The American financier, politician, and businessman John Butterfield (1801-1869) is best known for his energetic role in developing American transportation and communication facilities. He organized the American Express Company.

John Butterfield was born on Nov. 18, 1801, to an obscure family which had settled in New York in the early 17th century. Irregular attendance during winters at primitive public schools provided him with a limited formal education. While still a boy he found employment as a stage driver. Later he became a small proprietor and eventually the organizer of the first great transcontinental stage line, the Overland Mail, in 1857. He was also involved at various times and in various places with packet boats, plank roads, Great Lakes steamers, telegraph lines, street railways, transportation facilities across the Isthmus of Panama, banking, and railroads.

Butterfield's involvement in stage driving led directly to his participation in the express business. He was among the...