USA > New Jersey > Documents relating to the colonial history of the state of New Jersey, Vol. XII > Part 4
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1753, January 3 (Wednesday)-The Boston Gazette or Weekly Advertiser, Containing the freshest Advices Foreign and Domestick, at Boston, by Samuel Kneeland. Imprint-" Boston : Printed opposite the prison in Queen street, where Advertisements are taken in."
It succeeded the Boston Gazette, which had been discontinued several months. It was printed on a half sheet of crown, quarto, 9} x 15 inches, on a new long primer type. The title was embellished with a cut origin- ally designed to illustrate one of ÆEsop's fables, but after the first year it was exchanged for a cnt of the Provincial arms-an Indian holding an arrow in his right hand, and a bow in the left, a quiver at his back, the latter cut being better executed than any that had before appeared in any American newspaper. The first number contained this singular introduc- tion : "As the types generally us'd in the Printing of the late Boston Gazette or Weekly Journal, are worn out, it has been tho't proper, on the Return of the Year, to alter the Form and Title of this Paper, as it now appears. 'Tis proposed to publish the same, as usual, every Tuesday ; and hope Care will be taken to furnish it from Time to Time with the most remarkable Occurrences, both of a foreign and domestick Nature." After the first number, it was regularly published every Tuesday. During the first year no name of printer or publisher appeared in the imprint. At the close of that year, Kneeland inserted his name as printer. The
HISTORY OF AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS.
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paper was handsomely printed. It was discontinued in March, 1755, on account, as was stated, of the Provincial Stamp Act.
1755, April 7-The Boston Gazette and Country Fournal, at Boston, by Edes & Gill. Imprint -- "Boston : Printed by Benjamin Edes and John Gill, at their Printing-Office near the East End of the Town- House, in King Street; where all persons may be supplied with this Paper, and where Advertisements are taken in. Also printing done at a moderate Rate with Care and Dispatch."
THE Bòfton-
Nº: 452.
Gazette,
AND COUNTRY
JOURNAL
Conta:ning the frejhift Advices,
Foreign and Domestic.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY, 6, 1764.
NEW ADVERTISEMENTS.
By the Honorable December 26 1763
HEREAS by the righ- Brows Providence of GOD, the new age
JOHN, TEMPLE, Elai
WHEREAS it has been repre ..
W
Servevar General of His Majely'a Cutable For The":
This paper was printed on a crown half sheet, 93 x 15 inches, two pages folio, two columns to the page. The heading was decorated with two cuts, one of which had been used by Kneeland, and the other by Rogers & Fowle-the provincial arms, and Britannia liberating a bird. The title of the paper stood between these two cuts. About the year 1765, both these devices were laid aside, and a new one was adopted, and was continued as part of the title so long as the paper was pub- lished. This device was supposed to represent Minerva opening a bird cage in front, from which the bird emerges into liberty. At the time of this change, the form of the paper was enlarged, and it was print- ed on a whole demy sheet, in better style than before. The office of the Gazette (soon removed to Prison lane, where Rogers & Fowle had for- merly been) became the habitual resort of the most distinguished politi- cal writers of that period. Edes & Gill were men of bold and fearless hearts, of good reputation as private citizens, and unwavering in their op- position to the policy of the government. The Gazette soon became the recognized organ of the Whigs and gained extensive circulation. The Boston Massacre of March 5, 1770, was fully described in the Gazette of the following week, and the paper is widely known from the reprint of that issue, which has been extensively circulated. In the spring of 1775,
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when Boston was occupied by the British troops, the publication was sus- pended, from April until June 5; Edes went to Watertown, taking with him an old press and one or two imperfect fonts of type, and from June 5 continued to print The Boston Gazette at Watertown under great difficul- ties. Upon the evacuation of Boston by the British, Edes returned to the town in November, 1776. The partnership between Edes and Gill was dissolved in April, 1775, and the paper was continued by Edes and his two sons, Benjamin and Peter, until 1784, when Peter retired from the office, and in 1795 started the Kennebeck (Me.) Intelligencer. He persevered in his patriotic career with as much ardor as ever, but he lacked the powerful aid of many of his former contributors, who were now serving their coun- try in other fields. After July I, 1794, the Gazette was published by Ben- jamin Edes alone, in Kilby street, both his sons having left the office. The paper was bitterly opposed to the Federalists, and no distinguished member of that party escaped the abuse, which was rendered contempti- ble by its grossness and vulgarity. On January I, 1797, Edes published a pitiful appeal to the public, concluding :
" The aged Editor of the Gazette presents the compliments of the Season to his gener- ous Benefactors, and invites all those who have any demands on him, to call and receive their dues : He likewise requests those of his Customers, who are two, three, and more years in debt, to discharge their arrears, as he finds it impossible to live upon the wind, and promises equally uncertain. By the indulgence of Providence he is determined to complete the 42nd year of publication, which will end the last of March ensuing, (and which is longer than any Printer in the United States ever did before, only one excepted) after which time he shall discontinue its publication, unless he meets with greater encour- agement than he has had for more than two years past. The former number of subscrib- ers to the Gazette (in times which tried men's souls, and bodies too) were upwards of Two Thousand ; near three fourths of which are no more. But being now reduced to 400, and not advertisements enough weekly to procure Paper, he is necessitated to relinquish pub- lishing it any longer than the Time before mentioned.
