USA > New York > Livingston County > History of Livingston County, New York, from its earliest traditions to the present together with early town sketches > Part 53
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1830
1840
1850
1860
1870
1880
1890
1900
27,729
35,140
40,875
39,546
38,309
39,562 . 37,801
37,059
538
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
The following is a statement of the assessed valuation in the county for the last forty years:
TOTAL ASSESSED VALUATION.
1860 -- 14,263.243
1875 -- 26,495,613
1890-25,911,875
1861-14,209,362
1876-25,180,848 1891-26.854,717
1862-13,976,823 1877-24,183,114 1892-26,366,097
1863-13,604,380
1878-23,588,170 1893-26,682,303
1864-14.124,268 1879-23,108,395 1894-26,028,498
1865-13.892.353
1880-23,280,181 1895-26,106,777
1866-14,060,939
1881-23,492,069
1896-25,856,179
1867-13,955,957
1882-23,769,875
1897-26.348,137
1868-13.979,990
1883-25,970,812 1898-26,265,213
1869-14,041,631
1884-26,050,313
1899-26,208,175
1870-14,202,529
1885-26,707,042
1900-26,235,252
1871-14,067,963
1886-26,626,102
1901-26,384,892
1872-13,672,945
1887-26,145,119
1902-26,595,504
1873-13,379,157
1888-26,736,753
1903-26,778,596
1874-26,380,941
1889-26,382,228
The following table gives a comparative statement of the number and valuation of farms in the county for the years 1880, 1890 and 1900, together with other information :
1880
IS90
1900
Number of farms
3,855
3,547
Acres of improved land in farms
311,189
307,189
3,267 301,860
Acres of unimproved land in farms
65,427
71,800
Valuation of farms and buildings,
74,425 $22,659,984 890,572
$23, 115,850 974,210
1,078,260
Live stock,
2,380,844
2,417,320
2,282,382
Cost of fertilizers,
74,513
89,420
Valuation of farm products,
2,904,290
*2,870,280
$18,368,060
Implements and machinery,
* Exclusive of products not fed to live stock.
MOSCOW ADVERTISER.
MINOR, (LIVINGSTON COUNTY, N Y.) FRINTED AND PUBLISHED B\ H RIPLEY
TIN RSD.1Y. ALIRCH & 1821
LIVINGSTON GAZETTE, AND MOSCOW ADVERTISER.
THURSDAY. . IPIN. 19, 1321
Republican Nominations.
FOR . V.I.ORS AMUEL M HOPKINS. TEPHEN BATES.
FOR CONTENTS ALBERT H. PRACY.
WILLIAM 'POARTARY
T's the Republicans of the County of I'
Ich ira de selections is allient, at buce thang proposto for ral leroy merlin; in clarito tercerolade iting Thestatetat
Early County Newspaper.
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CHAPTER XXI.
THE NEWSPAPER HISTORY OF THE COUNTY.
T HE first newspaper published in the County was established in January, 1817, by Hezekiah Ripley, at Moscow, under the name of the Genesee Farmer. Sometime afterwards Franklin Cow- dery, who in 1847 published the Cuylerville Telegraph, became a part- ner in the concern, the paper was enlarged and its name changed to the Moscow Advertiser and Genesee Farmer. In a few months the partnership was dissolved and Ripley, again sole proprietor, continued the publication of the paper under the title of the Moscow Advertiser, and later as the Livingston Gasette and Moscow Advertiser, until January 8, 1824, when James Percival became the owner, and moving the office to Geneseo July 16th, 1824, changed the name to The Living- ston Register. The paper was given an enlarged form, new type and other marked improvements, and became an adherent of the Bucktail cause until the Morgan excitement brought a change in parties, and the Register became the organ of the Anti-Masonic party and after- wards that of the Whigs. In 1829 Anson M. Weed and Allen Warner became the owners of the paper, but the death of Mr. Weed in 1831 terminated the partnership and Mr. Percival resumed its publica- tion ; meanwhile, in 1830, during the height of the feeling engendered by the Morgan outrage, Percival was elected to the Assembly from the county by a very large majority. In 1832 Elias Clark bought the office and published the paper until 1834, when he disposed of the establishment to William H. Kelsey and Richard M. Miel; Mr. Kelsey retiring in the following year, left Mr. Miel sole proprietor. Although the Register had been the organ of the Whig party, it received but an indifferent support, and Miel, after consulting with some leading Democratic politicians of the county, resolved to turn his paper over to the support of that party and its candidates. This was done in an able article which produced a great sensation at the time, as it was believed several prominent Whigs
540
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
were in the secret, and they found it necessary to disclaim publicly any connection with the change. After a precarious existence of several years, during which the Register was successively published by D. S. Curtiss, Hugh Harding and John Kempshall, it was discon- tinued by the latter at the close of the Tippecanoe campaign in 1840. The materials of the office were sold to Peter Lawrence and removed to Perry.
