11oz Black Mug (Mary Fields, also known as Stagecoach Mary)

Mary Fields, also known as Stagecoach Mary and Black Mary, was an American pioneer who was the first African American woman to become a U.S. postal service star (contract) route mail carrier. She was born into slavery in Hickman County, Tennessee, around 1832.

After the American Civil War ended in 1865, she was emancipated and found work as a chambermaid on board the Robert E. Lee, a Mississippi River steamboat2. She later became a housekeeper at the Ursuline Convent in Toledo, Ohio1. When Mother Amadeus, a member of the convent, was sent to St. Peter’s Mission outside Cascade, Montana, Fields relocated to Montana to care for her.

At St. Peter’s Mission, Fields took on multiple roles, including maintenance, repairs, fetching supplies, laundry, gardening, hauling freight, growing vegetables, tending chickens, and repairing buildings. However, her hearty temperament and habitual profanity made the religious community uncomfortable, and she was eventually dismissed from the convent1.

In 1895, at sixty years old, Fields secured a job as a Star Route Carrier, delivering mail in the unforgiving weather and rocky terrain of Montana. This made her the first African-American woman to work for the U.S. Postal Service. Despite the challenges, Fields was known for never missing a day of work and always delivering the mail.

Fields’ life and work have been recognized for their significance in American history. Her story is a testament to her courage, determination, and pioneering spirit