USA > Ohio > Portage County > History of Portage County, Ohio > Part 41
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Soon afterward the case took a new turn, and suspicion began to center on Milton Moore, a wealthy married man of Mogadore, doing business in Akron, as an accomplice in the murder of Mrs. Musson. In March, 1867, he was indicted for prompting and procuring Roof to commit the deed. It was rumored around Mogadore that Moore was a trifle too intimate with Roof's sister, Hattie, and the scandal soon became common gossip. During the absence of Mrs. Moore from home, Mrs. Musson (who was her cousin) it is said, wrote her regarding the talk that was going the rounds, and upon Mrs. Moore's return she parted temporarily from her husband. This it was claimed led up to the commission of the tragedy. Moore gave bail in $50,000 security, and the case came to trial May 27, 1867, before Hon. George M. Tuttle and the following jury: T. G. Austin, R. P. Cannon, C. O. Foot, E. W. Grey, A. B. Griffin, Clark Norton, Isaac Brown, Charles Dudley, Ira Gardner, John Gillis, C. A. Mason and Joseph Preston. The attorneys for the State were H. H. Willard, A. J. Dyer, George Bliss, John McSweeney and Michael Stuart; and for the defense Ezra B. Taylor, S. W. McClure and J. J. Hall. The trial lasted five days, and though Roof swore positively to Moore's connection with the crime, the latter was acquitted on Friday, May 31. On the following day Roof pleaded guilty to the charge of murder in the second degree, and was sent to the penitentiary for life.
On the 20th of September, 1867, Charles E. Harris deliberately shot his son, Alfred L., a young business man of Kent. At the November term of the Court of Common Pleas he pleaded guilty to the indictment of " shooting with intent to kill," and was sentenced to the penitentiary for ten years. The father's intemperate habits was the cause of the deed, and though the son apparently recovered at the time, he has since died, it is claimed from the effects of the shot.
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Frank M. Kelso, of Kent, was indicted at the January term, 1870, for murder in the second degree, James Montague, who died on or soon after November 18, 1869, being the victim. The trouble occurred through Kelso accusing Montague of stealing whisky from his (Kelso's) saloon, which the latter denied. A fight ensued, and it was claimed by the State that from injuries then received Montague subsequently died, his body being found November 28, in a cornfield some distance from the scene of the fight. The trial came off before Hon. P. B. Conant in the fall term of the Court of Com- mon Pleas, 1870. Kelso's attorneys were Ezra B. Taylor and D. L. Rock- well, and the State was represented by Prosecuting Attorney C. A. Reed and Alphonso Hart. The accused was convicted of manslaughter, and sentenced to the penitentiary for one year. There was no premeditation in this affair, and such an unfortunate event as the death of Montague might result from one blow struck in passion during any ordinary quarrel. Upon the expiration of his term, Kelso returned to Kent, a reformed man, claiming that he could now see the evil results of liquor selling, and said that his imprisonment was the best thing for him that could have happened. He engaged in railroading, and soon came to be regarded by his employers as one of the most peaceable and trustworthy men on the road.
The shooting of E. M. Newell by Orlando H. Roberts at Mantua, on Sun- day, October 19, 1884, is the last killing that has occurred in this county. The shot was fired while the two were engaged in a controversy over some chestnuts, and Newell died about a week afterward. Roberts gave himself up on the day of the shooting, and was placed in the county Jail at Ravenna, but subsequently he had a hearing before Justice Smith, who discharged him. Another trial took place before Justice Holcomb, who placed him under bonds of $1,000 to appear before the Court of Common Pleas at the January term. The grand jury indicted him for murder in the second degree, and the trial began before Hon. George F. Arrel on Monday, February 2, 1885. The attor- neys for the State were Prosecutor I. T. Siddall and J. H. Nichols; and Hon. Luther Day and W. B. Thomas for the defendant. The defense labored to establish a case of self-defense, claiming that Newell was the aggressor. The jury retired on Thursday afternoon, and on Friday afternoon returned a ver- dict of guilty of assault and battery. A verdict of acquittal would have created much less surprise throughout the county, and the general opinion is that Roberts escaped with a very light sentence. On Saturday morning, Feb- ruary 7, Judge Arrel sentenced the defendant to three months in the county jail, and to pay a fine of $100 and costs.
