The Young American (NC, 1858)

July 31, 2011

Roy Alden Atwood 1858, Alphabetical Order, Community Papers, North Carolina, United States, Y Leave a comment

Publication History:

Place of Publication:  Buffalo Springs, NC, with occasional references to Fayetteville, NC.

Frequency:  Published monthly

Volume and Issue Data:  According to Smith, 12 numbers (8 issues surviving);  vol. I, No. 9, Sept. 1858. pp. 227-248.

Size and Format:  About 9- by 11-inches

Editor/Publisher:  John McLean Harrington

Title Changes and Continuation:  None

General Description and Notes:

According to Smith, The Young American contained limited traditional newspaper content but it was more of a literary publication. The paper included politics, poetry, short stories, anecdotes and other timeless items.  See below.

Information Sources:

Bibliography:  Michael Ray Smith, A Free Press in Freehand (Grand Rapids, MI: Edenridge Press, 2011). Additional bibliographic information about this and other Harrington papers contained in Smith.

Locations:  John McLean Harrington Papers, Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Perkins Library, Duke University, Durham, NC

Here’s an example of his table of contents.

No. 1                                                                                                               Vol. 1

Contents

January 1858

Title Page_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _1

An incident of the French Revo

Lution, Founded on Fact_ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _2

Odds and ends_  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 12

Foreign News_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 13

Ourselves _ _ _ Editorial_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 14

North Carolina_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  15

Editorial_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _16

Reader_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _16

The Leviathan_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 17

Death of an Editor_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 18

How Long_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _18

Oh! Sing again (Poetry)_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _19

Littles on Nothings_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 20

Epigram_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 20

Spittin on the Floor (Poetry)_ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  21

Thanatos_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (Poetry) _ _ _ _ _ _ 22

Humorous_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _23

Hard Times_ _ _ (Poetry)_ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _24

Riddle_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 25

Literary Notices_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  26

Advertisements_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 27

Willow Creek Journal (NE, 1873)

July 31, 2011

Roy Alden Atwood 1873, Alphabetical Order, Community Papers, Images, Nebraska, Uncategorized, United States, W Leave a comment

Publication History:

Place of Publication:  Willow Creek Farm, Waverly, Nebraska

Volume and Issue Data:  Vol. 1, No. 1, n.d.; author apparently intended to publish more:  No. 1 ends a serialized story with “to be continued”

Size and Format:  Ledger paper, 7.5 x 12 inches; pen and ink; 2 cols., 2 pp.

Editor/Publisher:  Charles A. Pierce, “Editor and Proprietor”

Title Changes and Continuations:  Immediate continuation of the March 1873 (Vol. 1, No. 4) issue of The Experiment

General Description and Notes:

The Willow Creek Journal is an immediate continuation of The Experiment, which was published March 1873.

The Journal contains Chapters 7 and 8 of “Johnny’s Adventures or the life of a boy among the Indians,” a serial story whose first six chapters appeared in The Experiment.  Unlike The Experiment, The Journal‘s first number contains only this story.  A headline for an “Editorial” appears over a single seven inch blank column, but no other news, advertisements or stories appear in the issue.  Only the “Terms” are published on page one:  “One contribution for each number of the paper.”

The motto of the Journal is the same as The Experiment’s, “Progress and Perseverance.”  Both newspapers are self-described as “A family paper, devoted to Literature, Agriculture, News, Family affairs, and General Improvement.”

One of the student editors, Charles A. Pierce, was the son of Charles W. Pierce, a civil war veteran, who was transferred to Demopolis, Alabama in 1866 as a major with the Freedman’s Bureau and District commander of western Alabama.  The senior Pierce served one term in the 41st Congress from Alabama’s fourth district in 1867.  I was during this time that his son, Charles A., began his first handwritten newspaper, The Experiment, at Oakland Hall, Chunchula, Alabama.  In 1872 the family moved to Waverly, Nebraska, where The Experiment, and its successor, Willow Creek Journal were published by Charles A. in 1873.  The Casket appeared in Nebraska in 1875 as a school effort, no doubt with the help of Charles A.

Information Sources:

Bibliography: None

Locations: Charles W. Pierce Papers, Ms. 554, Nebraska State Historical Society, State Archives, Lincoln, NB,

West Granby Gazette (CT, 1860)

July 31, 2011

Roy Alden Atwood 1860, Alphabetical Order, Community Papers, Connecticut, United States, US Civil War-Era Papers, W, Youth Papers Leave a comment

Publication History:

Place of Publication: Granby, Connecticut

Frequency: Unknown

Volume and Issue Data:  No extant copy.  c. 1860

Size and Format: Unknown

Editor/Publisher: Adelaide Holcomb and Delia Parsons, young women in their late teens or early twenties.

Title Changes and Continuation: Unknown

General Description and Notes:

According to Carol Laun, curator of the Salmon Brook Historical Society, “Unfortunately, we have no copies of this paper, but we do have several letters submitting articles and jokes for the paper.”

Information Sources:

Bibliography: None

Locations:  Salmon Brook Historical Society, Granby, CT

The Weekly News. (NC, 1860-1861)

July 31, 2011

Roy Alden Atwood 1860, Alphabetical Order, Community Papers, North Carolina, United States, US Civil War-Era Papers, W Leave a comment

Publication History:

Place of Publication: Harrington, NC

Frequency:  Published Thursdays at first June 7-28, 1860), then Tuesday and Thursdays (July 5-31, 1860), then Tuesdays (Aug. 7-June 4, 1861), then Wednesdays (June 12, 1861-March 2, 1864).

