Schoolcraft’s First Literary Magazine (MI, 1827)
July 24, 2011
1827, Alphabetical Order, Faith-Specific Papers, Frontier Papers, Indian-Aboriginal Peoples Language Papers, Minnesota, S, School Newspapers, United States Leave a comment
Schoolboys’ Echo (CA, 1858)
July 24, 2011
1858, Alphabetical Order, California, Children Papers, Frontier Papers, S, School Newspapers, United States Leave a comment
Publication History:
Place of Publication: Downieville, California
Frequency: Monthly. Possibly only 2 issues
Volume and Issue Data: May 22, 1858, July 3, 1858
Size and Format: Unknown
Editor/Publisher: James A. Booth
Title Changes and Continuation: None
General Description and Notes:
Kennedy writes (p. 547):
“A boy named James A. Booth published a manuscript paper in Downieville in 1858. It was called the Schoolboys’ Echo, and was good enough to draw strong praise from Calvin B. McDonald, at that time editor of the Trinity Journal. McDonald only mentioned two issues of the Echo, although there may have been more.”
Information Sources:
Bibliography: Chester B. Kennedy, “Newspapers of the California Northern Mines, 1850-1860–A Record of Life, Letters and Culture,” unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Stanford University, 1949, pp. 27, 40, 547, 599
Locations: Unknown
The School Casket (WI, 1864)
July 24, 2011
1864, Alphabetical Order, Children Papers, S, School Newspapers, United States, Wisconsin, Youth Papers Leave a comment
Publication History:
Place of Publication: Madison, WI: the junior class of the First Ward Grammar School.
Frequency: Unknown
Volume and Issue Data: Vol. 1, No. 2, February 5, 1864
Size and Format: 23 pages
Editor/Publisher: Charles D. and Clara F. Purple (he’s the same editor of Our Paper)
Title Changes and Continuation: None
General Description and Notes:
None
Information Sources:
Bibliography: None
Locations: Newspapers, No. SC 2047, Archives, The State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
Saucelito Echo (CA, 1879)
July 24, 2011
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 Saskatoon Sentinel (SK, 1884)
July 24, 2011
1884, Alphabetical Order, Canada, Organization Newspapers, S, Saskatchewan Leave a comment
Publication History:
Place of Publication: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Frequency: Bi-weekly (only three issues)
Volume and Issue Data: Vol. 1, No. 1, August 9, 1884
Size and Format: No.1: 17pp.; No.3: 24pp.
Editor/Publisher: “Devoted to the interests of the Temperance Colony”
Title Changes and Continuation: No. 1: “The Saskatoon Sentinel: A Magazine of News and Instruction”; No. 3: “The Sentinel: An Independent Magazine of News and Instruction Devoted to the Interests of the Temperance Colony”
General Description and Notes:
Only three issues were published.
Information Sources:
Bibliography: None
Locations: Vol. 1, Nos. 1 and 3: Special Collections, University of Saskatchewan Library, Saskatoon; No. 2 is apparently no longer extant
The Sanpitcher (UT, 1867)
July 24, 2011
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
San Luis Coyote (CA, 1850)
July 24, 2011
1850, Alphabetical Order, Frontier Papers, Military Papers, S Leave a comment
Publication History:
Place of Publication: Mission San Luis Rey, California (1850)
Frequency: One issue?
Volume and Issue Data: Sept. 1850
Size and Format: Unknown
Editor/Publisher: “C. Senor,” a U.S. officer stationed near Mission San Luis Rey
Title Changes and Continuation: None
General Description and Notes:
None
Information Sources:
Bibliography: None
Locations: Cu-B?
