Show A giant of american amer ican commerce celebrates Celeb its aeh birthday Birol in march 1839 1039 william F harndon began carrying packages in a largo leather bag and that marked the beginning of tho express business which now employs men who cover moro more than milos miles of railroad motor air and water routes a 0 western newspaper union by E ELMO 1510 SCOTT WATSON A HUNDRED years ago A athe the ailing son of a now england widow had an idea for a now new business equipped only with a large leather bag which lie he carried in his hand as lie he traveled by train and steamboat lie ho started his enterprise today that business has offices uses vehicles in its operation and employs men who cover miles of railroads miles of water routes miles of air lanes and miles of motor roads the young man who started all of this was william F Har harndon riden and his now new enterprise was the express business Har harraden riden was born in reading mass august 23 ma tho the son of a poor man who was unable to give him little it if any education while very young he entered the furniture factory of his cousin sylvester harndon Harnd cn and there learned tho the trade of cabi net making then his father died and young harnden was called upon to support his w widowed dowed mother in 1834 he entered tile tho employ of the boston rind and worcester railroad road as a conductor and was in charge of the first passenger train dunlin run in new england later he became a passenger clerk ond and ticket master for the same railroad but after five years in railroad work was so exhausted by the long hours 16 hours a day that lie he gave up his job land and went to now new york for a visit there lie he met a transplanted bostonian Bost onlan james W hale agent for a providence now new york steamboat and operator of a reading room and news service hale told Har harndon riden that he had frequent requests for some one to do errands in boston and suggested that a service of this sort offered opportunities for profitable work it if some enterprising young follow fellow would organize it impressed with the idea Har harndon riden mode made a contract for express ice with the superintendent of tho the doston boston and providence railroad and tho the manager of the john W richmond a steamer plying between providence and now new york then he advertised in a boston newspaper on february 23 1839 1339 that ho he would run an do express car from boston to new york and vico versa four times a week As a matter of fact this car was tho the large leather bag which he obtained and his none too strong back and hands to transport it but the public know that and by march 1839 lie he had enough packages to start operations A successful venture the venture was suc such li a success uc that Har harndon riden acted as his own messenger only a few months then he had to have as st si siance stance tie ile established a clerk in an odlie on wall etin new york since brokers remittances and messages soon formed an important part ot of his business next he established an office in boston took his brother adol adel ahus into his employ to act as messenger es between the two centers and the second year opened an agency in philadelphia when the steamship business of the cunard company between boston and liverpool greatly stimulated Mated the express business its success suggested to him the extension nf his service overseas so in 1840 lie he formed a partnership with dexter brigham jr his nev york agent under the name ut harndon Ilar riden and company that same year was marked by a personal tragedy in harn ham dens life when commodore Vander bilts steamer the lexing ton caught fire and burned in long island sound on january 13 1840 adolphus harnden was waa I 1 one of the victims when his body was washed ashore let idt were found in the pouch he was carrying and were dried out and mailed the in money and other valuables alnes lie he was carrying were lost however one of new glands En important elnan cial institutions owned of the lost funds but fearing to ruin Harn Har dens business never pressed its claim the extension of Harn dens business into europe changed the character of it somewhat when 0 ances were first established in the principal cities of df engrand and france arid and later in ireland scotland and germany their princ principal pal business was handling emigrant funds between europe and amerlia Amerl amb rica ca but soon handling we emigrants them 51 Z 3 j 4 4 r 4 W 71 4 F IA I A 4 march 1839 young william F starts his express business from the painting by Robert H lee selves planning to expand his business in america by helping people secure tho the undeveloped lands in the west he carried on on an active campaign for immigration into the united states using large red posters to proclaim the resources and opportunities in america to old aid the companas comp anys traffic in hur human nian express Har harraden harnden riden so secured special rotes rates and privileges on an the enoch train line between liverpool and boston and also the exclusive use of certain boat lines on the erlo eric canal it is estimated that more than emigrants were billed through from their european homes to new homes in the middle west the inevitable result of horn harn dens success with his