History of Ontario Co., New York, Part 26

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The Ontario Repository and Messenger claims direct lineage from the pioneer newspaper of Ontario, and its history forms much of what properly pertains to this chapter. Lucius Carey was induced by Mr. Williamson to sell his interest in & Newburg paper and come out to Geneva, there to found a new paper. The material of the office was sent on by water, and the printer came by land. His arrival found a house unfinished and no office-room provided. A dwelling was finally completed during the winter, and in April, 1797, was issued the first number of the Ontario Gazette and Genesee Advertiser. Canandaigua, as the county seat, seemed to offer inducements in excess of this location, and after an experience of about eighteen months, Mr. Carey removed to that village and con- tinued the publication of his paper until 1802, when it was sold to Nathaniel W. Howell. Mr. Carey died in Canandaigua in 1804. In May, 1803, James K. Gould published the prospectus of a newspaper called the Western Reposi- tory and Genesee Advertiser, which was edited by him until August, when Mr. Gould and Russell E. Post purchased the establishment, and changed the name of the publication to Western Repository. In October, 1804, this partnership was dissolved by the retirement of Mr. Post, who was succeeded by James D. Bemis. Mr. Gould died in 1808, and Mr. Bemis became sole proprietor. He changed the name of the paper to Ontario Repository, and continued its publica- tion until 1828, when he was succeeded by Chauncey Morse and Samuel Ward, the former a brother-in-law, the latter a nephew to Mr. Bemis. It may here be said of Mr. Bemis that he is rightly entitled the "Father of the western New York Press." His long-continued journalistic career, his irreproachable character, and his systematic attention to business, entitled him to the success which rewarded his efforts. About twenty-one years of age, fresh from apprenticeship at Albany,

he came to Canandaigua with a small stock of books and stationery. He sold these to Myron Holley when he joined Mr. Gould in the Repository, but soon connected book-selling with printing, and enjoyed almost a monopoly of the busi- ne88. Under Mr. Bemis and Mr. Stevens, of whom more hereafter, many later publishers and editors served apprenticeship. Some of these are enumerated as Oram Follett, David M. Day, Lewis H. Redfield, Hezekiah and Smith Salisbury, A. H. Bennett, Thomas B. Barnum, Randall Meacham, Jno. Van Sice, Edward Van Cleve, John Gilbert, Elisha Starr, and beside them many another. George W. Bemis, an only son, has been a resident of Canandaigua till the present, while daughters became wives of Thaddeus Chapin, of Canandaigua, and Win. B. Peck, of New York. Mr. Ward sold his interest to Mr. Wilson, and in 1829 the latter gave place to Asahel Harvey. Messrs. Morse and Harvey edited and published the paper until the death of the latter in 1835, when it was continued by Mr. Morse alone until 1840. George L. Whitney purchased the office in 1840, and conducted the paper for a period of sixteen years; then sale was made in January, 1856, to H. G. Moore and B. F. Tefft. During February the establishment was entirely destroyed by fire, and the paper temporarily suspended. In May follow- ing it was revived by the former publishers as the National New Yorker and On- tario Repository, and in 1857 again passed into the hands of George L. Whitney and his son, Augustus Whitney, by whom publication was continued till 1861. The paper then became the property of Mr. French, who, in February, 1862, sold to Jacob J. Mattison, and by him the sheet was merged with the Ontario Messen- ger establishment. The Repository always followed the fortunes and advocated the measures of the old Whig party until its demise.

The Ontario Messenger originated in the establishment of the Ontario Free- man, by Sylvester Tiffany, in 1803. Mr. Tiffany came to Canandaigua from New Hampshire, For several years prior to 1803 he had published a paper at Niagara. He died in 1811, leaving four sons and three daughters, all of whom were well- known citizens. Alexander R. Tiffany married a daughter of Dr. Gain Robin- son, removed to Michigan, and became a judge and a resident of Adrian. John A. Stevens, succeeding Mr. Tiffany in 1806, changed the name of the paper to Ontario Messenger, and continued its publication until about 1827. The Mes- senger was the exponent of Democratic principles, and for a number of years Messrs. Bemis and Stevens were the managers of the leading papers of the parties whose advancement each desired. It is said of Mr. Stevens, that " he was a kind, affectionate, good-hearted, and generally esteemed man." He died about 1832. Messrs. Day and Morse purchased the paper in 1827. The former dying, it was successively published by Legrand L. Morse, George K. Whittlesey, B. W. Jones, Hubbell and Turner, and Thomas B. Hahn. In November, 1845, Jacob J. and Elijah J. Mattison bought the establishment, which in 1846 became the property of the former, he having bought the interest of his brother. Mr. Mattison edited and published the Messenger until February, 1862, when he acquired the Reposi- tory by purchase.

