PI 168 Description:
67. RECORD OF FIRST RETURNS RECEIVED FROM POSTMASTERS. Oct. 1789-July 1818. 1 vol. 4 in.
Postmasters were required to submit quarterly statements of their accounts (“returns”) to the Postmaster General. This volume, marked “All States and Territories 1790-1820,” was apparently prepared from accounts of postmasters after the original record was burned in a fire in 1836.
It contains names of post offices and States where located, names of postmasters, and dates when postmasters’ first returns were received by the Postmaster General. The names of postmasters are frequently misspelled and there are other inaccuracies.
By referring to the volumes described in entry 68 and to the letter books of the Postmaster General and accounts current, the actual dates of appointments of postmasters from 1789 to about 1800 can be found. The returns are arranged alphabetically by first letter of name of post office and thereunder by State.
National Archives Identifier (NAID): 607876
This Series is fully available online.
Nara Catalog: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/607876
This Series was microfilmed as M1131. It has one roll with a total of 321 images.
Sample Image:
Jeanette’s Sample Citation:
U.S. National Archives, National Archives Catalog, database with images (https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75493318 : 28 July 2025) > NA Identifier (NAID) 75493318: “10/1789 – 7/1818,” image 151 of 2321, page 318, 1 October 1811, Richard Barnham, Lawsville, PA; citing Record of First Returns Received from Postmasters, Record Group 28: Records of the Post Office Department; National Archives, Washington, D.C.