USA > Illinois > St Clair County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of St. Clair County, Volume I > Part 80
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NEWHALL, (Dr.) Horatio, early physician and newspaper publisher, came from St. Louis, Mo., to Galena, Ill., in 1827, and engaged in min- ing and smelting, but abandoned this business, the following year, for the practice of his profes- sion; soon afterward became interested in the publication of "The Miners' Journal," and still later in "The Galena Advertiser," with which Hooper Warren and Dr. Philleo were associated.
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In 1830 he became a Surgeon in the United States Army, and was stationed at Fort Winnebago, but retired from the service, in 1832, and returned to Galena. When the Black Hawk War broke out he volunteered his services, and, by order of General Scott, was placed in charge of a military hospital at Galena, of which he had control until the close of the war. The difficulties of the posi- tion were increased by the appearance of the Asiatic cholera among the troops, but he seems to have discharged his duties with satisfaction to the military authorities. He enjoyed a wide reputation for professional ability, and had an extensive practice. Died, Sept. 19, 1870.
NEWMAN, a village of Douglas County, on the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railway, 52 miles east of Decatur; has a bank, a newspaper, can- ning factory, broom factory, electric lights, and large trade in agricultural products and live- stock. Population (1890), 990; (1900), 1,166.
NEWSPAPERS, EARLY. The first newspaper published in the Northwest Territory, of which the present State of Illinois, at the time, com- posed a part, was "The Centinel of the Northwest Territory," established at Cincinnati by William Maxwell, the first issue appearing in November, 1793. This was also the first newspaper published west of the Allegheny Mountains. In 1796 it was sold to Edmund Freeman and assumed the name of "Freeman's Journal." Nathaniel Willis (grandfather of N. P. Willis, the poet) estab- lished "The Scioto Gazette," at Chillicothe, in 1796. "The Western Spy and Hamilton Gazette" was the third paper in Northwest Territory (also within the limits of Ohio), founded in 1799. Willis's paper became the organ of the Terri- torial Government on the removal of the capital to Chillicothe, in 1800.
The first newspaper in Indiana Territory (then including Illinois) was established by Elihu Stout at Vincennes, beginning publication, July 4, 1804. It took the name of "The Western Sun and Gen- eral Advertiser," but is now known as "The Western Sun," having had a continuous exist- ence for ninety-five years.
The first newspaper published in Illinois Terri- tory was "The Illinois Herald," but, owing to the absence of early files and other specific records, the date of its establishment has been involved in some doubt. Its founder was Matthew Dun- can (a brother of Joseph Duncan, who was after- wards a member of Congress and Governor of the State from 1834 to 1838), and its place of pub- lication Kaskaskia, at that time the Territorial capital. Duncan, who was a native of Kentucky,
brought a press and a primitive printer's outfit with him from that State. Gov. John Reynolds, who came as a boy to the "Illinois Country" in 1800, while it was still a part of the "Northwest Territory," in his "Pioneer History of Illinois," has fixed the date of the first issue of this paper in 1809, the same year in which Illinois was severed from Indiana Territory and placed under a separate Territorial Government. There is good reason, however, for believing that the Governor was mistaken in this statement. If Duncan brought his press to Illinois in 1809- which is probable-it does not seem to have been employed at once in the publication of a news- paper, as Hooper Warren (the founder of the third paper established in Illinois) says it "was for years only used for the public printing." The earliest issue of "The Illinois Herald" known to be in existence, is No. 32 of Vol. II, and bears date, April 18, 1816. Calculating from these data, if the paper was issued continuously from its establishment, the date of the first issue would have been Sept. 6, 1814. Corroborative evidence of this is found in the fact that "The Missouri Gazette, " the original of the old "Missouri Repub- lican" (now "The St. Louis Republic"), which was established in 1808, makes no mention of the Kaskaskia paper before 1814, although communi- cation between Kaskaskia and St. Louis was most intimate, and these two were, for several years, the only papers published west of Vin- cennes, Ind.
In August, 1817, "The Herald" was sold to Daniel P. Cook and Robert Blackwell, and the name of the paper was changed to "The Illinois Intelligencer." Cook-who had previously been Auditor of Public Accounts for the Territory, and afterwards became a Territorial Circuit Judge, the first Attorney-General under the new State Government, and, for eight years, served as the only Representative in Congress from Illinois- for a time officiated as editor of "The Intelli- gencer," while Blackwell (who had succeeded to the Auditorship) had charge of the publication. The size of the paper, which had been four pages of three wide columns to the page, was increased, by the new publishers, to four columns to the page. On the removal of the State capital to Vandalia, in 1820, "The Intelligencer" was removed thither also, and continued under its later name, afterwards becoming, after a change of management, an opponent of the scheme for the calling of a State Convention to revise the State Constitution with a view to making Illinois a slave State. (See Slavery and Slave Laws.)
