![]() Of course for some, laws were made to be broken. Queen bees are still allowed to be mailed because of their agricultural importance, she said. ‘All human beings and animals are barred through the mail, except queen bees,’ newspapers around the country quoted Burleson. Inspired by stories of the children’s travel and an inquiry about mailing children that month, Second Assistant Postmaster General Joseph Stewart, who was in charge of the Parcel Post Service, officially decreed on February 13, 1914, that humans could no longer be sent through the mail, Pope said. Stuck on her coat were 53 cents worth of stamps, the equivalent of $12.96 today. So, they came up with the creative solution of ‘mailing’ her on February 19, 1914, to her grandparents’ house in Grangeville, Idaho, about 73 miles away. The most famous mailed child, five-year-old Charlotte May Pierstorff had dreamed of visiting her grandmother Mary who lived ‘a million miles away through the rough old Idaho mountains’, but May’s family couldn’t afford the train ticket that cost $1.55, or $37.90 today. On January 27, 1914, the Savis of Pine Hollow, Pennsylvania, paid 45 cents, or $11 today, for their 40lb daughter to be delivered by rural carrier James Byerly that afternoon to relatives in Clay Hollow. The Beagles’ quirky story made headlines, and for the next several years, similar stories occasionally surfaced as other crafty parents accomplished the same end by ‘mailing’ their children. ‘There was this level of trust between the parents and the mail carriers, who were often friends, neighbors or family members,’ she said. Instead, they were supervised by rural mail carriers, Pope said. The children weren’t shoved into a canvas sack along with the other packages. ‘It was cheaper than a train ticket,’ said National Postal Museum historian Nancy Pope. And when a spouse became sick and there was no one else to care for their young, parents sometimes relied on their local mail carrier to take them to the child’s grandparents’ house - even if that was just a mile down the road. Some parents noticed there were no provisions in the parcel post regulations specifically concerning sending a human through the mail. That’s when all kinds of strange goods showed up in the mail, including a bank, coffins and even children. Several children were stamped, mailed and dutifully delivered by the US Post Office between 19 This unidentified United States letter carrier posed for a humorous photograph with a young boy in his mailbag in 1900. The service’s popularity led to postal officials increasing the maximum weight of parcels to 50lbs. These companies didn’t have standard delivery prices like the Parcel Post Service and often farmers felt short changed. Prior to the Parcel Post Service, they had to take their goods to the nearest town large enough to have a private delivery company, which added to their shipping costs. Finally, package service was provided to people in rural America right from their mailbox. ![]() This was one of the most overlooked, yet significant innovations of the 20th century. This precious package was just one of a number reportedly sent by resourceful parents during the early years of the Parcel Post Service, which began on January 1, 1913, and allowed millions of Americans access to goods and services that weighed more than 4lbs. ![]() So, they took advantage of recent changes to US Postal Service regulations and paid 15 cents in postage to ‘mail’ him off. Jesse and Mathilda Beagle wanted to send their 10lb infant son to his grandmother’s home about a mile away in Batavia but didn’t have the money for a train ticket.
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