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This article was written in 2001 and originally published by the American Philatelic Society, Inc. in the October 2002 issue of their American Philatelist magazine.

OINCIDENTAL ONNECTIONS
and Three Generations of Service
My interest in postal history began a couple of years ago quite by accident, and I keep discovering new aspects of the hobbyusually by accident. Like many postal history buffs, I focus on the area where I grew up. That would be east central Indiana where, at about the age of 10, Dad had introduced me to stamp collecting. We lived in Lynn (Randolph County) and the post office was an easy walk or bicycle ride from home. The postmaster, George Bascom, occasionally sold me stamps for my stamp collection and international reply coupons (IRCs) for my other hobby, shortwave radio listening. That was in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

by Thomas Keesling

British author, James Burke, published a book in 1978 titled Connections. It was a companion to a Public Broadcasting Service television series by the same name. The book chronicled seemingly unrelated events in human history that were in fact very closely related. I was reminded of Burkes work as the following series of surprising postal history connections were revealed to me, one by one, over the period of a few weeks.

Recently, while sorting through some miscellaneous postal history items, I discovered an 1862 Adams Express Company (Washington, D. C.) receipt for a package from R. W. Hamilton to Sarah Hamilton in Winchester, Indiana. I already knew of Dr. R. W. Hamilton because my Dads postal history collection con1902 photo of Mr. and Mrs. George Bascom and a young girl in the Lynn post office. This photograph appeared in the Richmond Palladium tained a handful of covers addressed to Dr. R. W. Hamilton -Item and Sun-Telegram newspaper December 20, 1959.

and to Captain R. W. Hamilton. From my reading, I knew that Dr. Hamilton practiced medicine at Lynn from 1855 until near the time of his death in 1891. I also knew he had been commissioned as a Captain in the army in 1861 and was stationed in Washington, D. C. for about 18 months. Upon finding this receipt, I was curious to learn if Captain Hamiltons shipping receipt addressed to his wife, Sarah, in WinSarah Hamilton was his chester Indiana. wife. One of the local histories1 quickly pro- intersected at Lynn. They were the northvided the answer. It informed me that after south Grand Rapids & Indiana and the eastthe death of his first wife, Dr. Hamilton mar- west C.C.C. & St. Louis. There was even a ried Sarah Bascom, the widow of Erastus Bas- roundhouse adjacent to the C.C.C. & St. Louis com. This was mildly interesting simply be- tracks at the edge of town and near the depot. cause I recognized the surname. The real sur- Another factor that probably contributed to prise came when I learned that Sarah and Lynns growth at this time was its proximity Erastus were the parents of a son named to the natural gas fields of east central Indiana George who was postmaster at Lynn! Hmmm. and northeast Ohio. The discovery of natural Were there two George Bascoms who served as the postmaster at Lynn? It didnt take long to discover that indeed there were. Sarahs son, George, was the grandfather of the George Bascom who was selling me stamps and IRCs through the post office window at Lynn 4 decades ago. The elder George Bascom was appointed postmaster on May 8, 1901. This was during the first term of President Theodore Roosevelt, and at a time when the population of Lynn was explodingrelatively speaking from 518 in 1890 to 705 in 1900. The growth was probably due in part to the two rail lines that

Section of plat map of Lynn from the 1909 Plat Book of Randolph County Indiana, showing the locations of the post office and the railroad lines.

