USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > Concord > History of Concord, New Hampshire, from the original grant in seventeen hundred and twenty-five to the opening of the twentieth century, Volume II > Part 37
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NEWSPAPERS AND THEIR EDITORS.
Low, and maintained its publication up to the time when the paper lost its identity in the columns of the Independent Democrat, May 6th, 1847. It will be seen subsequently that this last paper, after a valiant service in behalf of freedom and free territories, became itself lost in the consolidation out of which grew the Independent Statesman of the present day.
Woodbridge Odlin, whose connection with newspapers has been noted, was a native of Concord, his birth occurring March 19th, 1810. The house in which he was born stood on Main street nearly oppo- site the city hall, and occupied a site almost identical with that of the house in which he died nearly eighty-seven years later. Learning the printer's trade with Luther Roby, Mr. Odlin worked in Boston for a time, returning to Concord while still a young man. Giving up the newspaper business after a few years' experience, he engaged in the grocery and West India trade, and continued in it for nearly a quarter of a century. His store on Main street, where now stands Chase's block, was widely known as a temperance store, for its pro- prietor, notwithstanding the custom of the time, resolutely refused to sell spirituous liquors. This was in 1838, when dram selling was a prime source of income to all grocers, and dram drinking was com- monly regarded as among the indispensable conditions of every-day life. From 1855 to 1860 Mr. Odlin held the office of city treasurer, his only elective office, and from 1862 to 1872 he was assistant assessor of internal revenue. When the First National bank was started Mr. Odlin became its first cashier. After retiring from busi- ness Mr. Odlin lived a quiet life, interesting himself in public mat- ters and keeping in touch with all things of a local nature. Of sprightly disposition and cheery manner, possessed of sparkling hu- mor, Mr. Odlin passed on to old age a familiar and welcome person- ality. He died February 22d, 1898.
Another publication appeared during the thirties called Star in the East. It was a denominational paper under the direction of the Uni- versalists, well edited and neatly printed. The year of its birth was 1834. The editor was John G. Adams, while James R. Adams and Perkins Kimball looked after the management. It was in the office of this paper that Hayes & Kimball printed and sent forth a con- troversial journal attacking the dogmas of Roman Catholicism. Its name was Priesteraft Exposed, and the publication continued from 1833-'36.
The same ycar that saw the beginning of Star of the East saw also a modest publication whose youthful editors were to achieve distinc- tion,-one as governor, the other as supreme court judge. It was August 1st, 1834, that the postmaster found a new publication to
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HISTORY OF CONCORD.
distribute, and on looking at the title page saw that it was the Liter- ary Gazette, Moody Currier and Asa Fowler, editors. Associated with the editors in the conduct of the Gazette was a young man named Cyrus P. Bradley. In the estimation of his contemporaries Mr. Bradley had in him the making of a literary man of rare accom- plishments and promise. Born in Canterbury in 1818, he was grad- uated at Dartmouth in 1837. His high scholarship attracted the attention of his comrades, and he justified their opinions. Historical studies interested him deeply, and, young as he was, he began to be known for accurate and valuable researches. He wrote much for the newspapers, generally on subjects of a biographical and historical nature, and in 1835 he completed an authoritative life of Isaac Hill. This little book, published by John F. Brown at the Franklin book- store, is the best biography of Governor Hill, and shows clearly the extent of the loss suffered by social and literary Concord in the un- timely death of Mr. Bradley, July 6th, 1838, at the age of twenty years.
During the decade of 1830-'40 Concord saw the rise and fall of several newspaper publications whose inception and reception were not favorable to a long life. The anti-slavery agitation was not without its effect during this period, and Concord was more than once the scene of active labors connected with the cause. January 24th, 1835, an anti-slavery weckly, called The Abolitionist, was started by David D. Fisk and E. G. Eastman. A month later its name was changed to The Herald of Freedom, and as such it continued for some time, drawing to its conduct and management such well-known cit- izens as Albe Cady, George Kent, Amos Wood, and others. But the genius of them all was Nathaniel P. Rogers, who in 1838 succeeded to the editorship of the Herald. For six years he remained in charge of its utterances, and gave to the paper a wide circulation and a first- rate reputation among publications of that character. He was an extreme radical, an uncompromising enemy to every kind of human wrong, and withal a man of lofty and courageous convictions. He spared no person however prominent, nor any organization or insti- tution however powerful, nor did sacred objects swerve him from his course. Bold, clear, and incisive, his editorials went straight as an arrow's flight, and winged with truth. Such a man was bound to be heard, and he was heard and quoted in the newspapers of his day. Save possibly William Lloyd Garrison, Rogers was the greatest news- paper champion of anti-slavery in the United States. But his bright and sensitive mind, polished by learning and cultivation, was capable of dealing with subjects other than anti-slavery, and he wrote much on literary and social topics, commanding meanwhile wide admiration.
