Series A-4-3: William A. Davis Papers, ca. 1862-1934
Scope and Contents note
The collection includes extensive correspondence, written between 1884 and 1911, among W. H. Gordon and former railway and post office employees, attesting that the idea of a railway mail car originated with William A. Davis. There is one letter written by Davis to G. W. McLellan, Postmaster General, in 1862, describing his method of distributing mail on train cars. There are photographic portraits of Davis, Gordon, and other men connected with the Railway Mail Service who were acquaintances or colleagues of Davis. There are also 1920s news clippings detailing Davis’s history, as well as materials regarding a bronze tablet to be placed in the St. Joseph Post Office in honor of Davis. Among the items not directly related to Davis are two issues of The Railway Post Office newsletter from 1905-06, an extract from “A Life Span and Reminiscences on Railway Mail Service” written by James E. White in 1910, and a copy of the 1885 contract between the U. S. Postal Service and the CB&Q Railroad Company.
Dates
- Creation: ca. 1862-1934
Creator
- From the Record Group: Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company Records are open for research in the Special Collections Reading Room; 1 box at a time (Priority III).
Biographical/Historical note
William A. Davis was born in Barron County, Kentucky, in 1809. He worked as an assistant postmaster in Richmond, Virginia, until 1855. Subsequently serving as a postmaster in St. Joseph, Missouri, Davis was believed to be the first person to suggest the idea of sorting and distributing mail while in transit on train cars—a plan that was originally carried out in 1862 on the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad between Quincy, Illinois, and St. Joseph. He conceived of this system as being the more efficient successor to the Overland Pony Express. Davis died in St. Joseph in 1875. His son-in-law, William H. Gordon, spent twenty years gathering evidence to prove that Davis was the originator of the Railway Mail Service after the honor was to be given to Col. Geo. B. Armstrong.
Extent
0.5 boxes
Arrangement note
Arranged alphabetically.
Repository Details
Part of the The Newberry Library - Modern Manuscripts and Archives Repository
60 West Walton Street
Chicago Illinois 60610 United States
312-255-3512
reference@newberry.org