History of Columbia County, New York. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 31

Author: Everts & Ensign; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Ensign
Number of Pages: 648

USA > New York > Columbia County > History of Columbia County, New York. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 31

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George W. Calkins, of Germantown, began the practice of medicine under the old school in 1836, and about 1857, or before, changed to the homœopathic practice, and soon after moved into Wisconsin, and is now practicing near Janesville, in that State. He was a graduate of the New York Medical College.

THE PRESS.

THE HUDSON GAZETTE

was the first paper published in the county, and is now one of the oldest in the State. The first number was issued March 31, 1785, by Charles R. Webster and Ashbel Stod- dard, who had been apprentices together in the office of the Connecticut Courant, at Hartford. The size of the sheet was ten by fourteen inches. In typographical appearance it was quite equal to the publications of that day. The introductory of the "printers" is in the following words. It will be seen that they were profuse in the use of capital letters :

" The Subscribers having established a PRINTING OFFICE in this flourishing CITY, think it necessary to remind its respectable Inhabitants of the many Advantages to the Public in general, and the City in particular, from the Publication of an impartial NEWS PAPER, conducted on truly republican Principles, and which shall ever be the WATCHFULL CENTINEL of its Liberties. It shall suffice us to observe that every Rank and Station of Life must per- ceive its Advantages."

The terms were " twelve shillings per annum. Each subscriber to pay Six Shillings on receiving the Fifth Number, at which time the Printers will obligate them- selves, in Case of any Failure on their part, through Neg- lect, to refund the Whole of the Subscription Money."

Among the most important news items in the first num- ber is the following, under date of Albany, April 1: "On Friday se'nnight two persons broke open the house of Mr. J. M. V. Wagoner, of Livingston Manor, and after beating him in a most cruel manner, robbed him of one hundred pounds in specie and about seven hundred in bonds and other paper securreties. Mr. Wagoner is since dead, and the villains have been apprehended and committed to gaol in this City."

Among the sensations, Philo Socius enters his " earnest protest against a dancing-school" that had been established in the city, as having a tendency to "send all the young people directly to perdition."

From its columns we sce that it required one week to get intelligence from Albany, two weeks from New York, and two months from Europe.

At the commencement of the second volume Mr. Web-

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HISTORY OF COLUMBIA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

ster withdrew from the concern, and the paper was published by Mr. Stoddard alone until 1804, when it was merged in the Balance, published by Croswell, Sampson & Chittenden. On the 5th of January, 1792, the columns were elongated two inches, and a new German text head introduced, which was retained as long as Mr. Stoddard published it. In 1803 the paper was enlarged by the addition of a column to each page, which made it of very respectable proportions for the period.

In 1793 the office was burned out, but was soon re- placed by public subscription. This was the first fire which occurred in the city, and led to the organization of the first fire department. In 1796 the " Printer" first styled him- self " The Editor."

In March, 1824, a number of leading and public-spirited citizens-among them Oliver Wiswall, Solomon Wescott, David West, Austin Stocking, Abner Hammond, Samuel Anable, Jehoiakim A. Van Valkenburgh, Rufus Reed, Moses Younglove, and Jeremiah H. Strong-raised a fund of some five hundred dollars, purchased the old printing material, and resuscitated the Gazette. On the 7th of Sep- tember, in that year, the first number of the new series was issued, with John W. Edmonds (then a young lawyer, and subsequently a judge of the Supreme Court) as editor, with a salary of three dollars per week, and Peter Sturtevant as publisher. In his salutatory, the editor thus defines the position of the paper :

" It will maintain the doctrine that the minority ought iu all cases to yield to the majority, and that the great object of the organization of a party is the advancement of principles and not men. It will support, with all its power, regular caucus nominations, convinced that hereby the man is obliged to yield to the principle, and firmly believing that no other than good can result from a cause which has placed such men as Jefferson and Madison at the head of our government, which has doomed the Adams Federalism to destruction, and which has preserved the triumph of correct principles for years."