new venture ventura was to bring competitors into the field one of these w was s alvin adams an orphan boy from vermont who came to boston at tho the ago age of sixteen to make his fortune ile he sought it in vain for 20 years as a hotel clerk f family im grocer and produce merchant then in 1840 lie ho joined with P B t W 4 1 kt WILLIAM F burke to form burke and company to coni compete pete with harnden Ilar riden and company boston however looked upon harnden hamden as the originator of express service and gave him most of its business burke soon be come came discouraged and retired from the firm but adams the alert aggressive yankee was convinced that he could make good and persisted by 1843 Har harnden riden and com donys european ventures had led them to neglect their american business and adams quickly turned this fact to his own advantage at first adams and company formerly burke and company nad had confined its operations erat crat ions to new york connecticut and massachusetts when harnden sold his philadelphia branch to hatch and bartlett adams expanded his southward ito to philadelphia baltimore and washington and during the next decade began covering the south along tho the atlantic and gulf coasts harnden Har riden died on january 14 1845 after a five year struggle with tuberculosis and the two parts pans of 01 his nis companas comp anys business companas comp anys the domestic and the european branch were separated and sold eventually the american domes tic business dropped his name and became known as thompson livingstone and company this company which changed its personnel and name several times began extending its oper akons westward and southward until it came into competition with adams and company comp any the emojean brunch of tho the harnden Har riden company kept its name until 1851 when unwise investments resulted in its ruin then th an the name ame n 01 ol the founder van 1 dished from the express business although his son william 11 harnden Harnd cn was for a short time on an employee of one of the new companies that came into existence wells fargo and company eleven years after Harn dens death a memorial was set up over his grove grave in mount auburn cemetery near cambridge mass bearing the inscription erected by the express companies of the united states in the year A D 1866 1 aithus thus they paid tribute to the father of the express business but aside from this little public recognition tion has ever been given tile the pioneer in this giant of american commerce meanwhile the adams company had been reaching westward as well as southward and eventually reached Call california fornia via panama the territory which it now controlled was the most densely populated and most developed industrially of any in the united states consequently its business expanded enormously and by the early fifties adams and company was the best entrenched express company in its territory in july 1854 it was able abib to buy out its principal rivals including the former harnden company and it was reorganized under the name of the adams express company with a capital of the express business had come a long way in the 15 yc years ars since young william F Har harnden riden had started it with his one leather bag competition begins successful and powerful as the adams express company was this did not prevent new competitors peti tors coming into the field many confined their operate operations ons to the limits of their own city and the collection and delivery of small merchandise in it others had agents or connections in several towns or cities while still others served all the principal trade centers in one state or in several states along a particular trade route by 1860 five companies were the acknowledged leaders in the bus business I 1 ness adams the american the national the united states and wells well fargo and company because adams was so well entrenched on the north and south routes along the atlantic and gulf coasts the other companies were forced to seek new territory the part played by the express companies during the period of westward expansion both before and after the war is too well known to need much mention here included in tant taint epic is the story of the famous pony express ex press and many a thrilling yarn of adventure with hostile indians and highwaymen while the stage coach lines were in operation along with the development of our railroad system came a development of the operations of the express companies until july 1918 when the seven large express companies were con consolidated soll as a wartime measure under the name of the american railway i express company after the inc war wa r the uie unified ane war wa r ane company was permitted to continue as ag a private enterprise on march 4 1 1929 the company was taken over by the railroads and renamed ren amed the railway hallway express agency agena y then came the air express division of railway a Y express an agreement was later signed in july 1934 with pan american airways for international ex press and the first shipment under the new s estem left oakland oakl and calif for latin L atin america on august 7 1934 the next great boost for air express came on february 1 1930 1936 when 22 of tile the nations nat lons major airlines joined |