Red Oak Post Office
Contributed by Sylvia Smith
Red Oak Post Office, originally chartered in 1847, before Ellis County was organized, is the oldest postoffice in the county. A few years ago, whiles I was still working at the post office as a Rural Letter Carrier, we had a patron, a Mr. Taylor, who collected postal cancellations...postal covers as he sometimes called them. He put a poster-sized display in the lobby of the post office which was titled, "A Little Red Oak and Ellis County Postal History." Eventually, I found time to go into the lobby to see it and you will not believe my discovery!!!
The first two items were an original envelope and a photo copy of the
inside of the same envelope. That was followed by photo copies of four pages
from a letter to George Douglas. The caption reads:
Manuscript cancel from Red Oak dated March 21 [1864] The year date
is determined by the addressee. Griffin's 21st Texas Infantry Battalion was
located in the Houston area during early to mid 1864.
This is the oldest known cancel from Red Oak. Due to severe shortages during
the Civil War, this envelope was turned inside out and used to send the letter
to George Douglas. It was originally mailed at Farmington, Miss. to N. L.
Douglas at Pleasant Run, Texas. [This dates the letter as pre-Civil War,
since Pleasant Run became a part of Lancaster in 1860.]
The caption under the letter pages reads: Letter dated May 14th 1864 from
N. L. Douglas to his brother, George, serving in the Confederate Army at
Houston. The letter discusses local news as well as much war news. George
and N. L. Douglas signed the Oath of Allegiance to the United States at
Waxahachie, Ellis County, Oct. 21, 1865."
I feel Mr. Taylor's reference to N. L. and George being brothers is an assumption
on his part. Although the letter does begin Brother George it was
written by a woman, most likely a sister. N. L. and George were father and
son.
The collection includes eight other Ellis County cancellations from various
towns. One of interest is a letter mailed from the Rockett Post Office to
Royal Manufacturing Company in Chicago. The caption reads: Rockett had
a Post Office from 1894-1897. This letter was probably forwarded to Red Oak
by horseback or wagon, stamped on the back as received at Red Oak, and loaded
on the M-K-T [train] for transport to Dallas. Received in Chicago two days
later. Not bad for 1896!
One day Mr. Taylor announced he was moving to Houston and would be taking
the Red Oak display with him. Luckily, I happened to overhear and told him
of my relationship (N. L. Douglas is my g-g-g-grandfather) to the writers
of the Civil War letters. I also said I would hate to see the collection
leave the area and asked if he would sell it to me. Well, it cost me a smooth
200 dollars but I have the entire display. It is framed and hangs in the
darkest part of my hallway.
This is even more surprising. When I asked Mr. Taylor where he got the Douglas letter, he said from a collector friend who purchased it at a "show" in Colorado!
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This page was last modified: Thursday, 01-Jul-2021 13:30:26 MDT