Searsburg VT - Rural Post Office IDd Postmaster - 1910 RPPC - RARE Real Photo For Sale

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Searsburg VT - Rural Post Office IDd Postmaster - 1910 RPPC - RARE Real Photo:
$178.00

For offer - a very nice old Postcard! Fresh from an estate in Upstate NY. Never offered on the market until now. Vintage, Old, antique, Original - NOT a Reproduction - Guaranteed !! Nice scene. Very rare. Interesting history on back. Identified postmaster - see below for his bio. Tells about this man and place. PO sign at upper left of door and sign says DO not call on Sunday. Also a broadside to right, possibly theater / circus related. What a shack! In very good condition.Please see photos. If you collect postcards, 20th century history, American history, Americana, occupational, United States postal service,etc., this is a nice one for your paper or ephemera collection. 3239

Needham Drury Bartlett

BIRTH

13 Feb 1848

Shutesbury, Franklin County, Massachusetts, USA

DEATH

6 Jan 1933 (aged 84)

Old Bennington, Bennington County, Vermont, USA

BURIAL

Eames Cemetery

Searsburg, Bennington County, Vermont, USA

Needham Bartlett, postmaster of Searsburg and one of the unique figures of Southern Vermont died Friday evening about 9 o'clock at the home of his grand nephew, Ernest Bartlett of Monument avenue, Old Bennington. Pneumonia was the cause of the elderly man's demise and his passing marks the concluding phrase of a life which was rich in experience, though curious and thwarted in certain outward manifestations. There is probably no one in Southern Vermont who can say definitely how old Needham Bartlett was at the time of his death, though a conversation which his grand nephew had with him some time ago has led the Old Bennington resident to the belief that the aged postmaster was about 85 and would celebrate a birthday early in February. Although he was not born in Searsburg, Mr. Bartlett has been a resident of that town for the greater part of half a century. Since 1914 he has been postmaster of the community and for a time previous to the Wilson administration he served in the capacity of postmaster for a period of years. No town in the United States, possibly, has had so interesting a figure to occupy the position of postmaster, or so unique a spot for its postoffice. For Mr. Bartlett assigned one small corner of his residence, which was little more than a one room shack, as the postoffice. The shack in which he resided was built for him by the New England Power company after a small dwelling in which he had previously lived was destroyed. The shack contained but a single room and a tiny alcove in which was placed Mr. Bartlett's bed. A bachelor, Mr. Bartlett made his home here and conducted the local postoffIce. In one corner was a small table and a few shelves. This corner was the postoffice. In another corner was a cook stove with various kitchen utensils hanging by nails and tacks from the walls. Near a window in the wall to the left of the door was a table and near it a rocker in which Mr. Bartlett conscientiously settled himself several hours a day for the reading of his Bible. An alcove in which was his bed and a brief tier of shelves on one side of the shack practically completed the furnishings, except for a rough chair or two. A man of curious personality, Needham Bartlett was, among other things, a man of fervid religious convictions and a confirmed bachelor. It was probably the first characteristic which dominated his life. His observance of Sunday was one of religious enthusiasm bordering upon fanaticism. His house was closed to visitors on the Sabbath. None, whatever his rank or station. might expect a welcome at the Bartlett home during the day on Sunday. "Visiting" was frowned upon. Sunday was a day for religious worship and for observance of a day of meditation and prayer, a day for silent communion with one's self and for continued concentration upon the glory and the power of God. To Needham Bartlett there was no sin so mortal as firvolity upon Sunday. The interchange of social companionship on this day was not for him. "Remember thou keep holy the Sabbath Day" was a matter of personal obligation in his eyes and he sat alone on this day, rocking in his armchair, reading his tattered Bible by the fading light of the afternoon sun, carrying out In his own fashion the precepts of The Master. His grand nephew, Ernest Bartlett of Old Bennington who has lived in Bennington for a year and a half and who came to this town from the south, did not learn of the existence of his grand uncle until last summer when, as he was driving through Searsburg with his father, the elder Bartlett was remembered as an uncle whom he had seen but seldom but who was at one time postmaster of the town. Investigation disclosed the relationship between Needham Bartlett and his two visitors, a nephew and a grand nephew. But although an acquaintanceship was established at that time, it was with difficulty that the grand nephew could call upon the older man because of the octogenarians insistence that Sunday be observed, not as a day of social interchange, but as a day of worship. In rough lettering on the side of the shack-residence of the recluse was a sign, "Don't Call on Sunday." Something of a hermit in his