Volume and Issue Data:  According to Smith, 182 numbers (153 issues surviving)

Size and Format:  About 9- by 11-inches

Editor/Publisher:  John McLean Harrington

Title Changes and Continuation:  See also The Times and other Harrington papers

General Description and Notes:

According to Smith, the Weekly News. contained traditional newspaper content. The paper included politics, poetry, local election results, and other general news items.

Information Sources:

Bibliography:  Michael Ray Smith, A Free Press in Freehand(Grand Rapids, MI: Edenridge Press, 2011). Additional bibliographic information about this and other Harrington papers contained in Smith;  “Handwritten Newspaper Was Published in Western Harnett,” Harnett County News, February 3, 1944, front page story; Malcom Fowler, They Passed this Way, (Harnett County Centennial, 1955), see Chapter XVII, “Authors, Poets and Papers”, pp. 150-52. In the Harrington Papers is an article dated 1944, “Unique state Newspaper Found in Files at Duke”.  No dates or page numbers for the article are viewable on the copy.

Locations:  John McLean Harrington Papers, Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Perkins Library, Duke University, Durham, NC

Weekly Gazette (UT, 1868)

July 31, 2011

Roy Alden Atwood 1868, Alphabetical Order, Community Papers, Frontier Papers, United States, Utah, W Leave a comment

Publication History:

Place of Publication:  American Fork,  Utah County, Utah

Frequency:  Weekly

Volume and Issue Data:  At least 12 issues; No. 12, ca. March 11, 1868

Size and Format:  Pen and ink manuscript

Editor/Publisher:  R. G. Eccles

Title Changes and Continuation:  None

General Description and Notes:

The Salt Lake Telegraph,March 11, 1868, reported:  “From American Fork.  We are pleased to receive number 12 of the American Fork Weekly Gazette, edited by Brother R.G. Eccles.  It is published in neat manuscript.  Its pages are filled with instructive and interesting matter, comprehending the scientific, useful, and amusing, such as: ‘An Essay on Astronomy; Original Poetry by J. Crystal; Local Items; Wit and Humor; and Various Selected Matter.'”

The telegraph opened in American Fork. Nov. 20, 1867

July 20, 1868–President Brigham. Young organized a theological school in American Fork for the region.  (George F. Shelley)

According to the University of Utah,

“American Fork first got a newspaper in 1868. The Weekly Gazette was written in pen-and-ink manuscript, and included items like “Original Poetry,” “An Essay on Astronomy,” and “Wit and Humor” before folding after about 12 editions. The American Fork Independent debuted in March 1890. It provided coverage of Utah’s mining industry for the next two years. Other American Fork newspapers included the Item, an “Independent Weekly,” which survived for less than three years, and The Advance, which succumbed after just 12 weeks in 1901.”

Information Sources:

Bibliography:  J. Cecil Alter, Early Utah Journalism (Salt Lake City:  Utah State Historical Society, 1938), 18-20; George F. Shelley, Early History of American Fork, American Fork City, 1945

Links: http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85058027/

Locations:  None; cited in Salt Lake Telegraph, March 11, 1868

The Weekly Eagle. (NC, 1860)

July 31, 2011

Roy Alden Atwood 1860, Alphabetical Order, Community Papers, North Carolina, United States, US Civil War-Era Papers, W Leave a comment

Publication History:

Place of Publication: Pine Forge, NC

Frequency:  Weekly

Volume and Issue Data:  According to Smith, one issue, the only one that survives; April 20, 1860

Size and Format:  About 9- by 11-inches

Editor/Publisher:  John McLean Harrington

Title Changes and Continuation:  None

General Description and Notes:

The paper included politics, poetry, local election results, and other general news items.

Information Sources:

Bibliography:  Michael Ray Smith, A Free Press in Freehand (Grand Rapids, MI: Edenridge Press, 2011). Additional bibliographic information about this and other Harrington papers contained in Smith.

Locations:  John McLean Harrington Papers, Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Perkins Library, Duke University, Durham, NC

The Washington Shark (IA, 1850-1854)

July 31, 2011

Roy Alden Atwood 1850, Alphabetical Order, Community Papers, Frontier Papers, Humor Papers, Iowa, United States, W Leave a comment

Publication History:

Place of Publication: Washington, Washington County, Iowa

Frequency:  Irregular

Volume and Issue Data:  1850-ca. 1854

Size and Format:  “A folio with regular columns of ordinary size, tolerably fine pen type, published on the four sides of one sheet of cap paper”

Editor/Publisher:  Nathan Littler and Richard B. McMillan

Title Changes and Continuation:  None

General Description and Notes:

In his own Washington County history, editor Littler described The Washington Shark as “a folio with regular columns of ordinary size, tolerably fine pen type, published on the four sides of one sheet of cap paper.”  The paper used pseudonyms frequently in its reports and the editors apparently tried to keep their own names a secret.  Littler says the paper contained “general news and current literature,” market reports, advertisements and society news.  The editor notes that it appeared only one copy at a time, so wide distribution did not occur.  Instead, readership was limited to those who could meet in public gathering places.

The Shark was put into the mail box when none were present.  It was directed to some one whom the editors felt would give it the widest publicity.  Usually, when the paper came, its owner would go the most frequented store in town, and taking his seat on a stool or mail keg, would proceed to read to the crowd that quickly assembled, the contents, advertisements and all.

