Jackson County Notables
Events, locations, and industries important
to Jackson County history.
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EARLY POSTMASTERS
An Early Postmaster Kept the Mail Under His Hat
from the KC Star Centennial Edition, June 4, 1950, by Roger Swanson
A quaint old man with a stall stiff hat sat sleepily on the South bank of the
Missouri River one balmy summer afternoon of a century ago, a fishing pole
resting precariously in his hands.
The gentleman was so drowsy in the mid-afternoon sun that he did not notice the
initial tuggings at his bait by a cautious fish which zealously attacked the
morsel at the end of the line.
It was oly when, finally, the fish gave a determined lunge at the bait that
Daniel Edgerton awakened. The line cork disappeared with the fish's gulp, and
the slender pole was jerked from the sleepy fisherman's hands.
Daniel Edgerton jumped up. He sprinted up the bank, grabbed for the disappearing
pole and line and finally committed an unbalanced plunge into the Big Muddy. His
hat flew off, and, carried by a slight breeze, sailed freakishly into the center
of the wide and treacherous stream.
Pulling himself from the current, the fisherman observed the hat floating toward
St. Louis.
In a confused thirty seconds of consideration, old man Edgerton debated whether
to follow the hat downstream in a rescue attempt. What would the people think?
Would he lost his job? Would the hat be found later? But it was too late, the
hat had almost disappeared.
Why all the worry in Daniel Edgerton's mind about a hat, simply because that hat
was one of Kansas City's early day post offices, and the man beneath it was one
of the first postmasters.
As the legend goes, Edgerton was a well-liked gentleman, respected in the
community, and the confidential friend of the 200 residents of Kansas -- it
wasn't Kansas City until much later. But he didn't like to work, so he didn't.
Instead he spent most of his time hunting or fishing and frequently could be
seen along the river bank.
He carried his official duties with him. In the brim of his hat were letters for
Kansas citizens. Mail call happened whenever a resident lookup up Edgerton in
one of his fishing retreats and asked the familiar question, "Anything for
Smith?
Edgerton was the first postmaster for the incorporated town of Kansa, serving
from 185? to 1854. But he was not the first postmaster at the small town on the
banks of the Missouri at the Kaw.
~~~~~
The Days of William Clark
The postoffice here is older than the city. Five years before the city was
incorporated a group of citizens took a step that had an important bearing on
the sharp growth of Kansas City.
They decided the settlement needed a place where letters could be handled
exclusively for its residents. It was too far to trudge to Westport, four miles
away, or to Independence, especially when the trails through the forests, where
Main Street now passes, were muddy.
With appeals to the proper authorities, the town got its postoffice in 1845 and
William M. Chick, a warehouse owner and businessman, reluctantly accepted the
job as first postmaster. While Edgerton later found the job an interference with
his preferred lackadasical pursuits, Chick objected to the position, because it
was too much of a nuisance for the small compensation. The salary was $100 a
year. That first postoffice was a drawer in Chick's desk in his warehouse at the
corner of the levee and Main Street. William M. Chick died in 1845 and his son,
W. H. Chick took over until Edgerton's time.
Even the conventional pigeonhiles for distributing mail were missing in those
early days and it was not until many years later that regular clerks and a
bonafide postoffice was established.
Even postage stamps were not in use when the city's first postoffice was
established. The postage was paid in cash whenever a letter was mailed and the
envelope canceled. But the townfolk were proud of their postoffice and felt that
the town of only a few hundred citizens ranked favorably with rival Westport and
Independence.
Stage coaches which had a tedious journey of several days from St. Louis or
steamboats which laboriously chugged their way brought the letters and packages.
A postmaster's tenure then was not long, and three men held the position between
1854 and 1860 when the first substantial station was established in a small
store room at what is now Fourth and Walnut Streets. One clerk handled the
business.
~~~~~
The Forgetful Mr. Stebbins
One of these postmasters, George Stebbins, who served from 1858 to 1860, had
some eccentricities that considerably irritated the population. Stebbins was
outstandingly absentminded and occasionally would leave the post office for
lunch to get a shave and would forget to return. So lines of unhappy citizens
formed at the office, hoping he would return; or someone was dispatched to
locate him.
With the outbreak of the Civil War, the postoffice here assumed new importance
and the letter load greatly increased. Col. R. T. VanHorn, also a newspaper
editor, was the postmaster when the first news of the firing at Ft. Sumter was
told in detail in letters from the East.
In 1861, an appointee as Kansas City postmaster had a hard time when he came to
the small western town to take over his new position. He was Stephen H. Haslett,
a Pennsylvanian, named by President Lincoln.
The citizens of Kansas City didn't like the idea of the appointment of an
Easterner, especially since there were many local businessmen who had hoped to
have the post. A group of passionately loyal Confederate sympathizers here
abhorred the idea of an eastern "Yankee" as boss of the postoffice.
A short time after Haslett arrived, a delegation of malcontents visited him with
a warning."Get out of town, or we'll throw you in the river," was the
gist of their information. Haslett took the hint and left. Then Washington sent
a special agent to the mount of the Kaw to talk over the postmaster situation
with residents.
He went hom with the information that Francis Foster was the choice for
postmaster. Foster served until 1867, and had another term later.
~~~~~
A list of Kansas City postmasters:
William M. Chick 1845
W. H. Chick 1845
Daniel Edgerton 1850
Samuel Greer 1854
J. C. Ransom 1857
G. W. Stebbins 1858
Co. R. T. VanHorn 1860
S. H. Haslett 1861
Francus Foster 1861
A. H. Hallowell 1845
Co. H. B. Branch 1850
Francis Foster 1854
John B. Harris 1857
Col. T. S. Case 1858
C. M. Shelly 1860
R. S. Adkins 1861
F. B. Nofsinger 1890
Homer Reed 1894
S. F. Scott 1898
J. H. Harris 1902
W. N. Collins 1914
Baylis Steele 1916
W. E. Morton 1924
Alexander Graham 1933
Alex F. Sachs 1949
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This page was last updated August 2, 2006.