The Gazette was discontinued September 17, 1798, at the close of the 43d year of its existenoe, when the editor published a farewell address.
Benjamin Edes, the senior partner of the firm of Edes & Gill, was born in Charlestown in 1723, and was probably educated in the common schools in Charlestown or Boston. He began business in Boston, in com- pany with John Gill, in 1755. The partnership continued twenty years. He was a man of untiring industry and perseverance. When the Revolu- tionary War began he had accumulated a handsome property, most of which he contributed to the necessities of individuals and to the requirements of the public. What he had preserved during the war, was lost at its close, by the depreciation of the paper currency. After he gave up the publication of the Gazette, he continued to work at his business, whenever he could procure employment in the way of jobbing. He had several daughters depending for subsistence on the scanty income derived from this preca- rious source. In the beginning of the year 1800, his old and worn-out types and press were in a small wooden building on the westerly side of Kilby street, in a chamber over a tin-plate worker's shop. He removed
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the miserable remains of fonts of letter, on which had been impressed some of the finest patriotic productions, to a house in Temple-street, in which he lived. "In 1801," says Buckingham, "I had occasion to call on him, at his printing room, and found him at work on a small job at the case, while an elderly female (probably one of his daughters) was at the press, striking off shop-bills. The venerable form of the old man, setting types 'with spectacles on his nose,' and the singular sight of a woman, beating and pulling at the press, together with the aspect of destitution, that pervaded the whole apartment, presented a scene well adapted to excite sympathy, and to make an impression on the mind, which the vicis- situdes of fifty years have not effaced. At length the infirmities of age overcame his physical powers, and the curse of poverty lay heavily on his spirit. Oppressed with years and sickness, neglected and forgotten by those, who enjoyed the blessings he had helped to secure, he died in De- cember, 1803, at the age of eighty years."
1757, August 22 -The Boston Weekly Advertiser, Contain- ing the freshest Advices, Foreign and Domestick, at Boston, by Green & Russell. Imprint-" Boston : Printed by Green and Russell, opposite to the Pro- bate. Office in Queen-Street, where all Persons may be supplied with this Paper at Five Shillings and Four Pence Lawful Money per Annum, and where Advertisements are taken in, and all sorts of Print- ing work done at a moderate rate, with Care and Dispatch."
It was printed on a crown sheet folio, 15 x 19 inches, two columns to the page. At the head of the first column of the first issue was the following :
The Printers to the Public.
Gentlemen,
Agreeable to our Printed Proposals, Published some Time since, The first Number of the Weekly Advertiser, now makes its Appearance, And the Continuation of it will greatly depend on the favorable Reception it meets with from the Public, We shall use our utmost Endeavors to collect from Time to Time, the newest and best Intelligence, both Foreign and Domestic : and shall always be obliged to any Gentlemen, that will favor us with Pieces of Speculation, provided they are wrote in a manner consistent with Decency and Public Peace. It being our only Intention, as far as lies in our Power, to promote, Vertue, and innocent Amusement.