Littler claims the paper appeared frequently, and when it did it was the “sensation of the town until its contents became familiar to all the citizens.”  If most “readers” were amused by the paper’s wit and satire, not all appreciated its occasional bite.

Some, however, to whom the jokes and caricatures fit most closely, were outrageously vexed and the only reason the editors were not punished corporeally at least, was the fact that they were safely incognito.

Littler says the Shark would attack “any and everything going on to which the editors were opposed or which was opposed to the best interests of the community.”

Apparently other handwritten papers were published in the area on the model ofThe Shark.  Notes Littler:  “Occasionally afterwards, other papers of a similar character came out, but none of them achieved the popularity of the Shark.”

Littler served as constable of Washington in 1850, the year the Shark first appeared.  In 1852 he was elected justice of the peace and served in that post until he moved to the town of Richmond, Iowa.  He returned to Washington in 1869 and wrote a history of the county which was serialized in the local paper.

McMillan (1823-1898) lived in Washington from 1846 to 1855.  During that period he was a county assessor and township clerk.  While editing the Shark, McMillan’s brother, Horace Greeley McMillan, lived with him.  The year Richard died Horace purchased the Cedar Rapids Republican, and he eventually owned two Iowa dailies and a weekly farm paper.

Information Sources:

Bibliography:  Nathan Littler, History of Washington County, 1835-1875, ed. by Edna Jones (Washington, Iowa:  Jonathan C. Clark, 1977), 186-187; Roy Alden Atwood, “Handwritten Newspapers on the Iowa Frontier, 1844-1854,”Journalism History, 7:2 (Summer 1980), 56-59, 66-67

Locations:  None

The Victoria Times (NZ, 1841)

July 30, 2011

Roy Alden Atwood 1841, Community Papers, Images, New Zealand, V Leave a comment

Victoria Times (NZ, 1841)

Victoria Times (NZ, 1841)

Publication History:

Place of Publication: Wellington, NZ

Frequency: Library reports only one issue, but 500 copies (lithographed)

Volume and Issue Data:  Extant copy says “No. 1, September 8, 1841” (NZ library site says “15 September 1841”)

Size and Format: Size (unknown), but handwritten text was lithographed

Editor/Publisher:  Thomas Bluett and Jacob Jones

Title Changes and Continuation:  None (possibly related the New Zealand Gazette)

General Description and Notes:

According to the National Library of New Zealand website, “The Victoria Times was only published once but is noteworthy for several reasons; it was Wellington’s second earliest paper, it was lithographed rather than letter-pressed and it contains a plan of Wellington on the back page. The plan was hand-coloured in some issues although not the one presented here.

“The Victoria Times was published by Thomas Bluett and Jacob Jones. They had previously produced lithographs for the New Zealand Company, including a chart of Port Nicholson that’s now recognized as New Zealand’s first lithograph. Given that the Company had a strong interest in Wellington’s other newspaper, the New Zealand Gazette, the decision to publish a rival paper seems reckless. And is presumably one of the reasons why the paper failed to appear again. Another possible reason for the paper’s brief life was that the partnership of Bluett and Jones did not endure. Jones announced its dissolution in the Gazette in late 1841.

“Bluett moved to Tasmania. Records show him operating a lithographic firm in Hobart in 1842. Examples of his work are held in various archives in Australia. He died in England in 1846.”

According to the Library Tech NZ site, “Many of you will know that five hundred copies of the first issue of the Victoria Times were published in Wellington on 15 September 1841. These were lithographed, rather than letter-pressed like most newspapers.

“The first three pages are handwritten text, and the last is a fascinating plan of Wellington in 1841. Note that Lambton Quay is actually a quay (i.e. constructed along the edge of a body of water) and that Basin Reserve is a “proposed basin” linked to the water by a “proposed canal”. In some issues (but not ours) the map was hand-coloured. This was not an economical way to run a newspaper, apparently, as the first issue was also the last.”

Information Sources:

Bibliography:  None

Locations: National Library of New Zealand (see Papers Past: Victoria Times)

Vermont Autograph and Remarker (VT, 1834-67)

July 30, 2011

Roy Alden Atwood 1834, 1867, Alphabetical Order, Community Papers, Images, United States, V, Vermont 2 Comments

Publication History:

Place of Publication: Starksborough,Vermont

Frequency: Unknown

Volume and Issue Data: 1834-1867

Size and Format:  about 7′ x 4 l/2″

Editor/Publisher:  James Johns

Title Changes and Continuation:  According to the front page story in the Vermont Autograph and Remarker, the editor also wrote the Huntington Gazette when he was 13 years old (March 1810).  He altered the title of this paper “as fancy dictated.”

General Description and Notes:

The paper is very neatly written in scripted print.  On the first page James Johns writes:

“It cannot well escape the notice of an observing eye that the Autograph is, as the title indicates, a manuscript production, being executed with a pen by hand.  consequently it may well be supposed what is the fact, that such a mode of issue does not admit of multiplying copies like the press and types, one at a time being all that I undertake to get out at once.  This I am generally able to accomplish in little more than half a day with close application.  The matter is all written down on the columns directly from the dictates of my mind.  The papers’ so issued I mostly send off by mail to either publishers.”

According to the editor of the Proceedings of the Vermont Historical Society, Vol. IV, No. 2 (New Series), 1936, pp 69-70, the editor of the Autograph, James John was born in Huntington, VT, September 26, 1797.

