The Postal Service has published biographies of two former postmasters general — Joseph Habersham, who served from 1795 to 1801, and John A.J. Creswell, who served from 1869 to 1874.
Habersham, the sixth postmaster general, was nominated by President George Washington.
He picked up where his predecessor, Timothy Pickering, left off, implementing the provisions of the Postal Act of 1792, which authorized low newspaper rates and congressional jurisdiction over post roads.
Habersham also focused on speeding up mail delivery, and he called for mail coaches to be standardized with an easily recognizable color scheme.
During his tenure, the number of Post Offices grew from 450 in 1794 to 1,025 in 1801, while the number of letters delivered reached 2.2 million.
Creswell, the 26th postmaster general, was appointed by President Ulysses S. Grant.
He became the longest serving cabinet member during Grant’s two terms and the longest serving postmaster general in more than two decades.
His top goals were to improve service — relying on railroads to speed mail delivery — and to decrease postal deficits.
Creswell’s term was also marked by the first African Americans to be employed by the Post Office Department, including James Christian, the first-known Black letter carrier, who was hired in Richmond, VA, in 1869.
The Habersham and Creswell biographies are available in the postal history section of usps.com.