gas in the late 19th century led to an economic boom that dramatically changed the face and character of the entire region. The elder George Bascom served four years and then a successor, Frank Daly, was appointed June 1, 1905. The grandson, James G. Bas1862 cover addressed to Captain Hamilton of company C, 19th Regiment, Indiana com, was initially apVolunteers at Washington city, D.C. pointed acting postmaster following the death of his predecessor, Denzil B. Mann, according to the official Post Office Department records.2 The appointment was made permanent on July 15, 1958 and he served four years. Hes in his 90s now and still lives in Lynn today. George gladly loaned me some newspaper articles and photos to use in preparing this article. Among these items are a 1959 newspaper article and an accompanying photograph that dates from 1902. The photograph shows Postmaster Bascom, his wife, and a young girl inside the Lynn post office. Postmaster Bascom is also seen in another photograph that was taken in 1904 in front of the Lynn post office. He is standing with the four rural route carriers and three of their buggies. Rural free delivery had been initiated in Randolph County just four years earlier at the county seat of Winchester and some farmers were reportedly still refusing to put up mailboxes. This 1904 photograph yields another surprise. The rural route carriers in the photograph are, from left to right, John Carter, H. M. Benson, James Bascom, and Henry Hawkins. Yes, another Bascom. James Bascom

A page from the booklet, Rural Route Directory Out of Lynn, 1904. This booklet was produced as an advertising medium, apparently by the owner of the Lynn Herald newspaper.

1904 photograph of Postmaster Bascom, the four rural route carriers, and others posing in front of the Lynn Indiana post office.

was both the son of and the father of Lynn postmasters. He apparently became a carrier in 1901 and then served in that capacity for 31 years.3 According to the Rural Route Directory Out of Lynn, 19044, he began his route at 8:20 am and covered 25 5/8 miles. Around 1908 he received permission from the Second Assistant Postmaster General to use his Brush automobile to cover his route if and when, in his opinion, the weather and the condition of the roads would permit it.5 In 1902, according to the 1959 newspaper article, the four carriers served a total of 326 patrons. James Bascom was serving 84 patrons in 1904 and said he only failed to complete his route once in 31 yearsdue to a train that was stuck in a snowdrift on his route in the winter of 1916. By 1959, according to the aforementioned newspaper article, two carriers were serving 552 patrons out of Lynn. The map of Lynn in the 1909 Plat Book of Ran-

dolph County Indiana6 shows the location of the post office where the elder George Bascom served. The post office was moved two doors east of that location a few years later and remained in this location until a new post office building was constructed near the south edge of town. The dedication ceremony for the new facility was held September 23, 1962. This was just a few months after a new administration in Washington had named a new postmaster, Dale Hardeman, to replace George Bascom. And, yes, there is yet another surprising connection that came to light during my research. After she remarried, Sarah Hamilton bore three sons. The youngest was named James M. Hamilton. Like his half-brother, George Bascom, James lived in Lynn and worked in the mail service. He began a long career in the railway postal service in 1882. His business card indicates he worked on the

Springfield & Indianapolis R.P.O., but this mail route didnt come into existence until 1889. When James Hamilton began his employment, the route was probably the 185-mile Columbus, Springfield & Indianapolis R.P.O. that was initiated in 1882 over the Indianapolis, Bloomington & Western Railroad. (This railroad later became part of the CCC & St. Louis Railway Company and then the New York Central Railroad system.) 7 In 1888 the Post Office Department changed this route to the Columbus & Indianapolis R.P.O. and then to the Springfield & Indianapolis R.P.O. the following year.7 By 1914, when a new Randolph County history8 was being published, James Hamilton was either 69 or 70 years old and, having been promoted, was said to be working still in the railway mail service. And, finally, there is one more connection to report. I knew that my maternal grandmother was a Hawkins and that I was related to most, if not all, of the Hawkins in the area. So I did some checking and, sure enough, found that Im related to Henry Hawkins, the carrier shown standing with his horse and buggy in the 1904 photograph. Henry (1838-1920) was my great-great grandfather Hawkins brother. There really are no boundaries when it comes to historical connections, and discovering some of these previously unrealized connections is what makes history, and now postal history in particular, so much fun for me. I enjoy these surprise discoveries, and its especially exciting when theres also a personal connection.

Business card of James M. Hamilton from the period when he was employed on the Springfield & Indianapolis R.P.O.

