The Voice of Refugees (NAM, 2006)

Ian Macllelan, in “Kakuma Refugee Camp Free Press,” writes, “In Osire Refugee Camp, Namibia, The Voice of Refugees was a handwritten newspaper that was snuck out of the camp and then spread around to shed light on what happens there. The Namibian Government and UNHCR shut down the venture before long.”

http://maclellanimages.com/blog1/2009/08/29/kakuma-refugee-camp-free-press/

“If a free press spreads among the hundreds of camps in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, and appears on the World Wide Web, indeed a feedback mechanism will have been established. We know of only one other newspaper, TheVoice of Refugees, produced in Osiri Camp in Namibia, but it is not using modern information technology.”

http://kanere.org/2009/01/31/speaking-for-refugees-or-refugees-speaking-for-themselves/#more-256

Place of Publication: Hyrum, Utah

Frequency:  Unknown

Volume and Issue Data:  Vol. 1, No. 11, August 2, 1884

Size and Format:  Ledger (7 3/4 x 12+)

Editor/Publisher:  Multiple authors, editors

Title Changes and Continuation:  See The Educator, The Evening Star, The Knowledge Seeker, A Manuscript Paper, Young Ladies’ Diadem, and Young Ladies’ Thoughts; one of many papers published by the Mormon’s Young Men’s and Young Ladies’ Mutual Improvement Societies in Utah

General Description and Notes:

According to Alter, the Young Men’s and Young Ladies’ Mutual Improvement Associations of Hyrum published weekly literary journals largely in the interests and for the entertainment of their members during the late 1880s.  The publications carried news, religious items and weather reports.

“The Knowledge Seeker” was published by the Young Men; “The Young Ladies Thoughts” and “The Evening Star” were published by the Young Ladies.  Apparently, “The Evening Star” succeeded “The Knowledge Seeker.”  These papers appeared under various editors, since officers in these organizations changed hands regularly.

Information Sources:                            

Bibliography:  J. Cecil Alter, Early Utah Journalism (Salt Lake City:  Utah State Historical Society, 1938), 90; Lorraine T. Washburn, “Culture in Dixie,” Utah Historical Quarterly, 29 (July 1961), 259-260; Mark A. Pendleton, “The Orderville United Order of Zion,”Utah Historical Quarterly, 7 (October 1939), 151

Locations:  John A. Israelson’s papers, Special Collections and Archives, Utah State University, Logan, UT

Place of Publication: St. George, Utah

Frequency:  Monthly?

Volume and Issue Data:  Irregular; Vol. 1, No. 3, Aug. 29, 1877; Vol. 1, No. 6, Dec. 5, 1877; Vol. 1, No. 7, June 27, 1877; Vol. 1, No. 8, March 13, 187-?

Size and Format:  7.75 x 12.5 inches; one column; pen and ink; average length: approx. 12 pp.

Editor/Publisher: St. George, UT, Young Ladies Mutual Improvement Society; Editors varied;  No. 3, Amy Calkins, editress; No. 6, Annie M. Romney, editress; No. 7, Laura Gardner; No. 8, Annie E. Bentley

Title Changes and Continuation:  See The Little Girls’ Magazine

General Description and Notes:        

None

Information Sources:

Bibliography:  See the many Mormon Young Ladies’ and Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Societies histories

Locations:  Manuscripts, Mss. A 1051, Utah State Historical Society, Salt Lake City, UT

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

Place of Publication: Winter Harbour, Melville Island, Parry Islands, North West Territories, Canada

Frequency:  Unknown

Volume and Issue Data:  No. 1-21; Nov 1, 1819 to March 20, 1820.

Size and Format: Unknown

Editor/Publisher:  Edward Sabine, Captain of the Ship Hecla.

Title Changes and Continuation:

General Description and Notes:

“Written, produced and circulated in Mss., by members of the Parry expedition while they were at their winter quarters in the Arctic, and published, in printed form, after the expedition’s return to London under the title:  North Georgia Gazette, and Winter Chronicle.

 ”When the expedition arrived in the Arctic, Parry called the group of islands he discovered the “New Georgia Islands,” but having afterwards remembered that this name was already used in another part of the world he decided to change it to “North Georgian Islands” to honor George the Third.  This change accounts for the variation in name as used in the title on the manuscript copy and that used on the published editions.”

Information Sources:

Bibliography: None

Locations:  Rare Book & Special Collections Library, University of Illinois Library at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL

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,

The Wild Goose: A Collection of Ocean Waifs (AUS, 1867)

Publication History:

Place of Publication: Shipboard the Hougoumont, the last ship to transport convicts from England to Fremantle, Australia

Frequency:  Seven issues of the newspaper were produced, each issue carefully laid out and decorated by hand. Only one copy of each issue was made, which was then read to the convicts aloud.

