Keywords

church history, Kanesville, latter-day saints, Tabernacle Post Office

Abstract

As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country. Thus spoke wise King Solomon a millennium before the birth of Christ. As America labored to give birth to a new nation, the United States Post Office Department was born when the Second Continental Congress met in 1775 at Philadelphia and agreed to appoint Benjamin Franklin as the country's first postmaster general. During the nineteenth century, America continued to grow in population as children were born and as immigrants crossed the Atlantic to the land of promise. This growth not only caused America to lengthen her borders but also created the need for an expansion of mail service. By 1840, both Britain and the United States were in need of a good source of communication because of the migrant activities of both countries. In the spring, Britain published the world's first adhesive postal stamp to be used commercially. This invention greatly benefited immigrants who were separated from their family, friends, and homeland by the vast ocean. At this time, the population of the United States swelled to over seventeen million, which included some 76,000 English and 207,000 Irish immigrants.

Original Publication Citation

Maurine C. Ward and Fred E. Woods, "The Tabernacle Post Office Petition for the Saints of Kanesville, Iowa," Mormon Historical Studies 5 no. 1 (Spring 2004): 149-193.