At the close of the second year the title was changed to " Green & Russell's Post-Boy and Advertiser," with the device of the ship and post boy ; at a subsequent period it was entited The Boston Post-Boy and Ad- vertiser, and again The Massachusetts Gazette and Post-Boy and Adver- tiser. When it took the last title, a cut of the King's arms was placed in the centre. In 1768 it was united with the News-Letter, and was announced
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NEW JERSEY COLONIAL DOCUMENTS.
as published by authority. In September, 1769, Green & Russell contin- ued the paper under the title The Massachusetts Gazette, and Boston Post- Boy, and Advertiser. In April, 1773, they gave up the printing and pub- lishing of the paper to Mills & Hicks, two young printers, who continued it with renewed spirit under the patronage and encouragement of the offic- ers of the Crown. It was discontinued in 1775. Its circulation was not extensive, and it was not distinguished for original essays of any kind, nor as the medium of important news ; but it was well printed, and always on good type.
John Green, one of the printers of the Weekly Advertiser, was the son of Bartholomew Green, Jun. He was born in Boston, and served his ap- prenticeship with John Draper. Joseph Russell, the other partner of the firm of Green & Russell, was also born in Boston. He served his appren- ticeship with Daniel Fowle. The partnership was formed in 1755. A few years afterward, Russell opened an auction office, the profits of which were shared by the firm. Green imanaged the printing office, and Russell took charge of the auction room. By their industry in the two occupations they acquired a handsome porperty. "Green became interested in the Independent Chronicle, published by Powars & Willis, but his name did not appear in the imprint. He was a man of steady habits, true to his engagements, and well respected. He died in November, 1787, aged sixty years. He had no children. Russell was a good workman in the printing business ; but his talents were more particularly adapted to the duties of an auctioneer. He soon arrived at celebrity in this line, and had more employment in it than any other person in Boston. When his partnership with Green was dissolved, he formed a connection with Samuel Clap, and this firm under the firm of Russell & Clap, continued the business of auctioneers, till the death of Russell, which happened in November, 1795, when he was in the sixty-second year of his age. Russell was full of life, very facetious and witty, but attentive to his concerns. Few men had more friends, or were more esteemed. He acquired considerable property, but did not hoard up his wealth, for benevolence was one of his virtues." 1
"Nathaniel Mills was born in the neighborhood of Boston, and learned the art of printing of John Fleming. He was a sensible, genteel young man, and had the principal charge of the printing of the Gazette and Post- Boy. John Hicks was born in Cambridge, and learned his trade of Green & Russell. Before entering into partnership with Mills, he was supposed to be a zealous Whig. He was reputed to have been one of the young men, who had an affray with some British soldiers, which led to the mom- orable massacre of the Fifth of March, 1770. His father was one of the first men who fell on the Nineteenth of April, 1775-being one of the fore- most to fly to arms to attack the detachment of British troops on their re- turn from Concord to Boston. Notwithstanding this sacrifice of his father
1 Thomas, History of Printing, I., 349.
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HISTORY OF AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS.
in the cause of his country, the younger Hicks adhered to the British, and remained with the royal army, supporting its cause as a printer, till peace was concluded and the independence of the country acknowledged by Great Britain. He followed the army, or went with it, to Halifax, and having acquired wealth, he returned to Massachusetts, purchased a farm at Newton, in the county of Middlesex, and resided on it till his death.
"The partnership of Mills & Hicks was not dissolved till 1783. For a while they kept a stationery store in New-York, and executed printing for the royal army and navy. They were also connected with Alexander and James Robertson in the publication of the Royal American Gazette in that city."1
1758, August 31 .- The New England Magazine of Know- ledge and Pleasure, at Boston. Imprint-" Printed by Benjamin Mecom, and sold at his shop under the New-Printing-Office, near the Court-House, on Corn- hill in Boston."
This work is without date, either in the title or imprint, in any of its numbers. In the centre of the title is a small cut, a hand holding a cluster of flowers, with the motto, Prodesse et Delectare e pluribus unum. Each number contained 60 pages, 12 mo., price, 8d. a number, and embraced fugitive pieces from magazines, newspapers, etc., printed on types of various sizes. It was intended to issue it monthly, but it found few subscribers, and only three or four numbers were published, at irregu- lar intervals, in the course of six or seven months, and it was then discon- tinued.
1767, December 21 (Monday)-The Boston Chronicle, at Boston, by Mein & Fleming. Imprint-" Printed by Mein and Fleming, in Newbury Street, opposite the White Horse Tavern."
It was printed on a whole sheet demy in quarto, 16x21 inches, on a new and handsome type, a broad faced long primer, from an Edinburgh foundry, and typographically far surpassed any paper that had appeared before it in New England. The price was six shillings and eight pence a year.