The Livingston Journal was started in Geneseo in 1822 by Chauncey Morse. At the beginning it represented the Clintonian and National Republican party, but after the Morgan episode it became a Jackson organ and thereafter espoused the cause of this party. Asahel Hovey was for a short time associated with Mr. Morse in the publication of the paper, and both were succeeded in 1829 by Levi Hovey. In 1831 Benjamin C. Dennison, who had previously published the Village Chronicle at Dansville, removed to Geneseo and became the proprietor of the Journal, changing its name to the Livingston Courier. In 1832 the paper was published by Evans and Woodruff, and in the fall of that year Henry F. Evans succeeded to its ownership and continued its publication until it ceased to exist in 1834.
These were fair specimens of the weekly county paper of the period and in some respects were ably conducted; they were small sheets, well filled with foreign news but almost wholly devoid of local intel- ligence. It was the day of party organs and as such they were suc- cessful journals and were liberally sustained.
The desertion of the Whig party by the Register, above recorded, was the cause of a good deal of indignation and the leading Whigs of the county were determined that its place should be filled. To this end David Mitchell and William H. Kelsey purchased the equipment of the defunct Journal establishment just before the election of 1835, and commenced the publication of the Livingston Democrat. Mr. Mitchell soon retired from the paper, and Mr. Kelsey continued it alone until the spring of 1837, when it expired. Such failures were enough to dishearten most men, but the sturdy Whigs of Livingston were men of great determination, and devotion to the principles of their party. Besides, the opposition had an organ in the Register, and their pride would not permit the Whigs to be behind in this respect. Measures were accordingly taken to establish a new organ, on a firin basis and with an experienced printer at its head. With this in view negotiations
GENESEE FARMER.
LANITHE CULATY. N. 1.| PRINTETAND PLULAID M H. KHIZEI
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MOSCOW ADVERTISER, AND GENESEE FARMER.
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The Livingston
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Vol. 111
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Earliest County Newspapers.
1
541
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
were opened with Samuel P. Allen, then a young printer, who had learned his trade in the Register office under Mr. Warner and his uncle, Percival. In reference to these negotiations Mr. Allen said: "During the summer of that year (1837), I was called upon at Mt. Morris by some of the members of the Whig central committee, and urged to undertake the publication of a Whig journal at Geneseo. The com- mittee consisted of William H. Spencer, Charles Colt, John Young, Elias Clark and Gurdon Nowlen.1 The late William Weed was also active in the enterprise, and by personal efforts probably accomplished as much as any other gentleman in securing the necessary funds to purchase a new press, etc." The negotiations with Mr. Allen were successful, and early in September, 1837, with a one-horse lumber wagon he proceeded to Buffalo "with the old type of the Journal- Democrat establishment, and with a small amount of funds furnished by the committee, exchanged for new type at the foundry of Nathan Lyman, the journey occupying three days. Meantime a new Wash- ington press had arrived from New York, and the first number of the Livingston Republican was issued on the 19th of September, 1837." The office was the property of the Whig central committee, Mr. Allen acting only as editor and publisher; but he says in the letter from which we have quoted, "In March, 1844, such had been the success of the enterprise, I was able to purchase the establishment, for which four hundred dollars was paid. The great Clay campaign of that year probably furnished the Whig committee an opportunity to 'invest' these funds!"
In 1846, Mr. Allen sold the Livingston Republican establishment to John M. Campbell, who took possession September 1, 1846. On the 10th of September, 1847, Mr. Campbell transferred his interest to Joseph Kershner, then a prominent lawyer at Geneseo, who retained it until the 5th of July of the following year, when he was succeeded in the proprietorship by Charles E. Bronson. During the period from 1846 to 1849, the paper suffered many reverses and vicissitudes and proved an unsuccessful financial venture. On the 27th day of Decem- ber, 1849, the paper passed into the hands of James T. Norton, who published it with marked success until his death in 1865. His son, A. Tiffany Norton, continued its publication until November 25, 1869, when it was purchased by James W. Clement and Colonel Lockwood
1 These gentlemen constituted what was familiarly known as the "Geneseo Regency."
542
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
L. Doty. This partnership was terminated at the end of one year by the retirement of Colonel Doty on account of ill health, and Mr. Clement became sole proprietor. During Mr. Clement's ownership. A. Tiffany Norton, the former owner, Oscar Woodruff, the present proprietor of the Dansville Express, Samuel H. Blyth, and Allison R. Scott, one of the present owners of the paper, were employed in the office. Samuel P. Allen was also for a time the editor of the paper. In 1876, Mr. Clement sold the paper to Samuel P. Allen. On January 1, 1881, Mr. Allen associated Allison R. Scott with him under the name of Allen & Scott. Mr. Allen died in October, 1881, and in May, 1882, Mr. Scott with Colonel John R. Strang became the owners and have since continued the publication, under the name of A. R. Scott & Company.
