Charlotte May Pierstorff

Charlotte May Pierstorff
BornMay 12, 1908
DiedApril 25, 1987(1987-04-25) (aged 78)
Known forBeing shipped through the U.S. Mail

Charlotte May Pierstorff (May 12, 1908 – April 25, 1987) was an American girl of German descent who was shipped alive through the United States postal system by parcel post on February 19, 1914.[1][2][3] After the incident, parcel post regulations were changed to prohibit the shipment of humans.[4]

In 1997, Michael O. Tunnell wrote a children's book, Mailing May, revolving around May's childhood.[5]

Mailing

On February 19, 1914, then five-year-old Charlotte May Pierstorff was mailed from Grangeville, Idaho to Lewiston, Idaho to visit her grandmother C. G. Vennigerholz, as this was cheaper than buying a train ticket. Charlotte, who weighed 48.5 pounds (22.0 kg) at the time, rode in the mail car with a 32¢ stamp on her coat (equivalent to $10 in 2023).[6]

Leonard Mochel, May's mother's cousin and railway postal clerk, accompanied her during the trip and delivered her to her grandmother's house.[7]

This event indirectly caused the United States Post Office to bar all humans and live animals from mail delivery (with few exceptions, bees and day-old poultry amongst them).[8][9]

References

  1. ^ miss-cellania. "5 Stories of People Delivered as Cargo". Mental Floss. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
  2. ^ Books, City Library (July 8, 2013). "Please, Mr. Postman, Look and see, if there's a letter in your bag for me…". Manchester City Library. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
  3. ^ "Mailing May and Mailing Me!". Not Just Cute. February 24, 2010. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
  4. ^ "Parcel Post: Delivery of Dreams". Smithsonian Libraries. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
  5. ^ Betsy Groban (March 15, 1998). "Books". New York Times. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
  6. ^ The Emmett index. [volume] (Emmett, Idaho), 26 March 1914. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86091145/1914-03-26/ed-1/seq-8/>
  7. ^ Lewis, Danny (2016-06-14). "A brief history of children sent through the mail". Smithsonian.com. Retrieved 2021-09-15. In the early days of the parcel post, some parents took advantage of the mail in unexpected ways
  8. ^ Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho), 27 Feb. 1914. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86063039/1914-02-27/ed-1/seq-1/>
  9. ^ Publication 52 - Hazardous, Restricted, and Perishable Mail. <https://pe.usps.com/text/pub52/pub52c5_008.htm>