History of Detroit and Wayne County and early Michigan: A Chronological Cyclopedia of the Past and Present, Vol. I, Part 110

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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The third paper absorbed by The Advertiser was called

The Daily Express,

and was first issued as an evening paper on June 2, 1845, by Smith & Gulley, at twelve cents a week. It was published for nearly six months, the last issue being dated November 29, 1845. The sub- scription list was transferred to The Advertiser. Although Mr. Williams was absent in the Mexican War, The Advertiser was published in his name until January 1, 1848. He then sold the paper to N. I. Rawson, H. H. Duncklee, and George W. Wis- ner, who conducted it under the firm name of Raw- son, Duncklee & Company. Mr. Wisner was chief editor, and was assisted by William S. Wood. In this year the office was moved to 226 Jefferson Avenue, two doors west of Firemen's Hall.

Rufus Hosmer, who became editor on May 17, 1849, was noted for his genial character and story- telling ability. In 1850 Mr. Rawson sold his interest to E. A. Wales, and the same year the paper was first printed by steam.

In the fall of 1852 Mr. Wales erected a building at 212 Jefferson Avenue, between Bates and Ran- dolph Streets, especially for the paper. He took possession on January 1, 1853, at which time a new steam cylinder press was introduced. In this year Mr. Duncklee left the firm, and Mr. Wales became sole proprietor. During the year, James M. Ed- munds was a regular contributor.

In the spring of 1854 Allyn Weston was installed as editor, and during the year the paper was in- creased to eight columns. About this time Morti- mer M. Thompson, better known as "Doesticks," was connected with the paper.

On June 30, 1855, four more papers were added to the list represented in the present Post and Trib- une. Of these

The Free Democrat

was established in September or October, 1852, as a weekly "free soil " paper, by Rev. S. A. Baker. A daily edition was commenced on April 3, 1853, at $5.00 a year. The paper was then published by R. F. Johnstone and S. M. Holmes, under the firm name of R. F. Johnstone & Company. On January II, 1854, James F. Conover became a partner, and Rev. Jabez Fox one of the editors.

About this time The Free Democrat became the representative of two other papers, namely,

The Michigan Organ of Temperance,

printed by G. W. Pattison, and published by H. S. Decker & Company, a weekly, at $1.00 a year. The first number was issued about May 12, 1852, and in February, 1853, it was consolidated with

The Michigan Temperance Advocate,

published by F. Yates & Company, the first number of which had been issued in December, 1852.

On November 4, 1854, Mr. Conover dissolved his conection with The Free Democrat, selling out to Mr. Baker, and on February 5, 1855, the paper was consolidated with

The Daily Enquirer.

This paper was established on January 18, 1854, as an independent paper with Whig proclivities. Rufus Hosmer was editor, Frederick Morley asso- ciate editor, and up to the time of its consolidation with The Democrat, it was published by Hosmer & Williams. The new paper formed by the consoli- dation was called

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The Democrat and Enquirer.

About four months after its first issue under this name, on June 30, 1855, it was consolidated with The Advertiser, which then became a pronounced Republican paper, edited as before by Rufus Hos- mer. The Democrat and Enquirer was issued as an evening paper until November 19, 1855. A weekly, called The Michigan Free Democrat, was issued during the same period.

On November 22, 1856, Silas M. Holmes became sole proprietor, and was the real publisher until August, 1858. Frederick Morley then became pub- lisher and editor, with Joseph Warren as associate editor. In 1859 A. M. Griswold, better known as the "Fat Contributor," was one of the editorial staff. In October, 1861, Messrs. J. E. Scripps and M Geiger became partners with S. M. Holmes, and on July 8, 1862, The Advertiser was consolidated with

The Detroit Daily Tribune,

a Whig paper, established as a weekly October 23, 1849, at $1.00 a year. A daily morning edition was begun on November 19, 1849. In June, 1851, it became an evening paper, price $5.00 a year. The paper was projected by Josiah Snow and Henry Barns, both of whom acted as editors. It was pub- lished by F. B. Way & Company, T. C. Miller fur- nishing the capital. The Tribune soon obtained the subscription list of