In a letter to the present editor from Judge Edmonds, written in 1868, reviewing the early history of the Gazette, he says,-

" The paper grew in circulation and influence, and was greatly instrumental in working out, in the short space of four or five years, a political revolution in the county, so that ' Old Columbia,' which, for a century, had been uni- formly and inflexibly Federal, in 1829 elected Republican members of Assembly, in 1830 elected me to the Assem- bly by some seven hundred majority, and by a still larger majority assisted in sending me to the Senate at the election in 1831.

" From that time on the county remained steady in the support of that party for several years,-how long you can tell better than I can. I can speak only of the time that I remained in the county ; for, when I left it in 1837, I, in a measure, lost sight of its politics, and as I write now from memory, I dare not speak beyond that time.

" This, however, I can say, and that is, that the Gazette had very much to do in overthrowing the long-continued domination of the Federal party in the county, and in establishing and maintaining an opposite ascendency.

" Another thing I can say of the old Gazette : it was then, as now, fearless ; and so long as I knew anything about it, neither for ' fear, favor, affection, or the hope of reward' would it publish anything which it did not honestly believe to be true and right. It was earnest in its politics, some people ealled it furious ; perhaps it was so, for it had the impulsiveness of youth about it in those days. It was often severe and sarcastic, and sometimes witty."

In 1826, Hiram Wilbur became its publisher, and Mr. Edmonds dissolved his connection with the paper. In 1834 it passed into the hands of P. Dean Carrique, who continued its publication until the year 1851, when it passed into other hands, and was continued without any stated pub- lisher until Sept. 7, 1857, when the establishment was purchased by M. Parker Williams, its present editor and proprietor. Under his management it has been twice en- larged, and from time to time improved, until now it ranks among the first-class papers of the State.

Throughout its varied career the Gazette has always sus- tained a high reputation among the newspapers of its time, and wielded a wide political influence. The first twenty volumes now have a place in the State library at Albany.

THE HUDSON DAILY REGISTER

is the offspring of the Gazette. It was established May 26, 1866, by Williams & Clark, having its birth in the demand created by the growing interests of the city and county for an organ to creditably represent them. April 10, 1869, the interest of Mr. Clark was purchased by M. Parker Williams, who is now its editor and sole proprietor. The Register held a membership in the Associated Press from the commencement, which added greatly to its popularity, usefulness, and permanent establishment. Its distinctive feature is the advocacy of local enterprise and business interests.

THE HUDSON REPUBLICAN,

now published by William Bryan, in the city of Hudsou, was commenced in 1820 by Solomon Wilbur, under the name of the Columbia Republican, as a Democratic paper. In 1824 it was purchased by Ambrose L. Jordan, who changed its political character to that of the Whig party. It was published at different times by Ambrose L. and Allen Jordan, Charles F. Ames, and Sawuel Curtiss from 1824 to 1834, and by Lawrence Van Dyke from 1834 to 1843, when it passed into the hands of P. Byron Barker, who, after continuing it one year, disposed of it to Messrs. Palen & Jordan, Barker remaining as its editor. In 1845 it was purchased by Messrs. Bryan & Moores, and Mr. Moores retired in 1851. In 1855 the paper became the organ of the Republican party of the county. For a year or two, about 1835-36, it was issued under the name of the Columbia Republican and Hudson City Advertiser. In 1876 the Hudson Weekly Star was merged in the Republican. The Star was commenced in 1842, by J. R. S. Van Vliet, under the name of the Columbia Washingtonian, as an advocate of total abstinence. Van Vliet published it one year, and transferred it to Warren Stockwell, who, in 1847, sold the establishment to Alexander N. Webb. In 1850, Mr. Webb changed the name to the Hudson Weckly Star, and its character from that of a temperance advocate to

119

HISTORY OF COLUMBIA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

that of a general newspaper. In 1873, Mr. Webb was succeeded by Louis Goeltz and II. N. Webb, who con- tinued the publication to May 1, 1876, when Mr. Webb sold his interest to Wm. Bryan, and the paper was merged in the Republican, and the combined journal issued as the Hudson Republican, the name it now bears. Mr. Goeltz died in October, 1877, leaving Mr. Bryan the sole manager and editor, which position he still occupies. It is an eight- column folio, twenty-four by forty-two inches. From the Republican office also is issued

THIE HUDSON DAILY STAR,

which was the first daily paper published in the county. It was begun in 1847, by Alexander N. Webb, as the Daily Morning Star, but in 1848 changed its name to the Daily

ERRATA.