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CHAPTER XII.
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THE NEWSPAPERS OF THE PAST AND PRESENT-RAVENNA PAPERS-WESTERN COURIER AND THE WESTERN PUBLIC ADVERTISER-OIIIO STAR-WATCIIMAN -BUCKEYE DEMOCRAT-WESTERN RESERVE CABINET AND FAMILY VISITOR -PLAIN DEALER-PORTAGE SENTINEL-PORTAGE COUNTY WIIIG, AND HOME COMPANION AND WHIG-PORTAGE COUNTY DEMOCRAT, REPUBLICAN-DEMO- CRAT, AND RAVENNA REPUBLICAN-INDEPENDENT PRESS, AND REFORMER- HICKORY FLAIL AND FUSION THRESHER-ARGUS-DEMOCRATIC PRESS-POR- TAGE COUNTY REPUBLICAN-KENT NEWSPAPERS- PROPOSED FRANKLIN GAZETTE-THE OMNIUM GATHERUM AND ITS SUCCESSORS: THE FAMILY VISITOR, LITERARY CASKET, CUYAHOGA REPORTER, SATURDAY REVIEW, COMMERCIAL BULLETIN, SATURDAY BULLETIN, AND KENT SATURDAY BULLETIN-KENT NEWS OF 1867-PRESENT KENT NEWS-GARRETTSVILLE NEWSPAPERS-GAR- RETTSVILLE MONTHLY REVIEW-GARRETTSVILLE JOURNAL-HOME BAZAR- ATWATER NEWSPAPERS-SHARP SICKLE-ATWATER NEWS.
F OR seventeen years succeeding its organization, Portage County had not one newspaper published within her limits, but in 1825 the first printing press was set up in Ravenna, thus furnishing another link toward founding a community of progressive and intelligent people. Just sixty years ago J. B. Butler, a young man from Pittsburgh, Penn., made his appearance in Ravenna with a press, type and other materials of a newspaper office, and April 23, 1825, issued the first number of the Western Courier and The Western Public Advertiser. It was a four-page, twenty-column sheet, 20x26 inches in size, and printed on the coarse, heavy paper of those early days. The subscription price was $2.50 per annum, but if paid "half yearly in advance," $2 was the amount charged. An offer was made by the editor to receive in payment for subscriptions "most kinds of produce, at the current market prices, if deliv- ered at the stores of Mr. Z. Kent or Perry & Prentiss, in Ravenna." Mr. Butler was an eccentric young man of some talent, an admirer of Henry Clay, and yielded his support to the administration of John Quincy Adams, which went into power March 4, 1825. The Courier was started on a subscription list of 320, which at the end of the first six months had grown to 650. It was a very good local paper for those days, and was regarded as a great boon by the people of the county, irrespective of political affiliations.
Upon the close of Volume II, April 14, 1827, Mr. Butler sold the Courier to William Coolman, Jr., and C. B. Thompson, by whom its publication was continued. In May, 1828, James B. Walker bought a half interest in the paper, the firm being Coolman, Thompson & Walker. The Courier at this time was intensely anti-Jackson, and in the Presidential campaign of 1828 fought " old Hickory " bitterly, but to no purpose, for he swept the State and Nation, though Adams carried Portage County by a majority of 1,257. Mr. Thompson died March 15, 1829, leaving Coolman & Walker sole owners. On the 6th of June, 1829, the latter disposed of his interest to Mr. Coolman, who thus obtained the full ownership. When the Ohio Star was established at Ravenna, in January, 1830, the Courier became the Democratic organ of the county, and so remained until it ceased publication. On the 15th of January, 1830, a Mr. Harsha purchased an interest, and the firm of Coolman & Harsha existed until April, 1831, when the latter retired and Mr. Coolman was once more sole owner. In August, 1832, John Harmon, who for several months
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previously had been assistant editor, purchased the Courier of Mr. Coolman. He edited and published the paper until the fall of 1836, when he sold it to Selby & Robbins, two young men of Ravenna, who, in January, 1837, raised the subscription price to $2 in advance, $2.50 within six months and $3 at the close of the year. The Courier does not seem to have prospered under its new management and Mr. Harmon again took control, but early in 1838 it ceased publication and was never revived.