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NEWSPAPERS AND THEIR EDITORS.
Under the pen name of "Old Man of the Mountain," he contributed a series of delightful anti-Texas articles to the New York Tribune, which introduced him to a large and appreciative number of readers. He was a genius whose torch, though brilliant, burned quickly, for he died at Concord, October, 16th, 1846, and was buried in the old cemetery. A year later a volume was published containing many of his best articles, with an appreciative preface by John Pierpont.
About 1832 the Baptist denomination published a weekly in Con- cord called the New Hampshire Baptist Register, continuing it until 1846, when its fortunes were united with the Christian Reflector of Boston. For a while David D. Fisk was its printer and Reverend William Taylor its editor.
The temperance movement took a strong hold in Concord, and during the forties several newspapers were started for the purposes of reform. One of these, called White Mountain Torrent, a small monthly publication, was begun in 1843 by John R. French, at No. 2 Low's block. This being a moral suasion paper, its motto was "No weapon but truth, no law but the law of love." The terms were reasonable, fifty cents a year. The size, however, while by no means imposing, twelve inches by nine, was large enough to receive frequent contributions from men so distinguished as John G. Whit- tier, John Pierpont, Nathaniel P. Rogers, Moses A. Cartland, and George Kent. The first publisher, John R. French, afterwards became well known in public life as sergeant-at-arms of the United States senate. The Torrent changed habitation more than once, for it was domiciled in Manchester, Portsmouth, and twice in Concord. In 1846 the paper was merged in the Massachusetts Temperance Standard, a Boston publication.
A year later another temperance paper saw the light, but its career was brief and without local interest. It was the Temperance Banner, issued monthly. The owner of the paper was the state society for promotion of temperance, who conducted it through a board of edi- tors. The paper appealed to Democrats to remain Democrats but to be temperance Democrats, and in like manner it appealed to the Whigs. It was claimed that the monthly circulation of this paper, in 1848, had reached the number of twelve thousand.
After the Patriot and Statesman Concord's strongest and most im- portant newspaper was the Independent Democrat. This paper was founded in 1845, and continued with vigor and influence until it lost its identity in the consolidation with the Monitor and subsequently with the Statesman. Its identity, however, is not wholly lost, for the name Independent Statesman is still a familiar one in the news- paper world. The birthplace of the paper was Manchester where
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HISTORY OF CONCORD.
May 8th, 1845, Robert C. Wetmore issued the first number. A few weeks subsequently the paper was moved to Concord, where it began to attract attention and comment because of its utterances. Its appearance was contemporaneous with the Texas question, and the secession of John P. Hale from the ranks of the Democracy. It was not long before the people began to take notice of the sharp and pungent editorials of the paper, and to enquire respecting the author of them. The author, they found, was George G. Fogg, a lawyer by profession, who was then living in Concord as secretary of state, to which office he had been elected by the coalition legislature of 1846. In May, 1847, the New Hampshire Courier, owned by A. C. Blodgett, and the Granite Freeman, owned by J. E. Hood of Manchester, were united with the Democrat, and the publication appeared as Independent Democrat and Freeman.
In July of that year Mr. Fogg bought an interest and became thenceforth the power in the editors' room. Started as a Free-soil weekly, the paper kept resolutely to its course until it became an acknowledged factor in the changing ara of politics. Fearless in the conduct of his paper, and unyielding in the advocacy of Free-soil principles, Mr. Fogg was soon looked upon as one of the leading editors in the country. In 1849 Augustus H. Wiggin, a practical printer, became part owner with Mr. Fogg, and so continued several years. In 1857 the State Capital Reporter, begun five years before by Cyrus Barton, but which had now passed into the ownership of Amos Hadley, was merged with the Independent Democrat, which thereafter bore the names of Fogg & Hadley as editors and pub- lishers.
