USA > New York > Delaware County > History of Delaware County, and border wars of New York, containing a sketch of the early settlements in the county > Part 31
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new edition is forthcoming,' and a man a thousand miles from New York or Boston, is aware that a new star is blazing in the literary world. It would be impossible in the limits of a volume to sum up the entire comments of the press."
One editor calls this work " the most deeply interesting and widely popular book of the season ;" another calls it " a philo- sophical estimate of the French Revolution." One praises the " august title," and the " portraits of the marshals," and says, " if there is such a thing as being born for a particular pro- fession, Mr. Headley was born for a military commander." One discourses in this style : " He is an ardent admirer of Na- poleon, worshipping him with almost poetical fervor, and had he been a follower of the great soldier in the days of his glory, he would have loved him with adoration." And yet another says : " If now and then a voice has been raised in another strain, it has been lost in the din of general approbation."
But the popular pen of Headley could not remain listless amidst such general admiration and applause ; and " Wash- ington and his Generals," "Sacred Scenes and Characters of Life," "Life of Cromwell," "Adirondack, or Life in the Woods," "Old Guard," "Scott and Jackson," and "Last war with England," appeared at intervals. He also published a volume of " Miscellanies," and one of "Sketches," to pre- vent the circulation of two books with these titles, which a printer in New York had published under his name. Nor ought we to omit to mention that Mr. Headley has now the " Life of Washington," in press.
At the election of 1855, Mr. Headley was put in nomination by the American party for Secretary of State, and his universal popularity demonstrated, by an overwhelming majority. He purchased a country seat some years since on the banks of the Hudson, a short distance above the Highlands, known as " Cedar Lawn," where he spends a portion of the season in his congenial occupation.
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Mr. Headley is rather tall and slim in stature, while his manners are attractive and agreeable, exceedingly obliging, and his conversation fascinating and refined, while it is unpre- tending. We esteem him as a sincere friend, while we would do honor to his merit.
APPENDIX.
DELAWARE GAZETTE.
THE following extract, is from the first number of the " Auto- biography of the Delaware Gazette :" " At this period of my exist- ence-a period in the age of newspapers when a prescriptive right to be garrulous has been fairly earned, I am disposed to sit down and have a little gossip of the ' good old times,' with my readers. I have attained to a greater age than is usually granted to newspapers,-in fact I am a kind of a paper Methusaleh ; and no candid person will deny that my gray hairs entitle me to a respectful hearing. Delaware county and its villages have changed vastly for the better, since my birth ; so have I changed vastly for the better in my size and per- sonal appearance, during the same period. I am to-day, (1854,) just twice as large as when I was first wrapped in swaddling clothes ; and the miserable whity-brown complexion, and uncouth toggery I wore when I made my first weekly call at your doors, have given place to a clear, healthy-looking face, and a dress really genteel,-in fact, I am a kind of Beau Brum- mel among the hebdomadals of this region.
"It brings sadness to my heart to sit down with you and conjure up the memories of the past, from 1819, when I made . my first appearance, down to the present time! Most of the friends whose kind hands were extended to guide my first faltering steps, went to sleep long ago in the quiet country church-yards ; the few left are old folks, going about with frosty
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locks, in place of the rich brown curls they wore in my boyhood, or sitting by their fireside, clothed with flannel, and waiting that summons which has already called away their loved ones. My early and kind patrons, the Gazette sends a hearty ' God bless you' to you all.
"'' So live, that when thy summons comes to join The innumerable caravan that moves To that mysterious realm, where each shall take His chamber in the silent halls of death, Thou go not like the weary slave at night, Scourged to his dungeon ; but, sustained and soothed By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave, Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.'
