People tried mailing children in early 1900s.

people really tried to mail children through the U.S. Postal Service in the early 1900s! 😳📬

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Here’s what happened:

1. Background:

In 1913, the U.S. Post Office started offering a new service called Parcel Post.
For the first time, people could send packages (not just letters) through the mail.
The rules about what exactly counted as a “parcel” weren’t super clear yet… so some people got creative.

2. Mailing Children (Seriously!):

A few families figured out it was cheaper to mail their small children (like a package) than to buy a train ticket to send them somewhere.
So they attached postage stamps to the kids’ clothes and mailed them — usually to grandparents or relatives a few miles away.

3. How It Worked:

Kids were usually accompanied by trusted postal workers (they weren’t stuffed in boxes or anything crazy).
A mail carrier would basically walk the child or carry them on the train to their destination.
The child would have a tag or stamp on their coat — just like a piece of mail!

4. Famous Cases:

In 1914, a little girl named May Pierstorff (4 years old) was “mailed” from Grangeville to Lewiston, Idaho.
She weighed just under the 50-pound limit for parcels, so her parents paid 53 cents in stamps.
A cousin who worked for the postal service took her safely to her grandmother’s house.

5. The Reaction:

Word got out and it became a bit of a media sensation — people thought it was funny but also kinda crazy.
Soon after, the Postmaster General officially banned mailing of humans through Parcel Post.

6. The Rule Today:

Today, it’s 100% illegal to mail living people (or animals that aren’t specifically allowed, like bees or baby chicks under special conditions).
But those early attempts are a quirky, true part of U.S. history!

Fun Fact:
Because of stories like this, some people joke that “In America, if it fits, it ships” started way earlier than you’d think! 😄📦

Let’s go even deeper into the story of mailing children in the early 1900s — because it’s even crazier when you hear the details.

The Full Story Behind Mailing Children:

1. Why People Did It:

Money was tight for a lot of families back then, especially in rural America.
Trains were the main way to travel long distances, but buying a train ticket could be expensive.
On the other hand, mailing a “package” (even a human one!) through Parcel Post was much cheaper.
Plus, people trusted their local mail carriers a lot — they were often neighbors and well-known community members.

2. Early Parcel Post Rules Were Vague:

When Parcel Post started in 1913, it allowed the mailing of live animals like baby chicks, bees, and small dogs under certain rules.
Humans weren’t mentioned, because nobody really expected that would be an issue!
Some clever (and desperate) parents found a loophole: “If I can mail a chicken, why not my 40-pound child?” 🐥👶

3. Famous Cases (More Than One!):

Here are a few examples:

January 1913:
A baby boy in Batavia, Ohio, was mailed to his grandmother’s house about a mile away.
Cost: 15 cents in postage (plus insurance).
January 1914 (Most Famous Case):
May Pierstorff, age 4, was mailed from Grangeville to Lewiston, Idaho (about 73 miles!).
She weighed 48½ pounds — under the 50-pound limit.
Cost: 53 cents in stamps pinned to her coat.
She traveled in the mail car of a train and was delivered safely by a relative who was a postal worker.
August 1915:
A 3-year-old girl named Maud Smith was mailed 40 miles from her grandparents’ home to her mother’s house in Christiansburg, Virginia.

4. How They Were Transported:

Kids were never stuffed in sacks or boxed up (thankfully!).
Postal workers carried them, walked with them, or rode trains with them — treating them like special cargo.
It was more like babysitting than actual “mail delivery.”

5. Reaction from the Post Office:

As word spread, newspapers loved covering these stories — it was headline news because it sounded so bizarre.
The Post Office quickly realized this wasn’t safe or practical.
By mid-1915, the U.S. Postmaster General issued a final rule: “Children cannot be sent through the mail under any circumstances.”
After that, only certain animals under strict rules were allowed to travel by mail — never humans again.

6. Legacy Today:

These stories have inspired children’s books, documentaries, and even museum exhibits about weird early American history.
It’s often used as a fun example of why clear rules and regulations are necessary when launching new services.

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Summary in 1 Line:

In the early 1900s, some clever American families used a loophole in the postal rules to mail their kids across towns — saving money but sparking one of the weirdest chapters in U.S. history. 📜✉️👶

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