Mary Fields was born sometime around 1812 & was born a Slave in Hickman County, TN. She was the first African American woman and the second American woman to be employed as a mail carrier with the United States Postal Service. Mary was hired by the U.S. Postal Service because she was able to hitch a team of six horses to a Stagecoach faster than anyone other applicant. She earned the nickname “Stagecoach Mary” because of her reliability even in inclement weather that caused her to walk up to ten miles in the snow to the Mail Depot and the fact that she never missed a day of work.