Mary Fields
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Who was Mary Fields?
Mary Fields (1832?ā1914) was an American pioneer, born into slavery, who became the first African American woman to work as a U.S. Postal Service star route mail carrier anchor text.
In the late 1870s, Fields became a housekeeper at an Ursuline Convent in Toledo, Ohio. Around 1885, she moved to Montana to work at St. Peterās Mission, where she did maintenance, repairs, gardening, and laundry, and transported supplies. After being dismissed from the mission, Fields opened a restaurant, but it failed, possibly due to her generosity in feeding people for free. In 1895, she secured a postal service contract to deliver mail between Cascade and St. Peterās Mission. Her reliability on this challenging route earned her the nickname "Stagecoach Mary." After retiring from the postal service, she ran a laundry service and babysat, becoming a beloved figure in Cascade.
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Where and when did Mary Fields live?
Mary Fields was born in Hickman County, Tennessee, around 1832. In the late 1870s, she worked as a housekeeper at the Ursuline Convent in Toledo, Ohio, before relocating to Montana around 1885 to work at St. Peterās Mission outside of Cascade.
In 1895, Fields secured a postal service contract to deliver mail between Cascade and St. Peterās Mission. After retiring from the postal service in the early 20th century, she operated a laundry service and babysat. Fields remained in Cascade until her death on December 5, 1914, in Cascade County, Montana.
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What made Mary Fields a pioneer in American history?
Mary Fields was an American pioneer, born into slavery, who broke barriers as the first African American woman to become a U.S. postal service star route mail carrier.
In 1895, Fields secured a postal service contract to deliver mail between Cascade and St. Peterās Mission. Her commitment and dependability on this challenging route earned her the nickname "Stagecoach Mary." For eight years, she served the postal service until her retirement in the early 20th century. Later, she ran a laundry service and was known to babysit.
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What job did Mary Fields hold that was unusual for her time?
Mary Fields, born into slavery, became the first African American woman to work as a U.S. postal service star route mail carrier. In 1895, she secured a contract to transport mail between Cascade and St. Peterās Mission. Her commitment and dependability on this challenging route earned her the nickname "Stagecoach Mary." Fields worked for the postal service for eight years before retiring in the early 20th century.
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How did Mary Fields get the nickname "Stagecoach Mary"?
Mary Fields earned the nickname "Stagecoach Mary" because of her dedication and reliability in carrying mail between Cascade, Montana, and St. Peterās Mission. In 1895, she secured a contract with the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail on this challenging route. Her commitment to the job, which often involved navigating dangerous conditions, led people to call her Stagecoach Mary. She worked for the postal service for eight years before retiring in the early 20th century and was a beloved figure in Cascade.
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What is Mary Fields remembered for today?
Mary Fields, born into slavery, is remembered today as an American pioneer. She holds the distinction of being the first African American woman to become a U.S. postal service star route mail carrier.
In 1895, Fields secured a postal service contract to deliver mail between Cascade and St. Peterās Mission. Her commitment and dependability on this challenging route earned her the nickname "Stagecoach Mary." After eight years, she retired from the postal service in the early 20th century and ran a laundry service and babysat. Fields, known for her saloon visits, became a well-loved figure in Cascade.
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Mary Fields (born 1832?, Hickman county, Tennessee, U.S.ādied December 5, 1914, Cascade county, Montana) was an American pioneer who was the first African American woman to become a U.S. postal service star (contract) route mail carrier.
Fields was born into slavery. Little is known of her early life or what she did in the years immediately following the end of the Civil War and her emancipation. In the late 1870s, she became a housekeeper at the Ursuline Convent in Toledo, Ohio, where she had a close relationship with Mother Amadeus. Various accounts posit that Mother Amadeus was a member of a family that owned Fields when she was a child and that this early acquaintanceship accounted both for their close relationship and for Fieldsās presence at the convent. It is known that Fields was about 6 feet (1.8 metres) tall and weighed about 200 pounds (91 kg) and was capable of doing what was then regarded as menās work as well as more-standard housekeeping chores. When Mother Amadeus was sent to St. Peterās Mission outside Cascade, Montana, Fields initially remained in Toledo, but about 1885 Mother Amadeus sent for her (most accounts say that Mother Amadeus was near death with pneumonia and asked for Mary to take care of her), and Fields relocated to Montana.
Fields worked for the mission, doing maintenance and repair work as well as gardening and laundry, and she was also responsible for ferrying in supplies from nearby towns to the mission. However, despite her devotion to the nuns, she drank in saloons with men and was reputed to have a quick temper. She may have gotten into a gunfight with a man who is variously reported to have objected to taking orders from her or to her wages being higher than his. In any case, the bishop of the Montana diocese ordered the convent to dismiss Fields. She was said to have opened one or more eateries in Cascade, but these enterprises failed, possibly because of her alleged generosity in allowing those unable to pay to eat for free.
In 1895 Fields acquired the postal service contract for mail between Cascade and St. Peterās Mission. Her dedication and reliability on this difficult and often dangerous route earned her the sobriquet Stagecoach Mary. She worked for the postal service for eight years and retired in the early 20th century. Thereafter, she operated a laundry service and also reportedly babysat children. She continued to drink in saloons, and she became a beloved figure in Cascade. The actor Gary Cooper met Fields when he was a child, and an account of his memories of her appeared in Ebony magazine (1959).