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The second paper established on Illinois soil was "The Shawnee Chief," which began publica- tion at Shawneetown, Sept. 5, 1818, with Henry Eddy-who afterwards became a prominent law- yer of Southern Illinois-as its editor. The name of "The Chief" was soon afterwards changed to "The Illinois Emigrant," and some years later, became "The Shawneetown Gazette." Among others who were associated with the Shawnee- town paper, in early days, was James Hall, after- wards a Circuit Judge and State Treasurer, and, without doubt, the most prolific and popular writer of his day in Illinois. Later, he estab- lished "The Illinois Magazine" at Vandalia, sub- sequently removed to Cincinnati, and issued under the name of "The Western Monthly Magazine." He was also a frequent contributor to other maga- zines of that period, and author of several vol- umnes, including "Legends of the West" and "Border Tales." During the contest over the slavery question, in 1823-24, "The Gazette" rendered valuable service to the anti-slavery party by the publication of articles in opposition to the Convention scheme, from the pen of Morris Birkbeck and others.
The third Illinois paper-and, in 1823-24, the strongest and most influential opponent of the scheme for establishing slavery in Illinois-was "The Edwardsville Spectator," which began pub- lication at Edwardsville, Madison County, May 23, 1819. Hooper Warren was the publisher and responsible editor, though he received valuable aid from the pens of Governor Coles, George Churchill, Rev. Thomas Lippincott, Judge Samuel D. Lockwood, Morris Birkbeck and others. (See Warren, Hooper.) Warren sold "The Spectator" to Rev. Thomas Lippincott in 1825, and was afterwards associated with papers at Springfield, Galena, Chicago and elsewhere.
The agitation of the slavery question (in part, at least) led to the establishment of two new papers in 1822. The first of these was "The Republican Advocate," which began publication at Kaskaskia, in April of that year, under the management of Elias Kent Kane, then an aspir- ant to the United States Senatorship. After his election to that office in 1824, "The Advocate" passed into the hands of Robert K. Fleming, who, after a period of suspension, established "The Kaskaskia Recorder," but, a year or two later, removed to Vandalia. "The Star of the West" was established at Edwardsville, as an opponent of Warren's "Spectator," the first issue making its appearance, Sept. 14, 1822, with Theophilus W. Smith, afterwards a Justice of the Supreme
Court, as its reputed editor. A few months later it passed into new hands, and, in August, 1823, assumed the name of "The Illinois Republican." Both "The Republican Advocate" and "The Illinois Republican" were zealous organs of the pro-slavery party.
With the settlement of the slavery question in Illinois, by the election of 1824, Illinois journal- ism may be said to have entered upon a new era. At the close of this first period there were only five papers published in the State-all established within a period of ten years; and one of these ("The Illinois Republican," at Edwardsville) promptly ceased publication on the settlement of the slavery question in opposition to the views which it had advocated. The next period of fif- teen years (1825-40) was prolific in the establish- ment of new newspaper ventures, as might be expected from the rapid increase of the State in population, and the development in the art of printing during the same period. "The Western Sun," established at Belleville (according to one report, in December, 1825, and according to another, in the winter of 1827-28) by Dr. Joseph Green, appears to have been the first paper pub- lished in St. Clair County. This was followed by "The Pioneer," begun, April 25, 1829, at Rock Spring, St. Clair County, with the indomitable Dr. John M. Peck, author of "Peck's Gazetteer," as its editor. It was removed in 1836 to Upper Alton, when it took the name of "The Western Pioneer and Baptist Banner." Previous to this, however, Hooper Warren, having come into pos- session of the material upon which he had printed "The Edwardsville Spectator," removed it to Springfield, and, in the winter of 1826-27, began the publication of the first paper at the present State capital, which he named "The Sangamo Gazette." It had but a brief existence. During 1830, George Forquer, then Attorney-General of the State, in conjunction with his half-brother, Thomas Ford (afterwards Governor), was engaged in the publication of a paper called "The Cour- ier," at Springfield, which was continued only a short time. The earliest paper north of Spring- field appears to have been "The Hennepin Jour- nal," which began publication, Sept. 15, 1827. "The Sangamo Journal" -now "The Illinois State Journal," and the oldest paper of continu- ous existence in the State-was established at Springfield by Simeon and Josiah Francis (cous- ins from Connecticut), the first issue bearing date, Nov. 10, 1831. Before the close of the same year James G. Edwards, afterwards the founder of "The Burlington (Iowa) Hawkeye," began the
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publication of "The Illinois Patriot" at Jackson- ville. Another paper, established the same year, was "The Gazette" at Vandalia, then the State capital. (See Forquer, George; Ford, Thomas; Francis, Simeon.)
