History of Lorain County, Ohio, Part 13

Author:
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Philadelphia, Williams brothers
Number of Pages: 626

USA > Ohio > Lorain County > History of Lorain County, Ohio > Part 13

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

To Mr. Myers belongs the distinction of having been the longest at the bar, from 1844 to 1842. The next longest, and by far the longest practice of the leading lawyers of the bar, was that of Mr. H. D. Clark, from 1834 to 1865.

With this we take our leave of the bar. It is snf- ficient to say of it in closing, that it has stood high compared with those of similar counties, for learning, industry, integrity and eloquence.

CHAPTER XIII.

THE PRESS OF LORAIN COUNTY .*

Newspapers are both "annals" and "history." Not only do their columns contain a record of events in chronological order, but the causes and effects of such events are also considered. Newspapers also contain a perfect record of their own history; but, like any other record, it is of no use to mankind unless it is carefully preserved. In the early days of a new settlement, the pioneers have enough bur- dens to bear, enough present wants to supply, to engross all their time, without giving thought to what their children, in after years, may desire to know of the details of their pioneer life; hence the rarity of the record of those events, and the difficulty of obtaining, in many cases, any correct data concern- ing them. It is doubtless for the same reason that. publishers of newspapers took so little pains in pioneer times to preserve their fites. With the exception of two volumes, no files have been preserved of any newspapers published in this county prior to 1850. When it is known that there were almost yearly changes in the ownership and editorial management of these early publications, and that only straggling copies ean now be found, the difficulty in giving an accurate history of the press in this county will be apparent; but through the interest taken in this labor by many who were formerly connected therewith, and the kindness of others who have forwarded occasional copies of the early publications, these obstacles have been chiefly overcome, and, with the conviction that the labor of rescning these interesting details from oblivion was undertaken none to soon, the reader may rest assured that the history of the nearly three dozen newspapers and other periodicals that have been pub- lished in this county will be found substantially correct. The history of each publication will be given in the order of its date, commencing in Elyria; and, as a matter of equal public interest, a brief notice of those who were prominently connected with them is appended.

THE LORAIN GAZETTE.

The first newspaper printed in Lorain county was called The Lorain Gazette, published in Elyria by Archibald S. Park, who in the spring of 1829 was condneting a newspaper in Ashtabula, Ohio, called The Western Journal. Desiring to change his loca- tion, he came to Elyria, and made arrangements with Mr. Heman Ely to purchase the necessary material for a newspaper and job office. On his return, he sent him a bill in detail of the articles needed, which Mr. Ely forwarded to New York The material was shipped on the 6th of May. by way of the Hudson river and canal to Buffalo, thence by steamer to Cleveland, and thence to Elyria in wagons. The following is a copy of the bill and accompanying letter, found among the papers of the

* By George G. Washburn.

HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.

late lleman Ely. It shows that at that day it required but a small som to purchase what was then considered a sufficient outfit for a newspaper and job otlice:

IFEMAN ELY TO E. WHITE. DR.

To 209 lbs. Small Pica .40€

$83 60

: .. 2-line. 1 76

50 56 4 8 oz. Bgs 28 25

10 « @ 2-line. 1 15

8 º 12 º Canon, shade. 32

12 " Canon flowers. 1 56 38

5 . Small Piea flowers 2 00 .40

17 73

.. =

Canon. .322

11 20

4 .

13 oz. L. P. spaces, etc

3 1

11 oz. Brevier do

= 1 lhs Leads. 30

1 20

1 Fount 2-line Pearl

1 52

1 Minion Caps. :

1 62

.. Brevier Antique

1 02

] Pica, black 1 28

2 Large Dashes

1 00

.. Small Dashes

.. 1 Horse C'ut.

5 50

24 Cuts, assorted. 8 20

1212 feet Common Rule 6 56

.. 3412

1 " Double 1 50

1 20

.€

2 Composing Sticks

1 00

3 00

30 lbs. News Ink. 33

9 90

.6 1 Keg for Ink

.. 1 Post Office Stamp

$302 35

3 Boxes 40c

1 20

Cartage.

1 Super Royal Ramage Press. . 70 00

Boxing, Packing, etc., of Press. 6 00

.. Cartage on Press 50

22 95

$250 50

On the margin is written in peneil-

l'aid Freight

$17 08

On the opposite page of the above bill is the follow- ing letter:

"NEW YORK, May Gith, 18:29.