" In November, 1819, my then editor, John J. Sappan, issued the first number of the Gazette. It was the first news- paper ever issued in the county. This locality was thinly populated, and the people, then, as now, worshipped many political gods. Mr. Sappan wisely resolved, therefore, that he would not erect a shrine for the deities of any party, and sent me out a neutral in politics. I have not a copy of my initial number to show you, but I can call your attention to some of my numbers of that first year. Referring to them, I find that Isaac Ogden was then Judge of the Common Pleas; Robert North, of Walton, was Surrogate; Isaac Burr, still living, an aged and esteemed citizen of Meredith, was sheriff ; Samuel Sherwood, Amasa Parker, Root, and Hobbie, Serinus Monson, Amasa Douglass, Phelps, and Romeyn, John B. Spencer, Henry Ogden, Foote, and Decker, and others, were attorneys ; Gideon Frisbie, and Robert North, were Loan Commissioners ; and from the post-office advertisement, I learn that Noadiah Johnson, afterwards the popular representative of the district in Congress, was assistant post-master."
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The first number of the Gazette was issued, Thursday, November 18th, 1819. Mr. Sappan, its editor and publisher, who had been for some years associate editor of a paper in Otsego county, it is believed came to Delhi, then but a small village, and without any previous warning, commenced the publication of his paper.
In 1822, April 1st, Mr. Sappan sold out his interest to David Johnson, an apprentice in the office. Without any pecuniary resources, or capital of any kind, except the product of his own hard labor and industry, his successor was com- pelled to incur expenses and shoulder responsibilities, from which the profits of his paper proved hardly sufficient to release him. He was compelled by stern necessity to mort- gage his office, and even type, to a heavy amount, to enable him to continue the publication of his paper, and to support his family.
In 1833, March 20th, Mr. Johnson left for New York, as was supposed with the intention of purchasing a fresh supply of material for his paper, leaving the office in charge of his assistant, J. D. Clark, a native of Hudson, N. Y., a practical and accomplished printer, who had spent the two preceding years in Sappan's employ, but not returning at the appointed time, the fact became publicly known that he had absented himself, and the creditors of the establishment came forward, and succeeded in effecting a sale of the entire establishment to A. M. Paine, the present editor, who associated with him in the management of the paper J. D. Clarke, referred to above, whose experience in the office, as well as his practical know- ledge of the art of printing, rendered his services a necessary guarantee to the future success of the enterprise. Mr. Clark remained a copartner until May, 1839, when he closed his connection with the Gazette, disposing of his interest to his associate, Mr. Paine, who has since remained its sole proprietor.
The Gazette, as inferred from the extract we copied above
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from its " Autobiography," was established from considerations of policy, a "neutral"' in politics; yet its editors, from the first, had been democrats of the old school, and whether the Gazette even under Mr. Sappan's supervision, did not fre- quently excite the watchful jealousy of leading whigs, we have not the data before us to infer, but it is certain that his suc- cessor, Mr. Johnson, could not long remain on neutral grounds, and the truth soon became obvious that the Gazette had become a decided organ of the interests of the democratic party.
The first opponent to the Gazette was the Delaware Repub- lican, as appears from the following communication :
" Delhi, February 5th, 1855.
"J. Gould, Esq :- In our conversation yesterday I omitted, what I had previously mentioned, that the Delaware Journal was not the first paper started in opposition to the Gazette. The Delaware Republican was started, I should think, within the first two, or possibly three years of the Gazette. It seems to have been in existence during the election of 1822. The first mention of it in the Gazette is on the 11th of December, 1822, when it speaks as having been assailed for some weeks by the Republican. I find no notice in any file of the Gazette of its discontinuance. The Republican was first started by E. J. Roberts, but at the time I speak of, Wm. G. Hull sus- tained the relation of editor. The last mention of the Repub- lican, in the columns of the Gazette, was on the 19th of March, 1823, and I think it closed its existence a short time after.
"Yours &c., A. M. PAINE."
The existence of the "Delaware Republican" is thus perti- nently alluded to in the " Autobiography of the Gazette."
