Thomas Lemuel James
| Thomas Lemuel James | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 29th United States Postmaster General | |
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In office March 5, 1881 – December 20, 1881 |
|
| President |
James A. Garfield Chester A. Arthur |
| Preceded by | Horace Maynard |
| Succeeded by | Timothy O. Howe |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 29, 1831 Utica, New York, USA |
| Died | September 11, 1916 (aged 85) New York City, USA |
| Political party | Republican |
| Alma mater | Hamilton College |
| Profession | Banker, Journalist, Politician |
Thomas Lemuel James (March 29, 1831 – September 11, 1916) was an American journalist, government official, and banker who served as the United States Postmaster General in 1881.
James was born in Utica, New York, to William James and Jane Maria Price. His grandparents on both sides had emigrated from Wales in 1800. He had very little formal schooling, though studied for a short time at the Utica Academy. At the age of 15, James learned the trade of printing at the office of Utica "Liberty Press" under Westley Bailey, a noted abolitionist of the time. The abolition paper printed here later partnered with Francis B. Fisher in Hamilton, New York to form the Whig newspaper Madison County Journal which he bought in 1851. When the Republican party made their first canvass in 1856, the newspaper merged with the Democratic Reflector under the name of the Democratic Republican, which would lead the opposition against the Know Nothing Party.
James married four times, first to Emily Ida Freedburn in 1852, then to E. R. Borden, later to Edith Colborne, and in 1911 to Florence MacDonnell Gaffney.
For the next ten years he would continue in the field of journalism while also serving as a canal toll collector in Hamilton from 1854 to 1855. By 1861 he was made an inspector of customs in New York City, and promoted three years later to weigher. In 1863 he received a degree from Hamilton College.
James was appointed to the position of deputy collector in 1870 and put in charge of the warehouse division and bonded warehouses of the port. James had much success in the new position, organizing the records of the division, which had been in confusion, in only a month, and bringing the work up to date, which had been up to three years behind, in only six months. Afterwards he was appointed by Chester A. Arthur, then Collector of the Port of New York, to be a member of the civil service board of the collector's and surveyor's offices and made its chairman. He became one of the first public officials to advocate for the reform of civil service by appointing positions on the basis of examination and merit.
James urged President Grant to allow him to succeed Alonzo B. Cornell as Surveyor of the Port. Grant instead did one better and made him the Postmaster of New York City on March 17, 1873, and four years later reappointed by President Hayes. James instituted several reforms during his terms, including increasing the efficiency of the postal workforce and improving postal facilities wherever possible. Once General Arthur stepped down, James was offered the position but turned it down as he did not feel it right to supersede his superior. However, David M. Key resigned as Postmaster General in 1880, and James was offered that position by Hayes instead. After consulting with his friends, he declined it as well. He was asked to be the Republican nominee for mayor of New York the same year, but turned this down also.
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