- John Warren Butterfield
John Warren Butterfield was an operator of
stagecoach andfreight lines in the mid-1800's in the American northeast and southwest. He founded companies that becameAmerican Express andWells Fargo . From 1858 to 1861 he ran a stage route running from St. Louis to San Francisco, establishing an important connection between the new state ofCalifornia and the government and economy of the contiguous eastern states.He was born on a farm in
Berne, New York in 1801. By the age of 19 he was a professional stage coach driver working out ofAlbany, New York , conveying passengers and freight to Utica. In 1822 he married Malinda Harriet Baker of Berne. He later established stage routes throughout New York State, and other means of transportation including packet and steamboats on Lake Ontario, the street railroad in Utica, and local plank-roads. He organized the Black River railroad. In 1850 his firm of Butterfield, Wasson & Co. merged with Livingston, Fargo & Co. and Wells & Co. as theAmerican Express Co. under his direction. In 1857 he organized the longButterfield Overland Mail route and, until 1861, contracted with the US government to carry mail and passengers between St. Louis and San Francisco. In 1860, due to debts, Butterfield was forced out andWells Fargo took over the route. He retired to his home in Utica and, after serving briefly as mayor there, died in 1869.External links
* [http://www.desertusa.com/mag98/dec/papr/butter.html John Butterfield (Desert USA)]
* [http://www.over-land.com/mail.html John Butterfield and the Overland Express]
* [http://www.bernehistory.org/bioDetail.asp?ID=5 Berne (New York) Historical Project]
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