The Rye Budget (NY, 1832)
July 22, 2011
1832, Alphabetical Order, New York, R, Uncategorized, United States Leave a comment
Publication History:
Place of Publication: Rye, New York
Frequency: Two numbers just two days apart
Volume and Issue Data: July 11 and July 13, 1832
Size and Format: July 11, two pages; July 13, four pages
Editor/Publisher: Unknown
Title Changes and Continuation: Unknown
General Description and Notes:
None
Information Sources:
Bibliography: None
Locations: Manuscript Collection, New York Public Library, New York, NY (NY [Box] Rye)
The Ruby (MA, no date)
July 22, 2011
Alphabetical Order, Massachusetts, No Date, R, Uncategorized, United States Leave a comment
Publication History:
Place of Publication: Boston, MA
Frequency: Unknown
Volume and Issue Data: Unknown
Size and Format: Unknown
Editor/Publisher: Unknown
Title Changes and Continuation: Unknown
General Description and Notes:
None
Information Sources:
Bibliography: None
Locations: American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, MA
Rock Springs Exposer (WY, 1876)
July 22, 2011
1876, Alphabetical Order, Frontier Papers, Images, R, United States, Wyoming Leave a comment
Rock Springs Exposer (WY, 1876)
Publication History:
Place of Publication: Rock Springs, Wyoming Territory
Volume and Issue Data: “Vol. XIX, No. 318″ (unclear whether this is fictitious or genuine numbering) Nov. 10, 1876
Size and Format: Two sided, 14″ x 9”
Editor/Publisher: Unknown
Title Changes and Continuations: None
General Description and Notes:
The editor boasts, “Our Circulation exceeds any other HAND printed Newspaper in Wyoming Ty.” Paper contains political and election news, advertisements, an editorial and news briefs.
Information Sources:
Bibliography: None
Locations: Wyoming Department of Commerce, Division of Parks and Cultural Resources, Historical Research and Publications Unit, Cheyenne, WY (microfilmed)
The Rocky Mountain Graphic (CO, no date)
July 22, 2011
Alphabetical Order, No Date, R, Uncategorized, United States Leave a comment
Publication History:
Place of Publication: Denver, CO
Frequency: Unknown
Volume and Issue Data: Unknown
Size and Format: Unknown
Editor/Publisher: Unknown
Title Changes and Continuation: Unknown
General Description and Notes:
None
Information Sources:
Bibliography: None
Locations: American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, MA
The Right Flanker (NY, 1863-1864)
July 22, 2011
1863, Alphabetical Order, Military Papers, New York, Prison Papers, R, United States, US Civil War-Era Papers Leave a comment
Publication History:
Place of Publication: Fort-La-Fayette, Union Prison Camp at the Narrows of New York Bay, New York
Frequency: Unknown; possibly weekly
Volume and Issue Data: 1863-1864
Size and Format: Pen and ink
Editor/Publisher: Unknown; Confederate officers
Title Changes and Continuation: None
General Description and Notes:
The Right Flanker is the only known manuscript newspaper published by Confederate prisoners confined in the North during the Civil War. The paper was written in pen and ink, and after its staff was released, copies were taken to England and printed in book form (1865).
The introductory issue said the purpose of the paper was “to relieve the monotony of prison life, by calling into action the taste and faculties of those who are capable of contributing to its columns; instructing and amusing those who cannot, and to furnish to all who are to share the spice of excitement, which the risk of such a contraband undertaking affords, something of which it is hoped, reference can be pleasantly made by them in after years.” The editors then introduced themselves and their personal histories prior to imprisonment, but used no names, apparently to avoid punishment for the production of “contraband.”
The printed “transcript” of The Right Flanker runs 90 pages, but it unclear how faithful the printed version is to the handwritten originals.
The printed version depicts a paper devoted largely to an analysis of the war (based on New York newspaper reports), life in the prison camp, and the arrival of new prisoners. Humor or light features are infrequent.
Information Sources:
Bibliography: “Fort-La-Fayette Life, 1863-1864: In extracts from the ‘Right Flanker,’ a manuscript sheet circulating among the Southern Prisoners in Fort-La-Fayette,” The Magazine of History, Extra No. 13, 197-246.
Locations: Fort-La-Fayette Life, 1863-1864: In extracts from the “Right Flanker,” a manuscript sheet circulating among the Southern Prisoners in Fort-La-Fayette (London: Simpkin, Marshall and Co., 1865; New York: William Abbatt, 1911) [reprinted in The Magazine of History, Extra No. 13]
The Repository (CT, 1851)
July 22, 2011
1851, Alphabetical Order, Children Papers, Connecticut, R, School Newspapers, United States Leave a comment
Publication History:
Place of Publication: Granby, CT
Frequency: Unknown
Volume and Issue Data: 1851, several issues
Size and Format: Over 50 pages
Editor/Publisher: “School boy editors”, William C. Case and Daniel E. Holcomb.
Title Changes and Continuation: Unknown
General Description and Notes:
Written by students and includes several issues all written in a ledger.