“As early as 1834, he pen-printed a newspaper, the Vermont Autograph and Remarker; each issue included five or six articles, totaling about fifteen hundred words–every letter printed by hand.  He continued the Autograph until three months before his death [1867, age 76].  His pen-printed material consists of historical items, essays, fiction, poems, and political statistics.”

Information Sources:

Bibliography:  Robert W. G. Vail, “Bibliography of the Writings of James Johns,” Monograph on James Johns [The Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America,  Vol. 27, Part 2, 1933]; cited in Proceedings of the Vermont Historical Society, 1936, “James Johns, Vermont Pen Printer,” Vol. IV, No. 2, pages 69-71

Locations: Vermont Historical Society Library, Montpelier, VT;  Newspapers and Periodicals, American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, MA

The Vepricula (UT, 1864-1865)

July 30, 2011

Roy Alden Atwood 1864, Alphabetical Order, Community Papers, Images, Organization Newspapers, United States, Utah, V, Youth Papers Leave a comment

Publication History:

Place of Publication: St. George, Utah

Frequency:  Semi-monthly; twice a month over a period of 13 months

Volume and Issue Data: May 1864-June 1865

Size and Format:  3 columns, foolscap pages, four pages

Editor/Publisher:  Orson Pratt, Jr., George A. Bergen, Charles Lowell (C.L.) Walker, and Joseph Orton: all wrote under pen names (from Carter, p. 144)

Title Changes and Continuation:  Unknown

General Description and Notes:

According to Carter, The Vepricula or Little Bramble was issued twice a month over 13 months from May 1864 to June 1865. The four editors wrote under pen-names and each followed their own line of thought.  Pratt was Veritas, Bergen was Signor, Orton was Cerus, and Walker was Mark Whiz.  While these men planned the paper and developed their stories, they “hired some young women who were good  penmen, to write the paper, the script was so fine and yet so perfect that it is still very readable, except where time has dimmed the ink” (Carter, p. 144).

Content was organized under sections with heads such as “Readings,” “Hopes,” “Reflections,” “Reason and Faith,” “The Will,” etc.c

According to the Huntington Library, The Vepricula was the first manuscript newspaper published in St. George, Utah.

Facsimile copy at the Huntington, FAC 526.

According to Chad Flake (p.21) “Guglielma Gustaro Rossetti Sangioranni was an L.D.S. convert from . . .  He was also associated with Joseph Orton, George A. Bergen, and Orson Pratt in the publishing of the manuscript newspaper, the Veprecula, [sic] where he wrote under the pseudonym, “Ego.”  (cited in Andrew K. Larsen I Was Called to Dixie (SLC: Deseret New Press, 1961, p.422)

Cited in Checklist of Utah Newspapers in Holley, p.163, as Little Bramble, St. George, Washington County, 5/1864-6/15/1865; Editors: J. Orton, O. Pratt, Jr., G.A. Bergen, and C.L. Walker.

Related titles: Veprecula [sic], frequency: bi-weekly

Information Sources:

Bibliography:  Kate B. Carter, ed.,  Journalism in Pioneer Days ( Salt Lake City:  Daughters of Utah Pioneers Historical Society, April 1943), pp. 139-168 (esp. 144-46); Andrew K. Larsen I Was Called to Dixie (Salt Lake City: Deseret New Press, 1961), p.422

Chad Flake, “Early Utah Journalism:  A Brief Summary,” in Utah’s Newspapers–Traces of Her Past, ed. by Robert P. Holley, Utah Newspaper Project, SLC–Marriott Library, 1984. p.21

Locations:  Facsimile, Manuscripts Division, Huntington Library, San Marino, CA

The Union Times (UT,1886-1887)

July 30, 2011

Roy Alden Atwood 1886, Alphabetical Order, Community Papers, Faith-Specific Papers, Images, Mormon (LDS) Papers, Organization Newspapers, U, United States, Utah, Youth Papers Leave a comment

Publication History:

Place of Publication: Union, Utah

Frequency:  Unknown

Volume and Issue Data:  Vol. 5, No. 5 is dated Dec. 12, 1886 (p. 2); other dates include Feb. 20, 1887, Feb. 15, 1887, and Feb. 9, 1887.

Size and Format: 6.5 x 10.5 inches; single column

Editor/Publisher:  Unknown

Title Changes and Continuation:  Unknown

General Description and Notes:

The paper is a Mormon publication. The lead story-editorial of Vol. 5, No. 5 begins with the question, “What are We Mormons a doing at the Present?” The answer:

“We are endeavoring to Keep the commandments of God as written in his holy word. To preach the Gospel to all the world, to inspire the hearts of Men with faith in nGod our Father, And in the atonement of Jesus and that wickedness may comme to an end . . . .”

Seems to be continuous entries with different dates, contributors names/letter signed (F.S., D.D.E. Jones, Orson Berrett, Fred Buxton, Henry C. Monteer). May have been a Young Men’s Improvement Society publication, but found no indication of that in the extant copies.

Information Sources:

Bibliography: None

Locations:  Manuscripts, MS 605, University Libraries, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT

The True Templar (NS, 1866)

July 30, 2011

Roy Alden Atwood 1866, Alphabetical Order, Canada, Community Papers, Nova Scotia, T Leave a comment

Publication History:

Place of Publication:  East Branch (?) and/or later Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Frequency: “Published Semi-Monthly” (Vol. 1, No. 2)

Volume and Issue Data:  Vol. 1, No. 2, Wednesday, March 14, 1866

Size and Format:  11.5 x 17 (?)