George G. Fogg, who in his day ranked high among newspaper editors, was a native of Meredith, where he was born May 26th, 1813. Graduating at Dartmouth in the class of 1839, and studying law, he was admitted to the bar and began practice in Gilmanton. He was one of the earliest Free-soilers in the state, and he soon became a leader in the councils of the party. In 1846 the coalition legislature, composed of Whigs and Free-soilers, elected him secre- tary of state, his tenure lasting but one year. He was a delegate to the famous Buffalo Free-soil convention of 1848, also to the Pitts- burg convention of 1852, and subsequently becoming a Republican, he was a member of the national conventions of 1856 and 1860. His vigorous esponsal of Republican principles gave him prominence, while his pungent cditorials made the Independent Democrat one of the best-known papers in New England. From 1856 to 1864 Mr. Fogg was a member of the Republican National committee, and somne time its secretary, thus giving him national prominence, which,
1035
NEWSPAPERS AND THEIR EDITORS.
added to his advocacy of Abraham Lincoln in the Chicago conven- tion, gained for him, in 1861. the appointment of minister to Swit- zerland. Meanwhile, he had held the office of state reporter from 1855 to 1859. On the termination of his foreign mission, Governor Smyth appointed him, in 1866, United States senator to fill out the unexpired term of Daniel Clark. Mr. Fogg continued nominally or actively his editorship of the Democrat until that property was merged into the corporation owned by the Republican Press association. Mr. Fogg was interested in educational and historical matters, being a trustee of Bates college and an active member of the New Hamp- shire Historical society. Purchasing the Sanborn house opposite the city hall, now the residence of Henry Robinson, Mr. Fogg, after his return from Europe, passed there the remainder of his days. His death occurred October 5th, 1881.
The beginnings of the Patriot have been noticed and its career traced up to the departure of Isaac Hill for Washington in 1829, when he disposed of his interest to others. The paper then went into the possession of Horatio Hill and Cyrus Barton, who remained partners until 1834, when Mr. Hill retired from the firm. leaving Mr. Barton sole owner. Henry H. Carroll became a partner in 1840. and soon afterwards Nathaniel B. Baker bought the remainder of Mr. Barton's interest, the firm then becoming Carroll & Baker. Mr. Carroll was a graduate of Dartmouth, and a man of cultivation and ability, who gave excellent promise of distinction in journalism, but a sudden and fatal sickness caused his death in August, 1846, at the age of thirty-three years. The Patriot now passed into the hands of George Minot as administrator of Mr. Carroll's estate, and from him to Will- iam Butterfield. who was editing the Nashua Gazette. There were at that time two weekly papers called the Patriot, whose brisk rival- ries were not conducive to the welfare of either. The other Patriot. the property of Isaac Hill and his sons, William P. and John M., owed its establishment to various personal and party reasons.
Governor Hill, after retirement from public office in 1839, began publishing an agricultural monthly called The Farmer's Monthly Fixitor, which soon gained a large and paying list of subscribers. In the meanwhile there arose in certain parts of New Hampshire a sentiment favorable to starting a political newspaper under the direc- tion of Isaac Hill himself, and the outcome of that sentiment was the issue in August. 1840. of Hill's New Hampshire Patriot. For seven years this well-edited and successful paper held its own. exert- ing wide influence, increasing its patronage, and making itself a political power. It is historically interesting to know that the man- agement of this paper also gave to the people of Concord their first
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HISTORY OF CONCORD.
daily newspaper in 1840. The prospectus announced the issue of a daily during the June session of the legislature, which was to cost two cents a copy, and furthermore that the proceedings of the house and senate were to be reported by Governor Hill personally.
Enterprise like that did not escape the attention of the other Patriot, therefore in June, 1841, Barton & Carroll began the publica- tion of a daily (save Friday and Saturday), neatly made up in folio, measuring twelve by eight and a half inches. This publieation, enlarged during its career, was continued until the union of the rival Patriots in 1847, and for several years thereafter by the new firm of Butterfield & Hill.
