History of Detroit and Wayne County and early Michigan: A Chronological Cyclopedia of the Past and Present, Vol. I, Part 107

Author: Farmer, Silas, 1839-1902
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Detroit, Pub. by S. Farmer & co., for Munsell & co., New York
Number of Pages: 1094

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for meals and lodgings, which are good only when endorsed by the police officer in charge of the central station. Professional beggars and those unworthy of aid are thus detected, as all applicants are brought under the eye of this one officer.

By the efforts of the association, a law providing for the punishment of those who purposely neglect to provide for their families, was passed, and its influence has been salutary in many cases. The expenses for 1883 were $2,067, obtained chiefly from subscriptions.

In 1883, 2,236 cases were brought to the notice of the association ; work was obtained for 1,209 persons, and the needs of all looked after.

The society was first established in 1878, largely through the efforts of Mrs. Morse Stewart. It was reorganized on April 22, 1880. The presidents have been : 1878-1880, George C. Langdon ; 1880-1881, L. L. Barbour ; 1882, C. C. Trowbridge : 1883-1886. G. V. N. Lothrop ; 1887- , H. K. Clarke. The secretaries have been : 1878-1880, W. H. Smith; 1880-1883, John Stirling ; 1883-1886, R. R. Elliott ; 1886- , J. A. Post.

The total value of the property of the various private charitable and philanthropic institutions reaches fully $650,000, and the total yearly expenses foot up about $35,000, nearly 1,000 persons being cared for.

Mrs. Morse Stewart.

The history of the charities of Detroit may be appropriately concluded with a brief sketch of the life of Mrs. Isabella Graham Duffield Stewart, only daughter of Rev. George Duffield, D. D., and Isa- bella Graham Bethune Duffield. Mrs. Stewart was notably prominent in the founding of several of the most successful of the city charities, and greatly influential in a variety of philanthropic enter- prises.

Her father, for thirty years the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Detroit, was noted as a preacher, a man of deep and varied learning. and a liberal contributor to the religious literature of his day. He was especially interested in the educational development of his adopted State, above all in the Michigan University, of whose Board of Regents he was for many years an active and use- ful member. Mrs. Stewart was born in Carlisle, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, February II, 1830. She was a woman of marked individual- ity of character, and many of her moral and mental traits may be traced to her ancestry upon both sides, which for generations included many names of high standing in church and state. The Duffields were originally of Huguenot origin, which is equivalent to saying that its members were earnest

Isabella G. D. Stewart

CHARITABLE AND BENEVOLENT SOCIETIES AND INSTITUTIONS.

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in the cause of civil and religious liberty. Mrs. Stewart's paternal grandfather was chaplain to the first American Congress, and because of his staunch loyalty to the Union cause, was known as " the fight- ing parson." Upon her mother's side she was the grand-daughter of Divie Bethune, a leading merchant in the city of New York in the early part of this cen- tury. His intellectual ability, skill, and energy gave him a prominent place among the business men of his time, and though he died in the prime of life, he left a handsome estate to his family. Mrs. Stewart's great-grandmother was the Isabella Graham, so well known for her benevolent and charitable work, and elevated religious character. She is enshrined in the memory of many now living as a type of that rare union of faith and works which designates the true follower of Christ, and is especially remem- bered as the founder of the first orphan asylum in the United States. In the philanthropy of Isa- bella Graham, in the ardor and energy of "the fighting parson," in the religious zeal and mental ability of her father, we can easily trace the same qualities which were so noticeably prominent in the life of Mrs. Stewart. She was accustomed to speak of her pious ancestry as her "glorious heritage," and her life made it evident that other things besides money are transmitted to a child, that the mysteri- ous and infinitely more important inheritance called character, those tendencies for good or evil which influence future generations long after we are for- gotten, are even more surely transmitted.

