1815 POSTAL SURCHARGE LETTER: Philadelphia to Hardwick Township, Sussex County, NJ – More Questions than Answers
By Arne Englund
The 1815 Postal Surcharge letter discussed here is a very interesting combination of post-War of 1812 postal rates, Philadelphia and New Jersey history, and, at the same time, a number of very elusive clues. A 50% postal surcharge had been enacted in 1815 to help recoup some of the massive debt incurred by the War of 1812. The letter itself has War of 1812-related content, regarding a member of the military. It was written October 25, 1815 at Philadelphia, by an Alexander Morrison, and addressed to a Jacob Harris, in Hardwick Township, Sussex County, NJ., informing Harris that his son, who is unnamed in the letter, had drowned while bathing at the “picket warf.”