"On the 4th of July, 1821, a new candidate for popular
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favor, called 'The Delaware Republican,' made its appear- ance in this village, under the editorial care and supervision of Elijah J. Roberts. Mr. Roberts, I think, in after years, acquired some distinction as editor of the Craftsman, published at Rochester, and devoted to Trades' Unions. The Republican came into existence as a Bucktail Republican newspaper; and among other duties assumed by the editor in his opening leader, is that of 'watching the movements of the Clintonian remnant through the stages of their present decline, till the memorable epoch shall arrive, when the political recreant who now fills the Executive chair, shall descend from his high elevation, and the places which now know his party, shall know them no more.' The severe charges made against his political opponents, and the harsh epithets applied to them, would neither be made against nor applied to the same per- sons, now that they and their acts have become historical ; and we may properly learn from such retrospect, the propriety of moderating the intensity of our party feuds, and of skipping over the hard words we are accustomed to apply to those whose politics are of a different school from ours. Our political opponents, it is fair to presume, maintain their 'confession of faith" with as much sincerity and honesty of purpose, as we do ours ; and he who reads thirty years from now, the political articles of our time, will probably take note of our injustice, and illiberality to our political opponents. Mr. Roberts wishes " to impress upon the public mind the maxim, that abandon- ment of principles for temporary purposes, leads to ultimate defeat,'-a maxim carrying an important truth to the public mind ; and worthy of a place in a sermon as well as in a poli- tical article."
The Republican was discontinued for want of adequate support. The party of which it was the advocate were in a decided minority in the county. The discontinuance of the Delaware Republican, was a marked epoch in the history of
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the Gazette. That paper was immediately enlarged, and its columns declared free to the use of both parties. The editor says, " we shall hold our columns open to communications of all who may be disposed to engage in a liberal, dispassionate and manly discussion of such topics as may be deemed suffi- ciently interesting to engage the public attention, and shall afford every facility in our power to a free investigation of subjects of political importance."
The second opponent of the Gazette was the "Delaware Journal," established and conducted under the supervision of the president and directors of the anti-masonic society. George Mason was employed to conduct and publish it.
The excitement attendant upon the disappearance of Mor- gan, gradually died away, the anti-masonic society was dis- banded, and at the expiration of one year, the Delaware Jour- nal closed its existence. This paper was afterwards revived by Bowne and McDonald, and after a brief existence, was again discontinued.
There are at present, six weekly papers published in the county, viz. Weekly Visitor, Delaware Gazette, Delaware Ex- press, Bloomville. Mirror, Deposit Union Democrat, and the Hobart Free Press, to each of which, we design giving a brief notice.
For the following information, the author is indebted to S. D. Hulce, Esq., the able editor of the Deposit Union Demo- crat.
THE CENTRAL SUN.
The first attempt to establish a newspaper in Deposit, was in 1847, about the time, or soon after the announcement of the supposed discovery of the " Central Sun," from which circum- stance, the paper took its name.
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A Mr. C. D. Curtis, a printer by trade, and Mr. A. T. Bor- roughs, then a merchant at Deposit, originated a subscription for the organization of a joint stock company, for the permanent establishment of the paper. The necessary amount of stock was readily subscribed, and about three hundred and fifty dol- lars, paid in, with which amount, Mr. Curtis was sent to New York, to purchase the establishment. A few days after the departure of the associate proprietor, a letter was recieved from him, stating that the money had been stolen out of his pocket. " Thus," says our correspondent, the "Central Sun went down in darkness ere it rose."
THE DEPOSIT COURIER.
In 1848, C. E. Wright, Esq., induced Marshal R. Hulce, Esq., brother of the present editor of the Democrat, to enter into an association with himself, and advance the necessary funds for the establishment and support of a paper. A purchase was made of a printing establishment at Montrose, Pennsylvania, where a paper had been published for about six months, and discontinued for want of adequate patronage.
Mr. Wright commenced the publication of the Courier, in March 1848, as editor and publisher. The politics of the editor being of the Hunker democratic, the paper took that stamp also. The publication of the Courier was continued , until May, 1853, at a loss to all concerned of upwards of two thousand dollars, at which time a sale was effected to the pre- sent proprietor, who commenced the republication of the jour- nal in September of the same year, under the cognomen of
THE DEPOSIT UNION DEMOCRAT.
As we stated above, the politics of Mr. Wright, were
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Hard Democratic, in opposition to the line of the administra- tion, and some differences arising between him and the depart- ment, in relation to post-office matter, the ex-editor was re- moved from the office of post-master, and the present editor appointed in his place.
