CHAPTER V.
Mr. Plant Goes from New Haven to New York—Captain Stone’s Friendship—Mrs. Plant’s Health Fails again—Returns to the South—Is Appointed Superintendent of Adams Express Company—His Great Executive Ability—The Civil War—Mrs. Plant’s Death—Mr. Plant Buys out the Adams Express Company.
WHEN Mr. Plant first went to New York City he boarded at the Judson Hotel, then kept by a Mr. Judson of Hartford, Connecticut. A little incident of that period shows the high estimation in which he was held by Captain Stone, Superintendent of the New York and New Haven steamship line. Captain S. Bartlett Stone brought his son George to board at the Hudson Hotel, saying, “Henry, when you were a boy I took charge of you; now do you the same for my son.” Mr. Plant remained in New York until October, when the fall weather of the North began to affect the health of his wife unfavorably. He then started South by the steamship Knoxville, which ran to Savannah. When he reached Savannah he commenced to exercise his appointment as superintendent of the Harnden Express, which forwarded express matter from New York by steamer to Savannah, and thence to Augusta, Macon, and Atlanta, by the Central, Macon, and Western Railroads; and also in Charleston, of the Hoey Express, by which goods were forwarded by steamer from New York to Charleston and were then distributed through the interior by the South Carolina Railroad.
About this time, Adams & Company had organized under the corporate title of the Adams Express Company, and had acquired all these express interests above mentioned. This was in March, 1853, and April, 1854. The chief shareholders of the company were Alvan Adams, of Boston; William B. Dinsmore, of New York; Edward S. Sanford, of Philadelphia; Samuel S. Shoemaker, of Baltimore; James M. Thompson, of Springfield, Massachusetts; Johnstone Livingstone, of New York; and R. B. Kinsley, of Newport, Rhode Island. When it was found necessary for Mr. Plant to go south again on account of his wife’s health he was appointed superintendent of the Adams Express Company. This was in 1854, and he was placed in charge of all the interests then controlled by that company, and all that might be acquired by the company in the South under his management or through his efforts.
During Mr. Plant’s administration of the Adams Express Company, the lines were extended over all the railroads south of the Potomac River, namely, Norfolk, Richmond, and Lynchburg, Virginia; Louisville, Kentucky; Cairo, Illinois, and over all the railroad lines constructed in the South, and over all the navigable rivers on which at that time there was steamboat connection. The expanding and establishing of this great express business at Nashville, Memphis, Vicksburg, Louisville, and New Orleans, and many other cities and towns, proved to be a herculean task requiring much arduous travel, often in stage-coaches by day and night, over rough roads, through swamp and forest, in summer’s heat and winter’s cold. It goes without saying that in securing efficient service, properly locating offices, appointing qualified agents, and earning the confidence and patronage of an exacting public, there was demanded a discriminating judgment, prompt decision, skill, and tact of the highest order. It was a tremendous strain on mind and body, and that too upon one not yet used to a Southern climate. It must be remembered also that the express business of the South forty years ago was in its infancy; the great Adams Express Company was still in its swaddling clothes, and required the greatest care and skill to nurse it into maturity, strength, and power, especially in the peculiar condition of the country at the time when a dreadful civil war raged throughout the land.
Few men would have ventured on such a hazardous undertaking, and fewer still would have conducted it to such a successful completion.
To the cool, clear head, the calm, quiet spirit, the persistent energy and dominant will of Henry B. Plant, is due the success of this great achievement. The Southern Express Company and the Texas Express together do a business now extending over twenty-four thousand four hundred and twelve miles of railway, have lines in fifteen States, employ six thousand eight hundred and eight men, use one thousand four hundred and sixty-three horses and eight hundred and eighty-six wagons. Of both these companies, Mr. Plant is the honored and efficient president, and were we to attempt to estimate the amount and value of the goods handled by these great organizations we feel sure the figures would be beyond the credulity of our readers.
This comes down to the year 1861, the beginning of the civil war, when the Adams Express Company, believing that it would be hazardous for Northern citizens to hold property in the South, decided to dispose of their interests there. After unsuccessful negotiations with other parties resident in the South, the company sold and transferred their entire interest in the express line to Henry B. Plant. He formed a corporation under the laws of the State of Georgia, taking in all the shareholders of the Adams Express Company who were then residents of the States south of the Potomac and Ohio rivers.
The company thus formed, known now as the Southern Express Company, at once elected Mr. Plant as its president, and this honorable and responsible position he still holds. A central office was established at Augusta, Georgia.
Mrs. Plant’s health now began to give way. Their little boy Morton was with relatives in the North. She saw that troubles many and great were coming upon the country. Her disease returned, consumption laid its cold hand upon her, and on February 28, 1861, this faithful wife and loving mother was taken from a world of strife, with its tumults of war and fratricidal conflicts, to the home of rest, peace, and eternal blessedness. The remains were interred in Augusta, but afterwards were removed to the family plot in the cemetery at Branford, the place of her birth and where her early years had been spent.