The article on The Hudson Daily Star, p. 119, should read as follows :

THE HUDSON DAILY REPUBLICAN, .

which under its former title of the Hudson Daily Star was the first daily paper published in the county. It was hegun in 1847, by Alexander N. Webb, as the Daily Morning Star, but in 1848 changed its name to the Daily Evening Star. However, its vesper appearances were brief, and at the end of two months it appeared as the Hudson Daily Star, a title which it bore until May, 1876, when it was changed to the Daily Republican. It has experienced as many or more changes in form as it has in name even, and it is now a seven-column folio, twenty-four by thirty-six inches.

The Daily and Weekly Republican are Republican in politics, and their editorials are outspoken and fearless on all matters of public interest. The printing-house of the Republican is well equipped for book and job work, with power-presses and material for first-class work.

editor brought commensurate success. In 1864, when Van Vleck died, the office fell into the hands of J. R. Arrow - smith, and subsequently into those of Willard Pond, an erratic genius, who pulled down the old sign and called his paper the Columbia County Advertiser. He considered its former name as lacking in dignity and character, and, strange to say, his subscribers, before a great while, passed a like judgment on its editor, and he passed away, to be heard of afterwards as a drummer, a preacher, and, finally, as the recorder in a New York paper of his own death by ship- wreck. He was succeeded by J. H. Woolhiser, who in due season gave way to Wm. B. Howland, who dropped the words " Columbia County" from the head of his paper, and sent it forth as The Advertiser.

In May, 1875, it passed into the hands of the present owner, Charles W. Davis, and the old name, which had en- deared itself to the residents of the town and village, was again placed at the head of its columns. The change

"took" at once, the circulation of the paper rapidly in- creased, and it now has more subscribers than ever before. The facilities of the office for book and job printing are un- excelled in the county. The Rough Notes is a four-page, twenty-four-column paper, and is issued on Saturday of each week.

THE CHATHAM COURIER

was established in 1862, at Chatham Four Corners, by Frank O. Sayles, of South Adams, Mass., a gentleman of considerable literary and poetic talent. Mr. Sayles soon sold the paper to Delos Sutherland, a local printer, who continued the publication of it for several years, and in 1868, or thereabouts, sold it to Charles B. Canfield. In 1871, James H. Woolhiser became associated with Mr. Nanfald in ita ""blication, remaining, however, only a year

2 latter became again sole publisher. In iam B. Howland, of Kinderhook, bought ill owns it.

.s a four-page, thirty-two-column paper, ed, and devoted to the local and agricul- the locality. Its editorial staff is com- a B. Howland, editor-in-chief, George T. , agricultural editor, and Dr. Allen Cady, 3, has charge of the veterinary department, swered, free of charge, all questions con- of horses and other domestic animals.

leading features are its full, fresh, and vs from almost every village in the upper y ; its substantial and valuable agricultural veterinary column ; and its editorial review il news.

printing-house is amply fitted for first-class ing three fast presses, and an abundant id other material.

s in journalism in Columbia county have

removed from New London, Conn., to 7, 1802, and was published by Charles when he sold the establishment to Samuel loved to New York. Mr. Clark remained Bee until 1821. It was the organ of that class who justitied the War of 1812, and numbered among its contributors Martin Van Buren, Benjamin F. Butler, John W. Edmonds, and others of equal talent and position. It next passed into the hands of John W. Dutcher, who changed its name to the Columbia Sentinel, and two years afterwards united it with the Columbia Republican.

The appearance of the Bee in Hudson provoked from the Wasp, a small sheet less than a letter-sheet in size, is- sued from the office of Mr. Croswell, and edited by " Robert Rusticoat, Esq.," the following couplet,-

" If, perchance, there come a Ber, A Wasp shall come as well as hc."