At this early date the development of the lead mines about Galena had made that place a center of great business activity. On July 8, 1828, James Jones commenced the issue of "The Miners' Journal," the first paper at Galena. Jones died of cholera in 1833, and his paper passed into other hands. July 20, 1829, "The Galena Adver- tiser and Upper Mississippi Herald" began pub- lication, with Drs. Horatio Newhall and Addison Philleo as editors, and Hooper Warren as pub- lisher, but appears to liave been discontinued before the expiration of its first year. "The Galenian" was established as a Democratic paper by Philleo, in May, 1832, but ceased publication in September, 1836. "The Northwestern Gazette and Galena Advertiser," founded in November, 1834, by Loring and Bartlett (the last named afterwards one of the founders of "The Quincy Whig"), has had a continuous existence, being now known as "The Galena Advertiser." Benja- min Mills, one of the most brilliant lawyers of liis time, was editor of this paper during a part of the first year of its publication.
Robert K. Fleming, who has already been mentioned as the successor of Elias Kent Kane in the publication of "The Republican Advocate," at Kaskaskia, later published a paper for a short time at Vandalia, but, in 1827, removed liis establishment to Edwardsville, where he began the publication of "The Corrector." The latter was continued a little over a year, when it was suspended. He then resumed the publication of "The Recorder" at Kaskaskia. In December, 1833, he removed to Belleville and began the pub- lication of "The St. Clair Gazette," whichi after- wards passed, through various changes of owners, under the names of "The St. Clair Mercury" and "Representative and Gazette." This was suc- ceeded, in 1839, by "The Belleville Advocate," which has been published continuously to the present time.
Samuel S. Brooks (the father of Austin Brooks, afterwards of "The Quincy Herald") at differ- ent times published papers at various points in the State. His first enterprise was "The Crisis" at Edwardsville, which he changed to "The Illinois Advocate," and, at the close of his first year, sold out to Judge Jolin York Sawyer, who united it with "The Western Plowboy," which he had established a few
months previous. "The Advocate" was removed to Vandalia, and, on the death of the owner (who had been appointed State Printer), was consoli- dated with "The Illinois Register," which had been established in 1836. The new paper took the name of "The Illinois Register and People's Advocate," in 1839 was removed to Springfield, and is now known as "The Illinois State Regis- ter.'
Other papers established between 1830 and 1840 include: "The Vandalia Whig" (1831) ; "The Alton Spectator," the first paper published in Alton (January, 1834); "The Chicago Demo- crat," by Jolin Calhoun (Nov. 26, 1833); "The Beardstown Chronicle and Illinois Bounty Land Advertiser," by Francis A. Arenz (July 29, 1833) ; "The Alton American" (1833); "The White County News," at Carmi (1833); "The Danville Enquirer" (1833); "The Illinois Champion," at Peoria (1834); "The Mount Carmel Sentinel and Wabash Advocate" (1834); "The Illinois State Gazette and Jacksonville News," at Jacksonville (1835); "The Illinois Argus and Bounty Land Register," at Quincy (1835); "The Rushville Journal and Military Tract Advertiser" (1835); "The Alton Telegraph" (1836); "The Alton Observer" (1836); "The Cartlaginian," at Car- thage (1836) ; "The Bloomington Observer" (1837); "The Backwoodsman," founded by Prof. Jolın Russell, at Grafton, and the first paper published in Greene County (1837); "The Quincy Whig" (1838); "The Illinois Statesman," at Paris, Edgar County (1838); "The Peoria Register" (1838). The second paper to be established in Chicago was "The Chicago American," whose initial number was issued, June 8, 1835, with Thomas O. Davis as proprietor and editor. In July, 1837, it passed into the hands of William Stuart & Co., and, on April 9, 1839, its publishers began the issue of the first daily ever published in Chicago. "The Chicago Express" succeeded "The Ameri- can" in 1842, and, in 1844, became the forerunner of "The Chicago Journal." The third Chicago paper was "The Commercial Advertiser," founded by Hooper Warren, in 1836. It lived only about a year. Zebina Eastman, who was afterwards associated with Warren, and became one of the most influential journalistic opponents of slavery, arrived in the State in 1839, and, in the latter part of that year, was associated with the celebrated Abolitionist, Benjamin Lundy, in the preliminary steps for the issue of "The Genius of Universal Emancipation," projected by Lundy at Lowell, in La Salle County. Lundy's untimely death, in August, 1839, however, pre-
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vented him from seeing the consummation of his plan, although Eastman lived to carry it out in part. A paper whose career, although extending only a little over one year, marked an era in Illi- nois journalism, was "The Alton Observer," its history closing with the assassination of its editor, Rev. Elijah P. Lovejoy, on the night of Nov. 8, 1837, while unsuccessfully attempting to protect his press from destruction, for the fourth time, by a pro-slavery mob. Humiliating as was this crime to every law-abiding Illinoisan, it undoubtedly strengthened the cause of free speech and assisted in hastening the downfall of the institution in whose behalf it was committed.