The Livingston Gasette was first published in Moscow April 17, 1823, and lasted for about one year.
The Village Chronicle was the first newspaper published in Dansville. It was started about April 19, 1830, by David Mitchell and Benjamin C. Dennison, and the late B. W. Woodruff was one of the compositors who assisted in making the first issue. The paper was a six-column quarto and was printed on a Ramage press, a crude piece of machinery made of wood, but on which very good work was done when a skillful printer pulled the lever. Mr. Dennison severed his connec- tion with the paper April 12. 1831, upon its espousing the Anti-Masonic cause, and removed to Geneseo. Mr. Mitchell, who was then the sole publisher, changed the name to The Dansville Chronicle, adding the sub-head, And Steuben and Allegany Intelligencer. It has been said that Mr. Mitchell afterwards changed the name of the paper to The Village Record, but there is no record of that fact in existence. It is certain, however, that the paper had a brief career.
The Mount Morris Spectator was started in that village January 4, 1834, by Hugh Harding, who had previously been in the office of the Chronicle at Dansville ; he was then but twenty-one years of age.
The Livingston County Whig appeared at Mount Morris on Novem- ber 30th, 1843, James T. Norton being the editor and publisher. In 1846 Mr. Norton published in connection with this paper, a daily edition called The Mount Morris Daily Whig, giving the latest news each morning by "canal packet." The daily ran from June 22d to
543
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
August 15th, when it was discontinued, as it proved an unprofitable venture.
On the 2d of February, 1848, Mr. Norton and Mr. Harding, pub- lishers of the Whig and Spectator, united their publications under the name of the Livingston Union, with Harding and Norton as publishers. Mr. Norton retired in December, 1849, to assume charge of the Liv- ingston Republican at Geneseo. The publication of the paper was con- tinued by Mr. Harding until it was absorbed by the Union and Con- stitution in 1862.
The Dansville Times was published in 1835 by D. C. Mitchell, but nothing further is known of the paper, nor is it known whether the publisher was the D. Mitchell who conducted the Chronicle or another person.
The Genesee Valley Recorder was the first newspaper published at Nunda. It first appeared September 17, 1840. Ira G. Wisner was the proprietor. It was continued until November 11, 1841, when the name was changed to the Independent Gasette. It went out of bus- iness in 1842, owned to the last by Mr. Wisner.
The Western New Yorker was established at Dansville January 13th, 1841, by A. Stevens & Son. The publication was continued for a short time when the name was changed to the Dansville Whig, and Geo. W. Stevens, son of A. Stevens, became its publisher. In 1846 the paper was purchased by Charles W. Dibble, who conducted it less than a year, for in 1847 the name of Geo. W. Stevens appears as its editor and publisher. Stevens continued in charge of the paper until 1848 with much success, and in that year he changed the name to The Dansville Courier. The paper was then enlarged and greatly improved in appearance by new type, a large and attractive head and by being worked on an iron Washington hand press, which was then coming into general use. In 1851 the paper was sold to Henry D. Smead who changed its name to The Dansville Democrat and continued its pub- lication in the third story of the Hedges block on Main street for four or five years. It was then discontinued and the material was sold to George A. Sanders, who moved it to Geneseo in 1855, and issued the first number of the renewed Geneseo Democrat April 4 of that year. Smead came from a family of printers, his father being the founder of The Steuben Farmer's Adrcoate at Bath.
The Dansville Republican was established in January, 1842, by
544
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
David Fairchild. The paper was a small sheet but it ardently sup- ported Polk and Dallas, the Democratic candidates for President and Vice-President in 1884, at which time it was published and edited by F. Orville Fairchild. In December, 1844, its publishers were F. O. and R. Fairchild, evidently sons of the founder, for in 1845 it was published by D. Fairchild & Sons, and the paper had been enlarged and very much improved typographically.
The Genesco Democrat was started at Geneseo in 1843 by Gilbert F. Shankland. After a checkered existence, it was removed to Nunda in 1848 and published there for a time as the Nunda Democrat.
