Alexander Majors

Alexander Majors (October 4, 1814 – January 13, 1900) was an American businessman, who along with William Hepburn Russell and William B. Waddell founded the Pony Express, based in St. Joseph, Missouri. This was one of the westernmost points east of the Missouri River from its upper portion beyond that state. It was a major supply point for migrants and pioneers headed west to Oregon Country.

Even though they succeeded in making the deliveries, they did not get the contract. They went bankrupt after the Transcontinental Telegraph opened in October 1861, as its competition eliminated the need for some mail service.

Majors supplied rail ties for the crews of the Union Pacific Railroad working on the First transcontinental railroad. After the railroad was completed, he continued to haul freight to towns not yet served by the railroad.

Early life Alexander Majors was born October 4, 1814, in Franklin, Kentucky. In 1820, his family moved to the Missouri Territory, settling in the Sni-A-Bar Creek. On November 6, 1836, he married Catherine Stalcup. alt=Two-story white house with porch, balcony, and two historical marker signs in front of it. A cement path leads to the front door, with a green lawn on both sides. In 1858, Majors moved with his family from Kansas City, Missouri to Nebraska City, where he established the headquarters of the Russell, Majors, and Waddell Freighting Company. His home is now a private residence, and the freighting headquarters is preserved as the Old Freighters Museum.

Slavery was not prohibited in Nebraska Territory until 1861. When Majors moved to Nebraska, he brought six enslaved African Americans with him. In the summer of 1860, they escaped on the Underground Railroad. Majors offered a $1,000 reward for their capture and return, but they were never found. In a letter written by abolitionist and Underground Railroad conductor Josiah B. Grinnell, it is documented that the freedom seekers made it to Grinnell, Iowa, a prominent Underground Railroad station.

In 1853, Majors was awarded federal contracts to haul supplies to United States Army posts along the Santa Fe Trail. Majors helped establish the Kansas City, Missouri stockyards. This became a center of marketing and shipping beef from Texas and the Southwest by railroad to the East Coast and Midwest.

In 1854, he teamed up with William B. Waddell and William Hepburn Russell. Majors was responsible for the freighting part of the business, Waddell was to manage the office, and Russell was to use his Washington DC contacts to acquire new contracts. Waddell chose be a silent partner, so the firm was initially called "Majors and Russell". In the 1850s, their firm Russell, Majors and Waddell and the short-lived Pony Express were major businesses, contributing to the growth of Kansas City. Majors was very religious and had a Bible issued to every man in the freighting company.