Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1857-10-24

I . 7
& Co.'s, 80 Wall street, New York will leave
Boston Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and
Saturdays, and Now York the same days
The Boston Eccning GdseRe had in its read
ing column the annexed:
.qccommoiaiion.-We are pleased to sec, by
card just published by Mr.. W +, Harndcn, that
he intends running an extra car from Boston to
New York. for the exclusive purpose of conveying
small packages, bundles, SC. Our best wishes for
his success in so beneficial an undertaking.
An asterisk (s) was appended to this notice,
leaving us to infer that the editor would not adopt
it as his own. Probably our venerable friend,
W. Warland Clapp, Esq, then in the meridian
Of his long and useful life as gazetteer, was too
cautious himself TO commend an enterprise so en-
trely new and of such doubtful promise Of rem
uneTation. The truth is, that in the infancy Of
the business, expresSmen found it necessary to
make little more show and noise than was ab-
soutey requisite in the process Of transportation;
and notwithstanding HarnGen's flourish of trum-
pets, and the dcsrabencss of the facilities which
he offered the rash Of parcels and freight did
not come to pass, I'd the car was not used--at
least not as soon as his sanguine and impatient
spirit had anticipated.
The only through route from Boston to New
York at that time (March, 1880 was by rail-
road TO Providence, and thence to this city, by
sieamhoa, j. ". Riclm9nd. The Old Line of
steamboats, ran from Stouington to New York.
llarnden had no paid agent in this city at the
outset. The messengers (calied, during the first
year or Two. conduciOrS) attended to all the
business llarnden himself acted in that capac-
ity, usually making the trip in the J. ". Rich
0ond, and carrying his entire Express in an or
dinary valise. Upon his arrival in New York
0r Boston he would hasten to deliver the parcels
entrusted to him by his customers, who were
mostly bookers and brokers
Atlcr he had been running a week. he found
II desirable TO have a conductor through TO New
York, via Snnington and he employed Mr. Luke
Damon, who served him for three years upon
that routc BY the way, Mr. Damon has con
tinued in the business ever since MIR. llarnden's
DEATH working for long time for Harnden in
this country, subsequently for IIarnden & Co..
in England, and for six years past for Kinsey
* Co. in Boston. Though not advanced be.
yound the meridian Of life, he is the oldest sur
viying expressman. He deserves to be as veal
thy as the best Of them but remains an unaspir-
ing cmployce
The Express run by Harden some time be-
fore he made contract with the Old Line of
boats from Stonngton to New York Ills mes
sengcr paid regular fare, and carried all the
! packages in a carpet-bag and trunk, After the
lapse of SIX months or a year, he made contract
with the Old Company and the Stonngton and
Providence Railroad Company TO run "A car
through. Each messenger then carried a sea
san tlcket-ob'aiucd by holding few shares of
the company stock. According to the terms of
that contract, the Boston aud Providence Rail
road Company were entitled to onethird of the
! gross receip pts Of the EXPIRES. for freight; and
the Providence and Sioningion R1i!rnad Com
pany, (including, we presume, the boats,) were
to receive oneihird; the residue TO be Harndens.
| His first contract with the owners of the j.
w. RichmoHd. was to convey a car or crate for
| him between Providence and New York lie
took five or six shares Of the stock, which enti-
tied HIM or his messenger to free passage.
Dexter Brigham, jr served as ilarnden's
messenger on board that steamboat for few
months in 1897 after which he located in New
York as agent of the Express He must be re-
garded, presume, as the first exprcssman res
ident in that city His office, at that time was
merely "desk room" in stationery store, in
basement, under what wasthen, IIndson's Read
iug-Room ut the corner of Wall and Nassau
streets. The same office was occupied in part,
we believe, by James w. llale's New York and
Boston leIter-mail enterprise. 1t is now the
publishing ofire of the Daily Erening Express
Brigham soon removed Harnden's business 10
No. Wall street. His successor in the mes
sengers berth was Adolphus Hlrnden, a broth
cr of the proprietor. The memory of this wor-
thy, ut unfortunate young man, will always be
associated in our minds with the terrible fate of
the steamer Lexington, which was burned
on Long Island Sound on that bilter-cold
dark, calamitous nighi-the 18th OF Janulry
1870.
j. A. PnlIen, now well known as Major Pull
len, of The National Express Company, succeed
ed next as the Express conductor upon that
route, and performed the duties for several
years
We have before us a letter from Harndcn to
Luke Damon. which, as it indicates the origin
of the second Express. and the earliest "opposi-
ton we will now copy:
BosroN, May 5, lS4O.
Friend Damon You must be home on or be-
fore the 18th, Brigham's sisteris to be married
and he wants leave of absence TO attend the we'd
ding. The IPcsiSrA arrived on Sunday, A. NJ
Burke Co.'S Express commenced running yes
terday. They did not have quite n hatful Of pack
ages. Yours, in haste,
WIN. +. HARNDEN.
The handwriting in this letter is very legible
and business-like. We like lis senienlous brev-
ty, also Bnrke & Cos. Express was conducted
by p. B. Burke and Alvin Adams: but the lat
ter gentleman was the bpck-bone of the enter
prise.
As the letter implies, tho first opposition Ex-
press was run on the 4th of May, 1910.
Alvin Adams made an effort TO contract, in
| its behalf, for privileges on the Norwich and
Worcester route from Boston to New York :;
but Harnden being, at that time, better known
The directors gave his "we-established Express"
the preference so that he was like to have the
monopoly of the facilities on both routes. As
Adams was not to be defeated in that way, he
went to Major Handy, agent for the Stonngton
| line and purchased two spason tickets for him