The Ontario Repository and Messenger. Two ancient rivals were now con- solidated as one under the title given, and the paper has, for fourteen years, been conducted by the old and experienced journalist, Mr. Mattison. A son, Clarence E. Mattison, was associated with his father in the publication during the years 1870-74 inclusive. The paper is old, influential, and prosperous. Although ven- erable in years, there is found in its conduct the vigor, activity, and enterprise in keeping with the times. It has three presses run by steam, a large drum cylin- der and two Gordon jobbers. An abundance of first-class material is supplied, and every facility afforded for neat and rapid execution of work. Mr. Mattison served an apprenticeship in the office, under Messrs. Morse and Harvey. He was employed in the ofices of the Rochester Advertiser and the Utica Observer, and is at present the oldest editor of the oldest paper in the county. When Mr. Carey left Geneva the citizens felt the want of a paper, and gave encour- agement to Eben Eaton, & brother to General Eaton. He started a paper in 1800, called The Impartial Observer and Seneca Museum. During this year, Elkanah Watson and Wm. Mynderse advertised in this paper that "they will con- tract the making of a turnpike from Onondaga Hollow to Geneva, and make pay- ment of the same in good land." The same paper announced that "Sloop Seneca will sail from Geneva every Tuesday, wind and weather permitting, for the head of the lake, and will generally return from there the Friday following."

The Geneva Gazette dates from near the beginning of this century, and its long career has been marked by comparatively few changes. James Bogart became a resident of Geneva in 1806. He had served an apprenticeship in the office of T. and J. Swords, New York, and on November 19, 1806, started the Expositor, which he published until 1809, when he changed the name to Geneva Gazette. He continued to edit and publish the paper for over twenty-seven years, and finally retired from the editorial chair December 4, 1833. Mr. Bogart was well qualified for the profession, and was a worthy member thereof. Following his retirement from the Gazette, he was for five years collector of canal tolls at

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. Died 12th June, 1876.

PLATE XV.

RES. OF THE HON. S. H. HAMMOND, GENEVA, NEW YORK.

RES. OF AMI WHITNEY, SENECA TP., ONTARIO CO., N. Y.

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PLATE XVI.

MRS. FRANCIS MASON

NOSVNÍ SIONTHE

RES. OF FRANCIS MASON , BRISTOL . ONTARIO COUNTY, NEW YORK.

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HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY, NEW YORK.

Geneva. To him the present is indebted for reminiscences of Geneva of the early day, both interesting and instructive. The Gazette was now published by John Greives and J. C. Merrill until 1836, when Greives sold his interest to his partner, who soon wearied of the responsibility, and in the spring of 1837 sold to J. J. Mattison. The office was soon disposed of to J. Taylor Bradt, a brother- in-law of Mattison, and its interests were fathered by him till 1839, when sale was made to Messrs. Stowe and Frazee. The enterprise ceased to be profitable and was discontinued. John Greive died in 1839. Merrill removed to Auburn and published a paper called the New Era, and thence went to Rochester, where he died. Bradt became county superintendent of schools in Broome county, es- tablished a female seminary in Virginia, and is now a resident of West Virginia. The Gazette was revived January, 1845, by Ira and Stephen H. Parker. George M. Horton was for a time interested in the establishment, but it ultimately passed into the hands of S. H. Parker, who carried on its publication till May 1, 1862, when he leased the paper to Edgar Parker, by whom its conduct was assumed up to May 1, 1866. Mr. Parker then resumed the editorship, and has continued the editor and publisher to the present date. The office was destroyed by fire in 1871. The Gasette has been Democratic and a consistent advocate of the inter- esta and principles of that party. The office employs a steam power cylinder press and two jobbers. The circulation is large and the jobbing business is extensive. The paper has long been influential, and has become so by earning the confidence of the people.

Among short-lived publications in Geneva has been the Geneva Palladium, started in 1816 by Messrs. Young and Crosby, who were followed successively by S. P. Hull, John T. Wilson, and Mr. Connelly. The paper, after a varied exist- ence comprised in a period of a dozen years, was discontinued, and nothing of it remains but the unconscious influences derived from the perusal of its now extinct numbers. The Independent American was ushered into being during 1831, and was offered to the patronage of Geneva citizens by C. Strong; and the Geneva American, published by Frank Cowdry, in 1830. The Geneva Chronicle began existence in 1828, under the charge of Mr. Jackson, and two years was the dura- tion of its issue. The experience of these publications is being renewed by thousands to-day, and the theory of " survival of the fittest" finds here ample illustration.