" HEMAN ELY. EsQ. -

"DEAR SIR :- Herewith you have a bill of articles shipped you this day. I think it to be judiciously arranged for a country office. Not linding any second-hand type that I judged would please you, and as 1 have reduced the price of my small pica 6 per cent., and my bourgoise S per cent. per pound, and the price of other sizes about in the same proportion, I concluded it best to send you new type. Should you And anything wanting, name it, and it shall be sent. The press, boxing and cartage I have charged only at what I had to pay, which is $10 less than you could have got it at had yon applied in person. 1 purchase largely of the man, and my enstom is an object to him. If my bill is to be charged to you as a cash sale, you will be entitled to a diset. of The per cent, on all but the press, boxes and cartage, viz: on $202,55, which diset. I shall have to credit you in account.

" Yours Sincerely, E. WHITE, "per John T. White. "

Mr. Ely remitted the cash, thus saving nearly the amount of freight in the discount.

Mr. Park soll his paper in Ashtabula, and removed to Elyria with his family. arriving June 18, 1829. The press, known as the "two-pull Ramage." con- structed almost entirely of wood, was put up in the small one-story building, two doors cast of East avenue, on the south side of Broad street. (now No. 22.) where the first number of the Lorain Garetle was issued July 24, 1829. The first stickful of type set in this county was by Calvin Hall, then sixteen

years old, who accompanied Mr. Park from Ashtabula as an apprentice. It is made a part of this record, not only as a matter of general interest, but because it is doubtful if the same number of high-sounding words have since been compressed into a single stick- ful. It was as follows:

[FROM THE LITERARY CHRONICLE. ]

"TIIE RENEGADE."

"The sack of the city had commenced. The fire darted from a hundred roofs; the crash of broken bars and bolts rang through the blood-stained streets of the long peaceful Mother of the Arts. Barbar- ians of gigantic stature, their hair flowing wildly on their shoulders, and wiebling spears of prodigious length, with fierce gestures and dissonant cries, trampled the venerable halls of the Areopagus, and violated the holy stillness of the Parthenon."

The Gazette was a five column folio, sent by mail for two dollars, and delivered in the village for two dollars and fifty cents a year. In politics, it sup- ported the whig party. A copy of the first number, now in the Elyria library, contains the name of "A S. Park, printer, publisher, and proprietor." Fred- erick Whittlesey was editor of the paper, for the first six months, after which its publisher assumed entire charge, and its columns were chictly filled with selected miscellany and news items. In the fall of 1830, Mr. Abraham Burrell, also a practical printer, became a partner in the paper, and its publication was continued by Park & Burrell, until the spring of 1832, when it passed into the hands of James F. Manter, who changed its name to The Elyria Times. Only an occasional copy of the Gazette is now extant.

Archibald S. Park served his apprenticeship in the office of Ileacock & Bowen. publishers of the Ashta- bula Recorder. He was subsequently connected with two more journals in Elyria, and not finding the bus- mess sufficiently lucrative, abandoned the case in 1834, and engaged in other business. He still lives in Elyria, hale and hearty, at the age of seventy-four years, where he has ever sustained the character of an honest and upright eitizen.

Frederick Whittlesey, the pioneer editor of the county, removed to Cleveland in 1835, where he died November 13, 1854, aged fifty-three years. He was held in high esteem, and among various offices that he filled with credit, were that of clerk of the Cuyahoga court of common pleas, and senator in the legislature from Cuyahoga county, for several years.

Abraham Burrell was thoroughly taught the print- ers' art in the state of New York. He came to Elyria in the spring of 1830. and went to work as compositor in the Gazette office. He was subsequently printer of the Ohio Atlas, Buckeye Sentinel, Elyria Courier, Lorain Argus, Lorain Eagle, and for a number of years of the h, dependent Democrat. published by the writer, in whose employment he died November 23, 1868. at the age of sixty-nine years. Mr. Burrell was emphatically the veteran printer of Lorain county. He was a man of remarkable industry, was strictly honest in his dealings, but he experienced many of the ups and downs incident to his profession. He was better fitted for the mechanical than the business department of a newspaper, and worked more hours

" Single 10

1 oz. Paragon 36

HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.

in a day, and more days in a week, than any person who has ever lived so long in Elyria.

THE ELYRIA TIMES.

This paper immediately succeeded the Gazette, and also supported the whig party. Mr. Manter pub- lished it three months, without changing its size or price, under promises of adequate support, which were not realized, and about the first of June, 1832, he sold the office and good will to A. S. Park and Josiah A. Harris, who added new material, enlarged the sheet, and changed its name to The Ohio Atlas und Elyria Advertiser.