Mr. Holt removed his paper to Hudson (at the solicita- tion of the Republicans of that city) on account of becoming obnoxions to the sedition laws, under which Mr. Holt had

# From the Columbia County Directory, 1871-72.

118

HISTORY OF COLUMBIA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

In March, 1824, a number of leading and public-spirited citizens-among them Oliver Wiswall, { David West, Austin Stocking, Abner H Anable, Jehoiakim A. Van Valkenburg Moses Younglove, and Jeremiah H. Stro of some five hundred dollars, purchased material, and resuscitated the Gazette. C tember, in that year, the first number . was issued, with John W. Edmonds (the and subsequently a judge of the Supreme with a salary of three dollars per week, and as publisher. In his salutatory, the edit( position of the paper :

" It will maintain the doctrine that tl in all eases to yield to the majority, al objeet of the organization of a party is t} principles and not men. It will support, regular caueus nominations, convineed thi is obliged to yield to the principle, and fir no other than good can result from a eause such men as Jefferson and Madison at government, which has doomed the Ada destruction, and which has preserved the principles for years."

In a letter to the present editor from written in 1868, reviewing the early histc lie says,-

" The paper grew in circulation and i greatly instrumental in working out, in the short space of four or five years, a political revolution in the county, so that ' Old Columbia,' which, for a century, had been uni- formly and inflexibly Federal, in 1829 elected Republican members of Assembly, in 1830 eleeted me to the Assem- bly by some seven hundred majority, and by a still larger majority assisted in sending me to the Senate at the election in 1831.

" Another thing I can say of the old Gazette : it was then, as now, fearless ; and so long as I knew anything about it, neither for 'fear, favor, affection, or the hope of reward' would it publish anything which it did not honestly believe to be true and right. It was earnest in its politics, some people called it furious ; perhaps it was so, for it had the impulsiveness of youth about it in those days. It was often severe and sarcastic, and sometimes witty."

In 1826, Hiram Wilbur became its publisher, and Mr. Edmonds dissolved his connection with the paper. In 1834 it passed into the hands of P. Dean Carrique, who continued its publication until the year 1851, when it passed iuto other hands, and was continued without any stated pub- lisher until Sept. 7, 1857, when the establishment was purchased by M. Parker Williams, its present editor and

Alleu Jordan, Charles F. Ames, and Samuel Curtiss from 1824 to 1834, and by Lawrence Van Dyke from 1834 to 1843, when it passed into the hands of P. Byron Barker, who, after continuing it oue year, disposed of it to Messrs. Palen & Jordan, Barker remaining as its editor. In 1845 it was purchased by Messrs. Bryan & Moores, and Mr. Moores retired in 1851. In 1855 the paper became the organ of the Republican party of the county. For a year or two, about 1835-36, it was issued under the name of the Columbia Republican and Hudson City Advertiser. In 1876 the Hudson Weekly Star was merged in the Republican. The Star was commenced in 1842, by J. R. S. Van Vliet, under the name of the Columbia Washingtonian, as au advocate of total abstinence. Van Vliet published it one year, and transferred it to Warren Stockwell, who, in 1847, sold the establishment to Alexander N. Webb. In 1850, Mr. Webb changed the name to the Hudson Weekly Star, and its character from that of a temperance advocate to

119

HISTORY OF COLUMBIA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

that of a general newspaper. In 1873, Mr. Webb was succeeded by Louis Goeltz and H. N. Webb, who con- tinued the publication to May 1, 1876, when Mr. Webb sold his interest to Wm. Bryan, and the paper was merged in the Republican, and the combined journal issued as the Hudson Republican, the name it now bears. Mr. Goeltz died in October, 1877, leaving Mr. Bryan the sole manager and editor, which position he still occupies. It is an eight- column folio, twenty-four by forty-two inches. From the Republican office also is issued

THE HUDSON DAILY STAR,

which was the first daily paper published in the county. It was begun in 1847, by Alexander N. Webb, as the Daily Morning Star, but in 1848 changed its name to the Daily Evening Star. However, its vesper appearances were brief, and at the end of two months it appeared as the Hud- son Daily Star, a title it has borne to the present time. It has experienced as many or more changes in form as it has in name even, and it is now a seven-column folio, twenty- four by thirty-six inches.

The Republican and Star are Republican in politics, and their editorials are outspoken and fearless on all matters of public interest. The printing-house of the Republican is well equipped for book and job work, with power-presses and material for first-class work.

