THE FIRST EXPRESSMAN.
A Great Industry Began When a Man Decided
to Carry Parcels Between
Boston and New York.
William Frederick Harnden, when quite a young man, worn out by his sixteen hours a day work in the office of the Boston and Worcester Railroad, came to New York for a short rest. That was in 1839, and there were in the United States 2,818 miles of railroad, all built within the previous ten years, as against the 212,000 or more miles that exist at present. There was no express company in those days, so Harnden said to a friend, James W. Hale:
"I'm sick of working in a railroad office. Do you know, I think that I could make a living doing errands between New York and Boston for people?"
Hale took up the idea at once. He was employed in the Hudson Newsroom, at the corner of Wall and Water Streets, and one of his duties was to bring papers down to the Boston boat on its tri-weekly trips. Besides the papers, he also carried various consignments of money, or parcels from persons who could not get down to the boats themselves. These parcels were then turned over to some passenger who was willing to deliver them.
On the stage line the drivers or the passengers were the parcel deliverers, and no one ever thought of asking money for his services.
"Go ahead," Hale said to Harnden. "You can make money. I'll get you a lot of customers right here in New York."