Editor/Publisher: John James Stewart

Title Changes and Continuation:  Editor went on to become the founding editor of the province’s major paper, The Chronicle-Herald

General Description and Notes:

According to Dalhousie University’s Archives and Special Collections J.J. Stewart Maritime Collection website’s introduction of the collection,

“When he was 35, John James Stewart (1844-1907) decided to leave his Halifax law firm and become the editor of a fledgling provincial daily newspaper. His family greeted the news with skepticism and concern. J.J. Stewart had already left a good teaching position and the principalship of the Amherst Academy in order to become a lawyer. To give up law after only four years seemed such a waste. J.J. Stewart quickly proved that his decision was a good one. Within five years he had shrewdly developed his Morning Herald into the province’s most successful newspaper.

“In retrospect, J.J. Stewart’s decision to become a newspaper editor should not have been a total surprise. When he was 22, J.J. Stewart had edited and put out his own handwritten temperance newspaper, The True Templar [emphasis added]. He also had a deep respect for the power of the printed word; indeed, he viewed it “as the most powerful of all human forces …” A man of strong political, social, and religious convictions, Stewart held definite opinions and possessed the writing skills required to present them effectively. The editorial page of a newspaper would and did provide J.J. Stewart with an ideal outlet.

“When it was clear that his newspaper was on a solid footing, Stewart branched out into the banking business. He rose to the presidency of both the Acadia Loan Corporation and the People’s Bank of Halifax. A strong Conservative, Stewart also devoted many hours to party affairs and made two unsuccessful bids for election to the provincial assembly.

“In addition to his newspaper and banking work, J.J. Stewart took an active part in the social, religious, and intellectual life of Halifax. Although a member of the Masons, the Navy League, the Good Templars, and the YMCA, Stewart’s primary commitments were to the North British Society and the Nova Scotia Historical Society. It was to the latter organization that he presented his landmark paper on early journalism in Nova Scotia. His carefully researched and well-written paper is still the authoritative source for information about the beginnings of the newspaper industry in Nova Scotia and Canada. J.J. Stewart clearly had a talent for historical writing.

“Away from the public eye, Stewart conducted a lifelong study of the history of Nova Scotia. No aspect of Nova Scotia’s past was neglected. Even material about major events which had impacted on Nova Scotia was carefully acquired and studied. The American revolution, the roots of Canadian federalism, works of major British authors, agricultural chemistry, and the depression in the West Indies were just a few of the related topics investigated by J.J. Stewart.

“Unlike the other major Nova Scotia bibliophile of the period, T.B. Akins, J.J. Stewart did not concentrate on book-length works. Half of his collection of over 3,000 works is in pamphlet form and many are what would have been considered ephemeral even in his era. Due to his interest in Nova Scotia’s printing history and in all aspects of Nova Scotia life, he collected everything from church bulletins of special services to the annual reports of the Micmac Missionary Society. He was especially diligent in collecting early newspapers, magazines, and almanacs, materials which provide valuable insight into all aspects of nineteenth century provincial life.

“In mid-February of 1907, J.J. Stewart was badly burned by flames from an overturned oil stove in his home. Two weeks later, Nova Scotia lost one of its most capable newspapermen and devoted boosters. Following the settlement of his estate, his widow presented his impressive historical library to Dalhousie University. Although his untimely death silenced his pen, J.J. Stewart has provided the resources for future researchers to study and write about the history of Nova Scotia.”

According to Karen Smith of the Dalhousie University Libraries (in correspondence with the HN editor), “It obviously existed in at least two issues since we have a Vol. 1, no. [sic] 2 issue.  It is in very fragile condition so I could not copy the whole issue for you.” She goes on to note that

“John James Stewart was just 21 years old in March 1866. He grew up in a very small rural Nova Scotia community, but quickly demonstrated a scholarly aptitude and went on to become a lawyer, businessman, and the founding editor of what is still our major provincial paper, The Chronicle-Herald. He also was a very knowledgeable book collector and his excellent collection was donated to Dalhousie University upon his untimely death in 1907. In early life, J.J. Stewart was obviously a temperance man.”

Information Sources:

Bibliography:  Stewart, J. J. “Early journalism in Nova Scotia,” in Collections of the Nova Scotia Historical Society, 1888, Vol. 6, pp. 91 – 122

Link: Dalhousie University’s Archives and Special Collections J.J. Stewart Maritime Collection website

Locations:  Special Collections, Killam Memorial Library, Dalhousie University Libraries, Halifax, Nova Scotia

The Times. (NC, 1867-1869)

July 30, 2011

Roy Alden Atwood 1867, Alphabetical Order, Community Papers, North Carolina, T, United States Leave a comment

Publication History:

Place of Publication: Harrington, North Carolina

Frequency:  Weekly (irregular)

Volume and Issue Data:  Oct. 17, 24, 31, 1867 to April 2, 1869

1868, Jan-June complete; July 3, 17, 24, 31; Aug. 21, 28; Sept. 18, 25; Oct. 9, 16; Nov. Complete; Dec. 25.

1869, Jan. 1, 8, 22; Feb. 5, 19, 26; Mar. 12, 19, 26.

Size and Format:  “The Times.” was published on a good heavy quality of bond paper measuring 12½ by 15½ inches.  It was four pages, two columns to the page.

Editor/Publisher:  John McLean Harrington

Title Changes and Continuation:  One of series of papers published by Harrington, including as The Nation, The Weekly News, Weekly Eagle, The Semi-Weekly News, and The Young American  (Harrington), (1860-63).