manner of living, Mr. Bartlett was a confirmed bachelor and had lived alone in Searsburg for more years than most residents can remember. In 1913 the postoffice in Searsburg was left vacant by the resignation of the postmistress and Needham Bartlett applied for the position and received the appointment. Abut 70, at that time, Mr. Bartlett had created a local reputation as an eccentric in the habits of his life. Upon his appointment he immediately removed the somewhat meager postoffice accessories to his unique domicile which from then until the time of his death served the double purpose of a postoffice and dwelling. Leading the solitary life of the recluse, Mr. Bartlett preferred the companionship of his Bible to that of association with other humans. He gathered his firewood from the neighboring woods and prepared his own meals. For many years he ate only cold food declaring hot food-stuffs led to various throat diseases. He was an advocate of spelling reform and always spelled a word according to its sound. At one time he decided to open a health resort according to his own ideas and advertised in city newspapers for patrons. To carry out his scheme he built a shack similar and adjacent to his own home but somewhat larger than the one in which he himself lived. He called the new building his "Sanitarium." He received several answers to his advertisement and at least one party came from the city to spend the summer. Somewhat surprised at the character of the sanitarium, the visitor left almost at once. In the olden days, too, Mr. Bartlett published a newspaper, editing and printing it in his shack. The paper was avowedly in the interests of health, religion and spelling reform. The published subscrIption rates were: "Twenty-five cents for one year, one dollar for five years or five dollars for life." Even in pre-war days, these rates were not conducive to equalizing operating costs and the paper did not prove a successful venture. Throughout his life, however, Mr. Bartlett published religious tracts, circulating them among a selected group of interested people. That his interest should tend toward religion is not strange inasmuch as a brother, Reuben Bartlett was for some time preacher in Woodford City. Combining his duties as a preacher with work as supervisor of a logging job then being done at Woodford City, the brother was a resident of the hill town for some years, finally leaving the community about 1875 to accept a call to another small parish in the vicinity of Montague, Mass. Mr. Bartlett has enjoyed excellent health throughout his life. Meagre in his mode of living, the recluse shunned rich foods, contenting himself with a simple diet to which he attributed his unusual degree of health. He was a man of more than medium height, thin, and even gaunt, sharp of feature with thin gray hair and with a full beard framing his face. Visiting his grand uncle shortly before Christmas, Earnest Bartlett of Old Bennington, found the postmaster apparently in good health. Again shortly after Christmas, the younger man stopped at the Searsburg postoffice to pay his respects and found the elder man in high spirits. About a week ago, however, the postmaster developed a severe cold which, through continued exposure, led to pneumonia. For at least two days he was in his own home under the care of Mrs. H.J. Rice of Searsburg, who attended to his various wants. When his condition became delirious, however, it became apparent that he was in need of hospital care. Notified by Leonard Lawrence, star route driver, of the condition of the Searsburg postmaster, F.E. Howe of the Bennington office went Friday to the town across the ridge where he found Bartlett in serious condition. A consultation led the selectmen of Searsburg to approve of the removal of the sick man to Bennington and the hospital ambulance left Bennington about 6 o'clock to bring Bartlett to the home of his grind nephew. About an hour after reaching the Old Bennington home, Bartlett died. He is survived by a grand nephew, Ernest Bartlett of Old Bennington and four nephews and one niece, as well at by more distant relatives. His nephews are: Rev. William Q. Bartlett of Rowley, Mass., Fred Bartlett of California and Dr. Reuell Bartlett of Berea, Ky. Funeral arrangements have not been definitely decided upon, but will probably be held tomorrow in Searsburg. Burial will be in Searsburg.

The Bennington Evening Banner, 7 Jan is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 126 at the 2020 United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U.S., its insular areas, and its associated states. It is one of the few government agencies explicitly authorized by the Constitution of the United States. As of 2023, the USPS has 525,469 career employees and 114,623 non-career USPS has a monopoly on traditional letter delivery within the U.S. and operates under a universal service obligation (USO), both of which are defined across a broad set of legal mandates, which obligate it to provide uniform price and quality across the entirety of its service area.[5] The Post Office has exclusive access[6] to letter boxes marked "U.S. Mail" and personal letterboxes in the U.S., but has to compete against private package delivery services

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