There was a Daily Statesman during sessions of the legislature about as early as there was a Daily Patriot. The Statesman endeav- ored to give verbatim reports of legislative proceedings, and had in its service at various times such distinguished reporters as Charles W. Slack and J. M. W. Yerrington of Boston, Charles B. Collar of Washington, and George Vernon Marsh of London, England.
William Butterfield, who now appears as a Concord editor, was a native of Goffstown, his birthday being September 18th, 1815. Grad- uating from Dartmouth in 1836, he studied law and began practice in Ohio. Returning to New Hampshire, he opened an office in Gilman- ton, but lie soon gave up his profession, and entered the newspaper field, first in Lowell, then in Nashua, coming to Concord in 1846. Until his death Mr. Butterfield was a citizen of Concord, esteemed by his townsmen and beloved by his friends. Some years alone, and at other times with a partner, he conducted and edited the Patriot until the property passed into the possession of Edwin C. Bailey and George G. Bailey in 1873. During the Democratic ascendency in the state, following the election of 1874, Mr. Butterfield became secretary of state for two years. His death occurred at Concord in 1884.
After disposing of liis interest in the Patriot, Cyrus Barton was not long in starting another newspaper, so in January, 1852, Concord saw the first number of a semi-weekly publication called State Cap- ital Reporter.
Amos Hadley became connected with this paper early in 1853, and soon after a weekly edition took the place of the semi-weekly experiment, and continued as long as the publication lived. Mr. Barton dying in 1855, Mr. Hadley carried on the paper until it was merged in the Independent Democrat in 1857.
Concord has been the birthplace, and, in many instances, the bur- ial-place as well, of several undertakings in the newspaper business that have now all but passed from living memory. Many of these ventures were the offspring of some reform, and upon the spread and .
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NEWSPAPERS AND THEIR EDITORS.
stability of such movements their lives depended. Temperance, labor, social subjects, revival-religion, and anti-slavery were prolific in rais- ing up organs to proclaim their respective tenets. The first of these causes was remarkable for its short-lived newspaper crop. As an editor puts it, "Every little while some one discovers that temper- ance lacks an organ, and issues an address inviting all the sons and daughters of sobriety to subscribe for a new temperance paper just started, and which directly fails for want of support. These papers seem born to die very young, or sell out at a great sacrifice." Besides the special newspapers mentioned already, there were others that claimed a Concord birthright, yet of them all scarcely one survived a twelvemonth.
In 1842 John R. French printed and George Kent edited a little paper called the Locomotive, whose running powers waned with its first quarter's moon ; then there was the Crusader of Reform, devoted to temperance and issued by the state society. Prominent in its list of contributors was Reverend Augustus Woodbury. This paper was identified with Concord for a short period, about 1850, and was soon after united with the Phenix, a similar publication. Shortly after this Reverend Daniel Lancaster edited the Northern Indicator.
In June, 1856, a weekly paper called Democratic Standard made its appearance. The publisher was John B. Palmer, who with sev- eral brothers, all practical printers, did the mechanical work con- nected with its publication. Although the career of this paper was a brief one, it lived long enough to achieve a historic distinction that bids fair to survive many years. No paper published in Con- cord was more vehement in its opinions or so bitter in expressing them. The Standard was a radical and uncompromising advocate of pro-Southern political views, which grew more and more exasperating with the progress of secession. Nor did its conduct change with the beginning of rebellion ; if possible its utterances became more deeply offensive to the Union sentiments of the people as the war went on. Finally, in August, 1861, an offended populace saw with composure the destruction of the Standard by a mob of infuriated soldiers who assaulted its office, destroyed the type, smashed the presses, and flung the cases and furniture into Main street, where they were consumed by fire.
To the political importance of Concord and its selection as the place for party headquarters may be ascribed the rise of a short-lived and special journalism known as campaign papers. They were of vary- ing usefulness and duration, and of all sizes and appearances. A few were merely single sheets, some were folded, while others reached the dignity of numbered pages.
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HISTORY OF CONCORD.