Information Sources:
Bibliography: None
Locations: Salmon Brook Historical Society, Granby, CT
The Redwing Carrier-Pigeon (KS, 1886)
July 22, 2011
1886, Alphabetical Order, Images, Kansas, Organization Newspapers, R, United States Leave a comment
Redwing Carrier-Pigeon (KS, 1886)
Publication History:
Place of Publication: Barton County, Kansas
Frequency: Weekly
Volume and Issue Data: Vol. 1, No. 2, Dec. 2, 1886
Size and Format: Single column; masthead includes motto: “Justice and Impartiality”
Editor/Publisher: H.C. Banke (1886); Dec. 2, 1886 paper identifies two women and one man as part of the “editorial staff,” and refers to the Redwing Literary Society, as if it were a primary sponsor and/or publisher
Title Changes and Continuation: Unknown
General Description and Notes:
The second number of this paper, signed by H.C. Banke, complains about the lack of news around town and urges contributions. The editor writes:
“Owing to the fact that but few contributions have arrived during the past week, and some of those that have arrived have been very dull, we have not such a large and interesting paper to present as we did last week. But believing that, what little we have will be cheerfully accepted by the members of the lyceum, this, No. 2 of our Lines, will be dedicated. Invitation is extended to all the members of the Redwing Literary Society to contribute something towards making the Red-wing (sic) Carrier-Pigeon interesting, which will also add to the well fare of our Society and to individual pleasure. All contributions which are not disrespectful or too personal in their nature will be cheerfully excepted (sic), and if they arrive before Wednesday will be published in the current issue of the paper. However, everything of a personal or disrespectful nature will be avoided from obvious reasons.
“The editorial staff is now composed of Mrs. H.E. Smith, Mr. B.C. Cofer and Mrs. L.J. Gifford. Contributions sent to either of the before mentioned ladies will reach the editor-in-chief safely. Contributors are requested to send their contributions and to them will be most convenient.”
Information Sources:
Bibliography: Robert F. Karolevitz, Newspapering in the Old West: A Pictorial History of Journalism and Printing on the Frontier (New York: Bonanza Books, 1969), p. 87; Bob Karolevitz, “Pen and Ink Newspapers of the Old West,” Frontier Times, 44:2 (Feb.-March 1970), 30, 62
Locations: KSHi-Topeka; front page, Vol. 1, No. 1, Dec. 3, 1886, reproduced in Karolevitz (1969), p. 87, and Karolevitz (1970), p. 30.
The (Carolina) Rebel (SC, 1863)
July 22, 2011
1863, Alphabetical Order, Images, R, South Carolina, United States, US Civil War-Era Papers, Youth Papers Leave a comment
The (Carolina) Rebel (SC, 1863)
Publication History:
Place of Publication: Columbia, SC
Frequency: Unknown (monthly?)
Volume and Issue Data: Two extant copies: Vol. 1, No. 1, January 28, 1863; Vol. 1, No. 4, April 23, 1863
Size and Format: Four pages
Editor/Publisher: “Liliput”
Title Changes and Continuation: No. 1 is titled The Rebel; No. 4 is titled The Carolina Rebel (though the first column says, “The Rebel, published at Columbia, So Ca, Whenever the Editor is in the right mood by Liliput, Editor and Proprietor.”
The (Carolina) Rebel (SC, 1863)
General Description and Notes:
Although The Rebel was produced during the middle of the Civil War (No. 4 was written four months after the Emancipation Proclamation and just days before the Southern Army’s victory at Chancellorsville), the editor makes only minimal references to the conflict. Page four of the April issue has a brief report on the war gathered during the editor’s trip to Charleston. Most of the stories deal with domestic matters (teaching children, food prices, first year of marriage, etc.). This suggests that the paper was most likely the editorial work of a young woman.
According to the South Carolina Historical Society catalog, the Rebel is a “Handwritten newspaper (4 p.). ‘Vol. 1, No.1, published at Columbia, So. Ca., whenever the Editor is in the right mood.’ Includes humorous articles, letters to the editor, articles concerning Confederate officers and officials, and advertisements for ‘T.H. Egan, Portrait Painter’ and others.”
Information Sources:
Bibliography: Short article in The South Carolina Historical Magazine (1963), page unknown; “The Rebel: A Handwritten 1863 Columbia Newspaper,” Carologue: A Publication of the South Carolina Historical Society, 9:1 (Spring 1993 ), pp. 14-18.
