William Fuller’s (1810) story has been difficult to piece together. Past articles focused on records analysis, building timelines, and finding new sources, but those things are only part of his story. It turns out William Fuller (1810) worked for the U.S. Postal Service and interacted with Abraham Lincoln.

Here is a quote from the research suggestion submission:

William Fuller was a businessman who, in partnership with Orlando Saltmarsh, established and operated post routes for the United States Post Office Department. Before Abraham Lincoln was president he wrote some documents/bills about William Fuller because he didn’t get paid even though he delivered mail. Papers Of Abraham Lincoln.

Many families have stories of ancestors who interacted with famous individuals. If the story is true, the evidence should be found and source citations added to William Fuller’s (1810) profile.

Abraham Lincoln

Before Abraham Lincoln became president of the United States, he was a state legislator for Illinois from 1834-1842. Lincoln also worked as a lawyer with Stephen T. Logan and William Herndon during this time. Lincoln next served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1847-1849. One of his committee assignments was on the Committee on Post Office and Post Roads. This committee focused on establishing postal routes and the hiring and paying of employees and contractors. Lincoln was very involved in this committee.

Three websites have documents that Abraham would have created during his working and professional life. The first is called the Papers of Abraham Lincoln. The National Archives and the Library of Congress also have documents. The Papers of Abraham Lincoln site is built from documents found at the other two sites but is more focused. A search for William Fuller returned results!

William Fuller and the Post Office

The timeline for William Fuller suggested William and his first wife, Augusta Root, were in Georgia and Alabama. These facts were added to FamilySearch but there were no sources. It also seemed odd that a person who was living in Massachusetts and New York would suddenly be in Georgia. Such a scenario is possible, but travel in the 1830s was not easy and the journey would have been difficult and long. Augusta Root died on 12 December 1838 in Montgomery County, Alabama.¹

The documents found in the Papers of Abraham Lincoln revealed the details of William Fuller’s association with the Post Office during the time he was in Georgia.

In summary, William Fuller and Orlando Saltmarsh were hired to carry mail in Georgia under a contract with James Reeside and George W. Avery from 1 January 1835 to 31 December 1838. Unfortunately, William Fuller (1810) and Orlando Saltmarsh did not get paid for their work. Abraham Lincoln intervened on their behalf during his service on the Postal Committee.²

William Fuller and Orlando Saltmarsh were eventually successful. Abraham Lincoln presented a Bill and an Act that eventually passed in 1849.³ This was over 10 years after their original contract. Both men probably sought payment for their services for many years. There could be additional documents from 1838 to 1849 in the National Archives.

Indirect Evidence for William Fuller’s Birth in 1810

These documents provide evidence for William Fuller’s time in Georgia, Washington D.C., and his occupation. They also help provide indirect evidence for his birth.

Direct evidence for William Fuller’s birth in 1810 is still elusive. The 1860 U.S. Census also is misleading with his reported birth in 1830.⁴ However, a closer look at the 1860 U.S. Census and the Congressional documents suggests the 1810 birth year has validity.

• If William was born in 1830, then he would have been 15 years old when his oldest daughter Susan was born and 17 years old when his oldest son William Lee Fuller was born. This scenario is possible, but unlikely when combined with other facts.
• William married Augusta Root in 1838. He could not have been born in 1830 and married in 1838. Augusta’s birth was in 1816.⁵ It seems more likely that William would have been a similar age to Augusta and therefore born around 1816 as well.
• William’s contract for carrying the mail in Georgia began in 1835. The government would not have hired a five-year-old to deliver mail. The government would, however, hire a 25-year-old to deliver mail.

While the birth date of 17 March 1810 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts remains undocumented beyond the Root Genealogy book, indirect evidence does support the possibility of the date being correct. The birth date of 17 March 1810 is plausible.

Future Research

Both the National Archives, the Library of Congress, and the United States Postal Service website contain resources that can be used to find more about William Fuller’s work with the Post Office. The USPS has a historian who manages historical material. In addition, the American Philatelic Society has a research library (including a digital collection). Each of these resources could have something about William Fuller or provide a historical background that could be used to write a more complete biographical sketch. Also, interesting to contemplate what interactions William Fuller had with Abraham Lincoln!

Sources

1. Obituary of Augusta Root Fuller (d. 12 December 1838), Delaware Gazette, 26 December 1838; image copy, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : accessed 18 March 2025). The obituary is on the memories page of Augusta Roots FamilySearch profile, PID LHND-93F. ↩︎
2. Roy P. Basler, ed., The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1953), 1:442-44. H.R. Doc. No. 102. 30th Cong., 1st Sess.(1848). ↩︎
3. A Bill for the Relief of William Fuller and Orlando Saltmarsh. [1848-06-02]. /documents/D249261. The Papers of Abraham Lincoln Digital Library; An Act for the Relief of William Fuller and Orlando Saltmarsh. [1849-02-10]. /documents/D249261b. The Papers of Abraham Lincoln Digital Library. ↩︎
4. 1860 U.S. Census, New York County, New York, population schedule, Post Office New York City, p. 310 (penned), dwelling 1087, family 1455, Wm. Fuller household; digital image, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 13 January 2025); citing NARA microfilm publication M653. ↩︎
5. James Pierce Root, Root Genealogical records, 1600-1870 : Comprising the general history of the Root and Roots families in America (R. C. Root: Anthony & Co., 1870), images 216-217; digital images, FamilySearch (familysearch.org : accessed 13 January 2024). ↩︎