In the winter of 1838-9, when nine years of age, Mrs. Stewart came to Detroit, and this city was her home ever after. She was married on April 6, 1852, to Dr. Morse Stewart, and became the mother of six children, five of whom survive her. Al- though her married life was one of great happiness, she was not exempt from the many cares and duties inseparable from the management of a large house- hold, and the education of a family. She was an unusually devoted wife and mother, and in the sick room was a skillful, tender and unwearied nurse. Her charity truly "began at home," and all other work was set aside if husband or children needed her services. Her heart, however, was too large to be wholly confined to the domestic circle, or absorbed by the duties which with many women serve as an excuse for limited activity. She longed to comfort and help the sorrowful and unhappy outside of the sheltered and fortunate home which Providence had given her. Her work in connection with the public charities of Detroit began in 1860, with the organi- zation of the Home for the Friendless. Mrs. Stew- art was the first to propose the organization of this institution, always held a prominent place upon its Board, and for many years served as its president, and held that office at the time of her decease. In

connection with this institution she established and for many years edited the " Home Messenger," and it subsequently became the organ of several of the Protestant charities of the city. The idea of an "Old Ladies' Home " was also first conceived by her, and was carried out through the liberality of Mrs. Mary Thompson, who fully and com- pletely equipped and endowed the commodious establishment known as "The Thompson Home for Old Ladies." As is indicated elsewhere, the organization of the Detroit Association of. Chari- ties was also due to Mrs. Stewart's untiring labor. In 1875-6, while in Europe, she became inter- ested in a similar system then existing in the city of London, and procured papers and descriptions of its methods of work, and upon her return home devised a plan for adapting it to Detroit. She then communicated with the Mayor, asking him to call a meeting of citizens to consider the subject. The Mayor responded promptly, a meeting was called at his office, and as a result the Association of Charities was organized, and has been in con- tinued existence and working order since that time. The last of Mrs. Stewart's many good works, and one which enlisted her warmest sympathies, was the establishing of the Woman's Christian Associ- ation. Her former work had been more for those who had become helpless and dependent, but it had been the desire of her life to see young women so trained to self-support and self-reliance that if reverses came they might be able to provide for themselves, and maintain the self-respect which comes from honest and independent labor, and as all good training must have a genuine religious basis, she wished the institution to partake of the nature of a Christian school and home. In order to meet these demands the Woman's Christian Association was established. Womanly sympathy. however, has enlarged the sphere of its benevolence, and the work has not been wholly confined to women, in several instances helpless boys and men, for whom no other refuge seemed open, have been aided and cared for. It was the ardent desire of Mrs. Stew- art to see this organization established in a home of its own. The last effort in which she was engaged was for the accomplishment of this end, and in reply to an inquiry in regard to her hopes and expectations, she said : " I have done what I could ; my plans and methods may not prevail, but I have no concern about ultimate success; it is Christ's work, and He will take care of it." Her associate members on the Board were greatly afflicted by the death of their President, but feel as she did, that the work is "Christ's work," and that they are called upon to redouble their energy now that their strong adviser is taken away. In reviewing the long list of Mrs. Stewart's benevolent works, it may also be stated

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that Detroit owes Harper Hospital to a suggestion made by her. The facts are that when Mr. Harper decided to make his will he sent for his old friend and pastor, Dr. Duffield, and told him that his de- sign was to leave his large property to the First Presbyterian Church of Detroit. Dr. Duffield advised differently, but said if he wished to give his property for religious and charitable pur- poses, making the church his almoner, he would take the matter under consideration and advise with him further. Mr. Harper then gave him to under- stand that it was his intention to convey his property through him, as he had implicit confi- dence in his integrity. Subsequently Dr. Duffield brought up the subject in his own home, remarking that the church had no need of such a property, and that he was somewhat puzzled as to how to advise Mr. Harper. His daughter, Mrs. Stewart, then said : " Father, Dr. Stewart says the charity Detroit especially needs is a Protestant hospital." " That's true," was the reply, and as the result of this conversation Mr. Harper's gift was directed to the founding of the hospital which bears his name. Nancy Martin's contribution to the same object was also made out of her regard for, and confidence in, Dr. Duffield. Mrs. Stewart, who knew her well, had frequent conversations with her as to the dis- posal of her property in the line of the same charity upon which Mr. Harper had decided, and it may be proper to state that Mrs. Stewart always felt a re- gret that the contribution of Nancy Martin had not received the same recognition as that of Mr. Har- per. She felt that a maternity department in con- nection with the hospital should have commemorated the name of Mrs. Martin.