The Livingston Express, semi-monthly, was published at Mount Morris for a time in 1843 by J. G. Wisner.
The Truth-Teller was started at Dansville in May, 1844, by Rasselas Fairchild and continued for sixteen weeks, or until September 5, when the editor in a lengthy and sarcastic editorial announced its suspen- sion, "for a time at least," because of "poor patronage and want of friends." It was a small paper, neatly printed, but for some reason it was not appreciated. Mr. Fairchild left Dansville afterwards and was a compositor in the office of the New Orleans Picayune, where he was found dead one morning near his case.
The Avon Reporter, a summer resort publication, three column folio, 20x14, was first issued July, 1847, by John Smith, who continued its publication for four or five years.
The Cuylerville Telegraph was established November 16th, 1847, in that then thriving canal village, by Franklin Cowdery, who years before had worked in the first printing office established in the county. In 1848 Peter Lawrence became its proprietor, and soon after the paper was discontinued.
The Nunda Democrat was the second newspaper venture in Nunda. It was brought from Geneseo in 1848 by Gilbert F. Shankland and Milo D. Chamberlain and published at Nunda but a short time, when it was removed to Ellicottville, Cattaraugus County.
The Dansville Chronicle was established in June, 1848, by E. G. Richardson & Co., George H. Bidwell of Bath being the partner. On the 15th of February, 1850, Mr. Bidwell sold his interest to Charles G. Sedgwick, who was at once installed in the editorial chair, and he continued in this position for seven months when he sold out to Mr. Richardson. The next year the paper was discontinued and Mr. Rich-
--
545
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
ardson took a "case" in the office of the Dansville Herald where he remained as a compositor until the Civil War broke out in 1861 ; he then enlisted in Co. B, 13th New York Volunteers, and was supposed to have been killed at the battle of Fredericksburg in Virginia, in 1862, as it was known he was severely wounded and he was never afterwards heard from.
The Fountain was a small temperance monthly launched at Dansville in 1849 by I. R. Trembly, who continued to publish it for two years. It was made up mostly of selected stories and miscellaneous reading.
The Nunda Telegraph was started in 1850 by Charles Atwood and lived about a year.
The Dansville Herald was started May 23rd, 1850, by E. C. Daugh- erty & Co., James G. Sprague being the partner. It began as a Whig paper, and as Mr. Daugherty, having learned the printer's trade in Buffalo, was a first-class printer and a inan of excellent character, he succeeded in making the Herald a model paper, having but few equals among the rural weeklies of the State. He continued to publish the Herald until the fall of 1854, when it was sold to H. L. and L. H. Rann, who also came to Dansville from Buffalo. In a year or two L. H. Rann retired and in January 1857, H. L. Rann sold the paper to a syndicate representing the Know-Nothing party, composed of Nelson W. Green, A. J. Abbott, Dr. B. L. Hovey, C. R. Kern, Orville Tousey and others. The manager of the business affairs was E. G. Richardson and the political editor was Mr. Green. In April, 1857, H. C. Page took charge of the paper and conducted it until October of the same year, when it was sold to George A. Sanders, who converted it into a Republican journal. During his ownership the form of the paper was changed to an octavo, and a power press supplanted the old hand press on which it had been printed. In the issue of November 6, 1861, the name was changed to The Dansville Weekly Herald. In August, 1865, Mr. Sanders sold the paper to Frank J. Robbins and L. D. F. Poore, two enterprising young printers, who at once changed the name to The Dansville Express and changed its form to a seven column quar- to. In October, 1870, Mr. Poore retired. Mr. Robbins enlarged the paper to eight columns, and during the Horace Greeley presidential campaign he supported that candidate, and at the close of the cam- paign he continued it as a Democratic paper. On the 27th of May, 1877, the Express passed into the hands of Oscar Woodruff and A. H.
546
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
Knapp, and this partnership continued until February, 1882, when Mr. Knapp retired and Mr. Woodruff has from that date to the present been the sole owner of the paper. During the nearly quarter of a century that it has been under the control of the present owner it has been consistently Democratic.
The Nunda Times was established by N. T. Hackstaff in 1851. A fire in July, 1852, destroyed the office and brought the paper to an untimely end.
The Lima Weekly Visitor was started in 1853 by A. H. Tilton and M. C. Miller. Subsequently it was published by Raymond and Gra- ham and by S. M. Raymond alone, under the name of the Genesee Valley Gasette. In 1856 the paper suspended publication.
