USA > Michigan > Kent County > Grand Rapids > Grand Rapids and Kent County, Michigan: History and Account of Their Progress from First. Vol. I > Part 66
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Mr. Pattison was the editor and also looked after the interests of the business and mechanical department. With the sparse population of Grand Rapids and its environs, it is hardly to be supposed that the proprietor of the Times depended to any great extent upon his subscription list for a revenue. The office of publication was located on old Canal street, a little south of Lyon, and a goodly part of the support of the paper was derived from the real estate interests of Mr. Campau and the Kent Company who had land for sale. The paper's main object was to call the attention of prospective settlers in the West to the advantages of Grand Rapids.
The Times is still living, though it bears a different name. In the Spring of 1838, Mr. Pattison sold the paper and its appurtenances to Charles I. Walker, and went to Calhoun county. He later took up his residence in Detroit, where he was connected with a consider- able number of newspapers and for a number of years conducted a book store. After leaving Grand Rapids he was for some years a Quaker preacher.
Mr. Walker assumed control of the Times and conducted it un- til January, 1839, when he sold it to James H. Morse & Company. It was then suspended for a time and job printing alone was carried on in a small wooden building near the corner of Crescent street and Bond avenue. The paper had another short run about the time of the Harrison campaign, in 1840. It was not partisan politically, but both Whigs and Democrats were given opportunity to air their views in its columns, which opportunity they eagerly took advantage of. James H. Morse & Company, continuing in control of the paper, on May 18, 1841, changed its name to that of the Grand Rapids En- quirer. Simeon M. Johnson, an attorney-at-law and a man of con- siderable ability, was the "Co." in the firm name, and under his edi- torial management the Enquirer became a vigorous exponent of the
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political principles advocated by the Democratic party. In February, 1842, Johnson retired and Ezra D. Burr became a half owner and the editor, acting as such until August, 1844. J. H. Morse & Company continued the publication until April 19, 1845, when Mr. Morse died and the paper passed into the hands of his widow, who formed a part- nership with Mrs. S. D. Stevens. The feminine firm published the paper for about a year. In November, 1846, the ladies sold out to Jacob Barns & Company, who engaged Charles H. Taylor as editor. Under this new arrangement the paper was published as a weekly until 1855, when a daily edition was added.
Charles H. Taylor, who for a number of years conducted the editorial columns of the Enquirer with such signal ability, was born at Cooperstown, N. Y., Nov. 20, 1813. He came to Grand Rapids in 1836, when there were less than twenty houses in the place, and was a resident until his death, in 1889. He served as county clerk, mem- ber of the legislature, asylum commissioner, secretary of state, register of the United States land office in the northern part of this peninsula, postmaster under President Johnson, and as before stated was for many years editor of the Enquirer. He was also a prominent, enter- prising business man, in trade and in manufacturing enterprises ; active, energetic and persevering until he went down to his last sleep, loved and respected by the community in which he had dwelt more than half a century. He had marked characteristics, and many ex- cellent traits of character.
Alphonso E. Gordon came to Grand Rapids from Brunswick, N. J., and on March 19, 1855, began the publication of the Grand Rapids Daily Herald, the first daily newspaper in the city. Ostensibly it was a neutral paper, as far as politics was concerned, but later came out squarely in support of the Democratic party. It quickly obtained a fair patronage in a community which until then had. been supplied with only weekly papers for its local news. Not to be outdone, Jacob Barns & Company, of the old weekly Enquirer, began the publication of a daily issue, Nov. 19, 1855, with Charles H. Taylor as editor. William B. Howe was engaged as city editor, and this marked the era of a new departure in local journalism. Jonathan P. Thompson became its editor in August, 1856. The Daily Enquirer was pub- lished under those auspices until May 1, 1857, when A. E. Gordon, of the Herald, purchased it, and consolidated the two papers. For a brief time a semi-weekly was published in connection with the daily Enquirer.
Associated with Mr. Gordon in this enterprise was Jonathan P. Thompson, a political and news writer, and the firm name was Gordon & Thompson. The partnership did not last long, on account of dis- agreement. The office property was siezed upon a chattel mortgage, and, being carried away by unskilled hands, the type was converted into "pi." Gordon immediately procured a new outfit and the pub- lication of the Enquirer and Herald was continued in spite of finan- cial difficulties. In April, 1860, the plant, good will and subscription list were again taken, under a mortgage, and soon afterward Fordham & Company obtained possession, and continued the publication some- what irregularly. E. D. Burr succeeded Fordham, and Burr & Titus published the paper, sometimes weekly and sometimes semi-weekly,
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until 1865, when Titus became the possessor and transferred it to Merrills H. Clark. The paper had announced the decease of its daily issue about Nov. 21, 1864. Clark assumed control in August, 1865, and, in order to clear up its business complications, changed the name to the Grand Rapids Democrat; and thus ended the troubled history of the Enquirer and Herald.