The removal of Mr. Wright, and the appointment of his succes- sor, excited the indignation of his personal and political friends, and a fund was raised for the establishment of another paper, with Mr. Wright as editor. The sum of four hundred and seventy-five dollars was raised, and the future editor was com- missioned to New York, to purchase the requisite material.
The first number of the
DELAWARE COUNTY COURIER
Was issued on the 15th of February, 1855, and continued until the following May, issuing in all twelve numbers, when it was discontinued. The establishment was afterwards pur- chased by Mr. Hulce, and is now used in the publication of the Democrat. The politics of the Deposit Union Democrat are Administration, Democratic. The editor says ;
" I have published this paper just two and a half years, it just about paying expenses, and the business improving. The last six months has been much better than before."
BLOOMVILLE MIRROR.
It is a verified part of past history, that from little and apparently trivial causes, flow frequently the greatest results. It is a wise and a beautiful process of nature, that the appa- rently inanimate acorn causes the majestic oak to spring forth, take deep root, and spread wide its overhanging branches to the breeze. Nor is it any more a law of the vegetable kingdom,
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than it is in the social and the intellectual intercourse of human beings. The proud statesman, whose voice exer- cises a controlling influence upon a nation's destiny, forgets not the rude school-room where he imbibed the first pure draughts, from that fountain, from which he has since drunk so deeply.
It is with such reflections as these, that we come to con- gratulate our friend S. B. Champion, upon the success of his novel enterprise.
The first number of the " Bloomville Mirror" was issued May 28th, 1851. It contained but one hundred and one words, printed on a sheet five by seven inches. Some six numbers were issued at intervals of two weeks. Up to July, '51, no price of subscription had been fixed. The copies which had been previously printed, had been gratuitously dis- tributed, and everywhere met with favor. The new postage law, which provided for the free circulation of newspapers in the county in which they were published, induced him to fix the price of the Mirror at twenty-five cents a year, and to publish it as often as sufficient local news accumulated, to make it interesting. Up to July 1st, about sixty names had been handed in, with a request to be furnished with the " Mirror," and they would pay for the same when the price should be fixed. The publisher declined taking pay, stating "that he only printed them to while away his leisure moments."
The capital invested in the paper, at this point in its history, was extremely limited. He had only ten pounds of old cast- off type, that had been given to him by a brother printer in Schoharie. He had no printing press, and performed his press- work with a square block covered with cloth, upon which he struck with a mallet, as printers in some offices frequently ob- tain their proof sheets.
After the issue of the paper containing the announcement that it would be sent to subscribers for twenty-five cents per 34*
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year, each mail brought in new names, and the list soon reached one hundred copies. On the 1st of September, the publisher visited Prattsville, and obtained a box of old type, made some cases himself, and proceeded to increase the size of the Mirror. He also rigged up a sort of Franklin printing press, and on the 8th of September, the size of the Mirror was about eight by ten inches, and was printed on both sides. It was printed in this shape until the 3d of November, when its size was doubled, and printed in imitation of a large newspaper, the sheet being about the size of a sheet of commercial note paper, or two pages of this book. It was printed in this shape until the 5th of April, 1852, when it was again enlarged by the addition of another column to each page, and the price in- creased to fifty cents per year. By publishing the paper regu- larly every week, and inserting more localintelligence than either of the other papers in the county, the paper became a favorite with the people, and in the Mirror for February 15, 1853, the announcement was made, that the subscription list had reached one thousand.
Business thus increasing, the editor gradually became com- pelled to devote nearly his whole time to the management of his paper, his only office being a room rudely made in one corner of his grist-mill. After a time he procured a small building ten by twelve feet square, and his office soon began to assume more the air of a regular newspaper establishment.
Additions of new type, a new press, job type, &c., were ob- tained, as the publisher obtained means, and on the 4th of Sep- tember, 1855, the Mirror was again enlarged, by the addition of another column. With a new plain and neat head, new type, and being a sheet sixteen by twenty-two inches, and four columns to the page, its appearance at once gave it a favorable reception among strangers, while its independent and fearless career, procured for it a large number of readers, and at this time (Jan. 1, 1856,) it has a circulation of two thousand copies
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per week, and has, at a fair estimate, twelve thousand weekly readers.