Acknowledgement I wish to thank John M. Prendergast, Jr. for his assistance. John was the author of Rail-

The Author Thomas Keesling lives in Indianapolis and is self-employed as a digital antique photo restoration specialist. Like his parents, Thomas grew up in Randolph County, Indiana. In fact, both his parents are descended from families that have been in the county nearly 200 years, and this probably explains his interest in local history. It has only been in the past couple of years that Thomas discovered postal history as a philatelic interest. In addition to being an APS member, he belongs to the Indiana Postal History Society, and the U.S. Cancellation Club.

road Postal Markings of the State of Indiana: A Compilation of Postal Routes (Indianapolis, Indiana, 1981.)
Endnotes 1. Tucker, E. History of Randolph County Indiana. Chicago, Illinois: A. L. Kingman, 1882. 2. Microfilm Publication M841, Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832 - September 30, 1971, Roll 35, Target 1, Indiana, Randolph County. Washington, D. C.: National Archives and Records Administration, Microfilm Publications. 3. Max Knight, Lynn Post Office Changes Watched At Close Range By 3 Bascoms Since 1902, Richmond Palladium Item and SunTelegram, Richmond, Indiana, December 20, 1959. 4. Rural Route Directory Out of Lynn, 1904. Lynn, Indiana: Herald Print, 1904. 5. Heiss, Willard. The Early Development of Mail Service In Randolph County, Part Two, The Randolph County Historical Review, (March, 1963). 6. Plat Book of Randolph County Indiana. Des Moines, Iowa: Northwest Publishing Co., 1909. 7. Prendergast, John M., Jr. correspondence, November 22, 2000 and July 17, 2001. 8. Smith, John L. and Lee L. Driver. Past and Present of Randolph County Indiana. Indianapolis, Indiana: A. W. Bowen & Company, 1914.

2007 addendum

OINCIDENTAL ONNECTIONS
and Three Generations of Service
Also, after publication of the original article, I learned that there was more to the Dr. Hamilton connection than I realized. I was selling on eBay a Smithland, Kentucky stampless letter addressed to Dr. Hamilton. A collector who viewed the item pointed out that the address included PM. I hadnt realized the significance of this. This letter was dated November 10, 1851. I brought this to the attention of another out-of-state postal history collector who had bought another related item from me. He checked and confirmed that R. W. Hamilton was indeed the postmaster at Whitewater at that time. That 1851 letter appears to be from the Smithland, Kentucky postmaster as it refers to a letter R. W. Hamilton had forwarded to the Smithland post office. I had known from reading the biographical information that Dr. Hamilton had resided across the county line from Lynn in Wayne County

by Thomas Keesling

When the American Philatelist published my article in 2002, we didnt include a photo of the George Bascom that I knew when I was getting started collecting stamps. Below is one of the two photos Ive got. Its from a newspaper clipping that was in the folder George loaned me back in 2000 when I began gathering material for the article.

This photograph is from the December 20, 1959 Richmond Palladium -Item and Sun-Telegram. Caption: James Bascom, left, buys stamps from his son, George, at the Lynn post office.

before moving to Lynn. Specifically, according to an 1882 history of Randolph County, Dr. Hamilton was residing in Hillsboro in Wayne County where he was practicing medicine. His first wife died in 1854. He remarried in 1855 and moved his practice to Lynn that same year. What I didnt know until after the original article was published was that Dr. Hamilton had also been a postmaster!

1851 letter from Smithfield addressed Dr. Hamilton as PM in Whitewater, Wayne County, Indiana.

So, this small group of people, related by blood and marriage are also related by their service to the Post Office Department. If we start with Dr. Hamilton (a postmaster at Whitewater), we then have his step-son, George Bascom (a postmaster at Lynn), as well as his own son (and half-brother to George Bascom), James Hamilton (the R.P.O. employee at Lynn). Then, George Bascoms son, James carried the mail on a Lynn rural route for 31 years and then James Bascoms son, George Bascom, served as postmaster at Lynn.

Also, I recently acquired a real photo postcard of Lynn thats postmarked 1908. The photo was taken from Main Street, looking west on Church Street, and shows the post office just down the street on the left.

View of the Lynn Post Office on West Church Street in 1908.