Merrills H. Clark, in whose proprietorship, in August, 1865, the Democrat was started under a new title, sold an interest in the paper to Richard Burt, of Omaha, Neb. In a short time Burt resold to Clark, whose next partner was Clark C. Sexton. After Sexton, he had associated with him successively, Robert Wilson, H. P. Churchill, John L. E. Kelley, James N. Davis, Charles B. Smith, and Ambrose A. Stevens. On July 29, 1877, Clark sold his interest to Messmore & Stevens, who conducted the paper until May, 1881, when J. E. Mess- more became the sole owner, and on Aug. 1, 1882, transferred it to Frank W. Ball. Mr. Ball owned the paper nine years and was suc- ceeded by the late Isaac M. Weston, Jan. 1, 1891. Mr. Weston pub- lished the paper until 1897, when it passed to the control of the Grand Rapids Publishing Company, which organization was changed re- peatedly in the succeeding five years. In 1902 the name of the paper was changed to the Evening Post, and it was made an evening paper, after occupying the morning field for nearly forty years. A year later William F. McKnight secured a controlling interest and held it until 1904, when he sold to John W. Hunter. The latter secured complete control of the paper, reorganized the company, and on May 1, 1908, changed the name to the Daily News. In May, 1910, Andrew Fyfe took hold of the paper and George A. Murphy became business manager and changed the name to the Grand Rapids News, under which name it is still published. On Jan. 1, 1912, A. P. Johnson gave up his position as advertising manager of the Chicago Record- Herald, purchased the News from Andrew Fyfe, and on May 15 fol- lowing, Mr. Murphy retired. The history of this first paper estab- lished in Kent county would be incomplete without something more than passing mention of the men who piloted it through the breakers of the journalistic sea to its safe anchorage.
Jonathan P. Thompson, who was identified with its publication for a few years, died at Detroit, in 1880. He had been well known as a resident of Grand Rapids, to which place he came in 1856, and engaged as editor of the Enquirer. He was connected with the press here for about four years, after which he went East. About 1868 he returned, and for three or four years was connected with the Eagle, as one of the editorial staff. The remainder of his life was devoted chiefly to the promotion of the interests of horticulture and pomology and upon his death the State Pomological society, which he originated, paid a tribute to his memory, and directed the procuring of his portrait to be placed among its archives.
Simeon M. Johnson, a brilliant young lawyer from Scipio, Cayuga county, New York, was the first editor of the paper after it took the name of Enquirer. Johnson was a handsome fellow-tall, of splendid figure, dark complexion and glossy beard, and dressed exquisitely. He boarded at the National Hotel, then the finest hotel in town, located on the present site of the Morton House. Johnson was a great fel-
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low for society and with the ladies he was the most popular man in town. He had been especially sweet on a young lady who lived near the hotel and their intimacy became a breezy part of the gossip of the town. Old Rix Robinson, the first settler, was then a man in the prime of life, and though he lived in Ada he always felt and was recognized as the father of Grand Rapids. Rix took it upon himself to correct Mr. Johnson in his fascination for the young lady. Meeting him on the corner where the People's Savings Bank now stands, Mr. Robinson assaulted Mr. Johnson and kicked him clear across the street. Mr. Johnson had no chance in combat with such an enormous adversary and took his mortifying punishment with the best possible grace. Robinson was noted for his very large hands and feet. A short time afterward the boys, who envied and hated Johnson, got an enormous pair of old boots and sent them to the State Fair, labelled : "These are the boots with which Rix Robinson 'booted' Sim Johnson." Mr. Johnson married a daughter of 'Squire Coggeshall, the pioneer who laid out the first plat of the City of Kent, which was the name first given to Grand Rapids. The 'Squire opposed the "match" and the alliance turned out badly, Mrs. Johnson getting a separation in the courts with the custody of her child. After some months service on the Enquirer, Johnson was to have received a fine appointment at Washington, but his old enemy, Rix Robinson, went to General Cass and induced that old Democratic leader to see that Johnson was not appointed. Johnson then shook the dust of Grand Rapids from his feet and went to Washington, where he soon made a brilliant position for himself. He became the intimate friend of Colonel Forney and other Democratic leaders in Washington and was made managing edi- tor of the paper organized to support Buchanan's administration. Subsequently Johnson went to New York City, where for several years he was managing editor of the New York Herald. This remarkable man died while dining in Delmonico's restaurant, March 1, 1872.
