History of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Part 15

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis
Number of Pages: 1168

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Joseph Kidder, J. S. Elliott, R. D. Mooers, Walter P. Fogg, Dustin Marshall, W. W. Baker, A. G. Tucker, John Sargent, S. S. Coffin, A. Kimball.

The committee immediately purchased the neces- sary material and fitted up an office, and January 24, 1851, the first number of The Union Democrat was issued. For a few weeks the editorial work was per- formed by a number of gentlemen who were able and experienced writers ; but finally the committee made an engagement with James M. Campbell, by which he was to assume the entire editorial management of the paper, and he entered upon his new duties with great zeal and enthusiasm.

In the spring of 1852 it seemed unlikely that any of the very distinguished Democratic statesmen who had been named for the Presidency would receive the nomination at the next national convention of that party. Under these circumstances Mr. Campbell be- lieved it possible to bring about the nomination of General Franklin Pierce. With this view, he wrote a letter in Mr. Pierce's behalf to his friend, General Conway, a leading Democrat at Fredericksburg. The convention met and failed to agree upon a candidate during twenty-five ballots. After the twenty-fifth ballot the Virginia delegation retired for consultation, when Mr. Campbell's letter to Conway was read, and it was decided that at the next ballot the vote of Virginia should be cast for General Pierce. This was done, and on a subsequent ballot he was nominated. The letter of Mr. Campbell was afterwards published in the Richmond Enquirer and in most of the other Democratie papers of the South.

In his conduct of the Union Democrat through the trying times that followed the election of General Pierce, and continued through his administration and that of Buchanan, Mr. Campbell displayed the high- est qualities of statesmanship, maintaining throughout a steadfast allegiance to the constitution. In State and local affairs he pursued a wise and conservative course, building his paper upon a solid foundation.

In February, 1856, the office was destroyed by fire, but was immediately re-established in Union Buikdl- ing, corner Elm and Market Streets.

In 1861, Walter Harriman, of Warner, became joint owner with Mr. Campbell, and assumed charge of its editorial columns, the name of the paper being changed to the Manchester Union. Colonel Harriman retained his interest in the paper until January, 1863, when he disposed of it to Colonel Thomas P. Pierce, and the old name, Union Democrat, was restored. The same month Colonel Pierce sold his interest to Charles Lamson, of Nashua.

March 1, 1863, the first number of the Manchester Daily Union was issued from the office of the Union Democrat, and in August following. Mr. Lamson sold his interest in both papers to Alpheus A. Hanscom, of Eliot, Me., and the firm became Campbell & Hans- com. the latter devoting his time chiefly to the busi- ness management of the office, though a frequent

HISTORY OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

In September, 1872, George A. Hanscom, a brother of the junior partner, and James L., the second son of Mr. Campbell, were admitted as partners in the business of printing and publishing, the firm still re- taining the style of Campbell & Hanscom. Mr. Campbell, Sr., retained control of the editorial col- ums, George 1. Hanscom took charge of the local department and Janes L. Campbell attended to the mechanical part of the business. In the winter of 1873-74 the firm erected a brick block on Manchester four stories high, with basement, the office occupying the greater part of the block. The first paper printed in the new building bears date February 9, 1874.

contributor to the editorial colums. Early in 1864 the office was removed to Merchants' Exchange. paper was looked upon with disfavor by many of the strongest supporters of the paper, who could see no possible chance of success in a business rivalry with the Boston dailies. Time, however, vindicated the wisdom of the enterprise. Full telegraphic service was obtained through the National Press Association, the editorial and reportorial foree was increased and special arrangements made for early transportation over the lines of railroad to the north, and as a result the circulation of the paper throughout the State in- creased with phenomenal rapidity. In January, 1882, the national telegraphic service was exchanged for Street, near Elin, twenty feet wide and fifty feet deep, , that of the Associated Press, with its extended facili- ties for securing news from all parts of the civilized world. With the increase of circulation naturally came increased advertising patronage. To meet the

Mr. Campbell continued to edit the paper until the ! demand for additional space, the paper was increased fall of 1876, when, finding his health greatly impaired in size at various times, until it had grown from a twenty-four column to a thirty-six column sheet, and even then a double edition on Saturdays has been found necessary to meet the wants of advertisers since November 10, 1883. by his long-continued and confining labors, he severed his active connection with the Union Democrat and Daily Union, and went to Florida, where he purchased a tract of land and engaged in the occupation of orange culture. He was succeeded in the editorial chair by A. A. Hanscom. Mr. Campbell maintained a lively interest in the paper, and sent an occasional contribution to its columns from his Southern home. He died quite suddenly at Sorento, Florida, on the last day of April, 1883.

