Information about Thomas Neale

Thomas Neale (British:1641-1699) is renowned as being, amongst other things, the first postmaster general of the colonial United States.

Neale was an MP for 30 years, Master of the Mint and the Transfer Office, Groom Porter, gambler and entrepreneur. His projects ranged from the development of Seven Dials, Shadwell, East Smithfield and Tunbridge Wells, to land drainage, steel and papermaking, mining in Maryland and Virginia, raising shipwrecks, to developing a dice to check on cheating at gaming. He was also the author of numerous tracts on coinage and fund-raising, and was involved in the idea of a National Land Bank, the precursor of the Bank of England.

In America

Throughout the beginning years of the colonial United States many attempts were made to initiate a postal service. These early attempts were of small scale and usually involved a colony, Boston for example, setting up a location in town that one could post a letter back home to England. Other attempts focused on postal service between two larger colonies, such as Boston/Delaware, but the available services remained limited and disjointed for many years.

Central postal organization first came to the colonies in 1692 when Thomas Neale received a 21-year grant from the British Crown for a North American Postal Service. In February, 1692 a grant from William and Mary empowered Thomas Neale "to erect, settle and establish within the chief parts of their majesties' colonies and plantations in America, an office or offices for the receiving and dispatching letters and pacquets, and to receive, send and deliver the same under such rates and sums of money as the planters shall agree to give, and to hold and enjoy the same for the term of twenty-one years."

Rates of postage were accordingly fixed and authorized, and measures were taken to establish a post office in each town in Virginia. Massachusetts and other Colonies soon passed postal laws, and a very imperfect post office system was established. Neale's patent expired in 1710, when Parliament extended the English postal system to the Colonies. The chief office was established in New York City, where letters were conveyed by regular packets across the Atlantic.

1692: Thomas Neale received postal patent (concession) for the American and West Indies Colonial Post; Neale appointed Andrew Hamilton, Governor of New Jersey, as his deputy postmaster.

1693: May 1: Hamilton started weekly service between Portsmouth, New Hampshire and Virginia. Campbell, Duncan and John organized first postal network in America.

1698: Neale dropped Hamilton; Hamilton had revenue of less than 2,000 dollars, expenses totaling app. 5,000 dollars for period in office

Neale's franchise cost him only 80 cents a year but was no bargain; he died heavily in debt, in 1699.

In England

He was one of the most influential figures of late Stuart England, and one of the least chronicled. He used his many contacts garnered via family, court and county connections, to act as middleman between men of money, the Court, other parties, fellow MPs and the general public.

He was Master of the Mint from 1678 to the date of his death, when he was succeeded by Sir Isaac Newton.

From 1688, Neale developed his interests as a Member of Parliament, sitting on 62 committees. In February 1678, he was appointed Groom Porter to Charles II, a post which he also held under James II and William III. His duties in that capacity were to see the King's lodgings furnished with tables, chairs and firing, to provide cards and dice, and to decide disputes at the card-table and on the bowling-green. He was authorised by the King to license and suppress gaming-houses, and to prosecute unlicensed keepers of "rafflings" and other public games. On his own account he originated a loan and lottery business on the Venetian system.

As a projector and speculator he promoted building schemes, among which were the converging streets of Seven Dials - one of them Neal Street, Long Acre, still bears his name - and Lower Shadwell.

In 1694 he was married to England's richest widow and he became known as 'Golden Neal'.

This remarkable man died insolvent about 1699 after a varied career, during which he ran through two fortunes, doubtless through gaming and speculative tendencies.

References

• http://www.ushistory.org/franklin/philadelphia/postoffice.htm
• http://www.usps.com/history/history/his1_5.htm
• http://www.sil.si.edu/SILPublications/postal-history/bibliography/
• http://www.mernick.co.uk/thhol/shadwell.html
• http://www.sevendials.com/seven_dials.php
• http://www.askphil.org/b58.htm

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