Meet One Of Our City’s First Rural Carriers

By: Karen Zach

I love firsts and today’s article is in regards to one of the two hired first mail carriers in Montgomery County. My plan, anyway, is for you to read about the other one next week. In his first month of delivering U.S. mail here in the county, he delivered 1,802 pieces of mail and collected for mailing 543 pieces on Route 2. Frank Clements on RR 1 delivered a few less at 1,773 and collected 457 pieces.

So, meet William Preston Daggett born 23 May 1843 in Preble County, Ohio the son of William and Eliza (Miller) who moved to Rushville, Indiana not long after the 1850 census where Sr. was a grocer. William Preston passed away here 16 Feb 1916. He first married Margaret Hardman 28 May 1875 in Shelby County, Indiana. Believe they later divorced or she passed. Although he spent the majority of his life with us, he is buried in Lapel, Indiana “with his beloved.” (keep reading)

Pictured here (CDPL Image Database) is WP Daggett (hopefully – there is a small question to that), likely his second wife Sarah Tilton and her mother who lived with them. One of the boys (no hat) I’m fairly sure is Freeman Robert Nixon, her grandson born 6 April 1889 (in MoCo) who lived with them as well, but not positive who the other would be. As far as I know, he never had children but enjoyed hers, especially Freeman. His mother was Rose Tilton Nixon Laurimore, one of four daughters born to the Tiltons so the other boy could easily belong to one of them. WP also adopted a daughter in 1877, Ida May Largent who went by Loretta Daggett so might be a son of hers. However, imagine it was likely Herman Wilson who lived with them in 1900, another of Sarah’s grandsons. Daggett and this wife were divorced on a charge of her beating him and he applied for the same with his last wife, his beloved, for the same reason (“has frequently had occasion to whip him, doing the job so thoroughly that he alleges he was unfit to appear before the people of his route”).

He possibly had a drinking problem as he and Jack Britton in late August 1893 went to Plainfield for the Keeley treatment. Certainly, he was well loved by his mail patrons, often found in little bleeps under the “Route 2” headlines in the newspapers: “Mr. D. is greeted with many smiling faces along the route and with bouquets. People are glad to have rural routes especially when they have a nice carrier like Mr. Daggett.” (CWJ 1 June 1900). Also in 1900, he entertained 20 young couples from Scott Twp who lived on his RR #2 route – they had an elaborate lunch and later played games and had music (Joe Kepler’s graphaphone and Ethel Reynolds, teacher at White

School who played the piano) – great time was had by all. In late August 1899, from heat, he was found unconscious in his buggy when he arrived at Nathan G. Kesslers. They took him inside and the family tenderly nursed him. By dark, he returned home but had double mail on part of his route the next day. Also, he had the first female substitute Lottie McClain, who was a farm girl who knew horses and was not afraid of work. His last wife, Sallie, was later his sub as he began to age and she was a few years younger. There were other wives as subs, as well on various routes.

In 1894, Daggett built a $1,800 cottage on East Market Street as his home. In April of the next year, Daggett sent a lengthy letter back home from California to the Weekly Journal describing the pluses (mainly) and minuses of living there (merchandise is cheap such as boots, shoes, dress goods – veggie all years round – meats and delicacies cheaper than home – 20 cents for a same great meal that costs 50 cents at the Robbins or Nutt Hotels) and people he visited (Charlie Bonnell, brother of John and Will; George Meharry who had gone to California 12 years earlier and had made quite a fortune but with a lot of hard work) as well as Davy George, Ira Mote and Paul Larsh whom he had a grand time with.

A widow in 1907, he rediscovered his first “real love” (which by the way basically seemed to be like the others, he going to court more than once for being beaten but as far as I know they did not divorce) when he discovered widow, Sallie Jane Ellen Johnson Lewark, whom he had proposed to 33 years earlier but they had a lovers spat the evening before and the marriage was broken-off. When he went to see her, they talked over old times, and that resulted in the “renewal of old love.” She accepted his proposal and there was no fighting. “Mr. Daggett has the distinction of having driven the first rural route mail delivery wagon out of Crawfordsville where as she had been a bookkeeper for the Glove Iron Company in Indianapolis.” She passed away in 1934 and is buried with him in Lapel.

Should say here that WP was very active in several organizations, especially as a speaker, introducing Governor Mount in his “usual suave and happy manner!” (CWJ 8 Sept 1899) and a state officer (Good Templers as well as the organizer of the first union group, helping start several Unions in the state). Quite active in the local GAR he fought with Co F 16th Indiana, for about a year, having been in at least one major battle. Many speeches were given by him including when J.R. Bonnell (CWJ 22 Nov 1901), switched jobs from Postmaster to revenue collector, when the 26 employees from the PO had a royal dinner. Afterwards WP “in a neat speech” presented Bonnell with an elegant upholstered Morris chair as testimony of how his employees had loved, admired and appreciated him just as Daggett’s mail patrons did with him. Rest In Peace, dear sir!

– Karen Zach is the editor of Montgomery Memories, our monthly magazine all about Montgomery County. Her column, Around the County, appears each Thursday in The Paper of Montgomery County. You can reach her at [email protected].