November 10, 1879, marked a new era in the history of the Manchester Union. On that date the paper and material passed by purchase into the hands of Stilson Hutchins, of Laconia, John H. Riedell, of Boston, and Joseph C. Moore, of Lake Village. July 27, 1880, a stock company was formed, of which Mr. Moore became president, Mr. Hutchins treasurer and Mr. Riedell secretary. June 26, 1881, Messrs. Hutchins and Moore purchased Mr. Riedell's interest, and later, on the 5th of December, 1882, Mr. Hutchins dis- posed of his interest in the office to Mr. Moore. since when no further change in proprietorship has been made. From the inception of the enterprise, in July, 1880, Mr. Moore was the leading and active spirit in the management of the paper, and his addi- tional interest acquired in December, 1882, was a natural and eminently proper sequence.

The new proprietors, realizing fully the task to which they had put their hands, brought to it the same enterprise, energy and sagacity that would have been found essential to success in any other business. It was their purpose to publish the best newspaper in the State, and not only that, but one which could compete successfully with the larger metropolitan dailies in the publication of news. And they suc- ceeded. When the paper passed into their hands, November, 1879, an evening edition only was issued, and comparatively little attention was paid to tele- graphie news. On the morning of the 20th of November the first issue of the morning edition appeared. The change from an evening to a morning

For nearly twenty years after the establishment of the Weekly Union, and about seven years after the daily was started, the press-work was done outside of the office. Until 1856, when Patten's building was destroyed by fire, the presses upon which all papers in the city were printed were located in the basement of that building. These presses consisted of two Adams bed and platen presses and a Guernsey press, the latter of a pattern that would scarcely be accepted as a gift by any live establishment to-day. They were destroyed in the conflagration that swept away the offices of The Union, the Mirror and the American. After the fire S. C. Merrill, who carried on the coffee and spice business in a building located on Elm Back Street, in the rear of Merchants' Exchange, and had surplus steam-power which he wished to utilize, bought and put in operation two Adams presses, on one of which was printed The Union and on the other the Mirror. The forms of type were taken from The Union office, then in Union Building, at the corner of Market and Elm Streets, and carried on a hand-bier to the press-room, a task that was any- thing but coveted by those upon whom it devolved. Merrill subsequently built a brick block on the corner- of Manchester Street and Elm Back Street, to which the press-room was removed. This block, with its contents, was destroyed by the fire of July, 1870, again leaving The Union office without press facilities. The press-work of the daily edition was then for a time printed on the press of C. F. Livingston, and the weekly forms were sent to Concord and printed on the Patriot press until the proprietors purchased a Cottrell cylinder press and placed it in Merchants' Exchange, to which the office had been removed, ob- taining power from the Mirror engine in the basement. This press was rated at a speed of fifteen hundred impressions per hour, though it was seldom speeded

MANCHESTER.

faster than one thousand or eleven hundred. The Cot- trell was moved into the new building erected by the proprietors of The Union, in 1874, on Manchester Street, where it met the requirements of the paper until it passed into the hands of the new proprietors, in 1879, when a Hoe two-cylinder replaced it.

Up to this time the old style presses had proved of ample capacity to print the editions of the daily and weekly. But with the establishment of a morning edition of the daily, and the journalistic enterprise displayed in other directions by the new firm, the cir- culation of both papers increased so rapidly that be- fore a year had passed, the capacity of the two-cylinder press was severely taxed to meet the demands made upon it. From 1879 to this date the growth in cir- culation had been steady, far exceeding the most sanguine expectations of the proprietors, until the two- cylinder press, printing four thousand papers per hour, was utterly inadequate. There was no alternative but to again increase the printing capacity, both in size and speed, and it was determined not only to meet pres- ent demands, but be prepared for still further increase in circulation. An order was placed in the spring of 1883 with R. Hoe & Co., New York, the greatest press-builders in the world, for a type-revolving, web- perfecting press, capable of printing thirty-two thou- sand impressions an hour, or sixteen thousand com- plete papers, printed on both sides. At the same time a new folding-machine was purchased, which cuts, pastes and folds the eight-page editions of the daily and the weekly edition. With this new machinery and an entire outfit of type, The Union office is as finely equipped as any newspaper office in New England.