General Description and Notes:

According to Michael Ray Smith, in his book A Free Press in Freehand, “The Times. was used to mildly criticize Harrington’s newly united country for too much government while also praising it as the best of all nations” (p. 9).

“In his inaugural issue of The Times., Thursday, October 17, 1867, Harrington told readers that he wrote to entertain and inform others and to entertain himself” (p. 92). “. . . Our paper is intended for a repository of Pure Literature, Poetry, , writes Smith.

“He [Harrington] used the symbol [of Freemasonry] to promote a Pine Forest lodge meeting on page three of The Times., November 7, 1867. The most elaborate visual element occurred on the front page of The Times. on Friday, February 19, 1869. Harrington placed art of the North Carolina State House on the top of that page” (p. 46).

It seems that the gap of time between publication of the two papers is owed in part to a paper shortage.

Information Sources:

Bibliography:  Michael Ray Smith, A Free Press in Freehand (Grand Rapids, MI: Edenridge Press, 2011), pp. 2, 8, 9, 42, 78, 84, 85, 92, 102; Malcolm Fowler, They Passed This Way: A Personal Narrative of Harnett County History (Lillington, NC: Harnett County Centennial, 1955), see Chapter XVII, “Authors, Poets and Papers”, pp. 150-52

More bibliography included in The Weekly News

Locations:  Special Collections Library, Duke University, Durham, NC

The Sitka Times (AK, 1868)

July 25, 2011

Roy Alden Atwood 1868, Alaska, Alphabetical Order, Commercial Papers, Community Papers, Frontier Papers, Images, S, United States 1 Comment

Publication History

Place of Publication:  Sitka, Alaska Territory

Frequency:  Weekly (irregular)

Volume and Issue Data: Sept. 19, 1868, 1:1; Oct. 19, 1868, 1:6; Oct. 31, 1868, 1:7; Nov. 7, 1868, 1:8

Size and Format:  8 x 12 in.; two cols.; four pages; cursive pen and ink.

Editor/Publisher:  Thomas G. Murphy, aka “Barney O. Ragan” or “Regan”

Title Changes and Continuations:  The Sitka Times (Sept. 19, 1868-Nov. 7, 1868) continued as Alaska Times (printed), 1869-1870.

General Description and Notes:

Editor Murphy (“Regan”) claimed The Sitka Times was “the first paper published in Alaska.”  The “introductory” column on page two outlines the editor’s intention to publish local news and to promote the general economic development of the region:

“To day we present the Sitka Times to the citizens of  Sitka and the world at large.  It is the first attempt ever made to publish a paper in this vast land of Alaska.  The Times will be devoted to local and general news.  We shall, when we deem it practicable, discuss all question of public interest, touching the affairs about Alaska.  In Politics and Religion the Times will be neutral.  The Pacific Rail Road we are in favor of and would love to hear the scream of its whistle echoed from the peaks of Alaska, and the musical strain of humanity shouting a chorus of  ‘Let the iron horse speed along with its precious burden of emigration.’  We are strongly in favor of a civil government and strictly opposed to military rule.  Give Alaska a civil government, you may soon expect to hear of rich minerals having been fully developed by our latent industry, but not before.

“Having no ‘devil’ in our office the ‘Times‘ should be virtuous.

“As our local items will be few we shall spare no pains in giving a well defined description of all fights; recording in language of flowers the matrimonial pursuits of mankind; with the respectful details of those, whose souls have fled to the ‘spirit land'” (1:1, p. 2, cols. 1  and 2a).

The editor explained and defended the handwritten format of his paper in the first “Editorial:”

“The appearance of the ‘Times‘ being written instead of printed will perhaps cause many a laugh.  In olden times a laugh would be out of place, as written pamphlets and the town crier were the means alone employed of conveying news, as no [?] parties at that time had been established by the fair.

“To invest in the purchase of a press would incur great expense and until we see better inducements than are now offered, a press can be dispensed with, although the copying of even so small a sheet, as this is, requires much labor and some means.

“Our budget in producing such a paper is not with the view of making a fortune, but chiefly if possible to gratify the citizens of our Town and for this we shall do our best” (1:1, p. 2, col. 2)

The paper’s script is relatively large and the cursive hand is quite legible.  The front page of the first number includes a large, bold name and masthead and the rest is advertisements for Sitka businesses.  Page two is the editor’s introductory comments and the editorial.  Page three covers seven local news stories including ship arrivals and departures.  The fourth and last page is even divided between local news and advertisements.

According to Hinckley, Murphy was known by contemporaries as a “politician, lawyer, priest, editor, printer, author and poet.”  He organized early efforts to establish a civil government for the territory and was elected by a small but apparently unrepresentative group to head the new government.  Within three days a second vote removed Murphy from office.  He later became the city attorney.

Murphy eventually imported a printing press, but had insufficient money to print his newspaper.  The Sitka mayor invested the necessary funds and, on April 23, 1869, Murphy edited the first printed issue of the (retitled) Alaska Times.

Information Sources

Bibliography:  Ted C. Hinckley, The Americanization of Alaska, 1867-1897 (Palo Alto, Calif.:  Pacific Books, Publishers, 1972), 39-46; Nichols, “History of Alaska Under Rule of  the United States,” (1924), 426; James Wickersham, A Bibliography of Alaska Literature, 1724-1924 (Cordova, Ak.:  Cordova Daily Times Print, 1927), 253-254.

Locations:  Cu-B; DLC (photocopy, 1:1 only); Territorial Library-Juneau.