The complete enumeration of all such publications is impossible, for in some instances the first issue had no successor. However, in the list of campaign literature of Concord have been the following : In 1829 Dudley S. Palmer sent forth from the Patriot office a small publication called Spirit of the Republican Press. In 1835 Mr. Dickey presented to the public The Concord Patriot, and within the same year appeared The Transcript. One of the best known cam- paign publications was the Advocate of Democracy, edited by Joseph Kidder, and printed by John M. Hill, in the office of Hill's New Hampshire Patriot. It began in January, 1843, and lasted until after the March elections. Its direct mission was to expose a branch of a political party called the " new test politicians," whose code of action was deemed very corrupt and demoralizing. Then appeared The True Whig, in 1847, another of Dudley S. Palmer's ventures, and the following year came The Wilmot Proviso, with Frank S. Barr in charge.
The Taylor-Cass campaign of 1848 introduced a party paper enti- tled Rough and Ready, under the management of True Osgood, and as a counterpoise appeared soon after Tough and Steady. In the fifties Charles L. Wheeler published the Concord Tribune, and Edward E. Sturtevant along in 1855 printed Voice of the Stockholders. The name of this man is deeply chiseled on the annals of Concord. He was Concord's first enlisted soldier in the Civil War, and as recruit- ing officer he enrolled the first volunteers for the great conflict. He was born in Keene, August 7th, 1826. Learning the printer's trade in his native town, he worked in various places, including Concord. A roving disposition led him beyond the Potomac as far as Richmond, where he lived for a time. Returning to Concord, he soon became recognized as an active and useful man in the community. In 1855 he became a member of the police force, and was soon known for his pluck and daring. Somehow he got the nickname "Captain Crane,", which stuck to him during his civilian life. In the militia of the period he took a leading part, becoming captain of a Concord com- pany, and gaining a reputation for discipline and drill.
The annals of printers and printing would be incomplete unless mention is made of a secret and fugitive publication that darted into publicity from most unlooked-for quarters and at most unexpected pe- riods, causing widespread apprehension among some people and great merriment among others. Who did it nobody knew, who printed it nobody could tell, yet there it was-a living, biting thing with brains and teeth. The name of this feared yet welcomed visitor was The Owl. The name was suggestive, for the habits of the bird were care- fully imitated by its namesake. Its great eyes scanned the town
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NEWSPAPERS AND THEIR EDITORS.
seeking foibles and gossip, prying into family secrets, laying bare human weaknesses, and sparing neither high nor low in its rounds of inspection. Names were called or thinly disguised, for spades were spades in the columns of The Owl. To discover the editors or the printers was impossible, for the squibs and comments showed plainly different authorship, while the type was evidently contributed from half the fonts in town. Moreover, the manner of distribution was in keeping with the rest, for it was during the silent watches of some black night that mischievous hands scattered copies of The Owl along the doorsteps and back stoops. The next morning the staid old town was full of wonder at the daring performance; and while many found amusement in its perusal, others who were victims of its savage satire nursed their wrath and longed for revenge. If money could have found out the offenders, much money would have been cheerfully paid, but so securely was the secret kept that there was no turning state's evidence. Suspicion alone was all that was ever found against The Owl attacks, and even that was likely to shift with each new issue. One thing, however, was certain, The Owl was the production of many brains and many hands. In a number of The Owl, Saturday, August 12tli, 1848, an excerpt from its editorial illus- trates its mission : " Why, the very stones in the streets would soon cry to heaven for vengeance if this great purifier of the moral atmos- phere-' the bird of the night,' did not make his appearance. And we now say to the miserable counterfeits of humanity who walk in iniquity, Beware! Beware !! Neither your silks and satins, nor your fine broadcloths and pompous airs can save you. Our omnis- cient eye is upon you, and you might as well undertake to hold a live lamper-eel by the tail, as to attempt to escape the castigation which your misdeeds so richly merit." The Owl had no stated periods of publication. It came as the spirit of fun and mischief moved its authors, sometimes several issues a year, again only one, and some years passed without a single appearance. Since the fifties this lampooning night bird has existed only in the memories of Concord's oldest inhabitants.
Aside from the dailies issued during the legislative sessions, there were published in Concord in 1860 these newspapers : New Hamp- shire Patriot, New Hampshire Statesman, Independent Democrat, Con- gregational Journal, and Democratic Standard.
These properties remained in the hands of the same owners as in 1855 and 1856. The Patriot, edited by William Butterfield, was printed in Sanborn's block, which at that time stood partly across what is now Capitol street ; the Statesman, owned and edited by Asa McFarland and George E. JJenks, had undergone some severe expe-
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