Merrills H. Clark commenced his journalistic career at Owosso, in 1840. In his journal, the Argus, he was the first to propose the name of Lewis Cass to the Democratic party as a candidate for Presi- dent. Cass was nominated, in 1848, but was beaten at the polls by the Whig candidate. A few years later, Clark moved his business to Corunna, where he remained until 1859, when he sold his interests in that place and moved to Omaha, Neb., where he purchased the Omaha Times and immediately effected a consolidation with the Nebraskan, of that city. Clark started the first daily newspaper between the Mis- sissippi river and the Pacific coast. In the month of July, 1865, he purchased an interest in the Weekly Enquirer, published by Ezra D. Burr and N. D. Titus, in Grand Rapids, and soon afterward resur- rected the daily issue, which he called the Daily Democrat. After purchasing the interests of Burr and Titus, he was associated with several partners at different periods, until 1877, when he sold the prop- erty to Messmore & Stevens.
The Grand Rapids Eagle began its career on Dec. 25, 1844, under the editorial guidance of Aaron B. Turner, then in his twenty-third year. The Herald of June 11, 1903, contained the following obituary editorial: "The passing of Aaron B. Turner at a ripe old age takes away another link which connects the Grand Rapids of today with that of yesterday. Coming here as a boy of 14, in 1836, this city was
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Mr. Turner's home for 67 years, and during all this long period he was an active factor in the city's life and development. He learned the printer's trade in the first newspaper published in the Grand River valley. When he had served his apprenticeship he undertook the pub- lication of a newspaper of his own. The Eagle, which he established in 1844, continued under his management and control for all but one year of a half century, and the files of the paper as he conducted it may be searched in vain for a line that could not be read in the family circle, for a sentiment that was not worthy of the best citizenship, for an expression that was not loyal to Grand Rapids and its best inter- ests. Mr. Turner and the Eagle were one and the same, and Mr. Turner's honesty, sincerity and devotion as reflected in the columns of his paper constituted an important influence in the upbuilding of the city, in the development of the city's industries and resources, and in the encouragement of all that was good. He was essentially one of the builders of Grand Rapids, and his memory will be preserved in the city's annals."
In the publication of the weekly edition, Mr. Turner had asso- ciated with him, in 1848, James Scribner. This gentleman, a native of New York City, born in 1801, came to Grand Rapids in the winter of 1836-37, and pre-empted land, which he subsequently purchased, where now is what is known as Scribner's Addition, or the Scribner Plat, on the west side of the river. He was a conspicuous and some- what eccentric character upon these streets for many years; always had several irons in the fire, and was engaged in pushing some im- portant enterprise, sometimes failing and sometimes successful. He invented a patent medicine which he called Oak Oil. He was one of the leading men in the Grand Rapids & Indiana railroad project, which he did not live to see consummated. He was also connected with the efforts to establish the manufacture of salt, which for a time seemed likely to succeed, but eventually proved unprofitable and was abandoned. He was a jolly and saucy friend, but an implacable enemy. He believed in his Oak Oil, in his city lots, in his railroad enterprises, in salt, and in himself. He was a bustling pioneer, rough and ready and alive, who made his presence known when he was about, and did a good part in the development of the town. Mr. Scribner died in 1862, leaving a warm place in the hearts of a wide circle of friends.
At the beginning of its career the Eagle pledged its support to the Whig party, and it supported that organization faithfully for nine years. After the election of 1852, and the signal defeat of the Whig party thereat, the Eagle astonished the community and many of its patrons, by appearing with the legend at its head: "An Independent Democratic Journal," and declaring that the time had come for a new alignment ; that Anti-Slavery Whigs must seek other affiliations, and the Democratic party be opposed by a new organization. It promptly came to the support of the Free Democratic State ticket nominated Feb. 22, 1854. Mr. Turner was secretary of the convention held "under the oaks" at Jackson, at which the Republican party was organized, and his paper, the Grand Rapids Eagle, was the first paper in the United States to espouse and support the cause of the new party.
