Henry Thomas Windsor facts for kids

Henry Thomas Windsor was a clever businessman from London. He is famous for starting "The City Despatch Post Company" in New York. This company made and sold the very first postage stamp in the USA. It was a black or grey three-cent stamp showing the head of George Washington.

Who Was Henry Thomas Windsor?

Henry Thomas Windsor was a merchant, which means he bought and sold goods for a living. He came from London, England. Windsor was very impressed by the new ideas for mail delivery in Great Britain. These ideas came from a man named Rowland Hill. Hill had helped create the world's first postage stamp, called the Penny Black. This stamp made sending letters much easier and cheaper.

A New Idea for Mail

In April 1841, Windsor and his wife, Elizabeth, sailed from Liverpool to New York. They arrived in May. For several months, Windsor visited friends in cities like Boston and Baltimore. He knew a lot about the English postal system. While traveling, he noticed that the mail service in America was not very good. It was slow and cost too much money.

Windsor saw a chance to start his own business. He decided to create a private mail service in New York City. He wanted to make sending letters easier and more affordable for people.

Starting a Mail Business

To set up his new business, Windsor lived in Hoboken, New Jersey. He officially started the City Despatch Post on February 1, 1842. He worked with his friend, Alexander M Greig. They ran the business from Greig's house.

They began delivering mail in the first week of February 1842. This was just in time for the busy Valentine season, when many people send cards. A few months later, Windsor sold his company to the U.S. Government. The service then became known as the "United States City Despatch Post." The government took over on August 16, 1842. After selling the company, Windsor and his wife moved back to London.

The First American Stamp

The three-cent stamp issued by the City Despatch Post in 1842 was very important. It was the first postage stamp ever issued in the Western Hemisphere (which includes North and South America). This stamp came out only 21 months after Great Britain's famous Penny Black and Two-Pence Blue stamps.

It also came out much earlier than other U.S. stamps. It was three years before the U.S. Postmaster's Provisionals of 1845. And it was five years before the main U.S. General Issues of 1847.

These special stamps were made by a company called Rawdon, Wright & Hatch. They were engraved on steel plates. Then, they were printed in large sheets, with 42 stamps on each sheet.