Sharp Citizen (AR, 1972-1978)

July 25, 2011

Roy Alden Atwood 1972, Alphabetical Order, Arkansas, Community Papers, Images, S, United States 2 Comments

Publication History:

Place of Publication:  NE Arkansas, Sharp County, AR

Frequency: Weekly

Volume and Issue Data:  January 18, 1972 through August 9, 1974 (holdings).  Paper ceased in 1978.

Size and Format: 8 1/2 x 11, typed text with handwritten headlines and hand-drawn graphics, mimeographed, issues run up to 8 pages.

Editor/Publisher:  “a character” :  Joseph H. Weston, editor and publisher

Title Changes and Continuation:  None

General Description and Notes:

This was a community paper with a partisan political edge. Text of the paper is typed, and all headlines, sub-heads, graphics, and ads are handwritten and or/hand drawn.  The first issue claims the paper is “Sharp County’s only metropolitan newspaper–professional journalism with conscience and vision” (Vol. 1, No. 3, Feb. 1, 1972, adds “with conscience, courage, vision!”). With headlines such as “Is Judge Ransom C. Jones Operating His city Court In Cave City as a Racket Under Order from Elvis” and “Rat Poison Deliberately Fed into Public Drinking Water for More Than a Quarter of a Century,” it is not hard to imagine that the editor invited libel lawsuits.  The March 28, 1973 edition (Vol. 2, No. 13) includes “An Appeal for Help” (p. 3) because, as the editor writes, members of the Sharp County political establishment “induced my next door neighbor, to swear out a warrant for my arrest on the antique charge of ‘criminal libel’ for publishing an article in which I attacked our corrupt County Judge Lester Anderson and his crony and gravel contractor, Dickey, with equal vigor. The charge is preposterous, and the law is ridiculous.”

Information Sources:

Bibliography: None

Locations:  Arkansas Historical Commission, Little Rock, AR (collection only has the 1972-74 issues)

Saucelito Echo (CA, 1879)

July 24, 2011

Roy Alden Atwood 1879, Alphabetical Order, California, Community Papers, Images, S, United States Leave a comment

Publication History:

Place of Publication:  Sausalito, California

Frequency:  Weekly, Fortnightly

Volume and Issue Data:  No. 2, Sat., Feb. 22, 1879; No. 8, Wed., Dec. 10, 1879; price listed:  five cents

Size and Format:  Two pages; 5 1/4 x 8 1/4 inches; two columns; No. 8 contains a one-page “Echo Supplement”

Editor/Publisher:  W. D. Tillinghast

Title Changes and Continuation: None

General Description and Notes:

The paper contains general news, anecdotes, advertisements, humor, news briefs (“Brevities”), etc.

Information Sources:

Bibliography:  None

Locations:  Anne Kent California History Room, Marin County Free Library, CA (photocopy)

The Sanpitcher (UT, 1867)

July 24, 2011

Roy Alden Atwood 1867, Alphabetical Order, Community Papers, S, United States, Utah Leave a comment

Publication History:

Place of Publication: Mount Pleasant, Sanpete County, Utah(1867)

Frequency:  Weekly

Volume and Issue Data:  Vol. 1, No. 1, ca. March 20, 1867-No.21, August 10, 1867

Size and Format:  “a neat little news sheet of three columns”; pen, “written in common orthography” 8”x12.5”.  No.7 in 6 columns on 12.5”x15.5” paper. No. 8 in 3 columns on 7.75”x12.5” paper.  No.11 on 4”x8.5” Distiller’s report form.

Editor/Publisher:  David Candland, 1819-1902

Title Changes and Continuation:  None

General Description and Notes:

Alter identifies several citations of The Sanpitcher in regional newspapers of the day including Manti Herald, another handwritten newspaper, The Deseret News and the Salt Lake Telegraph.

Writes the Manti Herald in its March 20, 1867 issue:

“We had much pleasure last mail in receiving Number 1 of the Sanpitcher, David Candland, editor.  The paper is published in the flourishing town of Mount Pleasant, and like the Herald is done upon a sheet of writing paper; but instead of being printed with the pen, it is written in common orthography, yet it is a neat concern and highly creditable to friend David, its publisher; and as in duty and friendship bound, we touch our hat! hoping that, like the sling in the hand of the editor’s namesake of old, the Sanpitcher will be an instrument in the hands of its talented editor, to assist in slaying the giant of error.  We also solicit usual exchanges.”

On April 24, 1867, The Deseret News greeted The Sanpitcher with the usual attention given to new newspapers:

“From Mount Pleasant, Sanpete, with the editor’s compliments and good wishes comes Number 5, volume 1 of the Sanpitcher, ‘editor and publisher, David Candland,” a neat little news sheet of three columns, with a supplement filled with editorial tidbits and local items.  We hear of one or two other interesting little papers of a similar character throughout the territory, illustrative of the taste and the desire for “news’ local and foreign, which keeps growing among the people. . . . Friend David has a taste for the ‘tripod’ and a spicy way of expressing himself.”

The Salt Lake Telegraph noted the new paper in its May 21, 1867 edition:

“This pithy little manuscript effusion is before us again.  It has already reached number 9 at date of 11th inst.  From its supplemental issue we infer that news making is on the qui vive.  And how does it pay, Friend David?”

This was one of the most prolific and long-lived of the early Utah handwritten newspapers.

Includes tax reports, ads, letters, weather, deaths, local news, etc.

