Stampless 1838 Utica, NY To Monroe County (Rochester, Ny) Sheriff

Can't let an entire day pass without a post in the 'Cover' section.

This cover is fun for me on many levels.

The wonderful PAID scroll. The double struck Utica, NY. Nice penmanship.

I work for the current Monroe County Sheriff.

Darius Perrin was the Postmaster prior to becoming Sheriff!

My hometown is Utica, NY! I love seeing it on covers and stamps! Beautiful cover! The pencil 1838 - is that added from a previous cover owner?

I assumed so.

Yes, a nice piece! While I don't live there anymore, I'm also from Utica and collect postal history items related to Oneida County. The red double strike is nice as well as clear "Free" cancel. Will check to see if I have anything similar.

I've always liked the Utica postmark. Its quite attractive, especially when well-struck.

Here's one of my more interesting red cancels—an 1840 letter to Pinckney MI at the 25 cent rate for one ounce > 400 miles.



Many of this era also have a "Free" stamp indicating that postage had been paid by the sender. Also from 1840.



The use of a circle "V" rate stamp also seems to have been common. This is an 1848 letter to John Graham reporting on the state of various Utica Order of Rechabites "tents" (one of the many pro-temperances groups of the day). He was pleased to note the establishment of a new chapter in Deerfield, a small nearby town where I actually lived for a few years as a small child. In the letter, Dr. Graham was addressed as "GWP" which was a title used by the Rechabites and signed "Yours in LPT," though I've been unable to determine what they stand for. By happenstance, I went to college in Geneva NY and can report that any evidence of the temperance movement was long gone.

I thought the "FREE" was a privilege for politicians and Postmasters...?

No.

RK1468's cover above from Utica to Oneida Castle is FREE because it is addressed to a postmaster.

RK1468 those are nice covers as well. I love finding Utica and Oneida county covers.

Although not quite as ornate as the Utica marking, Hudson, NY (Columbia County) also had a fancy cancel from the stampless era. The first one is from 1803 and was pre-paid. The second is free-franked, interestingly by Abe Moore, the Groton, Massachusetts Postmaster. As far as I know, these are only known in black ink, and were in use from 1801 to 1823.

The Buffalo postmark of that era is also rather attractive.



... and thanks to all for educating me on the use of the "Free" stamp.