Mr. Manter learned the art of printing in the office of the Patriot, Utica, New York. After working at the case in varions places in that State, he removed to Ohio, and in May, 1826, came to Elyria, where he engaged in farming. The three months during which he published the Times, concluded his labors as printer and publisher. He now resides in Elyria, at the age of nearly eighty-one years, remarkable for his physical and mental vigor, and respected for his many excellent traits of character. He has no recollection of the date when he commenced or concluded the publication of the Times, except that it was in the early part of 1832, and, so far as is known, no copy of it is now in existence.

THE OHIO ATLAS AND ELYRIA ADVERTISER.

Soon after the purchase of the Times, by Messrs. Park & Harris, they issued the Ohio Atlas and Elyria Advertiser. The first number was dated July 12, 1832. It was a six column folio, presenting a nmch better appearance than its predecessor, and for twelve years, under the editorial charge of various persons, it sustained a high character, as a newspaper. Its motto was the interrogative, " What is it but a map of busy life?" Its terms were, $2, if paid within six months, and $2.50, if not paid within one year. Among its regular contributors was Rev. Alfred II. Betts, of Brownhelm, whose letters to the young, over the familiar initials, " B. H. A.," continued for some years, and were widely read. A few months after the paper was started, Mr. Park sold his interest to his associate, and retired. Up to this period, Mr. Harris was its editor, and, on the retirement of Mr. Park, Abraham Burrell became its printer, and re- mained in that position until it was discontinued in 1844.

Mr. Harris conducted the paper, as editor and proprietor, until the 21st day of November, 1833, when he soll the office to Frederick Whittlesey and Edward S. Hamlin. Albert A. Bliss, then a law student in their otlice, became its editor. The paper was increased to seven columns, and otherwise im- proved in its general make up, as well as in its spirit and ability. On the 10th day of July, 1834, A. A. Bliss and Thomas Tyrrell became its editors and pro- prietors, and on the 27th of November, of the same year, Mr. Bliss published his valedictory, with an

intimation that, although his connection with the paper had been personally agreeable, his purse had been somewhat depleted thereby. He did not long remain absent from the chair editorial, for, on the 22d of January, 1835, as appears by a single tattered copy of the Atlas of that date, he resumed his duties as editor. The fragment of the copy contains the following editorial notice:

For reasons, which it is unnecsssary to detail, the subscriber has again become connected with the Atlus. All business relating to the establishment, other than with the editorial department, will be trans- acted by the proprietors, T. Tyrrell & Co. A. A. BLISS.

The exact time when Mr. Bliss finally retired from the paper cannot be ascertained, but it was about the beginning of 1836. On the 10th of February, 1836, the name of E. S. Hamlin appears as editor, and A. Burrell & Co. as publishers. Mr. Bliss went to Cleveland, temporarily, and, in connection with Charles Whittlesey, condneted the Cleveland Gazette through the campaign of 1836. Not long after Mr. Hamlin took charge of the paper he soll it to an association of gentlemen, consisting of D. W. Lathrop, HI. Ely. S. W. Baldwin, Wm. Andrews, Ozias Long, Franklin Wells, and, possibly, others, who formed a stock company, and, under the new management, Mr. Lathrop became its editor. A. Burrell continued to be its printer. The exact date of this transfer is not known, but it was previous to July 27 1836. Under the management of Mr. Lathrop, the Atlus look an advanced position on all the moral questions of the day, and was an able champion of the princi- ples of the whig party. The exact date of his with - drawał is also not known, but it was about July 1, 1842. Mr. Burrell continued to print the paper, and its editorial labor was performed by Wm. F. Lock- wood, and later, by Ezra L. Stevens, who, on the 12th of June. 1844, became part proprietor of the office, suspended the publication of the attlus, and issued it under the name of the Buckeye Sentinel.

Of those who were connected with the Atlas, Josiah A. Harris removed to Cleveland, and in 1837 pur- chased the Cleveland Herald, which he published for a number of years with distinguished ability. He died in that city August 21, 1876, aged sixty-cight years, lamented by all who knew him.

Albert A. Bliss was born in Canton, Conn., March 23, 1811. He removed to Elyria in June, 1833, where he was admitted to the bar, and for a number of years occupied the highest position as an attorney. lle represented this county in the legislature during the thirty-eighth, thirty-ninth and fortieth general assem- blies, in 1839, '40 and '41, where he took a prominent position as a debater. He subsequently established the Elyria Courier, and in 1846 was elected treasurer of state, serving five years. In May, 1863, he removed to Jackson, Michigan, where he now resides, widely esteemed for the unblemished character he has ever borne.

Thomas Tyrrell left Elyria in the fall of 1835, and, if living, his present residence is unknown.

HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.

