“In 1755 Franklin organized the first regular monthly mail packet service between Falmouth, England and New York,” noted Nova Scotia’s Electric Scrapbook in Postal Service in Nova Scotia, “and opened the first official post office – in what is now Canada – in Halifax, Nova Scotia.” (The local Halifax postal service had been started the year before by Benjamin Leigh.)Ĭontinuing to improve postal service, in the 1760s Franklin established post offices in Quebec City, then Montreal and Trois-Rivières. Touring the colonies as part of his duties, Franklin opened post offices, branches and routes. Two years later, Franklin accepted the appointment of Deputy Postmaster of British North American. Elected in 1751 to the Pennsylvania Assembly, he participated in the creation of laws and government procedures. Politics also captivated Benjamin Franklin’s attention. One of his inventions was a lightning rod, a metal rod fastened onto a building’s roof.īenjamin Franklin, Deputy Postmaster of British North America in mid-1700sĬanadian Post Offices Established by Deputy Postmaster Franklin The young man also developed an interest in invention and science, especially electricity. Becoming a Master Printer, Franklin returned to the United States and opened two newspapers, the Pennsylvania Gazette and Poor Richard’s Almanac. He was 17 years old.Ĭontinuing to learn the printer’s trade, Franklin moved to England in 1724 to gain more skill. “He loved to read and even became a vegetarian in order to save money to buy books.” Franklin ran the newspaper after his brother was imprisoned for his written views, and then moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. “While learning the business Franklin read every word that came into the shop and was soon writing clever pieces that criticized the Boston establishment,” said the Encyclopedia of World Biography.
Instead, he took a job at his brother’s Boston newspaper. Franklin’s father made his living as a candlemaker and a mechanic, his mother a homemaker raising 13 children.įranklin a Child of Curiosity and CapabilitiesĪn intelligent youngster, Franklin attempted to learn his father’s trade but found it unbearable. His parents had emigrated from England to the colonies in 1683 they were members of the Puritan faith who did not share the views of the popular Church of England. One of the men chosen for the extensive job was Deputy Postmaster Benjamin Franklin.Īn American citizen, Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 17, 1706. Expanding the postal system became a priority, adding to the number of offices already established along well-travelled routes. Colonists needed homes and transportation, and a method of conveying the important letters of homesteaders, politicians and the military. Long before Confederation, before the War of 1812, and even before the American Revolution, settled regions of Canada and the United States were known as British North America.