One of my ancestors was Thomas (Tom) Thompson who was said to run a Pony Express out of Denver. He had 16 horses carrying mail. Does anyone know more about him or where I can find out more about Tom Thompson or his Pony Express? Thank you, Melanie

Hi Melanie there is a couple of resources you can find for instants www.bing.com, www.askjeeves.com, www.google.com, and www.dogpile.com .

Thank you, but I had previously tried google searches, and I tried the things you suggested, but did not come up with anything relevant. I find general pony express material, or an address and phone number for a Tom Thompson or someone named Tom on a little league team named "The Pony Express." Nothing real has come to light with these internet searches yet. Thank you though, Melanie

I work at the St. Joseph, Missouri Convention and Visitors Bureau. There are a couple of resources here in town (where the Pony Express began), that you may be able to use. First, there is a book called on the Wind of Destiny. This book has the biography of about 50 or so riders. Second, you may want to check out the St. Joseph Museum who holds a lot of research on the Pony Express. Lastly, you may want to determine where he rode (what part of the trail) and check out libraries and historical societies in those areas. Most riders rode a specific route back and forth as opposed to riding the whole trail.

If you ever choose to visit St. Joseph, there is also the Pony Express National Museum and the Patee House Museum (the headquarters for the PX).

Hope this helps and good luck on your research!

Melanie:
This is a list of Pony Express riders. Please be aware that it is incomplete, as many records have been lost:


Pony Express Riders

Approximately 80 young riders were in use at any one time. In addition,
some 400 other employees included station keepers, stock tenders and route
superintendents. Riders were paid $100 to $125 per month.

Dozens of applicants vied for jobs, eager to accept the death defying
rigors they would soon experience. Mark Twain, who saw the Pony Express in
action first hand, described the riders as: "... usually a little bit of a
man". Though small in stature, their untarnished record proved them to
possess the hearts of lions. History would record that they were among the
most durable horsemen to ever straddle a saddle.

One of the most frequently asked questions is "Why isn't my
great-great-great relative found on the list of Pony Express riders?" To
date, none of the Central Overland and California Pony Express company
records containing an authentic list dating back to the days when it was in
operation have ever been found. The following list of riders has been
compiled by the staffs of the St. Joseph Museum and Pony Express National
Memorial, St. Joseph, Missouri, from various sources, including accounts
from people who knew riders, relatives of riders and newspapers. Additional
names marked with an asterisk (*) are from lists found in Saddles and Spurs
by Settle and Settle.

This list is not considered to be complete nor have all of the names been
confirmed. (In fact a number of the names may be the same person with a
different spelling.) However, if a name does not appear on this list, the
rider in question may well have ridden for one of the numerous "other pony
expresses" that carried the mail throughout the west.


Jack Alcott*
John Anson
Anton
Henry Avis
Rodney Babbit
L. W. Ball
Lafayette Ball
James Banks
James Barnell
Jim Baughn
Melville Baughn
Marve Beardsley
James Beatley
Charles Becker
Thomas Bedford
Charles Billman
G. R. Bills
"Black Sam"
"Black Tom"
Thomas Black*
Lafayette Bolwinkle
Bond
"Boston"
William Boulton
John Brandenburger*
Charles H. ("Doc") Brink
Hugh Brown
James Brown
James Bucklin
John Burnett
Ed Bush
William Campbell
Alexander Carlyle
William Carr
William Carrigan
James Carter
William A. Cates
James Clark
John Clark
Richard W. Clark*
Richard Cleve
Charles Cliff
Gustavas Cliff
William F. Cody
Buck Cole
Bill Corbett
Edward Covington
James Cowan
Jack Crawford
James Cumbo
Louis Dean
William Dennis
Frank Derrick
Alex Diffenbacher
Thomas Dobson
J. Dodge
Joseph Donovan
Tom Donvan
W. E. Dorrington
Calvin Downs
Daniel Drumheller
James E. Dunlap
William Eckles
Major Howard Egan
Howard Ransom Egan
Richard E Egan
Thomas J. Elliot
J. K. Ellis
Charles Enos
George Fair
H. J. Faust
Josiah Faylor
Johnny Fischer
John Fisher
William F. Fisher
G. Packard
Thomas Flynn
Jimmie Foreman
Johnny Fry
Abram Fuller
George Gardner
James Gentry
James Gilson
Samuel Gilson
James Gleason*
"Irish Tom" Grady
Frank Gould*
Sam Hall
Samuel Hamilton*
William Hamilton
George Harder*
Pony Bob Haslam
Theodore Hawkins
Sam Haws
Frank Helvey
Levi Hensel
William Hickman
Chas. Higgenbotham
Martin Hogan
Clark Huntington
Lester Huntington
William James
David R. Jay
William D. Jenkins
Jennings
Samuel Jobe
William Jones
Jack Keetley
Hi Kelley
Jay G. Kelley
Mike Kelly
Thomas O. King
John P. Koerner
Harry La Mont
William Lawson
George Leonard
George E. Little
Elias Littleton
"Tough" Littleton*
N. N. Lytle
Sye Macaulas
Robert Martin
Elijah Maxfield
Montgomery Maze
Emmet McCain
J. G. (Jay) McCall
Charlie McCarty
James McDonald
Pat McEarney
David McLaughlin
James McNaughton
William McNaughton
Lorenzo Meacona
J. P. Mellen
Howard Mifflen
Charlie(Bronco) Miller
James Moore
Jeramiah H. Murphy
Newton Myrick
Matthew Orr
Robert Orr
G. Packard
William Page
John Paul
"Mochila Joe" Paxton
George W. Perkins
William Prindham
Thomas J. Ranahan
Theodore (Yank) Rand
James Randall
Charles Reynolds
Thomas J. Reynolds
William Minor Richards
H. Richardson*
Johnson W. Richardson
Bartholomew Riles
Jonathan Rinehart
Don C. Rising
Harry Roff
Edward Rush
Robert Sanders
G. G. Sangiovanni
George Scovell
John Seerbeck*
Jack Selmen
Joseph Serish
John Sinclair
George Spurr
William H. Streeper
Robert Stricklen
William Strohm
John W. Suggett
Billy Tate
Josiah Taylor
George Thatcher
J. J. Thomas
Bill Thompson
Charles F. Thompson
"Cyclone" Thompson
James M. Thompson
Alexander Topence
W. S. Tough
George Towne
Henry Tuckett
Warren (Boston) Upson
W. E. Van Blaricon*
John B. Wade
Henry Wallace
Daniel Westcott
Michael M. Whalen
George Orson Wheat
"Whipsaw"
H. C. Wills
Elijah Nicholas Wilson
Slim Wilson
Joseph Barney Wintle
Henry Worley
James Worthington
George Wright
Mose Wright
Jose Zowgaltz

Thank you so much! This is the best information yet. I see several Thompsons, though not a Tom Thompson. Melanie

Thank you, I am sorry I didn't see your post earlier. The book sounds interesting. I am not sure I will be near the museum in the near future, but I will store that information away. Thanks a bunch, Melanie