Edward S. Hamlin ranked among the best members of the Lorain bar, was elected to congress to fill a vacancy in 1844, and served during the second session of the twenty-eighth congress. A short time after his term expired. he removed to Southern Ohio, where he lived a number of years, and then removed to Virginia. He now resides in Egremont, Mass. Mr. Hamlin first settled in Elyria in 1830.

Rev. D. W. Lathrop, who edited the Allas for nearly six years, came to Elyria in 1824. He partici- pated in the organization of the First Presbyterian Church in Elyria, in that year, became is first pastor, and labored in that relation for about six years. After relinquishing his editorial charge, in 1842, he was employed as agent of the American Home Missionary Society, and in 1848 removed to New Haven, Conn. At this time, he is residing in Jackson, Mich., aged eighty years. He was a man of much ability and untiring industry, and even now spends mueh of his time in writing.

It is deeply to be regretted that so few copies of the Ohio Atlus, containing so much of personal and local history that would be valuable at this day, have been preserved.

THE LITERARY REGISTER AND MISCELLANEOUS MAGAZINE.

Soon after A. S. Park sold his interest in the Atlas, he went to New York and purchased a newspaper outfit, including an iron press, the first ever brought here, and on the fourth day of October, 1833, issued the first number of a weekly paper with the above title. It was a three-column quarto, and was entirely filled with original and selected matter-no advertisements. It did not prove to be a profitable venture for its publisher: and after continuing it one year. Mr. Park sold the establishment to Dr. Matson, H. K. Kendall, Edwin Byington and Dr. E. W. Hubbard, who issued the first democratic paper ever published in the county and called it

THIE ELYRIA REPUBLICAN AND WORKING-MEN'S ADVOCATE.

Soon after the transfer above referred to, the pur- chasers negotiated with Sammel L. Watch, of Chenango, N. Y., who removed to Elyria, and on the second day of October, 1834, issued the first number of the above- named paper. Mr. Hatch was its nominal editor, but most of the proprietors contributed to its editorial columns. It was a six-column folio, its terms being one dollar and seventy-tive cents in advance, two dol- lars within six months, and two dollars and fifty cents within one year. In January, 1835, LeGrand Bying- ton, then quite a young man, came on from Chenango, purchased the paper, and continued its publication, a part of the time in connection with Calvin Hall. until May 17, 1837. During this time, political excitement ran high, and the cause of the democratie party was championed by Mr. Byington with great energy, and his paper fairly bristled with pungent personal para-

graphs. Not being sustained in the effort to make the paper remunerative, he declined to publish it longer: and at the date above mentioned, the estab- lishment passed into the hands of Horaee D. Clark, who dropped the "and Working-men's Advocate" from its title, and issued his first number May 24, 1837. Calvin Hall was employed to print it. Mr. Clark continued to conduct the paper until August 30, 1838. when he transferred it to E. R. Jewitt and Calvin Hall, the former having charge of the editorial, and the latter the mechanical department. Mr. Jewitt retained his connection with the paper for about one year, when he retired, and Mr. Hall eontinned its publication until the spring of 1840, when it was purchased by Charles Chaney, who changed its title to The Lorain Standard. The Republican and its immediate successors were never pecuniarily prosper- ons. Like some of the whig papers of that and a later period, they were sustained by their partisan friends, who came to the rescue with their contri- butions occasionally to relieve their publishers from embarrassment. The whigs were generally most able or most willing to sustain their organs, and the amount of the delinquency which either party was called upon to contribute depended largely upon the county pat- ronage, which at that period alternated between the two.

Horace D. Clark came to Elyria, July 4, 1834. During his residence here, of nearly a quarter of a century, he occupied a prominent position at the bar, was an active politician, but not ambitious for official position. He was a member of the convention which formed the present constitution of Ohio, in 1850, and removed to Cleveland some time previons to the com- mencement of the civil war. He now resides in Mon- treal, C'anada, enjoying the fruits of a long and active professional career.

Samuel L. Ilatch removed to Norwalk in 1835, and. in company with Joseph M. Farr, established the Norwalk Experiment. His subsequent history is not known to his associates in Elyria.

LeGrand Byington distinguished himself while here as a bitter partisan of the pro-slavery school, and more particularly as the author of a series of articles called " Chronicles," in prose and poetry, which were published in three numbers, over the nom de plume of " Peter Porenpine, Esq." in which all his prominent political opponents were savagely caricatured. Ile went to Ravenna in the spring of 1838. where he pub- lished a paper for a few months called The Buckeye Democrat, and from there he removed to Pike county. Ohio. He represented Pike county in the fortieth and forty-first general assemblies. While there he married, and subsequently removed to Jowa, where he now resides in Iowa City, reputed to be the wealthiest citizen of the State.