The Peninsular Freeman,

a "free soil" paper, which was first issued in the fall of 1848, as a weekly, by Robert McBratney and J. D. Liggett. In December, 1851, the ownership of The Tribune was vested in Henry Barns and B. G. Stimson, under the firm name of B. G. Stimson & Company. On July 1, 1852, the paper passed into the hands of George E. Pomeroy, B. Wight, H. Barns, and Joseph Warren, the latter serving as editor. In the fall of 1854 Mr. Wight sold his interest to T. C. Miller, and in the spring of 1855 H. Barns was the publisher.

On May 18, 1856, the office, on the northeast corner of Woodward Avenue and Woodbridge Street, was burned. After the. fire J. F. Conover succeeded Mr. Warren, assisted during a portion of the time by Charles S. May. On December 31, 1858, the office was again burned. The paper was then printed at The Advertiser office until February, when it was removed to the east side of Shelby Street, just north of Jefferson Avenue, and here it was managed by a firm consisting of H. Barns, Joseph French, and F. B. Way. After its consoli- dation with The Advertiser on July 8, 1862, under the name of

The Advertiser and Tribune,

it was issued from the old Advertiser office on Jefferson Avenue. The new proprietorship took the form of a corporation, with Henry Barns, of The Tribune, as editor, and James E. Scripps, of The Advertiser, as business manager; its general affairs were regulated by a board of five directors, elected annually. From the fall of 1863 until Janu- ary 1, 1867, W. S. George was business manager.

By this time the proprietors were hungry for another paper, and accordingly, on the 11th day of January, 1864, they purchased

The Detroit Free Union.

This paper, a semi-monthly, at $1.50 a year, was started by F. B. Porter; the first number was issued July 18, 1863. On October 15 a weekly edition was begun. After a struggle of some two years, the paper, like many of its predecessors, was discontinued.

When the consolidation with the Advertiser and Tribune took place E. B. Ward purchased the+ interest of S. M. Holmes in The Advertiser and Tribune.

In February, 1865, J. E. Scripps bought E. B. Ward's interest for $24,000. Of this, stock to the amount of $10,000 was sold, half to Hiram Walker and half to E. C. Walker. In 1868 Hiram Walker purchased an additional $5,000 worth of stock, and in 1872 $5,000 more. On January 1, 1870, the paper was moved to a building erected in the rear of the pres- ent elegant iron and stone building on Larned Street West, erected in 1873. In July, 1872, a Hoe four- cylinder type-revolving press, the first in the State, was set up In 1873 and 1879, Hiram Walker bought still more of the stock of the paper, and in 1880 owned most of the stock of the corporation.

Mr. Conover who had been editor-in-chief since 1863, was succeeded, on April 29, 1871, by Charles K. Backus. In 1872 William M. Carleton was one of the editors of the weekly. In February, 1873, J. E. Scripps retired from the general management, and was succeeded by H. E Baker, and in 1877 the paper was consolidated with

The Detroit Daily Post.

This paper, whose publication was begun March 27, 1866, was the first eight-page daily issued in Detroit. It continued in that form for nearly four years. Tri-weekly and weekly editions were begun with the daily. The paper was established as a radical Republican organ by a joint stock company. Z. Chandler and E. B. Ward were large sharehold- ers. Carl Schurz was editor-in-chief for a year ; and from March, 1867, to January 1, 1876, the edi- torial and business departments were under the control of Frederick Morley.

During the first year of its existence Charles F.

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LIVING PAPERS AND PERIODICALS.

Clark and II. B. Rowlson were in charge of its business department ; after January 1, 1876, it was managed by L. F. Harter. From the time Mr. Morley left until the consolidation of the paper with The Advertiser and Tribune, William Stocking was chief editor, and during its existence the following persons were connected with the editorial depart- ment : L. J. Bates, E. G. Holden, W. J. Gibson, H. M. Utley, Ray Haddock, and Alexander Morrison.

