Friday, 22 February 2019

Railway Mail Service


I have ancestors that were postmasters and mail clerks and ancestors that worked on the railroad. But not an ancestor that was a mail clerk ON the railroad! 





In Canada the railway postal workers were paid by the Auditor General and in some sessional papers the clerks were named with their salary amount.   





In the United States Railway Mail Service employees were listed in the Official Register of the United States beginning in 1867.




The postmaster and employees are named in the Proceedings of the Parliament for Australia, but I have not yet come across where rail mail clerks are listed, if in fact they are listed separately.


Relevant links

Canadian Railway Mail Service

Official Register of the United States 1867

Railway Mail Clerks in Canada and their salaries and bonuses



American Railway Mail Service

Mail by rail : the story of the Postal Transportation Service 1951

Annual Report of the Postmaster General – US – no names, but salaries and pensions

1901 Report to the Postmaster General, Washington DC









4 comments:

  1. Oh thanks so much for this! Found my husband's grandfather in the sessional papers. He spent 47 years doing this! Also found a great article on their working conditions at https://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/cpm/chrono/ch1889ae.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How fascinating! Thanks for the link. It sure was not a smooth ride like today's trains, and trying to work at the same time in not so great conditions. Would be great to find one of those ID booklets!

      Delete
  2. You've opened up yet another world of work from the days of our ancestors!

    ReplyDelete

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