In the early days of its publication, the founder of the Eagle was also associated with his father, Isaac Turner, a native of Clinton
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County, New York, who came from Plattsburgh to Grand Rapids in 1836, with his family. He tarried for a brief time on the east side of the river, and then moved across, making a pre-emption claim on the mission land south of Bridge street ; supposing that eventually it would be put in market the same as other public lands by the government. He lived for many years in a small house pleasantly situated a short distance above where now is the west end of Pearl street bridge. He was an excellent millwright, and his handiwork contributed to the erection of many of the earlier mills in this vicinity and on the Mus- kegon River. In early life he was a Whig, then a Republican, and in religious matters became a firm believer in Spiritualism. He was en- thusiastic, earnest and aggressive in support of his convictions, polit- ically and otherwise. He did much, officially, in the early develop- ment of the city. A hater of hypocrisy, a contemner of shams, and a citizen of thorough integrity, Isaac Turner was loved and prized as a neighbor, and as a man respected and trusted. He died in 1879 at the age of 78 years.
On May 26, 1856, the Daily Eagle was started as a morning pa- per. It was changed to an evening paper Sept. 2 of the same year, and with the exception of two or three weeks in December, 1859, it continued as an evening journal during the remainder of its existence. In the Spring of 1859 a power press was added to the equipment. Al- bert Baxter entered the office in August, 1855, and assisted in the edi- torial department and as business manager until July, 1860, and from 1865 until July, 1887, he was the political writer and managing editor.
Albert Baxter was born in a log cabin by the bank of Mad River, in Moretown, Washington County, Vermont, Aug. 3, 1823, a son of Eber Hubbard Baxter. In boyhood he attended the district schools, and then for two terms a village academy; afterward taught school in Vermont, and in Wisconsin, whither he went in 1845. In 1846 he came to Grand Rapids and read law for a time, meanwhile working in a carriage shop, following carriage making and painting about seven years. On Feb. 22, 1849, he married Elvira E., daughter of Joel Guild, the first white settler of Grand Rapids. On Feb. 22, 1854, Mr. Baxter was a delegate at the Free Democratic State convention, in Jackson, which first nominated K. S. Bingham for Governor of Michigan. In the summer of 1854 he abandoned his shop and spent the ensuing months in the East, in a fruitless effort to win back health to his invalid wife, but she died at Fayston, Vt., June 5, 1855. In August, 1855, he entered the office of the Grand Rapids Eagle, as business and editorial assistant, and remained until July, 1860, when he went to Detroit and worked a while on the Tribune. For nearly all of the two years following he was in very poor health. In the Fall of 1865, he again entered the Eagle office and occupied the edito- rial chair for about twenty-two consecutive years, laboring zealously for the public good. After retiring from that position he devoted himself for a time to the preparing of a History of the City of Grand Rapids, which was published in 1891.
Under Mr. Baxter's management the Eagle wielded considerable influence in public matters. As its future looked bright, Mr. Turner erected a home for the Eagle on Lyon street, into which the offices were moved in 1868. Succeeding Mr. Baxter, the editorial writer was Theodore M. Carpenter. On July 15, 1888, a stock company
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was formed under the title of the A. B. Turner Company, with A. B. Turner as president, E. B. Fisher vice-president, W. S. Turner secre- tary, and F. S. Milmine treasurer. Early in 1894 E. N. Dingley, of Kal- amazoo, contracted for Mr. Turner's controlling interest. Later, Mr. Fisher, not satisfied with the prospects, sold his interest to Mr. Dingley. A few months later Mr. Dingley's interest in the remnants was sold to another paper and the Eagle, which for forty-eight years greatly molded public opinion and shaped the destinies of Grand Rapids, ceased to exist.
In these days, telegraph lines and long distance telephones, coup- led with the ramifications of the Associated Press, make the work of obtaining foreign news an easy matter. It was not so in 1856, when the Enquirer and the Eagle supplied the people of Grand Rapids with the news. At that time the President's message was looked forward to with interest, and the paper that produced it first was regarded as the most enterprising and worthy of patronage.
Young Hickory, a Democratic campaign sheet, was issued from the Enquirer office in 1844.
Wells' Advertiser, a monthly real estate paper, was started in the summer of 1856, by Revilo Wells, associated with whom was Bennett N. Sexton. The Valley City Advertiser, a social and literary month- ly, was the successor to Wells' Advertiser, and was published by B. N. Sexton for several years.