On June 10, 1866, a Sunday edition took the place of the Monday issue. An evening edition was sent out on August 22 and was continued until December I.

After its con- solidation with The Tribune, the first num- ber of the pa- per, under the title of

The Post and Tribune,

was issued Oc- tober 14, 1877. A paper called

The Evening Telegraph,

at two cents per copy, was issued by the same corpora- tion from Oc- tober 15. 1877. until Novem- ber 15, 1878.

On May 11, 1879, the office of the Post and Tribune was damaged by fire, with a loss of $30,000. On March 1, 1881, the paper was sold to a new company, and one month later William Stocking succeeded Mr. Backus as managing editor.

After the consolidation, L. F. Harter managed the business department until February 18, 1878, when he was succeeded by James H. Stone, and he on June 17, 1882, by William H. Thompson. On September 3, 1883, Frederick Morley became sole manager of both the editorial and business depart- ments of the paper. The price of the daily was reduced from $10.00 to $7.00 on November 1, 1883.

The price of the semi-weekly was $4.00, and of the week !; $1.00 per year.

On June 12, 1881, the paper was first printed on a Scott Rotary Press, and changed from a four-page to an eight-page daily. On the day of introducing the new press a seven-column paper of thirty-two pages was issued, also a supplement giving a fac-simile of the first number of the first paper published in Michigan.

The press prints, cuts, folds, and pastes from ten to twelve thousand papers per hour.

TRIBUNE BUILDING

TRIBU BUILDING

TRIBUNE

THE TRIBUNE BUILDING. 13, 15 and 17 Rowland Street.

On August 1, 1884, the paper was transferred to J. L. Stickney, who became chief editor and manager, and on the same date the paper first ap- peared under the title of The Daily Post.

The Tribune.

On Novem- ber 1, 1885, the name of C. A. Nimocks ap- peared as pro- prietor, and on the same day the name was TRIBUNE changed to The Tribune. Within a year, on August I, 1886, the paper was transfer- red to James H. Stone, and at the same time moved to its present location on Rowland Street, between State Street and Michigan Avenue. The price of the daily is $6.00, and of the weekly $1.00 a year.

The Detroit Free Press.

The burning of The Gazette in April, 1830, left Mr. McKnight, its proprietor, without sufficient means to establish a new paper ; but the rush of immigration to Michigan was beginning, and a paper was essential to the interests of the Demo- cratic party. In order to meet the demand, Joseph Campau and John R. Williams, under the firm

686

LIVING PAPERS AND PERIODICALS.

name of Joseph Campau & Company, purchased The Oakland County Chronicle (which had been published by Thomas Simpson, at Pontiac, from June 25, 1830), and gave Mr. McKnight the control of the material, which was to be paid for as soon as circumstances would admit.

The type and presses were removed to Detroit, and as far as possible the subscribers of The Chroni- cle were retained for

The Democratic Free Press and Michigan Intelligencer,

which was first issued on Thursday, May 5, 1831, On June 2 John P. Sheldon assumed the editorship, but resigned on account of illness on August 25 of the same year. The price of the paper was $2.00 a year ; the office was on the corner of Bates and Woodbridge Streets.

On October 27, 1831, C. W. Whipple was ap- pointed fiscal agent of the stockholders. With the beginning of the second volume, on January 5, 1832, the paper was enlarged, the words " Michigan In- telligencer " omitted from the title, and the day of issue changed from Thursday to Wednesday. Charles Cleland was editor. In February Messrs. S. McKnight, T. C. Sheldon, and Andrew Mack bought out the original owners, and Mr. McKnight was made sole manager. On the 3d of the month, a Bar dinner, given on the retirement of the judges, took place, and The Free Press of February 9 con- tained an account of the speeches which were quite laudatory of the judges. The people were so glad to be relieved of obnoxious judges that the article greatly displeased many persons, as it was thought that the judges indulged in too much self-gratu- lation, and that the members of the Bar were too complimentary in their speeches. Such a clamor was raised that on May 3 Cleland was forced from the editorial chair, and John P. Sheldon again placed in charge. On November 8, 1832, the office was removed to a three-story brick building nearly op- posite the Post-office, which was then on the south side of Jefferson Avenue near Wayne Street. Early in April, 1833, John P. Sheldon was appointed assistant superintendent of lead mines west of the Mississippi River, and Sheldon McKnight became editor and publisher. The paper continued to be issued as a weekly until June 19, 1835, when it be- came a semi-weekly.