Among other works carried out by the wonderful energy and executive ability of Mrs. Stewart was one of a patriotic character. During the dark days of our civil war, she opened a correspondence throughout the State soliciting supplies for the sol- diers and tendering the use of her own residence as a place to receive, arrange, and ship them. Her suggestions brought a quick and generous response, and for weeks she worked almost single- handed, shipping supplies by rail and express to various points where Michigan soldiers were sta- tioned, and when the work so enlarged as to require more help, she turned it over to an organization composed of representative ladies in the city and State.

In its early days Mrs. Stewart was an active mem- ber of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. A little mission called the "Bethel" was also for a long time with her a favorite place for Christian work. She met a class who gathered once or twice a week for Bible readings, and no meetings were so well attended as those when she presided. She was a

favorite teacher, always had a clear apprehension of her subject, and a happy and lucid manner of presenting her thoughts. Interested in all objects for the elevation of society, Mrs. Stewart took a prominent part in organizing the Art Loan Exhibi- tion of 1885, whose complete success paved the way for the present beautiful Museum of Art, of which Detroit is justly proud. Those who worked with Mrs. Stewart for this object will remember days of discouragement, when but for her energy the work might have been abandoned.

This brief outline of a life work filled with a noble benevolence, gives but a faint idea of her striking character. She possessed a fine personal presence and a dignified bearing, a brilliant mind strongly tending to intellectual pursuits, with social gifts and a charm of manner which made her remarkable in any circle. She willingly put aside all personal indulgence, gave up study in which she delighted, and society of which she was an ornament, to work for others. It mattered not who they were, the soldier, the orphan, the old, the young, helpless childhood or more helpless age, the honest and self-respecting poor, or the fallen and de- graded, all alike came under her ministry. As none were beneath the compassion of her Divine Master, so none were beyond the pale of her sympathy and aid. The inspiration to such a life must always be love to God, which finds its expression in love to man, but to accomplish her work other qualities were necessary, and these she possessed abundantly. She had a clear mind, great power of organization, a serene cheerfulness which never faltered, and the facile and ready use of her pen. These were among the gifts which enabled her to do so much, but greater than all was her unwavering faith that Divine assistance would certainly be given to all earnest Christian endeavor.

All her work seemed cumulative in character; it was continually being amplified and rounded out into greater beauty, usefulness and perfection. But in the midst of it all, her beautiful life came to a close, and rarely has such a bereavement fallen upon the city as came upon Detroit on the morning of May 27, 1888, when the announcement was made of her sudden decease. She was still in the prime of a noble life of active benevolence, and the cause of Christian philanthropy lost in her one of its most able supporters. It is, however, a use- ful lesson to other lives to learn how much good can be accomplished, how many charitable enter- prises established, by the enthusiasm and devotion of one large-hearted and high-minded woman. The benefit of such a life is not ended in the grave, for the remembrance of her untiring labors for the destitute and unfortunate must stimulate others to follow in the same path.

PART IX. LITERARY.

CHAPTER LXIX.

EARLY METHODS OF PUBLISHING .- THE FIRST NEWSPAPERS .- THE NEWSPAPER GRAVEYARD .-- LIVING PAPERS AND PERIODICALS. - CITY PRINTERS .-- NEWSBOYS.

EARLY METHODS OF PUBLISHING.

THE publishing conveniences of early days were few indeed. Notices at first were left at the door of every house, and in the time of the Pontiac War were nailed to the church door. A few years after, the town crier made his appearance; an old account book shows that that position was filled by Thomas Williams, who, on January 25, 1781, is credited eight shillings for "publishing to bring in straw," and on August 12 the estate of Jacques St. Martin is charged by A. & W. Macomb with fourteen shil- lings, paid to Thomas Williams for "drum-beating and publishing." The drum was evidently used to attract attention to the notices.

In still later days other methods were in use; and Theophilus Mettez, who was a publisher of religious books, became also the general publisher of news. It will be remembered that about 1809 the in- habitants were chiefly French, and could not have read an English paper, even had one been issued, therefore some other method of making public announcements became necessary. No occasion called more people together or afforded better opportunities for notices than the weekly services at St. Anne's. Friend Mettez, the printer and book- binder of that period, was equal to the demand of the times; at the close of service in St. Anne's, he would change his acolyte dress for his regular habit, station himself at one side of the edifice, and, from Sunday to Sunday, announce the entertainments of the coming week and other events that were to occur. In this way due notice was given of the races on the Rouge, the auction sales of merchan- dise, and of all the current events of that primitive period. Tradition says that an Episcopalian lay reader, William McDowell Scott, was accustomed, at the close of his services, to announce the time and place of the next fox-hunt. The publication of one kind of notices by criers is within the memory of many persons. Before the present police system was established, when a child was lost a crier went through the city ringing a bell and at intervals rais- ing the cry, "Child lost! Child lost !"-a cry that always startled and alarmed.

