I belong to the Royal Philatelic Society of Canada. This is a fancy name for a stamp collector. A previous visit to the Vincent Greene Foundation in Toronto led me to think how about this question. How did Charles Cist escape from Siberia? How did he make his way through Europe and land in Philadelphia in the 1760's? Mail- Couch Men of the Eighteenth Century, by Edmund Vale and David Charles gave me illustrations on how mail was carried. Back then if someone needed a ride, the driver would be open to the idea of extending a helping hand. In modern society, the insurance rules and regulations and the suspension of people usually do not give rides to strangers these days. There are exceptions. On page 77 there is a picture of a mail couch. It has space for an individual or two.
Additionally, Transatlantic Paddle Steamers, by H. Phillip Spratt provided further information about mail and the time involved with travel (possible human shipments). In 1492 in took Columbus three months to cross the Atlantic. In 1710 a British company, Black Ball Line, went from New York to Liverpool. It took twenty-three days east wind and forty days west wind to cross the Atlantic. Piecing together blocks of information on mail routes from Philadelphia to St. Petersburg and back is a challenge that I am working on at the present time.
Possible questions to think about during research. Captains of ships usually had a doctor on board the ship. As the family story that has been passed down in generations would suggest that as a fugitive from Russia, Cist was on a ship to cross Atlantic. Did he go as an unregistered doctor? Did an accident occur that forced his hand to divulge to the captain that he was a doctor in order to save a life? Did Cist keep quiet in order to preserve his safe passage to America? This is another reason why I am enjoying this blog. Truth can be stranger than fiction.
Free will donations can be made to my paypal account or snail mail donations to
Andrew C. Allen
1841 West Main Street, #212
Troy, OH 45373
pewabic34@gmail.com
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