The constantly increasing number of educated people that were streaming into the State encour- aged a further venture ; and on September 28, 1835, McKnight issued the first number of The Daily Free Press. It was the first attempt of the kind in the State. The sheet was a folio, with a page about ten by seventeen inches. The price was $8.00 a year. The office, at this time, was at 63 Jefferson

Avenue, on the northeast corner of Shelby Street. On February 1, 1836, Mcknight sold out to L. L. Morse, who had been editor of The Ontario (New York) Messenger, and John S. Bagg, both of whom acted as editors. On June 27, 1836, the paper was enlarged from four to six columns in width, about a column in length, and otherwise improved in appearance. On July 22 following John S. Bagg became sole proprietor.

On January 4, 1837, at three o'clock P. M., a fire broke out in the Sheldon Block, and burned the office together with several other buildings. After the fire, on February 1, 1837, J. S. Bagg, S. A. Bagg. and Henry Barns became publishers, under the firm name of Bagg, Barns, & Company. They located over King's clothing store, on the corner of Jeffer- son and Woodward Avenues. On February 22 they issued their first paper. They began the semi- weekly edition on February 28, and resumed the daily as Volume I, Number I, on June 5, 1837. On February 16, 1838, J. S. and S. A. Bagg became sole owners of the paper, and on April 10, 1840, A. S. Bagg became proprietor. On August 26, 1841, the office was moved to the old Museum Building on the southeast corner of Jefferson Avenue and Gris- wold Street, and here, on January 1, 1842, the office was again burned. The fire destroyed the entire block, and as both the Free Press and Advertiser offices were burned, neither could aid the other.

On January 3, 1842, A. S. Bagg and J. H. Harmon formed a new firm. In order to obtain type, they in- duced The Macomb Republican and The Port Huron Observer to suspend for the winter, and on January II, on the corner of Shelby Street and Jefferson Avenue, they issued a five column paper ; the second number was six columns wide and a column longer ; and then several numbers were issued of about half size. On January 28. 1842, the paper resumed its old form, but although issued daily, the word " daily" was dropped from the heading. During April the proprietors of The Observer took away their press, and consequently the sheets printed from April 14 to 18 were reduced in size. On March 3, 1843, the office was moved half way towards Griswold Street, opposite the Cooper Block, and here, beginning with March 15, 1844, it was published solely as an even- ing paper until January 7, 1845, when it resumed its morning issue. Soon after, C. B. Flood became editor, and on September 30 the paper was enlarged one column in width.

Between May and December, 1845, the office was moved to Woodward Avenue, opposite old St. Paul's Church, and here, in 1846, the first power press in Michigan, and the first west of Buffalo, was set up. The first work printed was the Revised Statutes of that year. In May, 1847, John S. Bagg again became editor, and the paper

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LIVING PAPERS AND PERIODICALS.

was enlarged one column in length. During these years but little attention was paid to local items, or else there was a remarkable dearth of events worth noting. On May 9, 1849, A. S. Bagg sold out his interest to John S. Bagg; and early in 1850 the paper was issued by Bagg, Harmon, & Company. On June 22 the firm name was changed to Harmon, Brodhead, & Company, with R. O. Harmon, T. F. Brodhead, and Jacob Barns as pro- prietors, T. F. Brodhead serving as editor. On September 23, 1850, the paper was moved to 50 Griswold Street, just north of Jefferson Avenue.

