Street boxes for mail collection appeared in major cities in 1858, which allowed people to mail letters at their convenience. But people hoping to receive letters from their Civil War soldiers still had to travel to their nearby post office and wait in line to get their mail. Joseph W. Briggs was the clerk and assistant to Cleveland’s postmaster, Edwin Cowles. After watching a group of women shivering in line one harsh winter morning in 1862, Briggs proposed a new system of home mail delivery. Cleveland’s postmaster quickly approved his plan. At first, the mail was sorted and taken to grocery stores in Cleveland, where it was distributed. Later, the mail was delivered to homes. In 1862, US Postmaster General Montgomery Blair submitted his annual report to President Abraham Lincoln and recommended free city mail delivery. He said it would “greatly accelerate deliveries, and promote the public convenience.” Blair also said that if the system to mail letters was more convenient, more people would use it more often, increasing postal revenue.