Celebrate with FREE Admission to the Brim-DeForest Library
During the month of October, admission is free for the Brim-DeForest library at American Ancestors. Visit our Boston headquarters to explore our extensive collection of books, maps, manuscripts, and digital resources, as well as the R. Stanton Avery Special Collections—one of the world's most comprehensive collections of rare genealogical materials and published works. Learn More
From American Ancestors
Free Guide: Getting Started with America's Colonial War Veterans Research
This guide will help you use military records, muster rolls, land grants, and archival collections to research ancestors who participated in colonial conflicts in America prior to the Revolutionary War.
Beyond the Grave: Uncovering Life Stories from Death Records
Death records can include important details and clues about our ancestors’ lives and experiences. In this five-week online seminar, our experts will discuss civil death records and substitutes; last wills and testaments; funeral, burial, and cemetery records; and more. Register Now
The Weekly Genealogist Survey
This Week's Survey:
Ancestors or Relatives Who Went Bankrupt/Lost All Their Money
Share your thoughts about the survey! Please limit submissions to 150 words or fewer. Your submission may be featured in an upcoming newsletter or shared on social media; please note in your email if you do not want your story to be shared. Published responses may be edited for clarity and length.
Ancestors or Relatives Who Worked for a Postal Service
Total: 2,819 Responses
34%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors or relatives delivered mail.
40%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors or relatives worked for the US Postal Service (or a postal service in another country) in some other capacity.
3%, I work (or worked) for the US Postal Service (or a postal service in another country).
2%, I have a connection to the US Postal Service (or a postal service in another country) not mentioned above.
33%, No, I don’t think any of my ancestors worked for the US Postal Service (or a postal service in another country).
6%, I don’t know.
Readers Respond
Mary Helen Rose, Albany, Oregon: From 1943 to 1965, my maternal grandmother, Fay Templeton Dugger Zeigler, was the lone postmistress for the town of Brewster, Nebraska (the county seat for Blaine County and the smallest county seat in the United States). The post office was in her house, which was across the street from the county courthouse.
Laurie Sisson, Alexandria, Virginia: My father, C. S. Hollingsworth, worked his way through the University of Alaska as the Postmaster of College, Alaska, in the 1940s. As a toddler, I often accompanied him on deliveries. Once I dropped his keys among the bags behind the seats; he had to unload all the mail in the truck to find them.
Carl Chatto, South Portland, Maine: My grandfather Leroy Chatto worked for the post office for forty-three years, retiring in 1957. Much of his service was on the Railway Mail Service between Maine and Boston. My father, Winfield Chatto, was a mail carrier in Rockland, Maine, for thirty-five years, then became the Assistant Postmaster. He retired in 1978 after forty-two years in the post office. He also served in the 296th Army Postal Unit in World War II.
Bettie Utter, Beardstown, Illinois: My parents, John and Velma Brubeck, worked for the US Postal Service in the 1940s and through the 1950s. My father worked in the mailroom sorting mail and delivered mail to local residents. My mother sorted mail and also worked the customer window, selling stamps and handling packages brought in to be mailed.
Deborah Nowers, Belfast, Maine: My grandfather was a postal employee in Lynn, Massachusetts, for more than forty years. In 1917, he volunteered with the Expeditionary Forces to maintain soldiers’ mail in France during World War I. His collection of material, from his 1901 clerk examination results to his 1945 retirement, was the basis of a 2017American Ancestors magazine article.
Karen Ash, Boise, Idaho: My grandfather began working as a rural mail carrier in Reardan, Washington, in the 1920s. He initially used a horse and buggy to deliver mail. One time, the mail was late because the horse escaped and it took my grandfather most of the day to capture it. When he began using his personal automobile to deliver mail, he also delivered groceries to people on his route. Sometimes my brother and I were allowed to ride with him. He was an active mail carrier until his death in the 1950s.
Uncanny Testimony “As the last Holocaust survivors approach the end of their lives, an AI scholar grapples with technology that promises to freeze them in time.”
Spotlight: Digital Newspaper Collection of the Smyth County Historical Society, Virginia
by Valerie Beaudrault
Smyth County, which is seated in Marion, is located in southwestern Virginia. The Smyth County Historical Society has made a small digital newspaper collection available on its website. The collection includes issues from five Smyth County newspapers: The Marion Democrat (February-May 1942), The Marion Herald (September 1869-July 1872), The Marion Journal (June and September 1880), The Marion Times (November 1887-February 1892), and The Patriot & Herald (August 1872-December 1882). The database can be browsed or searched by using the search icon associated with each page image. Search Now
As a family historian, you know that wills are important in your research—but have you created a will for yourself? Free Will, an easy and free online will creation tool, will guide you step-by-step through identifying beneficiaries for your assets, supporting the causes that are important to you, and planning for the preservation of your research. Learn More