THE FIRST NEWSPAPERS.

In the parts of Canada governed by the French no printing of any kind was allowed to be done. The English settlements were supplied with papers at a very early date. Within three years after Hali- fax was founded, namely on March 23, 1752, the first number of a paper called The Halifax Gazette was issued. This was the first newspaper published in what is now known as Canada. It was a four- page sheet, of two columns to a page, and was .printed by John Bushnell.

The next paper issued in Canada was called The Quebec Gazette. Volume 1, Number I, is dated June 21, 1764. It started with a list of one hundred and fifty subscribers and was printed in both French and English.

West of the Alleghanies the earliest paper was The Gazette, issued at Pittsburgh by John Scull and Joseph Hall. The first number was dated July 29, 1786. A little more than a year afterwards, on August 11, 1787, John Bradford issued the first number of The Kentucke Gazette at Lexington. It was published for many years. It is said that a paper was also published at Knoxville in 1793. The first paper which appeared north and west of the Ohio was called The Centinel of the Northwest Ter- ritory, and was published by William Maxwell at Cincinnati. No. I was issued November 9, 1793. It was a half sheet, quarto form. It was purchased in 1796 by Edward Freeman, who changed its name to Freeman's Journal. He is said to have printed it on paper made at or near Cincinnati. The paper was finally published at Chillicothe.

The Sciota Gazette was published at Chillicothe in 1800 by Nathaniel Willis, the father of N. P. Willis, Fanny Fern. and Richard Storrs Willis. In 1799 there was published a paper called The West- ern Spy and Hamilton Gazette. In 1823 its name was changed to National Republican and Ohio Political Register, and the same year it was merged with Freeman's Journal. On December 9, 1804, The Liberty Hall and Cincinnati Mercury first appeared. It was published for eleven years, and then united with The Cincinnati Gazette, which was

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THE NEWSPAPER GRAVEYARD.

established in 1806. In 1808 a paper was published at Vincennes, and The St. Louis Republican and The Missouri Gazette are said to have been pub- lished the same year at St. Louis. The Pittsburgh Commonwealth, a paper which paid special attention to news from Detroit, was first issued on July 24, 1805, and was published as late as May, 1809.

THE NEWSPAPER GRAVEYARD.

The newspaper history of Detroit abundantly illustrates these lines of an old hymn :-

" Dangers stand thick through all the ground To push us to the tomb."

Since 1809 the city has witnessed the rise and fall of one hundred and eighty-one different and dis- tinct literary ventures in the way of papers and magazines. The first of these was

The Michigan Essay or Impartial Observer.

It is said that "history repeats itself." As to this paper, that which is neither history nor fact has been repeated over and over again, one person after another having copied the misstatements of some predecessor. As a sample of a score of other statements I quote the following :-

The Essai du Michigan or Observateur Impartial * * * was first issued by Father Gabriel Richard, * * * James M. Miller being the printer. It was printed mainly in French, but had an English department.

In collecting materials for the history of Detroit I found in Worcester, Massachusetts, Volume I, Number I, of this, the first paper ever issued in Michigan ; I had photographs taken of its four pages, and they show that this identical number has a history of its own. It was sent to Isaiah Thomas of Worcester, author of the first "History of Print- ing " published in America. On the margin is the following :

UTICA, N. Y., August 3, 1810.

Mr. Thomas :

SIR,- I send you this paper, published by a friend of mine, to insert in your " History of Printing." If he sees your advertise- ment he will send you more, perhaps, of later date.

Your obedient servant, C. S. MCCONNELL.

The paper was undoubtedly printed on a small hand-press brought overland to Detroit from Balti- more by the Rev. Gabriel Richard, and one or more books were printed before the paper was issued.