Locations: Both extant copies are held by the South Carolina Historical Society, Charleston, SC: Vol. 1, No. 1, is part of the manuscript collection donated by P.W. Gruenwald: The Rebel, 1863 Jan. 28. (43/435) ; No. 4 is in the Balzano Collection.
Rattlesnake Blizzard (OR, 1885)
July 22, 2011
1885, Alphabetical Order, Images, Oregon, Organization Newspapers, R, United States Leave a comment
Rattlesnake Blizzard (OR, 1885)
Publication History:
Place of Publication: Pleasant Hill, Oregon
Frequency: One issue
Volume and Issue Data: Tuesday, Dec. 30, 1885
Size and Format: Ledger sheets, 13 pp.
Editor/Publisher: Anonymous (Pleasant Hill Literary Society?)
Title Changes and Continuation: Succeeded by the Pleasant Hill Popgun (See Pleasant Hill Popgun)
General Description and Notes:
A handwritten newspaper on old ledger sheets, Dec. 30, 1885; succeeded by the Pleasant Hill Popgun, Dec. 13, 1901, in the same ledger. Edited anonymously. Contains brief news items, jokes and anecdotes.
The opening story-editorial states:
“From the ranks of this society your humble servants have been given the unpleasant and difficult task of editing this paper which we shall call the Rattlesnake Blizzard.
“As this office was forced upon the editors and items are hard to get, and when obtained it takes all the constructive power, and a little more than the writer has, to put them together, the members need not be astonished at the end of this term to see two shattered invalids, or raving maniacs roaming about the country in wild despair [sic], seeking lost health and long forgotten happiness. Of course those whose sterling worth, honesty, mental and other qualities exceeds those of others are called upon to fill the honorable, now paying position of editors . . . .”
The paper contains sections labeled “Conundrums,” “Stuff & Nonsense,” and “Advertisements.”
Information Sources:
Bibliography: Martin Schmidt, Catalogues and Manuscripts, University of Oregon Library, Special Collections, Vol. I, 1971, item 888.
Locations: Special Collections, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon
Rapidann (VA, 1864)
July 22, 2011
1864, Alphabetical Order, Military Papers, R, United States, US Civil War-Era Papers, Virginia Leave a comment
Publication History:
Place of Publication: Somewhere in Virginia
Frequency: One known extant copy
Volume and Issue Data: January 1, 1864
Size and Format: 1 sheet
Editor/Publisher: Unknown
Title Changes and Continuation: Unknown
General Description and Notes:
Handwritten newspaper (1 sheet) created by a Confederate soldier (probably from South Carolina) serving in Virginia. Newspaper contains articles about army life, Virginia, furloughs, and other topics as well as jokes, poems, and illustrations (from SC Hist Soc catalog)
Information Sources:
Bibliography: None
Locations: Teague, Benjamin H. (Benjamin Hammet), 1846-1921. B.H. Teague family and collected papers, 1770-1899, Manuscript, 1105.07.09, South Carolina Historical Society, Charleston, SC
Quarterly Visitor (IA, 1844)
July 22, 2011
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 Prisoner Vidette (IL, 1864)
July 17, 2011
1864, Alphabetical Order, Illinois, P, Prison Papers, United States, US Civil War-Era Papers Leave a comment
Publication History:
Place of Publication: Camp Douglas (Prisoner of War Camp), Cook County, IL
Frequency: Unknown
Volume and Issue Data: Vol. 1, No. 1, after January 1864
Size and Format: Four pages
Editor/Publisher: Confederate Prisoners of War
Title Changes and Continuation: None
General Description and Notes:
Camp Douglas, named after Stephen Douglas who owned the property, was located on the west side of Cottage Grove Avenue between 31st and 33rd streets in Chicago. In 1861, it was designed for recruiting and training Union soldiers, but after the capture of Fort Donelson in 1862, it became a prison camp for approximately 7,000 Confederate prisoners. The manuscript paper contains camp gossip, editorials, news from home, poetry, and advertisements. The “Prospectus” (page 1) states, “Feeling the want of a literary sheet of some discription [sic], in our midst, we have at length concluded to place before the public of Camp Douglas a spicy little paper, The Prisoner Vidette.”