THE ROUGH NOTES,

a weekly newspaper, is published every Saturday, and, as a medium for advertising, is unequaled in the Second As- sembly district of Columbia county. It was first issued in 1825, as the Kinderhook Sentinel, and was edited by Peter Van Schaack, a gentleman at that time quite prominent in political and literary cireles. In 1832, Elias Pitts bought an interest ; the paper changed its name and became known as the Columbia Sentinel. Two years later John V. A. Hoes, a nephew of Martin Van Buren, became the propri- ctor, and continued so until 1836, when he sold out to Mr. Van Schaack, its first owner, who continued in possession until 1854. In that year Peter II. Van Vleck became the owner, and the paper became widely known as The Kinder- hook Rough Notes, and the trenchant wit and humor of its editor brought commensurate success. In 1864, when Van Vleck died, the office fell into the hands of J. R. Arrow- smith, and subsequently into those of Willard Pond, an erratic genius, who pulled down the old sign and called his paper the Columbia County Advertiser. He considered its former name as lacking in dignity and character, and, strange to say, his subseribers, before a great while, passed a like judgment on its editor, and he passed away, to be heard of afterwards as a drummer, a preacher, and, finally, as the recorder in a New York paper of his own death by ship- wreck. He was succeeded by J. H. Woolhiser, who in due season gave way to Wm. B. Howland, who dropped the words " Columbia County" from the head of his paper, and sent it forth as The Advertiser.

" took" at once, the circulation of the paper rapidly in- creased, and it now has more subscribers than ever before. The facilities of the office for book and job printing are un- excelled in the county. The Rough Notes is a four-page, twenty-four-column paper, and is issued on Saturday of each week.

THE CHATHAM COURIER

was established in 1862, at Chatham Four Corners, by Frank O. Sayles, of South Adams, Mass., a gentleman of considerable literary and poetic talent. Mr. Sayles soon sold the paper to Delos Sutherland, a local printer, who continued the publication of it for several years, and in 1868, or thereabouts, sold it to Charles B. Canfield. In 1871, James H. Woolhiser became associated with Mr. Canfield in its publication, remaining, however, only a year or two, when the latter became again sole publisher. In June, 1875, William B. Howland, of Kinderhook, bought the paper, and still owns it.

The Courier is a four-page, thirty-two-column paper, handsomely printed, and devoted to the local and agricul- tural interests of the locality. Its editorial staff is com- posed of William B. Howland, editor-in-chief, George T. Powell, of Ghent, agricultural editor, and Dr. Allen Cady, of Malden Bridge, has charge of the veterinary department, in which are answered, free of charge, all questions con- cerning diseases of horses and other domestic animals.

The Courier's leading features are its full, fresh, and readable local news from almost every village in the upper half of the county ; its substantial and valuable agricultural department ; its veterinary column ; and its editorial review of current general news.

The Courier printing-house is amply fitted for first-class job-printing, having three fast presses, and an abundant supply of type and other material.

Other ventures in journalism in Columbia county have been as follows :*

The Bee was removed from New London, Conn., to Hudson, Aug. 17, 1802, and was published by Charles Holt until 1810, when he sold the establishment to Samuel W. Clark, and moved to New York. Mr. Clark remained proprietor of the Bee until 1821. It was the organ of that class who justified the War of 1812, and numbered among its contributors Martin Van Buren, Benjamin F. Butler, John W. Edmonds, and others of equal talent and position. It next passed into the hands of John W. Dutcher, who changed its name to the Columbia Sentinel, and two years afterwards united it with the Columbia Republican.

The appearance of the Bee in Hudson provoked from the Hl'asp, a small sheet less than a letter-sheet in size, is- sued from the office of Mr. Croswell, and edited by " Robert Rusticoat, Esq.," the following couplet,-

" If, perchance, there come a Bee, A Wasp shall come as well as he."

Mr. Holt removed his paper to Hudson (at the solicita- tion of the Republicans of that city ) on account of becoming obnoxious to the sedition laws, under which Mr. Holt had

# From the Columbia County Directory, 1871-72.

120

HISTORY OF COLUMBIA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

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History of Columbia County, New York. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 31

Author: Everts & Ensign; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885 Publication date: 1878 Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Ensign Number of Pages: 648

Author: Everts & Ensign; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Ensign
Number of Pages: 648