The Ohio Star was established at Ravenna by Lewis L. Rice, and first issued January 6, 1830. Mr. Rice was a printer from New York, but without means to start such an enterprise, and the capital to buy the press and type was fur- nished by Cyrus Prentiss and Jonathan Sloane, two well remembered pioneers of Ravenna. The Star was a four-page, twenty-column sheet, 20x30 inches in dimensions, the annual subscription price being $2 in advance and $2.50 if not paid before the expiration of the year. It adopted as its motto, "Be Just and Fear Not." The first prospectus issued by Mr. Rice gave its title as the Western Star, but subsequently learning that a paper bearing that name was located at Lebanon, Ohio (which paper, by the way, was established by John McLean in 1806, and is still in active operation), he at once substituted "Ohio" for " Western," and the first issue came out as the Ohio Star. In his pros- pectus the editor says: "We are opposed to all secret combinations and asso- ciations, under whatever plausible character." But the Star was especially an anti-Masonic paper, the workings of which order it vigorously attacked and exposed in every issue. It was also bitterly opposed to the Catholic Church, In August, 1832, the Star was enlarged to a twenty-four column paper, and otherwise much improved.
On the 1st of January, 1834, Mr. Rice retired from the editorship, hav- ing previously disposed of his interest in the Star to Laurin Dewey, who still continued the anti-Masonic and anti-Catholic warfare. When the Whig party succeeded the anti-Masonic, embracing the elements of the latter organization, the Star became the local organ of Whiggism in Portage County. In January, 1837, the subscription price was increased to $2 in advance, $2.50 within six months, and $3 at the close of the year. On the 8th of March, 1838, Lyman W. Hall, who came to Ravenna in September, 1830, bought an interest in the Star, and the firm became Hall & Dewey. In June, 1838, the paper was again enlarged, and was now a four- page, twenty-eight-column sheet, 24x36 inches in size. Mr. Dewey being elected Sheriff of Portage County in October, 1838, disposed of his interest to Mr. Hall, who thus became sole proprietor. In December, 1839, he sold the Star to Root & Elkins, who engaged A. H. Lewis to edit the paper. In April, 1840, Mr. Elkins bought out Root, and he in turn retired in December, 1842, having sold the office to Laurin Dewey and William Wadsworth. Mr. Lewis still continued as editor of the Star, which position he filled continu- ously from December, 1839, until December, 1843. The firm of Dewey & Wadsworth continued until April, 1844, when the latter purchased Mr. Dew- ey's interest, and Mr. Lewis again assumed editorial control; but the follow- ing December he was elected Clerk of the House of Representatives, in the Ohio General Assembly, and gave up the editorship of the Star to accept that position. In April, 1845, Mr. Lewis obtained an interest in the paper, and the firm became William Wadsworth & Co., which existed until October, 1847, when the senior partner bought out Mr. Lewis, who, however, filled the edito- rial chair until December, in which month he finally severed his connection with the paper.
On the 12th of July, 1848, Lyman W. Hall again got full ownership of
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the Star, and in September, 1852, enlarged the sheet, making it 25x39 inches in dimensions. He remained the editor and proprietor until its amalgamation with the Home Companion and Whig, in April, 1854. Soon after the advent of the Free Soil or Abolition party, the Star, though previously a Whig paper, became an advocate of the principles of Free Soilism. This was its political faith at the time of the amalgamation, though considerably tinctured with Know-nothingism, which had previously made its appearance in the political arena. The several elements embraced in the Whig, Free Soil and Know-noth- ing parties in Portage Counties, had drifted so closely together in political sentiment, that the amalgamation of the two papers as the Portage County Democrat, was a judicious move. The Democrat was therefore their lineal suc- cessor in the journalistic field.
The Watchman was a small monthly paper of free thought or infidel ten- dencies, established in Ravenna in January, 1835, by John Harmon. It was issued from the Courier office, which paper Mr. Harmon was then publishing, and lasted only a brief time, as the community would not at that period give their support to such a publication.
