Mail carrier's indenture certificate
Collection: National Postal Museum
Object type: Employee Gear
Date: November 17, 1789
Place: Maine
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
United States of America
Medium: paper; ink / handwritten
Dimensions: Height x Width: 15 1/4 x 19 in. (38.74 x 48.26 cm)
Topics: Early Nation's Period (1776-1800)
Description: This is a mail carrier's indenture paper between Joseph Barnard and Postmaster General Samuel Osgood, dated November 17, 1789, for carrying mail between Portsmouth, New Hampshire and Portland, Massachusetts [Maine]. The contract is for $600 per year and requires mail transport by horseback three times per week May through October and two times per week November through April. The document has blanks that have been filled in by hand with the names, dates, and particulars; and the printed sections include the name of "Ebenezer Hazard," which has been overwritten by hand as "Samuel Osgood," who replaced Hazard as fourth Postmaster General September 26, 1789 to August 12, 1791.
["This Indenture Made the\nSeventeenth Day of November in the Year of our LORD One Thousand Seven Hundred and Eighty Nine between Joseph Barnard of in the State of\nof the one Part, and Samuel Osgood , Esquire, Postmaster-General of the United-States of North-America, of the other Part; WITNESSETH, That the said\nJoseph Barnard and Samuel Osgood have mutually covenanted, agreed and contracted, and by these Presents do mutually covenant, agree and contract, to and with each other, as follows; that is to say, The said\nJoseph Barnard contract with the said Samuel Osgood That he will carry the Mail, or cause it to be carried, on Horseback, from Portsmouth aforesaid, to Portland in Massachusetts and from Portland to Portsmouth so as to make Three complete Tours between the said Places in each Week, from the first Day of May to the first Day of November, and Two complete Tours between the said Places in each Week, from the first Day of November to the first Day of May, for the Sum of Six hundred Dollars per Annum. That the Mail shall be delivered at each Post-Office in the said\nRoute, on such Days and Hours as shall be agreed upon by him and the Postmasters in his Route respectively, on Penalty of One Dollar for each Hour which shall elapse between that Time and the Time of the Mail's Arrival, to be deducted from the Pay of the said\nJoseph Barnard unless he shall make it appear to the Satisfaction of the said Samuel Osgood that the Delay was unavoidable.\nThat in Order to ascertain the Time of Arrival at and Departure from each Office, the said\nJoseph Barnard or the Person to whom he shall commit the Care and Transportation of the Mail, shall, every Trip, carry a Way-Bill, to be furnished by the Postmaster-General, on which each Postmaster shall note, in Writing, the Times of the Mail's Arrival at and Departure from his Office; and, at the Completion of each Tour, each Way-Bill shall be delivered to the Postmaster from whom it was first received, to the End that it may be returned to the Office of the Postmaster-General, on Penalty of One Dollar, to be deducted from the Pay of the said Joseph Barnard\nfor each Way-Bill not delivered to the Postmaster as aforesaid.\nThat the said Joseph Barnard\nshall be answerable for the Care and Fidelity of the Persons to whom he shall commit the Care and Transportation of the Mail, and accountable for any Damages that may arise through the Carelessness, Neglect or Unfaithfulness of such Persons, or any of them: Double the Sum allowed the said Joseph Barnard\nfor one Trip (to be calculated in Proportion to the whole Sum allowed the said Joseph Barnard\nfor the whole Number of Trips upon his Route throughout the Year) shall be deducted from his Pay as a Penalty for every Trip lost during the Continuance of this Contract, unless it shall be made to appear to the Satisfaction of the said Samuel Osgood , that such Trips were not lost through Neglect, but by unavoidable Accident.\nThat the said Joseph Barnard\nand each Person employed by him to whom the Care and Transportation of the Mail shall be committed, shall be under Oath, that they will not willingly or knowingly, open, detain or delay, or cause, procure, permit or suffer to be opened, detained or delayed, any Letter or Letters, Packet or Packets, which shall come into their Hands, Power or Custody, by Reason of their Employment in the Department of the General Post-Office; and that they will regularly account with the Postmasters for all Bye and Way Letter or Letters, Packet or"
 None
 "This Indenture\nMade the\nSeventeenth Day of November in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Eighty Nine between Joseph Barnard of in the State of\nof the one Part, and Samuel D. D. D. Esquire , Postmaster-General of the United-States of North-America, of the other Part; WITNESSETH, That the said\nJoseph Barnard and Samuel D. D. D. have mutually covenanted, agreed and contracted, and by these Presents do mutually covenant, agree and contract, to and with each other, as follows; that is to say, The said\nJoseph Barnard contracts with the said Samuel D. D. D. That he will carry the Mail, or cause it to be carried, on Horseback, from Plymouth aforesaid, to Portland in Massachusetts and from Portland to Plymouth so as to make Three complete Tours between the said Places in each Week, from the first Day of May to the first Day of November, and Two complete Tours between the said Places in each Week, from the first Day of November to the first Day of May, for the Sum of Six hundred Dollars per Annum. That the Mail shall be delivered at each Post-Office in the said\nRoute, on such Days and Hours as shall be agreed upon by him and the Postmasters in his Route respectively, on Penalty of One Dollar for each Hour which shall elapse between that Time and the Time of the Mail's Arrival, to be deducted from the Pay of the said\nJoseph Barnard unless he shall make it appear to the Satisfaction of the said Samuel D. D. D. that the Delay was unavoidable.