Webinar Wednesday – Finding Information about U.S. Postmasters

Last Saturday, I attended a webinar hosted by the Dallas Genealogical Society. Jeanette Sheliga presented “My Ancestor was a Postmaster.” It is located behind the pay wall for society members only.

She presented three online record groups that have information about postmasters and post offices. I searched in my database and found my 2x-great-grandfather, Ebenezer Loveless of Faulkner County, Arkansas, was a postmaster at the Linder post office.

Appointments to Postmaster
The first document I found was the ledger that listed the appointments of postmasters. Ancestry has this database called, “U.S., Appointments of U.S. Postmasters, 1832-1971,” and entering Loveless and Faulkner County, Arkansas, one entry came up for Ebby Loveless. He was appointed to the Linder Post Office on 21 November 1901, relieving James L. Swailes, and the next postmaster listed was John D. Parks, who started on 11 October 1907.[1]

Appointment to Postmaster - Faulkner Co, Arkansas

Official Registers
All government employes were listed in The Official Register by name and the amount of compensation they received the previous year. I found Ebby Loveless listed in three issues. In 1903, he was at the Linder Post Office and was paid $47.09.[2] In 1905, he was paid $79.08.[3] In 1907, he was paid $65.[4]

Register of Officers & Agents, Post Offices & Postmasters - Arkansas 1903

This database is great place to search if one has an ancestor who worked for the federal government in some kind a capacity. There were so many postal workers, that The Official Register was in two volumes with the second volume just postal workers. Unfortunately, because of so many postal workers, the publication eliminated the postal workers after the 1911 issue.[5]

Reports of Site Location Postal Maps, 1837-1950
This collection contains documents filled out by postmasters that gives geographic information about the location of their respective post office. Ebby Loveless filled out one on 22 January 1902, just after he was appointed postmaster. They were to draw out a map on the reverse of the post office location but the Linder paper had no map, but I have Ebby's signature!

Linder was in the northwest quarter of Section 3 in Township 6, Range 13 West. The nearest river was the Arkansas River, we miles away. The nearest creek was Cadron Creek, 3 miles away. His office was on Mail Route No. 47347. His office was a Special Office supplied from Conway, 10 miles away. The nearest Office on his route was Greenbrier, 3.5 miles away by road in the northern direction. The nearest Office on the same route on the other side was Conway, 10 miles to the south. The nearest Post Office off the route was Wooster, 6 miles in the Northwest direction. The nearest railroad was the Fort Smith Railroad.[6]

Also included in this collection was a county map of Faulkner that shows the features Ebby Loveless mentioned on his form. Linder is in the East Fork Township right in the center of the county, on the road between Greenbrier and Conway.[7]

Summary
These documents will help me tell the further story of Baptist preacher, Ebenezer Loveless, who moved to Texas in 1907, which is probably the reason for a new postmaster being appointed that year. Why don’t you give these collections a try to see if you had a postmaster in your family. Even if you don’t, these records can tell you who the postmaster was, especially when you find a newspaper article announcing the post office had a letter for your ancestor. Or you want to know a little about the area where the post office was situated. A map drawn by the postmaster might help with your own research.

#WebinarWednesday
This is a new series where I further investigate a topic after attending a webinar. This way, I am applying what I learned.

[1] “U.S., Appointments of U.S. Postmasters, 1832-1971,” imaged, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1932/images/30439_065392-00042 : accessed 4 Oct 2026) > Arkansas > Drew – Lonoke > image 40 of 578, Faulkner County, p. 125, Linder Post Office, Ebby Loveless, 1901; citing “Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-1971,” vol. 98, c. 1892-1930; RG: Records of the Post Office Department, 1773-1971; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

[2] Official Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, v. II (The Post Office and the Postal Service, 1903), Department and Post-Offices and Postmasters, p. 47, Linder, Arkansas, Ebby Loveless; imaged, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2525/images/40411_1821100517_0829-00062 : accessed 4 Oct 2026), image 61 of 2268. 

[3] Official Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, v. II (The Post Office and the Postal Service, 1905), Department and Post-Offices and Postmasters, p. 44, Linder, Arkansas, Ebby Loveless; imaged, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2525/images/40411_1821100517_0831-00059 : accessed 4 Oct 2026), image 58 of 2492.

[4] Official Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, v. II (The Post Office and the Postal Service, 1907), Department and Post-Offices and Postmasters, p. 40, Linder, Arkansas, Ebby Loveless; imaged, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2525/images/40411_1821100517_0834-00047 : accessed 4 Oct 2026), image 46 of 778. 

[5] John P. Deeben, “The Official Register of the United States, 1816-1959,” Prologue Magazine, Winter 2004; imaged, National Archives (https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2004/winter/genealogy-official-register.html : accessed 4 Oct 2026).

[6] Ebby Loveless, postmaster, Report of Site Location for Linder Post Office, Faulkner Co, Arkansas, 22 Jan 1902; imaged, National Archives Catalog (https://catalog.archives.gov/id/68203545?objectPage=167 : accessed 4 Oct 2026) > image 167 of 978; citing file unit NA Identifier (NAID) 60203545, Series: Reports of Site Locations, Record Group 28: Records of the Post Office Department, National Archives, Washington, DC.

[7] Map of Faulkner County, Arkansas; imaged, National Archives Catalog (https://catalog.archives.gov/id/68203545?objectPage=134 : accessed 4 Oct 2026) > image 134 of 978; citing file unit NA Identifier (NAID) 60203545, Series: Reports of Site Locations, Record Group 28: Records of the Post Office Department, National Archives, Washington, DC.

Copyright © 2011-2026 by Lisa S. Gorrell, Mam-ma's Southern Family, All rights reserved.

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