These improvements, however, necessitated more commodious quarters, and in February, 1884, a ten- years' lease of the east half of the Opera-House Block on Hanover Street, with privilege of purchase, was obtained. A three-story brick building, thirty-two by thirty-four, was built in the rear of the opera-house, in which is located the press-room and composing- rooms, a new engine and boiler being placed in the basement. This building having been erected es- pecially for the purpose to which it has been devoted, is admirably adapted for the different mechanical de- partments of the paper. The business office and editorial rooms are on the ground-floor of the Opera Block, and, taken all in all, it is one of the most complete newspaper establishments in New England.

The first editor or editorial writer of The Union as a morning daily was Henry HI. Metcalf, who began his labors with the first number and closed them Oc- tober 22, 1881. He was followed by B. F. Saurman, who remained till April 22, 1882. On May 4th, of the same year, George F. Parker assumed the position, filling it till December 9th of the same year. The editorial work was provided for from several sources till the first week in January, 1882, at which time the

arrangement now in force went into operation. Ini- portant changes were made. The scope of the edi- torial work was enlarged, and the labors divided. John T. Hulme and Edward J. Burnham were as- signed to duty in this department. On December 22, 1884, Mr. Burnham was transferred to the subscrip- tion and collection department, filling also the duties of staff correspondent.

The first city editor was Edgar J. Knowlton, who remained in the position till June 5, 1880, and was succeeded by Herbert F. Eastman. Mr. Eastman fulfilled the duties till January 22, 1881, at which time John T. Hulme came to the position, holding it continuously till he was promoted to his present position. On his promotion, Henry H. Everett came to the duties of the position. Edgar J. Knowlton re- turned to the staff as a local reporter October 20, 1884, and December 29th of the same year succeeded to his old position as city editor.

Walter E. West was first telegraph editor of the paper, filling the position till October 6, 1883, when he retired, and was followed by the present occupant of that chair, Willis T. Dodge.

John B. Mills and Herbert N. Davison at present comprise the staff of local reporters. John B. Mills was in a similar capacity in the first two years of the morning paper, but retired and returned in February, 1884. True M. Thompson followed him, and was succeeded by George F. Richards. C. Fred. Crosby was also a local reporter for some two years.

John H. Reidell attended the State news and several other departments of the paper up to January 6, 1883. On the formation of the new arrangement that went into force at that time, Edward J. Burnham assumed special charge of the State news and agricultural de- partments, and also took the editorial management of the weekly edition of the paper. On the retirement of Mr. Burnham, Henry H. Everett assumed the du- ties of the position.

John T. Hulme undertook to provide for the " ex- change " work, both in the line of general and politi- cal miscellany. He also retained the musical and dramatical assignment.

Seven gentlemen have sat at the proof-reader's desk in the following order : E. D. Houston, F. L. Rowe, E. J. Burnham, David W. Cobb, Henry H. Everett, W. H. IT. H. Snow and Alvin T. Thoits. The last-named gentleman still fills the position.

The longest incumbent was E. J. Burnham, who filled the position sixteen months, retiring from it to his present place.

. April 3, 1883, a special department, "The Vets' Budget," was added to the paper under the charge of Henry H. Everett, who still continues the work. A Grange department was also added in 1884, and came under the direction of E. J. Burnham. "The Fireside" was a feature of The Union when the morning daily was started. It was under the special charge of Mrs. L. A. Scott, who continued till December 29, 1884,

HISTORY OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

when Mrs. Etta F. Shepard assumed the conduct of the department.

The agricultural department numbers among its special contributors the following gentlemen : James O. Adams, secretary of the State Board of Agriculture ; James M. Connor, of Hopkinton; George R. Drake, of Pittsfield ; G. A. Simons, of Weare, and others. The session of the State Legislature in 1881 was specially reported for The Union by John T. Hulme. In 1883 and 1885 the same gentleman took charge of the work.