It was published weekly, on Mondays, for the first year, and then on a crown sheet folio, on Mondays and Thursdays, being the first semi- weekly published in New England. During the first year, the paper was well supplied with essays on various subjects, judiciously selected from British authors, and it contained the celebrated letters of the "Pennsylvania Farmer"-John Dickinson. It grew daily in reputation, and had a hand- some list of subscribers, says Thomas. Before the close of the second year of its publication, Mein abused the Whigs in Boston so violently that
1 Buckingham, I., 210-211.
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he was compelled to leave the country. Fleming conducted the paper until June 25, 1770, when it was discontinued.
John Mein, the senior partner in the firm of Mein & Fleming, was born in Scotland, where he received a good education, and was bred to the business of a bookseller. He came to Boston from Glasgow, in 1764, in company with Robert Sandeman, 1 -a kinsman of whom was, for a short time, in partnership with Mein, in the bookselling business. When this partnership was dissolved, Mein entered more largely into business as a bookseller, and connected with it a circulating library. His advertise- ments frequently occupy nearly a page in the Chronicle. When he left this country for England, he was engaged as a writer against the Colonies, and in the pay of the ministry. It is not known that he ever returned.
John Fleming, the other partner of the firm of Mein & Fleming, was also a Scotchman, and arrived in Boston, also, in 1764. He was bred a printer. After forming a connection with Mein, he made a voyage to Scotland, where he purchased materials and engaged workmen for execut- ing printing on a scale rather extensive for that period. Fleming had not rendered himself so obnoxious to popular resentment as his partner had, and, after the discontinuance of the Chronicle, he printed books on his own account, and continued in Boston till 1773, when he sold his printing materials, and went to England with his family. At a later period, he visited this country as an agent for a commercial house. Afterwards he resided in France and died there, subsequent to the year 1800.
1768, August 2 (Tuesday) .- The Essex Gazette, Containing the freshest Advices, both foreign and domestick, at Salem, by Samuel Hall; printed on a crown sheet, folio, 15x19 inches, three columns to the page. Imprint-" Salem : Printed by Samuel Hall, near the Town House, Price 6s. 8d. per annum." Motto-" Omne tulit punctum qui miscuit utile dulci."
€ 85
The ESSEX
GAZETTE.
Containing tbe frefbef Advices,
both foreign and domestic.
. VOL. I.
NUMB 3%
OMNE IULIT PUNCTUM,
OUI BISCUITUTILE QUECI. . FOR.
From T.URSDAY, September, 6,' to T"UK S'DAY; September 13. : 768.
. . Frege the BOSTON GAZETTE, September S.
- of this people to his royal periodematine soo eveniment art to looked noor as a forlorn habe, and the volumendiary of whichum"
1 Founder of a religious sect, known by the name of Sandemanians.
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HISTORY OF AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS.
.
Samuel Hall was a young man, a native of Medford, Mass., who learned his trade as a printer in the office of his uncle, Daniel Fowle, the first printer in New Hampshire. Before coming to Salem he had been concerned with Mrs. Anne Franklin, widow of James Franklin, in the publication of the Newport, R. I., Mercury. Mr. Hall opened a printing office in Salem in 1768, and in July of the same year issued proposals for publishing The Essex Gazette, which was to be issued weekly, Tuesday, at six shillings per annum. In the prospectus he declared : "I shall exert myself to obtain as general and fresh Collection of News as will lay in my Power, both Foreign and Domestic, and insert it with accuracy and in due order ; and I shall at all times assiduously endeavor to procure and care- fully publish, as I may have room, any Compositions that may have a tendency to promote Religion, Virtue, Industry, good Order, a due sense of the Rights and Liberties of our Country, with the Importance of true and genuine principles of patriotism, and whatever may serve to enliven and animate us in our known Loyalty and Affection to our gracious Sovereign. In short, any Pieces that may be productive of Public Good, or contribute to the innocent Amusement and Entertainment of my Read- ers, will be inserted with Pleasure; and any writings of a Contrary Nature, will, if offered for Insertion, be instantly rejected."