Calvin Hall removed to Cleveland January 3, 1841, and assumed the management of the Cleveland Ad- vertiser, a weekly paper, and for a time issued a penny daily called the Morning Mercury. At the close of

HISTORY OF LORAIN COUNTY, OIIIO.

the year the Advertiser was purchased by A. N. and J. W. Gray, who, on the 8th of January, 1842, trans- formed it into the Plain Dealer. Mr. Hall still resides in Cleveland, where he has worked at the case for thirty-six years.

E. R. Jewitt, who was the last regular editor of the Republican under its original name, was a man of very positive convictions, and, during his editorial charge, the paper lacked none of the qualities that would recommend it to the intensely partisan portion of his party. After leaving the editorial chair he remained in Elyria until the fall of 1840, when he left and entered the ministry as a member of the North Ohio Conference. For many years he has devoted his energies to the cause of christianity with the same zeal that characterized his political efforts. He now resides in Sandusky City, with health much impaired, engaged in selling books and stationery, aged sixty- seven years. He still retains his connection with the conference on the superannuated list.

THE LORAIN STANDARD.

This paper was issued soon after the purchase of the press and type of the Republican by Charles Chaney, the first number being dated April 2, 1840. It was also a six-column folio; terms, $2 in advance, and $2.50 after six months. It was printed by Horace C. Tenney, who was also associate editor, Mr. Chaney continued its publication as a democratie paper until November 3, 1840, when, not finding its self-sustain- ing, he discontinued it. A complete file of this paper is now in the Elyria library, presented by Hon. Horace A. Tenney.

Charles Chaney never again engaged in a newspaper enterprise. He continued to reside in Elyria, quietly pursuing the several branches of business in which he was at different times engaged, where he died July 30, 1824, aged eighty-two years. Ile was a justice of the peace for several years, and served one term as treasurer of the county.

THE INDEPENDENT TREASURY.

When Mr. Chaney discontinued the Standard, the press and type remained idle until November 18, 1841, when the material was purchased by Edmund S. Ellis, who started a new democratie paper with the above title. It was of the same size and form as the Stand- ard; terms $2 in advance. On the 13th of April, 1842, Mr. Ellis sold the paper to Horace A. Tenney, and removed to the central part of Ohio. Mr. Tenney published it until November 16, 1842 .- the close of the first volume,-when he changed its name to

THE LORAIN REPUBLICAN.

Ile continned the Republican in the same size and form, and with varied success, until the fall of 1844, when it was discontinued for want of adequate support.

Horace A. Tenney came to Elyria in 1836, and im- mediately went to work as compositor in the office of

the Republican. He spent most of his time in jour- nalism while he resided here, and, in 1845, there being no prospeet of a revival of the democratic paper, he boxed the press and type and shipped them to Galena, Illinois, where they became the property of the Galena Jeffersonian. The old press is still in use in that city. Mr. Tenney now resides in Madison, Wisconsin, where he has lived many years, and where he has held numerous offices of trust and responsibility. He is at present engaged in writing biographical sketches of the members of the Wisconsin constitutional conven- tion of 1846-1847.

THE DOLLAR DEMOCRAT.

Soon after the suspension of the Republican, in the fall of 1844, Eleazar Wakeley, then a young attorney in Elyria, issued one number of the Dollar Democrat; but sufficient encouragement not being given for its continuance, it was suspended. From this period until March 14, 1848, there was no democratie paper published in this county. Mr. Wakeley removed to Wisconsin, where he was appointed territorial judge in 1854. Ile now resides in Omaha, Nebraska, where he has acquired wealth and honor in his profession.

THE BUCKEYE SENTINEL.

This paper, as has been before stated, was successor to the Ohio Allas, the first issue appearing the week following the suspension of that paper, and bearing date .June 19, 1844. Ezra L. Stevens was its editor, and Abraham Burrell publisher. During the exciting campaign of 1844, the Sentinel urged the election of Henry Clay for president with much spirit and ability, and, a short time after its close, Mr. Stevens sold his interest to Mr. Burrell and retired. Mr. Burrell con- tinned to publish the paper, acting in the capacity of both editor and printer for nearly two years, when it became necessary to reorganize the establishment in order to put it on a paying basis. Mr. A. Bliss purchased the press and suspended its publication, succeeding it in November, 1846, with a new paper called The Elyria Courier.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Lorain County, Ohio, Part 13

Author: Publication date: 1879 Publisher: Philadelphia, Williams brothers Number of Pages: 626

Author:
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Philadelphia, Williams brothers
Number of Pages: 626