REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION. Originally published in “First Class Notes, A Publication of the Milwaukee Postal Customer Council” by Ralph Hass, Fresh Concepts, LLC, MPCC Industry Co-Chair Title: <><>Third Postmaster Elisha Starr 1849-1851, <>Oldest Living Milwaukee Citizen at the Time of His Death Third in a series of articles relating to the History of Milwaukee Postmasters <>Elisha Starr, the third postmaster of Milwaukee, was born on July 14, 1806 and came to Milwaukee from Cazenovia, New York on April 20, 1836. He was a pioneer editor, publisher, Postmaster, and Sergeant at Arms of the Assembly. <> In 1860, he owned and operated Starr & Son Job Printers at 214 East Water Street and lived at 292 Milwaukee Street. He first served his apprenticeship as a printer in The Ontario Repository. In 1826, he purchased the Le Roy Gazette and took a prominent part in the Anti-Masonic agitation that followed the abduction of William Morgan, a Freemason who had prepared for publication a book revealing the secrets of the Order of the Masons. After the agitation subsided, he came west, settled in Michigan, and subsequently moved to Milwaukee in 1836. At that time, Milwaukee extended from only the lake to the river. The west side was known as Kilbourntown, where Byron Kilbourn and other west siders had established a paper. Solomon Juneau aided by Mr. Starr, then began the publication of a paper, The Sentinel, on the east side. Mr. Starr severed his connection with The Sentinel and established a tri-weekly publication, which he called The Commercial Herald. Under President Taylor’s administration, Elisha Starr was appointed Postmaster, a position he held for four years. Mr. Starr attended, and often described the Erie Canal celebration at which De Witt Clinton, mayor of New York, was present. In the old days, Mr. Starr was a staunch Whig, and he became a Republican when the party was organized. Milwaukee and Kilbourntown were consolidated shortly after, and Mr. Starr was chosen the first president of the village board. During Governor Farwell’s administration, he was appointed Sergeant at Arms of the assembly. He was also appointed State Agent of the World’s Fair at New Orleans, by Governor Ludington. Governor James Ludington, who was partially paralyzed after suffering a stroke, was under the constant and devoted care of Colonel Starr. It was through Colonel Starr’s foresight and efforts that Mr. Ludington’s life was saved during the Newhall house fires. Colonel Starr had anticipated the possibility of fire, and had provided the necessary means of escape, among other things a particular chair in which the patient could be rolled out. Additionally, Colonel Starr kept all Mr. Ludington’s personal belongings, except those that were in daily use, locked up in a trunk, which could be strapped up and secured in a few seconds. When the first alarm of fire was given, Mr. Ludington was strapped in his chair, and ten minutes later, he and his trunk were safely outside. After the fire, they then lived at the Plankinton House in a suite of apartments on the second floor in the west wing, which Mr. Ludington never left. Over the course of the next eight years, they developed a daily routine which involved lifting Mr. Ludington from his bed to his wheelchair and back again three times a day. Colonel Starr always had to do the lifting, as he could not bear to have any one else do it. Colonel Starr estimated he had lifted Mr. Ludington 9,000 times. Colonel Starr resided for the remainder of his life at the Plankinton House. He died at age 87 on March 14, 1893 at 12:15 am from pneumonia. He was one of the first fifty five original subscribers to St. Paul’s Church for the purchase of Forest Home Cemetery, and was the oldest living Milwaukee citizen at the time of his death. He is buried at Lot 9, Block 20, Section 19 at Forest Home Cemetery. Mr. Starr’s wife was a Miss Edgerton. She was the sister of Benjamin B. Edgerton, who died many years before Elisha. In the prime of his life, Mr. Starr accumulated enough property to place him in comfortable circumstances. He met with business misfortune and lost the greater part of his possessions, so that he died a comparatively poor man. (Article submitted [to "1st Class Notes"] by Ralph J. Hass with special thanks to Jennifer Lynch, Researcher, Postal History) <>