Mr. Hall's eastern subscribers were supplied by a Post-rider, who left the office on the publication mornings for the towns between Salem and Newburyport, depositing the papers on the way. To obtain the most recent news from Boston he incurred the expense of a special messenger from that town, on the previous day, who brought the latest papers. In 1772 Mr. Hall admitted his younger brother, Ebenezer, into partnership with him, which continued until the death of Ebenezer, in Cambridge, February, 1776, aged 27 years. In May, 1775, Mr. Hall transferred the publication of his paper from Salem to Cambridge, for political reasons. The last number issued at Salem is dated May 2, and the first number in Cambridge, May 12. The office was in a building of the college-Stough- ton Hall. The title was then enlarged to The New England Chronicle: Or, the Essex Gazette. The paper was continued in Cambridge until the evacuation of Boston by the British, when it was removed to that town, and at the same time the title of Essex Gazette was dropped .- Streeter, 4-9. He sold out, June 13, 1776, to Nathaniel Willis and Edward E. Powars, who changed the title to The Independent Chronicle (which date see). Samuel Hall was a bookseller in the same store where Gould & Lincoln so long remained, in Washington street, Boston.
1770, July-The Massachusetts Spy, at Boston, by Isaiah Thomas.
This paper, says Thomas, "was calculated to obtain subscriptions from mechanics, and other classes of people who had not much time to spare from business. It was to be published three times a week, viz : on
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Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Twice in the week it was to be printed on a quarter of a sheet, and once on a half sheet. When pub- lished in this way, news was conveyed fresh to subscribers, and the con- tents of a Spy might with convenience be read at a leisure moment. This plan was detailed in the first number, which appeared in July, 1770, and was sent gratis to the inhabitants in all parts of the town. In a short time such a subscription was obtained as to warrant a prosecution of the design, and the publication of the Spy commenced with No. 2, August 7, 1770, and was printed in this form for three months by Z. Fowle and I. Thomas ; the partnership was then dissolved and the Spy was continued by Thomas, but published only on Mondays and Thursdays, on a half sheet of large crown, in quarto." Encouraged by his success, on Thursday, March 7, 1771, he published the Spy on a whole sheet royal size, folio, four pages, being the largest paper ever issued in New England up to that time. To the title he added " A Weekly Political and Commercial Paper ; Open to all Parties but Influenced by None." . He considered this a new publication, to be continued weekly, and called it No. I. Imprint-" Boston : Printed and Published by Isaiah Thomas, in Union Street, near the Market, where Advertisements are taken in." At this time the subscribers did not amount to 200, but they increased almost daily, so that at the end of two years his subscription list was the largest of any of the Boston papers. In October, 1772, the words "Thomas's Boston Journal " were added to the title of the Spy. On July 7, 1774, upon the occupation of Boston by the British troops, the Spy appeared with a new political device at its head, representing a snake and a dragon. The dragon represented Great Britain, and the snake was divided into nine parts, representing each of the colonies, indicated by initials, and over it was the motto "Join or Die." As a matter of precaution, having aroused the animosity of the British officers, Thomas left Boston a few days previous to the affair at Lexington, and removed his press and part of his types to Worcester, where, on May 3, 1775, he resumed the publication of his paper, the title being The Massa- chusetts Spy: or, An American Oracle of Liberty. Motto: "Americans !- Liberty or Death !- Join or Die !" On June 21, 1776, the Spy was pub- lished by William Stearns and Daniel Bigelow, under lease from the pro- prietor.
Daniel Bigelow was born in Worcester, April 27, 1752, and graduated at Harvard College in 1775. After surrendering the Spy to its proprietor, in 1777, he began to study law, and was admitted to the bar in 1780. He opened an office in Petersham, represented that town in the General Court from 1790 to 1795, was a member of the executive council in 1801, and was some time county attorney. He died at Petersham, November 5, 1806.1
William Stearns was a native of Lunenburg, in the county of Worces-
1 Lincoln's History of Worcester, p. 265.
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HISTORY OF AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS.
ter, and graduated at Harvard College in 1770. He studied divinity, and preached for a short time, but was not settled as a clergyman. He then devoted himself to the profession of the law, and was admitted to practice in December, 1776. He opened an office in Worcester, and his profes- sional business was considerable, till his early death, in 1784.1
These gentlemen conducted the Spy one year. It was then leased, for another year, to Anthony Haswell. These two years, -or a part of them, -- were spent by Thomas in Boston and Salem. In the place last men- tioned, it was his intention to carry on the business of printing ; but not succeeding according to his wishes, he sold the materials he had carried there, returned to Worcester, and resumed the publication of the Spy, with a new motto,-"Unanimity at Home, and Bravery and Perseverance in the Field, will secure the Independence of America."
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