The Chimes, started at Dansville in August, 1853, as a monthly by Orton H. Hess, lived only a short time. It was an eight page paper, devoted to "fact, fun and fancy," and it was bright, witty and much superior to most journals of its class of that day. One of its chief contributors was Leonard H. Grover, now of New York, who has for more than forty years been connected with the theatres of the metropolis.
The New Era was issued at Hunts Hollow in 1854 by David B. and Merrit Galley, boys aged 15 and 17 years respectively. In 1855 it was removed to Nunda where, under the name of The Young America, its publication was continued until 1856.
The Livingston Sentinel was started at Dansville in October, 1857, by H. C. Page, who had for a few months previously been in charge of the Dansville Herald. W. J. LaRue was its publisher and Mr. Page its editor. It was discontinued in the spring of 1860.
The Geneseo Democrat, the successor of the Dansville Democrat, and the second paper of the same name, was first published at Geneseo by George A. Sanders April 4, 1855. In October, 1857, it was discon- tinued at Geneseo and its publication resumed in Dansville as The Livingston Sentinel.
The Laws of Life, originally called The Letter Box, was a monthly health journal started at Glen Haven, N. Y., in 1857, and brought to Dansville in 1858 by Dr. James C. Jackson, when he took possession of the Dansville Water Cure, later known as "Our Home on the Hill- side," but now known the world over as the Jackson Sanatorium. A circulation of 10,000 copies per issue was attained before the publication
547
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
was discontinued in 1893. Dr. Harriet N. Austin was associate editor and editor for a considerable period preceding the year 1880.
The Dansville Daily Register was started at Dansville June 20, 1859, by W. J. LaRue publisher and edited by H. C. Page. It was preceded on May 28, 1859, by the Dansville Daily Times, under the same management. This was the second daily published in the county and but a few numbers were issued. The Register was a four-page paper with four columns to the page, and, as it received Associated Press despatches over the Genesee Valley Telegraph line, its news was always the latest and twenty-four hours ahead of the mail. When the Register suspended on August 8, 1859, after a fairly successful career, it was followed by the Valley City Register, a weekly published and edited by Messrs. LaRue and Page, which was discontinued December 31, 1859.
The Nunda News, the first paper that came to Nunda to stay, was established October, 1859, by Chauncey K. Sanders. Until the num- ber printed at Nunda November 19, 1859, it was printed by Mr. Sanders' brother in the office of the Dansville Herald, of which he was then the publisher, and in which office C. K. Sanders had been employed for two years; the year prior to that he was in the office of the Geneseo Democrat. In December, 1898, Mr. Sanders was suc- ceeded in the proprietorship of the paper by his son Walter B. Sanders, the former remaining as associate editor. At the time of the retire- ment of Mr. Sanders, senior, no paper in the county had been for so many years conducted continuously by the same proprietor.
The Constitution was started at Geneseo in September, 1860, by J. A. Z. Mckibbin in the interest of Stephen A. Douglas for the presi- dency. It later became a Democratic sheet. In March, 1862, this paper was purchased by Mr. Harding and united with the Union at Mount Morris under the title of the Union and Constitution. In 1871 Mr. Harding sold his paper to David Frysinger, of Pennsylvania, and retired from the business. On July 16, 1872, Frysinger disposed of the paper to William Harding, son of Hugh Harding, who in turn, in November 1881, sold it to Ellicott and Dickey, by whom it was pub- lished as the Mount Morris Union. On May 14, 1896, Mr. Ellicott retired and Mr. John C. Dickey, his partner, has since continued its publication. While its predecessors were in turn neutral, Whig,
548
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
American, Democratic and Republican, the Union has been from the beginning uncompromisingly Republican.
The Dansville Advertiser was started by A. O. Bunnell in a very modest way August 2, 1860, as a small advertising sheet, not antici- pating that it would develop into the powerful journal it has become. Because it was intended as an advertising medium chiefly, it was named the Advertiser. Nearly two-thirds of the time of the Adver- tiser's existence, Mr. Bunnell has been alone in its ownership and management ; about fifteen and a half years in all he has had partners. Professor Joseph Jones was associated with him as partner from July 1, 1866, to July 1, 1868, having stepped from the principalship of the Dansville Seminary into the newspaper harness. After sixteen years more of exacting labor with undivided responsibility, and on March 1, 1884, Mr. Bunnell took another partner, W. S. Oberdorf, whom he had educated to be a printer, who had afterwards graduated from the Geneseo State Normal school with high honors, and then for two years had done editorial work on the Geneseo Republican. The new partner confined himself mostly to the business end of the office; on October 1, 1897, his health failing, the partnership was dissolved.
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