List of New York City postmasters from 1687 to date:
William Bogardus
April 4, 1687
Henry Sharpas
April 4, 1692
Richard Nichol
(Postmaster in 1732)
Alexander Colden
(Postmaster in 1753-75)
Ebenezer Hazard
October 5, 1775
William Bedloe
(Postmaster in 1785, appointed after close of Revolutionary War)
Sebastian Bauman
February 16, 1796
Josias Ten Eyck
January 1, 1804
Theodorus Bailey
April 2, 1804
Samuel L. Gouverneur
November 19, 1828
Jonathan I. Coddington
July 5, 1836
John L. Graham
March 14, 1842
Robert H. Morris
May 3, 1845
William V. Brady
May 14, 1849
Isaac V. Fowler
April 1, 1853
John A. Dix
May 17, 1860
William B. Taylor
January 16, 1861
Abram Wakeman
March 21, 1862
James Kelly
September 19, 1864
Patrick H. Jones
April 27, 1869
Thomas L. James
March 17, 1873
Henry G. Pearson
April 1, 1881
Thomas L. James (acting)
April 21, 1889
Cornelius Van Cott
May 1, 1889
Charles W. Dayton
July 1, 1893
Cornelius Van Cott
May 23, 1897
Edward M. Morgan (acting)
October 26, 1904
William R. Willcox
January 1, 1905
Edward M. Morgan (acting)
July 1, 1907
Edward M. Morgan
September 1, 1907
Edward M. Morgan (reappointed)
December 14, 1911
Robert F. Wagner
April 22, 1916. Declined
Thomas G. Patten
March 16, 1917
Edward M. Morgan (reappointed)
July 1, 1921
Some of the Early Postmasters of New York City.
Early New York
The first ships which arrived after the settlement of New York as New Amsterdam brought letters, and the first post-office, such as it was, began to function about the time the city was founded.
When vessels arrived, those letters relating to the cargoes were delivered to merchants; persons who welcomed the ships received their letters by hand. If a letter was unclaimed, it was left with a responsible private citizen until called for.
In time a system of voluntary distribution was developed, which became known as the "Coffee House Delivery." It was naturally popular and continued for over a century. At first this method of delivery was used by vessels and by people from distant points who left their mail for delivery at some well-known tavern. Here it reposed in a box accessible to all, or it was tacked to the surface of a smooth board with tape or brass-headed nails and placed in a conspicuous part of the tavern.
In the year 1710 the postmaster-general of Great Britain designated a "chief letter office" in the City of New York, Philadelphia having been the headquarters of the Colonial organization up to that time. In the following year arrangements were completed for the delivery of Boston mail twice a month, and a foot-post to Albany was proposed.