Information Sources:

Bibliography:  J. Cecil Alter, Early Utah Journalism (Salt Lake City:  Utah State Historical Society, 1938), 128-129.

Locations:  Mormon Church Archives Ms 674  9 items.  Cited in Manti Herald, March 20, 1867; The Deseret News, April 24, 1867; Salt Lake Telegraph, May 21, 1867 and June 23, 1867

Quarterly Visitor (IA, 1844)

July 22, 2011

Roy Alden Atwood 1844, Alphabetical Order, Community Papers, Frontier Papers, Images, Iowa, Q, United States Leave a comment

Quarterly Visitor (IA, 1844); upper right corner of front page missing from extant copy

Publication History:

Place of Publication: Washington, Iowa

Frequency:  Quarterly

Volume and Issue Data:  Extant issue, June 1844

Size and Format:  13 x 20 inches; three columns; four pages; ink

Editor/Publisher:  Daniel C. Stover

Title Changes and Continuation:  None

General Description and Notes:

The extant copy of the Quarterly Visitor, June, 1844, contained three basic types of material:  news, features and editorials.  The front page contained mostly poems and short moralisms.  The second page carried three editorials (one which attacked the political neutrality of the Domestic Quarterly Review, another local handwritten paper), a report on an extra session of the Iowa legislature, three news items about rain, wheat and wind, a humor piece about someone’s misfortunes while seeking a claim, a biographical sketch of Henry Clay and two brief news stories.  The third page continued the biographical descriptions of “the most distinguished statesmen now living” (Clay, Martin Van Buren, John C. Calhoun, Richard M. Johnson, James Buchanan and John Tyler).  The rest of the page had an article about the organization of neighboring Keokuk County, a letter to the editor (dated Washington, June 25, 1844) and five short news items.  Included on the third page was a map of Keokuk County showing rivers, townships and sections.  The last page was one-third poetry and two-thirds news items.  Included in the news items were an accidental drowning story and an obituary.

Quarterly Visitor (IA, 1844)

Several references in the extant issue to previous issues provide evidence that at least one previous issue of the paper was written.

Daniel C. Stover, the editor, was a lawyer and had started a law practice in the county seat town of Washington with his brother sometime in 1840, a year after their arrival in Iowa City from Indiana.  In 1844 Stover served as the secretary of the Democratic Convention held in Washington, and was nominated as the Democratic candidate for the Washington County Commissioner’s Clerk.  During the period Stover edited the Visitor, his brother was the district court clerk in Washington.

Information Sources:

Bibliography:  Roy Alden Atwood, “Handwritten Newspapers on the Iowa Frontier, 1844-1854,” Journalism History, 7:2 (Summer 1980), 56-59, 66-67; Nathan Littler, History of Washington County, 1835-1875, ed. by Edna Jones (Washington, Iowa:  Jonathan C. Clark, 1977) pp. 29, 126, 221-222; Kathy Fisher, In the Beginning There Was Land:  A History of Washington County, Iowa (Washington, Iowa:  Washington Historical Society, 1978), pp. 107, 190-191.

Locations:  State Historical Society of Iowa, Archives, Iowa City, Iowa

The Prince Albert Critic (NWT, 1889)

July 17, 2011

Roy Alden Atwood 1889, Alphabetical Order, Canada, Community Papers, Frontier Papers, Images, North West Territories, P Leave a comment

Prince Albert Critic (SK, 1889)

Publication History:

Place of Publication:  Prince Albert, North West Territories, Canada

Frequency:  Unknown

Volume and Issue Data: 21 Feb.-21 March, 1889 (Vol. 1, No. 5)

Size and Format:  Unknown

Editor/Publisher:  Alexander Stewart

Title Changes and Continuation:  Unknown

General Description and Notes:

Paper contains numerous advertisements and “Telegraphic News” on page one; subscription terms, church service times, editorials on “Compulsory Education”  and “The Town Council and the Railway Question” on page two; correspondence and news briefs on page three; and more telegraphic news, a report on the “Supreme Court,” a “Parliamentary Note” report, a note about the Critic taken from the Regina Journal on page four.

Information Sources:

Bibliography:  None

Locations:  National Library of Canada, Ottawa, ON; Saskatchewan Archives Board, University of Regina, Regina, SK

The Pioneer (NE, 1872)

July 16, 2011

Roy Alden Atwood 1872, Alphabetical Order, Community Papers, Frontier Papers, Nebraska, P, United States Leave a comment

Publication History:

Place of Publication: Norfolk, Nebraska

Frequency:  Issued “semi-occasionally”

Volume and Issue Data: Jan. 17, 1872

Size and Format:  Two columns

Editor/Publisher:  Unknown?

Title Changes and Continuation:  Unknown

General Description and Notes:

According to the Federal Writers’ Project guide to Nebraska, The Pioneer was not sold for money, but traded for wheat, potatoes, minkskins, and eggs.  The front page carried Norfolk business “card” advertisements and poetry, with at least one titled, “Women Rights.”

Information Sources:                              

Bibliography:  Federal Writers’ Project, compilers, Nebraska:  A Guide to the Cornhusker State (New York:  The Viking Press, 1939), 134-135; Robert F. Karolevitz, Newspapering in the Old West:  A Pictorial History of Journalism and Printing on the Frontier (New York:  Bonanza Books, 1969), 111

Locations:  NB?; Reprint:  Federal Writers’ Project, compilers, Nebraska:  A Guide to the Cornhusker State (New York:  The Viking Press, 1939),135.

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