Although the American Express company has a great reputation around the world, I have never used any of its financial services. I don’t even have an American Express card.

That being said, I am sending a letter to the company at its headquarters on Vesey Street in New York City. The company has 77,300 employees and I’m not sure which one would handle a request such as mine so I’m sending the letter to the boss, Stephen J. Squeri, chief executive officer. 

Dear Mr. Squeri, 

I don’t need to tell you — because I see it on your website — that John Butterfield, of Overland Mail fame, joined Henry Wells and William Fargo, of Wells Fargo stagecoach fame, and together in 1850 the three of them formed a new freight express company and named it American Express.

Although I didn’t see it on your website, John Butterfield, of Utica, New York, was the first president of American Express and the new company’s first headquarters was on Utica’s Genesee Street.

I don’t know much about Mr. Wells or Mr. Fargo, but I do know something about John Butterfield. Back in the 1800s, he was one of Central New York’s most prominent and successful businessmen.

Butterfield had little formal education, but had good business sense, knew how to make a profit and was a genius at organization. He was quick to realize the potential of express freight service.

He started out with just one horse and wagon transporting freight to and from Utica’s railroad station. But by the 1850s, Butterfield had a national reputation, something he achieved by helping tame the Wild West. Butterfield won a government contract to deliver mail and passengers three times a week between Missouri and California.  

It seemed an impossible task because much of the 2,800-mile route was unmapped and untamed. To win the contract, Butterfield had to get the mail back and forth in 24 days or less.

Butterfield’s Overland Mail Company delivered its first pouch of mail and its first six passengers on Sept. 17, 1858, a trip which took 23 days and 4 hours.

When Butterfield was trying to win that contract, much of the route was uninhabited, no places to get meals, fresh horses or rest. So Butterfield built some 150 relay stations in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.

His contract was worth the unheard of sum of $600,000 per year — that would be millions today — for six years to carry mail and passengers from St. Louis to San Francisco. Mail was first priority, but passengers were accepted for a total-route cost of $200, not including meals.

The stage stopped at intervals of 10-40 miles at places where drivers, draft animals, and passengers could find water and food. The stations were simple adobe structures with corrals for the animals pulling the coaches. The coaches traveled night and day.

At its peak, Butterfield’s Overland Mail employed about 800 people, had 250 coaches with 1,000 horses and 500 mules. The coaches were large, high quality and built in Concord, New Hampshire.

Anyway, Butterfield is buried in Forest Hill Cemetery in Utica. A life-size statue of Butterfield stands on top of his grave, which brings us to the reason for this letter. 

On a recent visit to the cemetery, I noticed that the right hand on the Butterfield statue is missing, broken right off. There are several trees in the area and my guess is a branch came down and took the hand with it.

Here’s another guess. Unless your company helps fund a repair job, John Butterfield’s statue will forever more be without his right hand. 

I stand ready to coordinate this project and will help in every way possible. Also, I’ll get an American Express card and won’t leave home without it.  

P.S. If you know of any Butterfield descendants, let me know and I’ll contact them for help.