That the development in the field of journal- ism, within the past sixty years, has more than kept pace with the growth in population, is shown by the fact that there is not a county in the State without its newspaper, while every town of a few hundred population has either one or more. According to statistics for 1898, there were 605 cities and towns in the State having periodical publications of some sort, making a total of 1,709, of which 174 were issued daily, 34 semi-weekly, 1,205 weekly, 28 semi-monthly, 238 monthly, and the remainder at various periods ranging from tri-weekly to eight times a year.
NEWTON, the county-seat of Jasper County, situated on the Embarras River, at the intersec- tion of subsidiary lines of the Illinois Central Railroad from Peoria and Effingham; is an in- corporated city, was settled in 1828, and made the county-seat in 1836. Agriculture, coal-mining and dairy farming are the principal pursuits in the surrounding region. The city has water- power, which is utilized to some extent in manu- facturing, but most of its factories are operated by steam. Among these establishments are flour and saw mills, and grain elevators. There are a half-dozen churches, a good public school system, including parochial school and higli school, besides two banks and three weekly papers. Population (1890), 1,428; (1900), 1,630.
NEW YORK, CHICAGO & ST. LOUIS RAIL- WAY (Nickel Plate), a line 522.47 miles in length, of which (1898) only 9.96 miles are operated in Illinois. It owns no track in Illinois, but uses the track of the Chicago & State Line Railroad (9.96 miles in length), of which it has financial control, to enter the city of Chicago. The total capitalization of the New York, Chicago & St. Louis, in 1898, is $50,222,568, of which $19,425, 000 is in bonds .- (HISTORY.) The New York, Chi- cago & St. Louis Railroad was incorporated under the laws of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio,
Indiana and Illinois in 1881, construction begun immediately, and the road put in operation in 1882. In 1885 it passed into the hands of a receiver, was sold under foreclosure in 1887, and reorganized by the consolidation of various east- ern lines with the Fort Wayne & Illinois Railroad, forming the line under its present name. The road between Buffalo, N. Y., and the west line of Indiana is owned by the Company, but, for its line in Illinois, it uses the track of the Chicago & State Line Railroad, of which it is the lessee, as well as the owner of its capital stock. The main line of the "Nickel Plate" is controlled by the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway, which owns more than half of both the preferred and common stock.
NIANTIC, a town in Macon County, on the Wabash Railway, 27 miles east of Springfield. Agriculture is the leading industry. The town has three elevators, three churches, school, coal mine, a newspaper and a bank. Pop. (1900), 654.
NICOLAY, John George, author, was born in Essingen, Bavaria, Feb. 26, 1832; at 6 years of age was brought to the United States, lived for a time in Cincinnati, attending the public schools there, and then came to Illinois; at 16 entered the office of "The Pike County Free Press" at Pitts- field, and, while still in his minority, became editor and proprietor of the paper. In 1857 he became Assistant Secretary of State under O. M. Hatch, the first Republican Secretary, but during Mr. Lincoln's candidacy for President, in 1860, aided him as private secretary, also acting as a correspondent of "The St. Louis Democrat." After the election he was formally selected by Mr. Lincoln as his private secretary, accompany- ing him to Washington and remaining until Mr. Lincoln's assassination. In 1865 he was appointed United States Consul at Paris, remaining until 1869; on his return for some time edited "The Chicago Republican"; was also Marshal of the United States Supreme Court in Washington from 1872 to 1887. Mr. Nicolay is author, in col- laboration with John Hay, of "Abraham Lincoln: A History," first published serially in "The Cen- tury Magazine," and later issued in ten volumes; of "The Outbreak of the Rebellion" in "Cam- paigns of the Civil War," besides numerous maga- zine articles. He lives in Washington, D. C.