During this year it absorbed the subscription list of

The Detroit Commercial Bulletin,

a paper established on May 28, 1848, by Daniel Munger and George W. Pattison, with daily, tri- weekly, and weekly editions. On April 1, 1851, The Free Press again changed owners, Jacob Barns, S. M. Johnson, and T. F. Brodhead becoming pub- lishers under the firm name of Barns, Brodhead, & Company. Messrs. Brodhead and Johnson served as editors. This year the office was provided with new type, and on October 7 the paper was enlarged to seven columns, and the word "daily " again ap- peared in the title. The paper was now for the first time printed by steam. An effort had been made to use steam in 1847, but as the boiler and engine were defective, and the floor not strong enough, the press was operated by man-power un- til the fall of 1851. The occasion which led to the use of steam was as follows: The work of printing in book form the report of the great Michigan Cen- tral Railroad conspiracy case had been under- taken by E. A. Wales of The Advertiser. His press facilities were inadequate, and the Free Press office was called upon to aid in the work. During the printing the man-power proved so unreliable that steam was substituted. A careful examination of the files of the paper fails to disclose the date on which the paper was first printed by steam. It seems singular indeed that so important an event, an event marking an era in the West, should have gone unnoticed, and it seems doubly strange in view of the fact that the papers of the present day, at least, are not over-modest .in the recital of their achievements. One of the proprietors of the paper at that time, in a letter on this subject, says, "We did not then publish our own enterprise as is now so universal with the press."

On April 7, 1852, another change of proprietors took place, the paper being issued by Jacob Barns and S. M. Johnson under the firm name of Jacob Barns & Company. Mr. Johnson served as editor until February 3, 1853, when W. F. Storey became both editor and proprietor. The paper was enlarged one column in width and one in length on the 17th

of the same month, and on October 2, 1853, a Sun- day paper was issued for the first time. It took the place of the Monday issue.

In the fall of 1859, or early in 1860, the office was moved to the northwest corner of Griswold and Woodbridge Streets. On June 5, 1861, Henry N. Walker became editor and proprietor, and on Au- gust 28, F. L. Seitz became a partner. The firm name was Walker & Seitz. On December 24 of the same year the paper was sold to a new firm, composed of H. N. Walker, C. H. Taylor, and Jacob Barns. In 1861 William E. Quinby became one of the editors, and two years later purchased a quarter interest in the establishment.

On January 2, 1865, the paper was reduced one column in width and one in length; on May 29 it was enlarged to eight columns, and on August 7, 1866, it was issued in quarto form.

On August 18, 1866, a stock company was or- ganized under the name of The Detroit Free Press Company. The quarto form of the paper was dis- continued on April 3, 1867, and the folio form rein- stated, with an enlargement, on August 22, 1869, of one column. In 1872 W. E. Quinby became half owner of the paper, and in January, 1875, he purchased a large share of the remainder of the stock. The paper has always ranked as the leading Democratic paper of Michigan, and during most of the time since it was founded, it has been the only English Democratic paper in the city. It has achieved much popularity through the " Lime Kiln Club" articles of C. B. Lewis, whose nom de plume is M. Quad.

The weekly supplement known as The House- hold was first issued on January 12, 1878. It is designed especially for the ladies. On April 29, 1878, the office was burned out, but it was soon re- established, and on June 2 following the Free Press Company, for the first time in Michigan, made use of the papier-maché stereotype process, and with a new Bullock perfecting press with Scott folder was able to print, fold, and paste twelve thousand papers per hour. The event was signalized by printing a thirty-two page paper with a supplement of four pages, and at this time the paper was changed from folio to quarto form. On July 16, 1881, the com- pany inaugurated a new departure by sending the papier-maché matrices of their weekly paper to London, and printing there a regular weekly edi- tion, to which a few special columns were added. The first issue of the paper was sixteen thousand ; the second, eighteen thousand ; by December I it had reached a bona fide sale of thirty-five thousand copies weekly; and on Christmas a special holiday edition of one hundred thousand copies was printed. It is sold for a penny, and up to 1883 was the only American paper republished in the Old World.