Regular staff correspondents of The Union are located at Concord, Nashua and Portsmouth. At Concord the duty is performed by True L. Norris, at Nashua by Charles S. Bussell, and at Portsmouth by Samuel W. Emery. A large force of correspondents furnish local news from all the prominent points in the State. The Granges of the State have by vote ap- pointed special correspondents to furnish the news pertaining to that order.

Since the inauguration of the morning daily, Dana 1. Eastman has taken the press reports and furnished by far more " copy " than any other single individual. The mechanical departments of the paper are in charge of the following gentlemen : Foreman of the composing-room, Frank T. Parsons ; day foreman, J. Wilbur Fife; foreman of the press-room, Edward H. Murphy ; engineer, James Barry ; mailing and deliv- ery clerk, John N. Pearsons.

The counting-room is presided over by Howard L. Kelley, who, since 1880, has attended to the manifold duties of the business office.

The growth of the Manchester Union has been mar- velous. In 1851 an unpretentious weekly sheet, started for the purpose of educating the people in the principles of true Democracy, a work in which its founder spent the best and most fruitful years of his busy life : struggling against the apathy and indifference of men who had yet to learn the value of a newspaper and to estimate its real worth; slowly thrusting its roots down deeper and deeper into the public mind, and getting a firmer grasp upon the public confidence, from which it drew nourishment, while giving in return the best results of the facile pens and fertile brains of its editors, until to-day, grown strong and self-reliant, it takes its place among the solid and substantial institutions of the Granite State. The Union is an able exponent of the principles of the Democratic party, fearless and outspoken in its views, and takes front rank among the leading dailies of New England.

JOSEPH CLIFFORD MOORE. - Hon. Joseph Clifford Moore, editor of the Manchester Union and the finan- cial head of the Union Publishing Company, is a thorough representative of that valuable class known as self-made men. He is the second son of Dr. D. F. and Frances S. Moore, and was born in Loudon, N. H., August 22, 1845. His early education was limited to the common schools, and more or less shared with

labor. Later in life, having made the best of such advantages as came within his reach, he pursued with success a course of medical training at New York Medical College. From this training he returned to Lake Village, the business centre of the town of Gil- ford, which has been his home since he was ten years of age, and entered upon the practice of medicine in partnership with his father, Dr. D. F. Moore. This was in 1866, and from that time up to his joining in the newspaper enterprise at Manchester, in November, 1879, he followed his profession with untiring industry and gratifying success. His practice extended over a wide section, and involved long hours and much arduous travel. During this time he was also active in general business enterprises.

Mr. Moore began his journalistic career without the benefit of any special training whatever, but brought to the work a clear, cool head, ripe judg- ment and honest purpose; but it was early apparent that he possessed that rare quality, "the newspaper faculty." Careful, prudent, cautious and conserva- tive by nature, he applied that faculty with con- stantly increasing shrewdness and wisdom; so that the enterprise not only developed a remarkably rapid, but asound and healthy, growth. Exercising good busi- ness judgment and methods, he successfully main- tained the financial standing of the paper, notwith- standing the excessive demands of a rapidly-growing plant. In shaping the tone and conduct of The Union, he has uniformly aimed to give it a character for independence, integrity and respectability, advancing it on the true line of progressive modern journalism. He is a ready editorial writer on political and gene- ral topics, eschews the ornamental and descriptive, and goes straight at the meat of a matter in a plain and direct style. His methods are convincing as well as terse and vigorous.

Mr. Moore has always taken a warm and active interest in politics, not from the selfish motives of the office-seeker, but as an ardent believer in and stanch supporter of a sound, sterling and progressive De- mocracy. At the State election of 1880 he was elected a member of the State Senate from the Sixth Senatorial District, and filled the seat with credit to himself and his constituency. He introduced and was chiefly instrumental in securing the passage of the measure which created the present State Board of Health. Always under self-command, easy and agreeable in manner, he proved to be valuable in legislative work, and was invariably relied upon to release the Senatorial body when sharp conflict of opinion led it into a jangle. Since the expiration of this official trust his time has been given exclusively to business matters and the conduct of the Union.

In January, 1885, he was unanimously chosen president of the New Hampshire Club, an organiza- tion comprising the leading business and professional men of the State, and shortly after accompanied it on a successful excursion South. As president of this

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MANCHESTER.

body he is broad and liberal, seeking only to develop its interests and extend its influence.