\nThat in Order to ascertain the Time of Arrival at and Departure from each Office, the said\nJoseph Barnard or the Person to whom he shall commit the Care and Transportation of the Mail, shall, every Trip, carry a Way-Bill, to be furnished by the Postmaster-General, on which each Postmaster shall note, in Writing, the Times of the Mail's Arrival at and Departure from his Office; and, at the Completion of each Tour, each Way-Bill shall be delivered to the Postmaster from whom it was first received, to the End that it may be returned to the Office of the Postmaster-General, on Penalty of One Dollar, to be deducted from the Pay of the said Joseph Barnard\nfor each Way-Bill not delivered to the Postmaster as aforesaid. That the said Joseph Barnard\nshall be answerable for the Care and Fidelity of the Persons to whom he shall commit the Care and Transportation of the Mail, and accountable for any Damages that may arise through the Carelessness, Neglect or Unfaithfulness of such Persons, or any of them: Double the Sum allowed the said Joseph Barnard\nfor one Trip (to be calculated in Proportion to the whole Sum allowed the said Joseph Barnard for the whole Number of Trips upon his Route throughout the Year) shall be deducted from his Pay as a Penalty for every Trip lost during the Continuance of this Contract, unless it shall be made to appear to the Satisfaction of the said Samuel D. D. D. that such Trips were not lost through Neglect, but by unavoidable Accident.\nThat the said Joseph Barnard\nand each Person employed by him to whom the Care and Transportation of the Mail shall be committed, shall be under Oath, that they will not willingly or knowingly, open, detain or delay, or cause, procure, permit or suffer to be opened, detained or delayed, any Letter or Letters, Packet or Packets, which shall come into their Hands, Power or Custody, by Reason of their Employment in the Department of the General Post-Office; and that they will regularly account with the Postmasters for all Bye and Way Letter or Letters, Packet or\n1789 Indenture Seal"
 'Packets, which shall fall into their Hands; and that they will not take any Bundle without shewing it to a Deputy-Postmaster, and suffering it to be inspected by him if required, in Order to prevent Letters being fraudulently concealed therein. The said Oath shall be taken and subscribed by the said Joseph Barnard\nand returned to the Office of the Postmaster-General without Delay; and each Rider employed by him the said Joseph Barnard\nshall take and subscribe the said Oath immediately after his being so employed, and such Oath shall be delivered to a Deputy-Postmaster, to be returned to the Office of the Postmaster-General, within forty-eight Hours after it shall have been so taken and subscribed, on Penalty of One Dollar, to be deducted from the Pay of the said Joseph Barnard\nfor each twenty-four Hours which shall afterwards elapse until the said Oath shall be so delivered as aforesaid.\nThat the said Joseph Barnard\nshall enter into Bond with two sufficient Sureties in the Sum of One Thousand two hundred Dollars, to the Postmaster-General, for the faithful Performance of this Contract on his Part, and until such Bond shall be given, the Contract shall not be considered as binding upon the Postmaster-General; and if the said Joseph Barnard\nshall not return his Bond into the Office of the Postmaster-General before the first Day of January next, the said Joseph Barnard\nshall forfeit and pay to the Postmaster-General, for the Use of the United States, the Sum of Five Hundred Dollars.\nAnd the said Samuel Ogden , as Postmaster-General of the United States of America, and on their Behalf, covenants, agrees and contracts, to and with the said Joseph Barnard\nas follows; that is to say,\nThat the Portmantuas and Bags necessary for containing the Letters, shall be furnished at the Expence of the said United States.\nThat the Sum agreed to be paid the said Joseph Barnard\nfor the Carriage of the Mail, shall be paid to him in four equal quarterly Payments, each Payment to be made punctually at the Expiration of each Quarter; the Penalties for Failures (if any) being first deducted.\nAnd it is mutually covenanted and agreed, by and between the Parties hereto, that this Contract shall continue and be in Force for one Year from the first Day of January , in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Ninety\nIN WITNESS whereof, the Parties hereto have hereunto set their Hands and Seals, the Day and Year first above written.\nSigned, Sealed, and Delivered, in the Presence of\nThe W th  Samuel Ogden being first written on Vellum\nBy Sam. Ogden\nJoseph Barnard Jeremiah Libbey Witness to Jos. Barnard\nSamuel Ogden\nJoseph Barnard']