DANCYVILLE POST OFFICES & POSTMASTERS

The Ben Franklin was one of the first two stamps issued by the U.S. Postal service in 1847.
It is interesting to note that U.S. Postal stamps were not the required method of  paying for postage until 1856. A person might pay cash at the time a letter was mailed, or send the letter expecting the person who would receive it to pay for the postage.  By not requiring the prepayment of  postage, the Post Office Department lost a considerable amount of money.  Since mail was not delivered directly to people's homes as it is today, it was up to each individual to go to the post office and find out if they had mail. Many people did not claim their mail and the postage was never paid.

ąThe first Post Office in Dancyville was listed as Dancey's by the Postal Department and Isaac Dancey the first Postmaster.
Note the use of the 'e' in Dancy. It is difficult to say if  Isaac used this spelling at the time, since his name is spelled both with
and without the 'e' in subsequent court documents. The Postal Department also listed the town as 'Danceyville' in their records
until the last Post Office closed in 1926. In my 60 plus years the community and the surname have always been spelled without
the intrusive 'e'. Town maps from the 1877 era also list 'Dancyville'.  Isaac Dancy remained the Postmaster from 1833 until
1840.
(note)
The fact Isaac Dancy had the first Post Office brings into question the traditional story of  the naming of the community. This
tradition indicates the town was named to have a shipping address for the first mercantile store and since Isaac had the only
business, a blacksmith shop, Dancyville was chosen. It may be more reasonable, since Dancey's was the first post office, in
1833, a full four years before the mercantile business opened, that the town was named because of the post office name. I will
admit, the shipping story makes for better reading. jd

Dancyville Civil War Era Letter

A letter mailed from Dancyville, Tenn. to Red Oak, Texas on Aug 25. Matching pink envelope and message. PAID 10 is on the Turned cover of the envelope and US 11 cent on the envelope. Mailed to member of the Texas Volunteer Infantry at Sabine Pass, Texas. ( This letter was in the John R. Hill Jr. Confederate Collection and offered for auction by Nutmeg Sales, New York City. Listed under: 'Hand Stamped Paids - For Tennessee')

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Updated June 25, 2000                                                                                                          

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