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The first number was made particularly attractive to Londoners by the salutatory of our fellow-towns- man Bronson Howard. His long tarry in London and the success of his plays had made him so well known that his " send off " was of great value. In June, 1884, the Detroit office was moved to the north- east corner of Larned and Shelby Streets. The first paper in the new location was issued on June 8th, the event being signal- ized by the issue of a thirty-six-page paper. The facili- ties afforded in its new quarters are second to those of no other paper. The present stock- holders are Wm. E. Quinby, A. G. Boynton, Fred. Fayram, Joseph Greusel, John O'- Connors, Geo. P. Goodale,and Theo. E. Quinby. The editorial staff con- sists of Wm. E. Quinby,A.G.Boyn- ton, John A. Bell, Joseph Greusel, George P. Goodale, C. B. Lewis, Robt. Barr, Theo. E. Quinby,F. H. Hos- ford, John Barr, Walter Buell, H. H. Hoffman,J A.Rob- inson, V. W. Rich- ardson, F.M. Stew- art, J. R. Fisher, A. J. Murphy, Harry W. Quinby and Jennie O. Starkey. The daily is $7.00 a year, and the weekly $1 oo, issued on Tuesdays.

The Allgemeine Zeitung,

a German Democratic weekly, at $2.00, was first issued by Dr. Anthony Kaminsky on September 21, 1844; with the beginning of the second volume the name was changed to Staats Zeitung of Michigan and the price reduced to $1.50. In the spring of 1848 M. H. Allardt became a partner with Kamin- sky, remaining one year. In 1850 Kaminsky died, and Messrs. Butz & Schimmel bought the paper and

changed the name to Michigan Tribune, or German Organ of the Democracy. Of this new paper Casper Butz was editor, and as early as July, 1850, he be- came proprietor. The paper continued until 1854, when it was merged with

The Michigan Democrat,

EPRES

THE FREE PRESS BUILDING - N. E. COR. LARNED AND SHELBY STREETS.

which was estab- lished the same ycar by a joint stock company composed of Dr. P. Klein, F. Ruehle, J. B. Schmittdiel, G. M. Rich, P. and C. Fischer, and others. The paper did not prove a success, and on May, 1856, it was sold to P. Klein, who transferred it, on January 10, 1857, to Domedion & Kramer, who, the same year, bought out

The Michigan Volksblatt,

a semi-weekly, at $2.00 a year, which was first issued on May 1, 1853, by F. & W. Schim- mel, with Rudolph Diepenbeck as edi- tor. The paper was called The Michigan Demo- crat and Volks- blatt. In Decem- ber, 1858, Philip THE, FREE PRESS PRINTING AND ENGRAVING HOUS:' Kramer bought out the interest of Domedion, and became a partner. Two years later, in No- vember, 1860, a daily issue was begun, and about this time the name was changed to Michigan Volksblatt. Under this title, in May, 1862, it pur- chased

The Michigan Staats Zeitung,

a daily morning paper, first published in 1858 by Charles D. Haas; Constantine Beyerle was his part- ner in 1859. The price of the daily is $6.75, and of the weekly, $2.50 a year.

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The Michigan Journal and Herald

dates its beginning from The Michigan Journal, the first German daily published in Michigan; it was established on June 13, 1855, with daily and weekly editions, by A. & C. Marxhausen. In June, 1870, it was sold to F. Cornehl and F. Pope, who discon- tinued the daily after March, 1876, and at the same time merged the paper with The Herald of Mil- waukee. The paper, under the title of Michigan Journal and Herald, has since been issued weekly, both from Milwaukee and Detroit, by Pope & Cole- man, at $2.50 a year.

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History of Detroit and Wayne County and early Michigan: A Chronological Cyclopedia of the Past and Present, Vol. I, Part 110

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