Hiram Alden telegram to F.O.J. Smith, 1853
Description
Hiram Orlando Alden, a Belfast lawyer who served as president of the Maine Telegraph Company, sent this telegram to Francis O.J. Smith. Smith first linked Maine to the telegraph when he completed a line from Boston to Portland in 1848. He licensed the rights to the Morse patents to James Eddy, who oversaw the construction and operation of the Maine Telegraph system as superintendent.