptist Church and later the author of several books in his capacity as State Historian, sent $2.50 to Henry Bowen in New York and Father Halde, pastor at St. Francis de Sales, mailed an order for $18.60 to Patrick Donahue in Boston.

Some time ago on this program I told about the Heywood family of Waterville that erected the building on Silver Street known as the Heywood Block, a building torn down in the urban renewal project. I told how Charles Heywood, a young naval officer, while his ship was in the Mediterranean, had married a Spanish girl and had brought her to the family home in Waterville. After Heywood was killed in a naval accident, the widow remained in Waterville. Her name appears in this old post office registry. On July 29, 1873 Mrs. Antonia Heywood sent a money order for $44 to F.M. Stillway in New York.

In 1870 the widow of Nathaniel Gilman, Waterville’s wealthiest citizen, was still living. In July she sent an order for $50 to Frazier Gilman in Dakota Territory. The following February, Frazier was back home in Waterville, and he sent two orders for $50 each to E.R. Porter in Eden, Dakota Territory.

Among other well known Waterville residents who paid bills by money order were Dr. Frederick Thayer, Josiah Morrill, George Flood and J.D. Hayden.

Another of those old post office records was made some 30 to 50 years later than the money order register. It was the week-by-week payroll records of persons employed by the Waterville post office from 1896 to 1916, a period of twenty years. One puzzling item recurring often is “SD Messenger”. It meant, of course, the man who delivered special delivery letters. Most of the handlers of mail inside the office were called stampers.

Although rural free delivery was not extended to parcel post until 1912, rural carrier service of letters and periodicals had begun soon after 1900. The first mention of rural carriers in this Waterville record is under the date of July 1, 1902, when six rural carriers were put on the payroll. They were Fred Hamlin, John Pollard, Charles Thomas, Robert Clark, Jonah Morrill and Albert Wade. At the same time Bert Chamberlain was appointed to the office of mail messenger.

The book contains the names of several men who were appointed to post office jobs that they did not accept. One such was Charles W. Atchley, who is remembered as the humane and understanding judge of the Waterville Municipal Court. One office in 1906 was that of general utility clerk, held by Albert Clement.

The first French Canadian name appeared in 1910, when Rudolph Cote was named special messenger, and the next year saw George Dulac as assistant mail messenger. Everett Farwell, whom many of us remember, was first appointed as substitute clerk in July, 1912, and gradually rose in the service to higher positions. Frank Larrabee, long the very efficient assistant postmaster, was a chief clerk in the office in 1897 and was made Assistant Postmaster in 1901. William Pollard, raiser and trainer of saddle horses, became a rural carrier in 1913.

The first woman employed by the Waterville office was Stella Thomas, wife of Charles Thomas, who became her husband’s substitute rural carrier in 1902. In the following years it seems to have been common practice for wives to substitute for rural carrier husbands. Rowena Pollard did so for William Pollard, Elizabeth Hamlin for Fred Hamlin, Mary Wade for Albert Wade. Hugh Page. long known as a street carrier, first worked as a substitute carrier in 1904. It was 1913 when Maurice Blanchard started at the Waterville office, and two years later Leon Strong joined the staff.

Other well remembered postal workers were Leroy Jones, Bert Chamberlain, George Hoxie, Harold Hayden, Clarence McClellan and Edward Crowell.

That is the story gleaned from two record books from the Waterville post office of the days of long ago.

Year: 1970