John Butterfield (1801-1869) began his career in the express business as a stage driver and soon owned a portion of the business. Through deft maneuvering, he soon controlled most of the stage lines west of New York and in 1849, he formed Butterfield, Wasson & Company. In 1850, he merged his company with two rivals, Wells & Company and Livingston, Fargo & Company, to form the American Express Company. In 1857, American Express received the government contract for the first transcontinental stage line at $600,000 per year and resulted in the Overland Mail Company of which Butterfield was president. his activities stretched to steam boating, plank roads and railroads.

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