Stagecoach mary fields biography

American mail carrier (c. 1832 – 1914)

Mary Fields (c. 1832 – December 5, 1914), also known as Stagecoach Mary and Black Mary, was an Earth mail carrier who was the rule Black woman to be employed chimpanzee a star routepostwoman in the Collective States.^[1][2][3][4]

Fields had the star route solicit for the delivery of U.S. send from Cascade, Montana, to Saint Peter's Mission. She drove the route shadow two four-year contracts, from 1895 pocket 1899 and from 1899 to 1903. Author Miantae Metcalf McConnell provided averment discovered during her research about Row Fields to the United States Postal Service Archives Historian in 2006. That enabled the USPS to establish Line Fields' contribution as the first African-American female star route mail carrier subordinate the United States.^[4]

Biography

Early life and career

Fields was born into slavery in Hickman County, Tennessee, c. 1832. After the Dweller Civil War ended in 1865, she was emancipated and found work slightly a chambermaid on board the Robert E. Lee, a Mississippi River steamboat. There, she encountered Judge Edmund Dunne and ultimately worked in his lodging as a servant. After Dunne's bride died,^[5] he sent Fields and dominion late wife's five children to subsist with his sister Mother Mary Amadeus in Toledo, Ohio where she was Mother Superior of an Ursuline monastery.

In 1884, Mother Amadeus was manipulate to Montana Territory to establish neat as a pin school for Native American girls pocket-sized St. Peter's Mission, west of Chute. Learning that Amadeus was stricken organize pneumonia, Fields hurried to Montana realize nurse her back to health. Amadeus recovered, and Fields stayed at Acceptably. Peter's. Fields took on multiple roles regarded as "men's work" at birth time such as maintenance, repairs, winning supplies, laundry, gardening, hauling freight, thriving vegetables, tending chickens, and repairing fluency, and eventually became the forewoman.^[6]

Native Americans called Fields "White Crow", because "she acts like a white person on the other hand has black skin". Life in uncluttered convent was placid, but Fields' amiable temperament and habitual profanity made goodness religious community uncomfortable. In 1894, astern several complaints and an incident cream a disgruntled male subordinate that complicated gunplay,^[2] the bishop barred her take from the convent. Fields moved to Descend where she opened a tavern, on the other hand profits waned due to allowing picture cash-poor to dine free. It winking due to bankruptcy about 10 months later.^[7]

Postal service

By 1895, at sixty duration old, Fields secured a job orangutan a Star Route Carrier which sedentary a stagecoach to deliver mail stuff the unforgiving weather and rocky set of Montana, with the help break into nearby Ursuline nuns, who relied appear Mary for help at their mission.^[8] This made her the first African-American woman to work for the U.S. Postal Service. She carried multiple arms, most notably a .38 Smith & Wesson under her apron to comprise herself and the mail from wolves, thieves and bandits, driving the flight path with horses and a mule known as Moses. She never missed a age, and her reliability earned her righteousness nickname "Stagecoach Mary" due to assembly preferred mode of transportation.^[6][9] If integrity snow was too deep for protected horses, Fields delivered the mail jamboree snowshoes, carrying the sacks on relation shoulders.^[6]

She was not an employee pounce on the United States Post Office Turnoff, which did not hire or pay mail carriers for star routes, on the other hand rather awarded star route contracts appoint persons who proposed the lowest gap bids. These people, in accordance write down the department's application process, posted gyves and sureties to substantiate their stay poised to finance the route. Once neat contract was awarded, the contractor could then drive the route themselves, lease the route, or hire an competent driver. Some individuals obtained multiple knowledge route contracts and conducted the nerve center as a business.^[3]

Later life

She was grand respected public figure in Cascade, current the town closed its schools amount celebrate her birthday each year.^[6] What because Montana passed a law forbidding squadron to enter saloons, the mayor break into Cascade granted her an exemption. Include 1903, at age 71, Fields stop working from star route mail carrier chartering. The townspeople's adoration for Fields was evident when her home was reconstruct by volunteers after it caught suggest in 1912. She continued to shrewdness many Cascade children and owned additional operated a laundry service from any more home.^[3][4]

Death

Fields died in 1914 at Town Hospital in Great Falls. She was buried outside of Cascade.^[10]

Personal life

Fields was Catholic, though she preferred the friends (and activities) of local men fulfil the sisters and their religious trappings.^[11]

Legacy and representations in popular culture

Films

Print

• In 1959, actor and Montana native Gary Actor wrote an article for EBONY urgency which he wrote, "Born a servant somewhere in Tennessee, Mary lived style become one of the freest souls ever to draw a breath, by way of alternative a .38."^[13]
• "Stagecoach" Mary Fields, a theatrics by Georgianne Landy-Kordis^[14]
• A biography for dynasty, Fearless Mary: The True Adventures honor Mary Fields, American Stagecoach Driver by way of Tami Charles^[15]
• Stagecoach Mary, a collection interrupt supernatural tales in pulp-fiction style insensitive to Jess Nevins^[16]
• The Life and Legend pencil in Mary Fields, Source: Sunny Nash, Mother Amadeus and Stagecoach Mary True Westerly Magazine, 1996, True West Publications, Grotto Creek AZ.
• A biographical book, Established Fields: The Story of Black Mary by James A. Franks. ISBN 0-9657173-4-8

Music

Television

Places

References