The Geneva Courier has well-nigh reached the half-century of its existence. It made its first appearance in 1830, as the venture of John C. Merrell, by whom it was edited and published until 1835. James Craft engaged in the work of editing during 1837, but withdrew, and Ira Merrell, father of John, took the matter in charge, and supplied its columns with the medley of information suited to the different wants of its patrons. In 1839, S. C. Snow and Mr. Williams, in company, relieved Mr. Merrell temporarily, and then the latter transferred his interest to Messrs. Howlett and Van Valkenburg. How long they remained in possession is not known, but S. C. Cleveland and J. B. Look were the next pro- prietors, who sold to Winthrop Atwell, by whom it was brought forward to October, 1854. Mr. Look is yet remembered as the writer of many fine pieces, and bears a reputation of some degree of local celebrity. William Johnson became the publisher of the Courier in 1854, and identified himself with it by owner- ship and labor upon its columns until February 13, 1866, when he sold out to Look and Fay. These gentlemen in turn sold to Rodney L. Adams & Son on September 5, 1866. In the fall of 1872 Mr. Adams withdrew, leaving his son in charge, and when the former died, in 1873, the establishment came into possession of Frederick Bennett, who was both publisher and editor. One more change was made when, in the spring of 1876, James Malette, relieving Mr. Bennett, took. charge of the paper, and conducta its issue. The paper had been an organ of the Whig party during the continuance of that organisation, and has never swerved from the advocacy of those principles which have continued the Repub- lican party in power and promoted the welfare of the country. The various de- partments of politics, news, and locals, have been conducted with vigor, and pains are taken to make each number valuable and interesting.

The Herald of Truth was started by Messrs. Prescott & Chase, at Geneva, in 1834, but after the lapse of three years was removed to Rochester. The paper was published in the interests of the Universalist denomination.

The Geneva Democrat was issued by Stowe & Frazee during the campaign of 1840. Daring the same year Francis Dwight began at Geneva the publication of a monthly, entitled The District School Journal, which, in 1841, was removed to Albany.

The Geneva Advertiser and Mechanic's Advocate, semi-weekly, was started in 1841 by S. Merrill & Co., and survived a year. There were short-lived papers published in some of the established offices in the county, to subserve temporary purposes. Such was the Geneva Budget, by Messrs. Sproul and Tanner, from 1852 to 1854, printed in the office of the Repository. The Geneva Daily Union was started in May, 1858, by W. K. Fowle, and soon perished. The New York

State Intelligencer, having the advantage of a stately name, was published in 1848, and the Ontario Whig, issued . semi-weekly, by William C. Busted, from 1850, suspended in 1852. The Geneva Independent and Freeman's Gazette was started by W. K. Fowle in 1851. Four years later, H. S. Moore succeeded Fowle, and continued the paper till June, 1857: Mr. Fowle finally resumed possession, changed the name to Geneva Ledger, and discontinued publication in 1859.

Various papers, generally forgotten, have from time to time shone dimly upon the political and literary firmament, and then gone out. Such was the Republican, commenced by T. M. Barnum, at Canandaigua, in 1824. The Ontario Phoenix, issued in 1827, by W. W. Phelps, as an anti-masonic sheet; bought by Robert Royce and published as the Freeman, and, in 1836, bought by the Repository. The Clay Club campaign paper, issued during 1844, and the Seminarian, pub- lished in the Repository office. The latter was a literary monthly, edited by students connected with the Ontario Female Seminary.