Father Richard, however, was not the publisher, and his name nowhere appears in the paper. It is distinctly stated at the head that it is "printed and published by James M. Miller." It is dated August 31, 1809; was to be published every Thursday, and has four columns to a page, each page being 914 by 16 inches. The title is not in French, and instead of

being printed mainly in that language, but one and a half columns out of the sixteen are in French,- not . one tenth of the paper.

The make-up consists of articles from the London Morning Chronicle, Liverpool Aurora, New York Spectator, Pittsburgh Commonwealth, Boston Mir- ror, and items credited to Baltimore and Dutch papers. There are also extracts from Young's "Night Thoughts" and from Ossian; three short poems on Evening, Happiness, and Futurity ; a communication on Manufactures, and short prose articles on Politeness, Early Rising, and Husbandry. The information from Europe is from four to five months old, and that from various parts of the United States was new from four to six weeks before its publication in the Essay. There are no local items of any sort whatever, and of course no telegraphic or market news, and but one advertisement,-that of St. Anne's School. In the only article at all of the nature of an editorial, "the public are respectfully in- formed that the Essay will be conducted with the utmost impartiality; that it will not espouse any political party, but fairly and candidly communicate whatever may be deemed worthy of information, whether foreign, domestic, or local ;" and " gentlemen of talents are invited to contribute to our columns whatever they suppose will be acceptable and bene- ficial to the public, yet always remembering that nothing of a controversial nature will be admissible."

Elsewhere in the paper the publisher announces that he proposes to print several works, such as "Nine Days' Devotion of the Sacred Heart of Jesus; a Manual of Agriculture; cards of small pictures for the study of history, geography, etc. ; and a Cyclo- pedia of Anecdotes for children."

The price of the paper was "$5 a year to city subscribers, $4.50 by mail to residents of Upper Canada and Michigan, and $4 to more distant sub- scribers." Advertisements not exceeding a square were to be 50 cents for the first, and 25 cents for each subsequent insertion.

After the facts concerning this paper had been brought to light three additional copies were found. One of them was obtained by H. E. Baker, of The Post and Tribune, from Thomas Lee, of Leeville, in whose possession it had been for nearly fifty years; the other was found by William Mitchell, of Detroit, among a lot of old papers. Both of these copies are duplicates of the one already described. A fourth copy of the same issue is known to have been in the collection of the old Detroit Museum, and still another copy of Volume I, Number I, is known to be in existence. It thus appears that the only copies that have ever been described, or that any living person has seen, were of Volume I, Number I, and no authentic statement has ever been made that more than one number was issued. Brown's

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THE NEWSPAPER GRAVEYARD.

"Campaigns of the Western Army" says, "Only three numbers were issued;" but from the connection in which this statement appears, it is evident that it was made merely to indicate that the paper was short-lived, and not to fix definitely the number of issues. It is doubtful whether more than one num- ber was printed. Mr. Miller, the publisher, came here from Utica, and died at Ithaca, New York, in the spring of 1838.

The second paper published in Michigan was

The Detroit Gazette,

a weekly, issued by Sheldon & Reed. Its publica- tion was continued without intermission for nearly thirteen years, and fortunately nearly every number has been preserved.

It was a Democratic paper, and established at the suggestion and under the patronage of Governor Cass. The first number was issued on July 25, 1817. The price was $4.00 a year to city subscrib- ers and $3.50 when sent by mail. It was printed in the old Seek House, near Wavne Street. Its situa- tion was then described as being "on Attwater Street, a few rods above the public wharf." In October, 1818, it was moved to a small wooden building on Griswold Street, just below Jefferson Avenue. The print measured 912 by 16/2 inches, made up in four columns. The type was bourgeois and long primer, evidently second-hand. The press used was one of Ramage's, and as the platen was only half the size of the sheet, it required two pulls to make a complete impression. On the last page a few of the more important articles were repro- duced in French.

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History of Detroit and Wayne County and early Michigan: A Chronological Cyclopedia of the Past and Present, Vol. I, Part 107

Author: Farmer, Silas, 1839-1902 Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Detroit, Pub. by S. Farmer & co., for Munsell & co., New York Number of Pages: 1094

Author: Farmer, Silas, 1839-1902
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Detroit, Pub. by S. Farmer & co., for Munsell & co., New York
Number of Pages: 1094