Tips for Researching Postmaster's in Federal Records

Source:  Mural "Ben Franklin, colonial postmaster," by George Harding at the Ariel Rios Federal Building in Washington, D.C

 from Wikimedia Commons, in the public domain.

The United States Postal Service was established in 1775 under the Second Continental Congress, with Benjamin Franklin appointed as the first Postmaster General.

Postmaster records can be found at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. (Archives I) and College Park, Maryland (Archives II). The Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C. holds some relevant materials. Personnel Records are available through National Archives in St. Louis, Missouri.

Most publicly available postal records are part of Record Group 28 (RG 28) at the National Archives catalog.

Records of the United States Postal Service 

• Civilian Personnel Files: For individuals no longer employed by the Postal Service, personnel records prior to 1951 are considered archival or open to the public. These records, covering the years 1919–1951, are housed offsite at the National Archives Annex in Valmeyer, Illinois. Records after 1952 are not available to the public. Contact the National Archives-St. Louis for requests. In person access requires an appointment.
• Appointments of Postmasters: Records include names, places, and dates of appointment of postmasters. Postmaster appointments for 1789-1832 are found in seven volumes and have been digitized and are available online. Postmaster appointments for 1832-1971 have been reproduced as Microfilm Publication M841, Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832–Sept. 30, 1971 (145 rolls). These records are arranged alphabetically by state, then by county, and by the name of the post office. . A limited index is available at Family Search.
• Reports of Site Locations: Reports covering nearest post office to current site, location of the current site, nearest railroad and station for deliveries, railroad name, and maps. The National Archives Identifier Number is 608210 The records are organized by state, county, parish or district. This series if digitized and available online.
• Substitute Mail Carriers: Registers of substitute mail carriers from 1885-1903 and divided into two volumes. Volume I and Volume II are digitized and available online.
• Rural Main Records: A number of records are available in RG28. They pertain to correspondence, inspection reports, and route information. They can be found in 28.3.5 and 28.7. Maps can be found in 28.6.2.
• Railway Postal Clerks: One roll of microfilm, M2077, holds three indexes to rosters of railway clerks, ca. 1883-ca. 1902. These records are part of Record Group (RG 28), Records of the Post Office Department, and are designated as Entry 118 in Preliminary Inventory (PI) No. 168, Records of the Post Office Department. The indexes show postal routes arranged by cities and names of clerks arranged alphabetically by the first couple of letters of the surname.
• Official Register of the United States, 1816-1959: includes postal records listing the names of postmasters, mail carriers, and other postal employees. A two-volume set covering 1879–1911 specifically compiles these records. An excellent resource on the register, written by Don Heller, is available on the Pennsylvania State University website and provides links to post office records.
• Star Routes: Contract Route Registers or "Star Routes" have registers for the years 1814-1817,1824,1828-1870, and 1917-1960. Included are the names of the stops along the routes and names of bidders for the contracts. These records can be found in Record Group 28.4.3

A comprehensive list of what is included in Record Group 28 (RG28) at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) can be found here. Click on "Search this record group in the National Archives Online Catalog" to access the catalog, which contains over 17,000 records. More than 6,000 of these records are digitized and available online.

Family Search: Additional postal resources can be found in the FamilySearch catalog by searching the keyword United States Post Office. A recent search returned over 500 items, covering topics such as postmaster appointments, record cards, lists, Benjamin Franklin’s ledgers, and more. Not all records are digitized.

US Postal Bulletin: Digitized copies of the U.S. Postal Bulletin (1880–2016) are available online at USPostalBulletins.com. Published daily except Sundays, the Bulletin focused on USPS business operations. The archives are fully indexed and searchable by full text. The website also includes a list of post offices.

Credit: The Library of Congress from Detroit Publishing Company photograph collection in the public domain. A circa 1900 photograph of Saginaw Michigan Post Office.

Library of Congress: The nation's main library in Washington, D.C., holds a vast collection of postal references, including original records, photographs, manuscripts, and other historical materials. A search of its catalog recently returned over two million resources, many of which are available online. Users can narrow their search by state to refine results; for example, a search for Michigan yielded over 18,000 records. These records include newspapers, photographs, prints, drawings, manuscripts, narratives, films, books, and more.

Many books and magazines are written about the United States Postal Service. Check Hathi Trust or World Cat to see what is available. They cover a variety of topics about the United States Postal Service.

Digging into postal records can reveal  insights into the history of the U.S. Postal Service and the individuals who contributed to its operation. Whether you're researching a relative who served as a postmaster, seeking historical mail route maps, or investigating the records of railway postal clerks, there are numerous resources available. Digitized records are now available online, and finding this information has become more convenient than ever. From the National Archives to FamilySearch and the Library of Congress, a treasure trove of knowledge awaits your exploration. So, if you have a passion for postal history, begin your search, you might just stumble upon some captivating details!

NOTE: I cannot end this blog post without acknowledging Michael Strauss, AG for his excellent coordination of the "Guide to Treasures Found in Federal Records" at Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburg (GRIP 2022), now the GRIP Genealogy Institute. 

Photograph taken at the conclusion of the class.

I had and still have many sticky notes to follow up on. The session, Postmasters and Letter Carriers: Records of the U.S. Postal Service was used as a reference for this blog post. Additionally, I spent many hours at the NARA website. Thank you Michael for the excellent presentation.

I used Michael's information to research one of my postmaster ancestors and wrote about it here.