The Ontario County Times has been in existence somewhat more than a quarter of a century, and continues to be published by its original projector and proprietor. The Free Soil wing of the old Whig party, desiring an organ in Canandaigua, invited N. J. Milliken, a previous editor of the Seneca County Courier and Free Soil Union, to remove hither and publish a paper expressive of this party's views. The request was acceded to, and the Ontario County Times was established at. Can- andaigus about the 1st of January, 1852. The paper was printed upon a single hand-press, in a room known as Uterpean Hall, Dailey's block, on east. side of Main street. Within a year the circulation had reached a. thousand, and for several years it was conducted by the founder. The establishment was sold in 1855 to Wilson Miller, by whom it was continued as the Ontario . Times until February, 1856, when the office was burned. It was re-established May 1; 1856, by Mr. Milliken, in Lyon block, and later, in the old Bemus building. . In: 1858 permanent quarters were taken in the Phoenix block, where it was published until January 1, 1873, when it was removed to its present location in the Bennett block. On January 1, 1876, Charles F. Milliken became associated with his father in the editorial department of the business. It may be said of Mr. Milli- ken that with lengthening experience has been joined an enterprise manifest in influence, circulation, and material, creditable and profitable; illustrative of its verity, the list of patrons exceeds two thousand; it is a leading exponent and advocate of the Republican party, and it has done much to secure the history of the county, and for years its columns have been enriched with the records of early settlement, and made invaluable for future reference. Mr. Milliken was the first to use a power press in Ontario County. In 1854, . Northrup cylinder prees was procured and worked by hand. A caloric engine was introduced in 1869, and a steam engine in 1872. The office is supplied with all modern fixtures and ma- chinery, and affords excellent facilities for job work, having a cylinder press, a universal medium, and Gordon quarto. A book-bindery is attached to the office, and the establishment employs from seven to ten hands.

The Ontario County Journal, published at Canandaigua, Ontario County, New York, by George D. A. Bridgman, editor and proprietor, was established, and the first number issued by ita present publisher on the second day of January, 1874, as an independent liberal newspaper. In the same year, at the opening of the political campaign, the Journal espoused the Republican cause and supported the candidates of the Republican party, and has continued in the same course as a Republican newspaper to this time.

The size of the Journal as first published was twenty-four by thirty-six inches -rather unpretending, but quite as large as the circumstances and the limited support promised would appear to warrant. It seemed a hasardous undertaking, and many citizens predicted that the enterprise would be short-lived, as it came in direct competition with two old and well-established journals.

In April, 1875, the Journal was enlarged to eight columns to the page, and printed on a sheet of twenty-six by forty inches. This enlargement was rendered necessary by the rapidly increasing advertising patronage and subscription list. Up to the first of July, 1875, . Washington hand-prees was used upon which to print the Journal; but its augmenting business demanded better facilities for serving its patrons. At this time a new and spendid Cottrell & Babcock power printing-press was added, and the journal placed on a par with the first-class country printing establishments of this part of the State. The paper has made gradual and steady progress, increasing its business and enlarging its circulation, until it stands second in Ontario.

The Ontario Citizen had its foundation laid in the Vienna Republican, which originated at Vienna, now Phelps, in January, 1831. Its proprietors were C. H. Lowre and A. Kilmer. A year went by, and James O. Balch had become its publisher, and two years later, Egbert N. Phelps had assumed its publication, and changed its name to the Phelps Journal. . Soon afterward the sheet was rechristened the Phelps Journal and Vienna Advertiser. In 1838 the title was

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HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY, NEW YORK.

the Phelps Democrat, and in 1845 the Western Atlas. The interval, till 1856, was filled by Washington Shaw, Dillen & Phelps. William Dillen having joined with Mr. Phelps and W. W. Redfield, it was changed to the Ontario Free Press, and in 1861 C. S. Pleasants assumed publication, and gave the name of Ontario Citizen. A. V. Cooper purchased the paper in 1863, and four years after sold to J. W. Neighbor. Whilst published by Mr. Neighbor, the Clifton Springs News was issued on a separate sheet. Mr. Neighbor sold to W. S. Drys- dale, and the latter publishes the joint papers as the Ontario Citizen and News. Politically, it is independent, and its character entitles it to the patronage of the community of which it is the organ in local news and general expression.

Neighbor's Home Mail was begun by John W. Neighbor in 1874, and this enterprising publisher also issues a semi-weekly sheet entitled the Phelps Advertiser. The Phelps New Democratic Star was published by E. N. Phelps from Sep- tember 3, 1858, for some years, and then discontinued.

The village of Naples has not been without its press, neither have publishers found wealth in the edition of papers in that locality. The Naples Free Press was carried from 1832 to 1834 by Messrs. Waterman & Coleman. They took neutral grounds during the brief term of issue. The Neapolitan was inaugurated by David Fairchild in 1840, and by him conducted until 1845, when he sold to Phelps, by whom the name was changed to the Naples Visitor, which did not long survive. The Village Record was a paper of 1842, and R. Denton published the Naples Journal from 1851 to 1853. The Naples Record was commenced in 1870, and is published by S. S. Dego and Robert M. McJannet. This paper is a success. Its matter is fresh and interesting, and the circulation of over fifteen hundred attests the estimation in which it is held. Considering the age of the county, the number of brief papers has not been unusual, and the old and experi- enced publishers, like Parker, Mattison, and Milliken, have an influence and patronage resulting from years of patient, unintermitting toil.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