Volume and Issue Data:  Vol. 1, no. 1-7, 9 Nov. – 21 Dec. 1867

Size and Format:  Ledger (7 3/4 x 12+)

Editor/Publisher:  Irish ”Fenian prisoners:” John Flood, John Boyle O’Reilly and John Casey

Title Changes and Continuation:  None

General Description and Notes:

The Wild Goose was, according to a Wikipedia article, a

“handwritten newspaper created in late 1867 by Fenian prisoners aboard the Hougoumont, the last ship to transport convicts to Australia.

“Seven issues of the newspaper were produced, each issue carefully laid out and decorated by hand. Only one copy of each issue was made, which was then read to the convicts aloud. The aim was to provide entertainment and encouragement aboard the ship during its long and arduous voyage to Fremantle. The title refers to the Wild Geese: the Irish soldiers who had left to serve in continental European armies since the 16th century.

“The major contributors were John Flood, John Boyle O’Reilly and John Casey.

Irish Fenian Volunteer Poster (re. Wild Goose [AUS, 1867])

The documents provide a fascinating insight into life aboard ship. The documents contain songs, stories, articles, advice, poems, and even comedy. In addition to the diaries of Denis Cashman and the journals of John Casey and Thomas McCarthy Fennell, the journey of the Hougoumont was well recorded.

“One passage describes Australia and its history with more than a little sarcasm:

“This great continent of the south, having been discovered by some Dutch skipper and his crew, somewhere between the 1st and 9th centuries of the Christian era, was, in consequence taken possession of by the government of Great Britain, in accordance with that just and equitable maxim, “What’s yours is mine; what’s mine is my own.” That magnanimous government in the kindly exuberance of their feelings, have placed a large portion of that immense tract of country called Australia at our disposal. Generously defraying all expenses incurred on our way to it, and providing retreats for us there to secure us from the inclemency of the seasons…

“All seven issues survive, and were passed on by John Flood’s granddaughter to the Mitchell Library in 1967. The papers are bound into one book and are now part of the State Library of New South Wales collection.”John Boyle O’Reilly penned several poems for the paper, including The Flying Dutchman and The Old School Clock.

“On 9 September 2005, a memorial was unveiled at Rockingham beach to commemorate the Catalpa rescue. The memorial is a large statue of six Wild Geese.”

According to the Freemantle (Australia) Prison historical website,

“The Fenian movement, or Irish Republican Brotherhood, was a secret society that flourished during the 1860s. Its activities included an armed rebellion against British rule in Ireland, which failed for a number of reasons. In 1865 hundreds of men were arrested in Ireland on suspicion of complicity. There were two elements amongst the men charged and convicted: those who were civilians, and those who were currently serving in the British military services. The civilian element were treated as political prisoners, whilst the military element were treated as ordinary criminals. In 1869 the civilian element were granted clemency and freed, whilst such consideration was denied the military element (Erickson pp.115-156).

“John Boyle O’Reilly [emphasis added] was an NCO in the 10th Hussars (the prestigious regiment of the Prince of Wales) when arrested in 1866 for assisting fellow soldiers to join the rebellious Fenian movement. Found guilty at his court martial, his death sentence was commuted to one of 20 year’s penal servitude which automatically meant transportation (anyone sentenced to seven years or more was transported).

“He sailed, along with 280 other convicts — 62 of them Fenians — on board the Hougoumont from Portland in October 1867. They arrived at Fremantle in January 1868, the last convicts to be sent to Western Australia. Their arrival also signalled the end of the convict era in Australia.”

Information Sources:                            

Bibliography:  Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wild_Goose;  Laubenstein, William J. The Emerald Whaler London: Deutsch, 1961; Stevens, Peter F., The Voyage of the Catalpa (ISBN 1-84212-651-2); Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society, 1969, volume LXXIV; http://www.fremantleprison.com.au/History/theconvictera/characters/thefenians/Pages/default.aspx

Locations:  Wikipedia: “All seven issues survive, and were passed on by John Flood’s granddaughter to the Mitchell Library in 1967. The papers are bound into one book and are now part of the State Library of New South Wales collection.”

Place of Publication: Granby (Salmon Brook), Connecticut

Frequency:  Unknown

Volume and Issue Data:  1848, 2 issues

Size and Format:  large paper, 4 pages each

Editor/Publisher: Unknown

Title Changes and Continuation:  Unknown

General Description and Notes:

None

Information Sources:

Bibliography:  None

Locations:  Salmon Brook Historical Society, Granby, CT

Publication History:

Place of Publication: Fort Lancaster, Crockett County,  (Western) Texas

Frequency: Unknown

Volume and Issue Data:  Four pages; Feb. 1, 1862

Size and Format: Unknown

Editor/Publisher: Unknown

Title Changes and Continuation: Unknown

General Description and Notes:

None

Information Sources:

Bibliography:

Locations: University of Houston (original); The Texas Newspaper Project, Center for American History (microfilm), University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX

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