NICOLET, Jean, early French explorer, came from Cherbourg, France, in 1618, and, for several years, lived among the Algonquins, whose lan- guage he learned and for whom he acted as interpreter. On July 4, 1634, he discovered Lake Michigan, then called the "Lake of the Illinois,"
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and visited the Chippewas, Menominees and Winnebagoes, in the region about Green Bay, among whom he was received kindly. From the Mascoutins, on the Fox River (of Wisconsin), he learned of the Illinois Indians, some of whose northern villages he also visited. He subse- quently returned to Quebec, where he was drowned, in October, 1642. He was probably the first Caucasian to visit Wisconsin and Illinois.
NILES, Nathaniel, lawyer, editor and soldier, born at Plainfield, Otsego County, N. Y., Feb. 4, 1817; attended an academy at Albany, from 1830 to '34, was licensed to practice law and removed west in 1837, residing successively at Delphi and Frankfort, Ind., and at Owensburg, Ky., until 1942, when he settled in Belleville, Ill. In 1846 he was commissioned a First Lieutenant in the Second Regiment Illinois Volunteers (Colonel Bissell's) for the Mexican War, but, after the battle of Buena Vista, was promoted by General Wool to the captaincy of an independent com- pany of Texas foot. He was elected Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives at the session of 1849, and the same year was chosen County Judge of St. Clair County, serving until 1861. With the exception of brief periods from 1851 to $59, he was editor and part owner of "The Belle- ville Advocate," a paper originally Democratic, but which became Republican on the organiza- tion of the Republican party. In 1861 he was appointed Colonel of the Fifty-fourth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, but the completion of its organization having been delayed, he resigned, and, the following year, was commissioned Colo- nel of the One Hundred and Thirtieth, serving until May, 1864, when he resigned-in March, 1865, receiving the compliment of a brevet Briga- dier-Generalship. During the winter of 1862-63 he was in command at Memphis, but later took part in the Vicksburg campaign, and in the cam- paigns on Red River and Bayou Teche. After the war he served as Representative in the General Assembly from St. Clair County (1865-66) ; as Trustee of the Institution for the Deaf and Dumb at Jacksonville; on the Commission for building the State Penitentiary at Joliet, and as Commissioner (by appointment of Governor Oglesby) for locating the Soldiers' Orphans' Home. His later years have been spent chiefly in the practice of his profession, with occasional excursions into journalism. Originally an anti- slavery Democrat, he became one of the founders of the Republican party in Southern Illinois.
NIXON, William Penn, journalist, Collector of Customs, was born in Wayne County, Ind., of
North Carolina and. Quaker ancestry, early in 1832. In 1853 he graduated from Farmers' (now Belmont) College, near Cincinnati, Ohio. After devoting two years to teaching, he entered the law department of the University bỉ Pennsyl- vania (1855), graduating in 1839. For nine years thereafter he practiced law at Cincinnati, during which period he was thrice elected to the Ohio Legislature. In 1868 he embarked in journalism, he and his older brother, Dr. O. W. Nixon, with a few friends, founding "The Cincinnati Chron- icle." A few years later "The Times" was pur- chased, and the two papers were consolidated under the name of "The Times-Chronicle." In May, 1872, having disposed of his interests in Cincinnati, he assumed the business manage- ment of "The Chicago Inter Ocean," then a new venture and struggling for a foothold. In 1875 he and his brother, Dr. O. W. Nixon, secured a controlling interest in the paper, when the former assumed the position of editor-in-chief, which he continued to occupy until 1897, when he was appointed Collector of Customs for the City of Chicago-a position which he now holds.
NOKOMIS, a city of Montgomery County, on the "Big Four" main line and "'Frisco" Rail . roads, 81 miles east by north from St. Louis and 52 miles west of Mattoon; in important grain- growing and hay-producing section; has water- works, electric lights, three flour mills, two machine shops, wagon factory, creamery, seven churches, high school, two banks and three papers; is noted for shipments of poultry, butter and eggs. Population (1890), 1,305; (1900), 1,371.
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