The Industrial Journal, a labor weekly, was issued in February, 1867, as the successor of the Valley City Advertiser and Laboring Man's Advocate, by J. B. Haney, agent of the Labor Union Publishing Company. It was afterward published for a short time by John G. Lee. The Grand Rapids Daily Union, a short lived evening labor pa- per, was issued by the Labor Union Publishing Company, July 30, 1867, with Ezra D. Burr as editor. The Labor Union, a tri-weekly labor paper, was published by John G. Lee in 1868-69.
The Grand Rapids Press, a semi-weekly newspaper, was estab- lished by Jonathan P. Thompson and Charles B. Benedict, in 1857, after the dissolution of the firm of Gordon & Thompson, publishers of the Enquirer and Herald.
The Great Western Journal, a weekly newspaper, first called the Grand Rapids Journal, was established by Thomas D. Worrall, in October, 1858. Uri J. Baxter, E. G. D. Holden, and Justus C. Rogers were connected with this paper for a time as editors.
The Young Wolverine, a four-page monthly "young folks' jour- nal," was published one year, from July, 1857, to July, 1858, by Charles W. Eaton and William S. Leffngwell. It was a well edited paper, and has not been surpassed in neatness of typography by any of its successors.
De Stoompost, the first Hollandish paper published in the city, was issued in 1859 by Jacob Quintus, who sold it to Henry D. C. VanAsmus, and it was suspended after an existence of some seven years.
De Vrijheids Banier, a weekly paper in the Holland language, was established in 1868, by Verburg & Van Leeuwen. In November, 1871, it was purchased by James Van der Sluis, who became its edi- tor, and he made it Republican, politically, which it continued to re- main until it ceased publication in 1900. Among its editors were John W. Van der Haar, J. Van Leeuwen, H. M. Buhrman, and J.
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Scheffer. In 1895 it was purchased by Scheffer & Zuiderveld, and in 1899 it passed to the control of William Ver Burg.
The Grand Rapids City Advertiser, a trade paper of twenty- eight pages, quarto, was issued quarterly throughout 1869, by J. D. Dillenback.
The Sun, a Greenback daily, was published, about 1869-70, by Marvin & Company, but it was short lived.
The first number of the Grand Rapids Daily Times was issued April 17, 1870, by Clark C. Sexton. In 1871 Nathan Church pur- chased a half interest, and was its editor two or three years. Don Henderson and George W. Gage then held an interest in it for a short time, and afterward in the proprietorship were Myron W. Tarbox, Harry H. Pierce, and John M. Harris. In 1876, Nathan Church re- sumed control, which he retained as long as the paper was issued. Professedly the Times was an independent journal, politically and otherwise ; in fact, it was a sort of free-lance paper, with points turned every way. In its later days, Gouverneur B. Rathbone was interested in it, financially. Upon its staff at times, among others, were Theo- dore M. Carpenter, F. J. Hobbes, A. B. Tozer, Charles H. Hamblin, and J. G. Hann. It was purchased by Frank W. Ball and merged in the Democrat, July 21, 1886, on which day its last number was issued.
Clark C. Sexton, the editor of the paper from the time it was started until Nathan Church purchased a half interest, was engaged in the newspaper business in Grand Rapids before the Civil War, and was employed at different times on the Eagle and the Democrat. He was a capable news-gatherer, a good solicitor of subscriptions and advertisements, but in business management he proved to be incom- petent. After publishing the Times two or three years he sold out his interest in the property, and died a year or two later. He was very kind hearted and had many friends.
Der Pioneer, an independent German weekly paper, and the pio- neer German paper of the city, was published in 1871-72, by Carl Nienhardt. It suspended after a life of nearly two years.
The Saturday Evening Post, an eight-page literary newspaper, was founded by D. N. Foster, Oct. 4, 1873, with William M. Hatha- way as assistant editor. In 1877, C. H. Dubois acquired control of the property, and in February, 1879, sold it to Creswell & Felker (John A. Creswell and P. H. Felker). In 1880, Charles A. French purchased Mr. Felker's interest. John A. Creswell, who now became editor, was a newspaper man whose sharp, incisive pencil had made his pseudonym of "Cres" well known all over Michigan. The fa- mous "T. T." (Town Talk) column was long remembered. The paper was not a financial success, and in December, 1882, was sold to E. O. Rose, of Big Rapids. Mr. Rose, after some three years' experi- ence, sold it to J. W. Halleck, who made it a Prohibition paper, and the journal breathed its last in the Spring of 1886.
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