I copy the following appropriate remarks from the speech of the Hon. D. S. Dickinson, at Delhi, to the National Demo- crats, February 29th, 1854 :
" It is said you have no press : remember this is not without a remedy. When the arid plains of Israel had become parched and heated by a long continued drought, so that all nature was burned and withered under the scorching rays of an eastern sun, at the invocation of the prophet there appeared upon the dis- tant horizon, a little cloud no bigger than a man's hand, which gave out signs of abundance of rain, and its refreshing influ- ences fertilized the earth, and gladdened the hearts of the people. And when the hot breath of sectional discord has withered and blasted the beauty of old Delaware's political verdure, when her sons have become thirsty for a return of the refreshing showers which formerly blessed them, they may de- scry in the distance a little cloud to cheer old Delaware, a little cloud (Bloomville Mirror,) which, though scarcely bigger than a man's hand, gives promise of copious streams of healing waters, which will cure all political diseases, and preserve the healthy from contagion."
WEEKLY VISITOR.
The "Weekly Visitor" was established by George W. Reynolds, at Franklin, Delaware county, N. Y. The editor published his prospectus, March 28th, 1855. He says :
"The 'Visitor' will be printed on a sheet twenty-four by thirty-six inches, containing twenty-eight columns of matter, and in point of type and workmanship will be equal to any news-journal in this region.
" As a sheet of useful, entertaining, and instructive household
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reading, the ' Visitor' will endeavor to attain and hold a high rank, and make itself a favorite with old and young, and especially with all who seek for their families a literature wholly free from everything that can deprave the sentiments or vitiate the taste.
" In the columns of the ' Visitor' will be found the Latest News on all matters of Public interest-Local Items-Sketches from Real and Ideal Life-Original and Selected Tales- Biographies of Eminent Men-Choice Poetry, new and old -Travelling Sketches-Leaves - from History-Instructive Anecdotes-Notices of New Books, with brief Reviews and Extracts-New Facts in Science and Art-a Careful Colla- tion from the best Agricultural Journals-a Department for the Boys and Girls that love good reading-a Department of Religious Reading, and Local Religious Notices and Items. Besides all these matters there will always be room and wel- come for good thoughts, in prose or poetry, that may aid the great movements of the present times-to educate, civilize, and make more human our own and other lands; to redeem the drunkard, and set free the slave.
" In regard to all the worthy reformatory efforts of the day, the great thing needed is full and free and fair discussion, and the same is true in regard to matters purely political. People will act rightly only as they think rightly, and that the people do more of their own thinking than formerly is apparent in the recent turn of affairs in our nation, as regards party arrangements, and the late elections. This paper will favor all such movements as may develop the true relation between parties and the people; and such as tend to bring out of the present chaos a cooperative policy in all that is really good.
"It is the purpose of the editor to pursue, as heretofore, an earnest warfare against all that wrongs or crushes any portion of the human race, yet he would always war with the weapons of truth and reason, and give to opposing views a candid
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hearing. The engineer on the car of progress must be heard, but so also must the brakeman. There will be room, then, in the 'Visitor' for the progressive, for the conservative, and for that better man than cither, the progressive-con- servative.
"Much attention will be given to the early history of Dela- ware and adjacent counties, and to the lives of those hardy pioneers who have made this 'Region of Hills' so full of beauty and fruitfulness, and who though dead or soon to die, have a right to be remembered. Facts for this department are earnestly solicited.
"To make the paper full of interest, the editor invites the correspondence of old friends everywhere; of all those whose student-life has been wholly or in part at Franklin; of old residents of this region, now scattered abroad ; of the clergy, the mechanics, the farmers, the doctors, the teachers, the Lawyers, and of all who have something good and interesting to say for their respective localities, or for the general good.
"The ' Visitor' will be published on Saturdays, at one dollar fifty cents per annum, in advance. Any subscription unpaid for three months will be invariably charged two dollars. Advertisements for insertion, at the usual rates, are respect- fully solicited."
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