How was the task done before the telegraph?

A little slower. For anyone out of shouting distance, you had to send a written message, or send someone out to tell them or ask them what you wanted.

++++

Until the development of horse-drawn mail services then the coming of the railways accelerated postal communications from the 18C onwards, things were indeed a little slower. For centuries, sending a letter and receiving a reply over a round-trip of just 200 miles was a hazardous undertaking lasting possibly a fortnight or even more.