Dartmouth College, at the June commencement, 1884, conferred upon him the degree of A.M.

Mr. Moore retains his residence at Lake Village, with his aged parents. He is married, but has no children. In manner he is easy and agreeable, and is favored with an excellent address and attractive per- sonal presence. In business affairs he is careful and conservative, and at the same time enterprising. Honorable and just in his transactions, he enjoys the confidence and respect of business men. At this writing he is in the full vigor of his powers, with the promise of a useful and successful future before him.

The Farmers' Monthly Visitor, which had been pub- lished at Concord by Governor Isaac Hill since 1838, was suspended in 1849, but revived in this city in 1852, when Rowell, Prescott & Co. (Joseph M. Rowell, George P. Prescott, Chandler E. Potter) be- came its proprietors, and Judge Potter its editor. It was published as an octavo of thirty-two pages, and its first number was issued in Manchester, as the first number of its twelfth volume, in January, 1852. Judge Potter bought the Granite Farmer of Mr. Adams, October 5, 1853, and Dr. Crosby retired from the editorship two weeks later. In 1854 the latter was united with the Visitor, and published in folio form under the name of the Granite Farmer and Visi- tor. Judge Potter, having bought out his partners, was then the sole proprietor and editor. About a year later Lewis H. Hildreth, of Westford, Mass., a writer upon agriculture, came to Manchester and entered into negotations in reference to a paper. As a result, he and James O. Adams each bought a third of the Farmer and Visitor, Judge Potter retaining a third and Mr. Adams' name appearing as that of the editor. Hildreth, however, remained but a few months, and about April, 1857, the paper was sold at auction to John C. Merriam & Co. (Henry C. Adams), and it was issued, July 18, 1857, as a new paper under the name of the Granite State Farmer. Subse- quently Merriam retired, and Henry C. Adams owned it for a while and then sold it to S. A. Hurlburt, who was the sole proprietor and editor-James O. Adams then leaving the editor's chair-till the latter part of 1859, when Gilmore & Martin (William H. Gil- more, Warren Martin) bought the paper and issued it in folio form as the New Hampshire Journal of Agri- culture. Zephaniah Breed and Moses A. Cartland, both of Weare, became the editors. In 1861 the paper was sold to Francis B. Eaton, who published it till January, 1863, when he sold it to John B. Clarke, who united it with the Dollar Weekly Mirror, of which he was then the owner, under the name of the Dollar Weekly Mirror and New Hampshire Journal of Agriculture.

The Crusader was begun in Concord about 1850. In December, 1851, it was published simultaneously in Concord and Manchester, and in February, 1852, was

published altogether in this city. It was not long afterwards moved to Concord, united with the Pharnix of that city and afterwards absorbed by the Vew Hampshire Gazette at Portsmouth.

In 1853, Benjamin F. Stanton and William B. Burn- ham issued, for a short time, a small sheet devoted to phonography, called the Junto Organ.

A paper called the Ladies' Enterprise was begun January 1, 1854, and published for a time.

In 1854 the Stars and Stripes, a " Know-Nothing " paper, was established, and was removed soon after- wards to Laconia and absorbed in the Winnipesaukee Gazette.

The New Hampshire Journal of Medicine was first issued at Concord in August, 1850, and was removed to Manchester in July, 1856, and continued till De- cember, 1859, when it was suspended.

The New Hampshire Journal of Education was es- tablished in January, 1857, and soon after removed to Concord.

The Literary Visitor, begun January 1, 1859, by George W. Batchelder and Martin A. Haynes, was short-lived.

The True Republican was started February 4, 1859, by Benjamin F. Stanton. With him were afterwards associated Hector Canfield and Orren C. Moore. The paper was continued about a year under the titles of True Republican, City Messenger and Republican and Manchester Republican.

Moore's Musical Record, John W. Moore, editor, was begun in January, 1857, and published monthly, by John W. Moore & Co., for two years. In Jan- uary, 1869, John W. Moore, Samuel C. Merrill, Charles Clough and Sylvester C. Gould began the publication of the Manchester Daily News. It was soon discon- tinued.

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History of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Part 15

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) Publication date: 1885 Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis Number of Pages: 1168

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis
Number of Pages: 1168