THE HISTORY OF HOBART COLLEGE, GENEVA, N. Y .*

EARLY in the present century, the academy at Fairfield, in Herkimer county, was among the most flourishing educational institutions in the State west of Albany. In the year 1806, the Rev. Amos G. Baldwin, who had just received deacon's orders at Utica, from the hands of the Right Reverend Benjamin Moore, D.D., on his first visitation of western New York, began missionary labors in Fairfield, there being at that time in the whole of the State now comprised in the dioceses of western and central New York but two clergymen of the church. These were the Rev. Davenport Phelps, of Geneva, and the Rev. Jonathan Judd, deacon, officiating in Utica and Paris. The conviction was forced upon the mind of the Rev. Mr. Baldwin, in the midst of his extended labors, that there was a " necessity of training up 'the sons of the soil' in our institutions, in order to secure them to the church, and provide ministers for her altars."t "At that time," continues Mr. Baldwin, "the schools were everywhere in the hands of non-Episcopalians, and we had few clergymen near the academies which were flourishing in western New York, and there was not a chartered college in this part of the State."

The Fairfield academy occupied a large building erected for the double purpose of serving as a house of worship and a school. In this academy the worthy missionary officiated on occasional Sundays, and speedily secured the support of a large portion of the community. Perceiving the advantages likely to accrue to the church from the possession of the academy, after the organization of the parish had been effected and its prosperity assured, Mr. Baldwin sought, in 1811, to obtain the aid of Trinity church, New York, to sustain a clergyman at Fair- field, the "application being grounded on the influence which the services of a clergyman would have on the minds of the youth educated in the academy there." Writing to Bishop Moore under date of October 8, 1811, Mr. Baldwin proceeds : " We do feel, my venerable diocesan, that in asking aid for the church in Fair- field, we are pleading the cause of the church in the western district of this State. The academy in that place is very flourishing, and were a clergyman of learning and piety settled there, the young men educated in that seminary would have an opportunity of becoming acquainted with 'the church, and the advan- tages to the church would be great."§ It was with this far-sighted vision that the excellent Mr. Baldwin took the initiatory steps which resulted in the foundation of Hobart College in Geneva.

. William Stevens Perry, D.D., LL.D., President.

t Baldwin MSS., in College Archives. į Ibid.

¿ Ibid.

A vacancy in the headship of the Fairfield academy occurring within a few months subsequent to the writing of this letter, immediate measures were taken to fill the vacancy with a clergyman of the church. Petitions soliciting the aid of Trinity church, New York, were drawn up, and finally a plan was digested by the indefatigable Baldwin, which was communicated to the Rev. Professor Bow- den, D.D., of Columbia College, a leading clergyman of New York, and inter- ested in the missionary operations of the Society for the Promotion of Religion and Learning, in that city. The plan was as follows: "The trustees of the academy authorize me to say that they will give the principal thereof $550 per annum, and allow him to instruct four divinity scholars free of charges for tuition. The other part of the plan is that Trinity church gives to the church at Fairfield $250 per annum, and to the clergyman that may be settled there $250, as theological instructor in the institution, and that he divide among the divinity scholars $50 per annum, in the proportion he may think proper."|| . In resolutions adopted by the trustees of the academy, the plan of obtaining & col- legiate charter was proposed, it being stipulated in the event of securing the aid desired from Trinity church, " that the president of said college, if a charter should be obtained, shall forever thereafter be an Episcopal clergyman."

The plan thus warmly advocated by Mr. Baldwin and the Fairfield trustees received the favorable notice of the leading members of the corporation of Trinity church. The rector, the Rev. Dr. Beach, the Honorable Messrs. Robert Troup and Peter Augustus Jay, Thomas L. Ogden, Esq., together with Professor Bow- den and Bishop Hobart, who had succeeded to the episcopate of the State, won by the importunity of the earnest and far-sighted Baldwin, entered heartily into the scheme proposed, and the grant from Trinity church, by means of which Fairfield academy was secured to the church, was obtained. Subsequently the original grant of $500 per annum was increased to $750, so as to provide for an assistant in the work of instruction, it being a condition of the gift " that eight students shall always receive the whole course of their classical and literary education, and afterwards of their theological instruction, free of any charges of tuition."T

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History of Ontario Co., New York, Part 26

Author: Publication date: Publisher: Number of Pages: 391

Author:
Publication date:
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Number of Pages: 391