This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
Birth of the express business and its pioneers
A century of express service begins with William F. Harnden who started with a leather bag in 1839. The idea grew into Adams Express and others, reshaping U.S. transport through rail, water, and later air routes, with key figures like Adolphus Harnden and Alvin Adams guiding early expansion.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
William F. Harnden
Western Newspaper ‘Union
New England
Harnden
Reading
Mass
Sylvester Harnden
Boston and Worcester Railroad
New York
James W. Hale
Hale
Boston
Boston and Providence
John W. Richmond
Providence
Wall Street
Adolphus
Philadelphia
Cunard
Liverpool
Dexter Brigham Jr
Harnden and Company
Commodore Warnerbilt
Lexington
Long Island Sound
Adolphus Harnden
Batley
Europe
Middle West
Alvin Adams
Vermont
P. B
Burke
Burke and Company
Adams
Adams and Company
Connecticut
Massachusetts
Hatch and Bartlett
Baltimore
Washington
Atlantic
Gulf
Thompson, Livingstone and Company
Adams’and Company
Harnden Company
William H. Harnden
Wells-Fargo and Company
Mount Auburn Cemetery
Cambridge
Express Companies
United States
Express
Adams Company
California
Panama
Adams Express Company