The extant manuscript the Chicago Public Library Collection was restored at the Document Conservation Center, Atlanta, in 1976.
Information Sources:
Bibliography: Mabel McIlvaine, ed., “History of Camp Douglas” in Reminiscenes of Chicago During the Civil War (Chicago, 1914), pp. 161-194; Thomas A. Orlando and Marie Gecik, compilers, Treasures of the Chicago Public Library (Chicago, 1977), Item 154, pp. 77-78
Locations: Grand Army Hall and Memorial Association Collection, Chicago Public Library.
The Prison Times (DE, 1865)
July 17, 2011
1865, Alphabetical Order, Delaware, Images, P, Prison Papers, United States, US Civil War-Era Papers Leave a comment
Prison Times, DE, 1865; Image Source: Library of Congress; images of four pages at the New York Historical Society website
Place of Publication: Fort Delaware, a Union prison camp holding Confederate officer prisoners, located on Pea Patch Island where the Delaware River merges into Delaware Bay, just south of New Castle, DE
Frequency: Four extant copies (according to the NY Historical Society [with thanks to Joseph Ditta; see comments below; updated 9-24-12)
Volume and Issue Data: Vol. 1, No. 1, April 8, 1865
Size and Format: See image below
Editor/Publisher: J.W. Hibbs, Capt. 13th Va. Inf.was the publisher. Proprietors and editors were George S. Thomas, Capt. 6thGa., Div. 24; W.H. Bennett, Capt. & A.C.S., Div. 24; and A. Harris, Lt. 3rdFla., Div. 28.
Title Changes and Continuation: See The Stonewall Register
General Description and Notes:
Evidently there are three extant copies of the same issue, one in Savannah, Georgia, Charleston, South Carolina, and the other in Buffalo, NY. The paper contains editorials, announcements, advertisements, poetry, barracks directory, Christian Association Directory, notices of clubs, and prison news notes. The NY letter says, “As General Lee surrendered to General Grant on the 9th, this [April 8] issue may well have been the sole issue.”
In a letter from William H. Loos, Curator, Rare Book Room, Buffalo and Erie County Public Library, Buffalo, NY, dated July 14, 1993, Loos states that he found an extant copy of The Prison Times in “an old portfolio of loose single issues of early American newspapers that we have had for many years and which I had not had occasion to consult in nearly twenty years.” Two representatives from the New York State Library, who were working on the state’s portion of the national newspaper project, came to the Buffalo library to research their collection. “When I reviewed this portfolio before one of the researchers recorded its contents,” Loos wrote, “I was surprised to find a handwritten newspaper.”
According to Loos,
“The newspaper is vol. 1, no. 1 of the Prison Times issued at Fort Delaware in 1865. On page two, the date April 8th appears. As General Lee surrendered to General Grant on the 9th, this may well have been the sole issue. Fort Delaware was a prison camp for Confederate officers. The fort was located on Pea Patch Island where the Delaware River merges into Delaware Bay, just south of New Castle, Delaware.”
According to the South Carolina Historical Society records, P.A. McMichael raised a Confederate volunteer company that became Company G of the Twentieth South Carolina Infantry. He served in the Charleston, South Carolina area (1861-1863) mainly around Sullivan’s Island, and in Virginia, where he participated in the battle of Cold Harbor and was promoted to Lt. Col of the 20th Regiment. He was captured at Cedar Creek and taken to Fort Delaware. His collection includes the handwritten newspaper, Prison Times (vol. 1, no. 1) for prisoners at Fort Delaware, Del. The South Carolina Historical Society catalog says the paper contains “advertisements for tailoring, barbering, music, religious assistance, debate and chess clubs with poetry, barracks directory, and descriptions and comments on prison life.”
Information Sources:
Bibliography:
Links: New York Historical Socety; Georgia Historical Society catalog entry for The Prison Times; South Carolina Historical Society, Paul A. McMichael holdings; see also http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn93063825/
Locations: Prison Times, Misc. Fort Delaware: NYUGB12021269-A, New York Historical Society, with images of four pages; Prison Times, MS 638, Georgia Historical Society, Savannah, Georgia; and Buffalo and Erie County Public Library, Buffalo, NY; and Prison Times in Paul Agalus McMichael (1820-1869), correspondence and diary, 1861-1865 (1073.00), South Carolina Historical Society, Charleston, SC.
The Handwritten Newspapers Project 