The Buckeye Democrat was started in Ravenna on capital furnished by a coterie of gentlemen, among whom were John B. King, Rufus P. Spalding, Joseph Lyman and Asahel Tyler, under the firm name of John B. King & Co., with Le Grand Byington as editor. The Democrat was intended to fill the place of the Courier, which had discontinued publication the previous year, leaving the Democracy of Portage County without a local organ. Its first number made its appearance May 24, 1838, and was a four-page, twenty-four- column paper, 22x32 inches in dimensions. The Democrat was thoroughly devoted to the interests of the Democratic party, but after an existence of about nine months it ceased publication, issuing its final number February 14, 1839.
The Western Reserve Cabinet and Family Visitor was first issued in Ravenna January 1, 1840, by Lyman W. Hall, who previously owned and edited the Ohio Star. The Cabinet and Visitor was a small twenty-column sheet, 18x27 inches in size, a kind of religio-political, literary and scientific paper, started to supply a supposed craving for such advanced reading matter. The sub- scription price was $1.50 per annum. The initial number was an experiment, and the second number did not make its appearance until March 5, 1840. With the beginning of Volume III in March, 1842, the paper came out enlarged to a twenty-four-column sheet, 21x33 inches in size, but upon the close of this volume, February 21, 1843, it was discontinued, because of the delinquency of its subscribers. Judging from the editor's valedictory, it would seem that there was not sufficient encouragement to warrant a continuance of the publication of the Cabinet and Visitor.
The Plain Dealer was a Democratic paper started in Ravenna in 1844, for the purpose of giving a helping hand toward the election of James K. Polk to the Presidency. A Mr. Canfield was editor and publisher, but after a very brief and flickering existence, it gave up the struggle and ceased publication.
The Portage Sentinel, the next journalistic enterprise in Ravenna, was established by Samuel D. Harris, Jr., and Roswell Batterson, and first issued June 5, 1845, as the local Democratic organ of Portage County. It was a four-page, twenty-four-column sheet, 22x32 inches in dimensions, and had placed at its head the following motto taken from the inaugural of President Polk: "The Constitution-The Safeguard of our Federal Compact." Its subscription price was $1.50 in advance, $2 if paid within the year and $2.50 after that period. In June, 1847, the Sentinel came out in a new dress,
Willis strickland
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enlarged to a four-page, twenty-eight-column sheet of 24x36 inches, and flying the following suggestive motto from Jefferson: "Opposition to Tyranny is Obedience to God." On the 24th of March, 1851, Mr. Batterson, on account of poor health, severed his connection with the paper, leaving Mr. Harris sole proprietor. With the issue of August 2, 1854, he too retired from the Sentinel, having previously sold the office to Alphonso Hart and R. E. Craig, under the firm title of Hart & Craig, who began a new series, Vol. I, No. 1. On the 24th of August, 1854, the name of the paper was changed to the Weekly Portage Sentinel, and also somewhat enlarged. In January, 1855, Mr. Hart became sole owner, but with the beginning of Volume III, August 14, 1856, he sold an interest in the Sentinel to James W. Somerville. The partnership of Hart & Somerville continued until December 31, 1857, when Mr. Hart disposed of his interest to the junior partner. Throughout Mr. Hart's editorial control the Sentinel was intensely Democratic, opposing the American and new-born Republican parties, and their local organ, the Portage County Democrat, with an unsparing pen.
The Sentinel, after a publication of nearly seventeen years, issued its final number February 8, 1862. By virtue of a mortgage, Samuel D. Harris took charge of the office, sold the material to Lyman W. Hall, of the Portage County Democrat, and thus the Sentinel became extinct.
The Portage County Whig was established in Ravenna by John S. Herrick in August, 1848. It was a four-page paper, of twenty eight columns, printed on a sheet 23x35 inches in dimensions, and published at $1.50 per annum in advance, and $2 at the end of the year. It advocated the political principles of the Whig party, and soon gained a respectable circulation. On the 24th of August, 1853, the beginning of Volume VI, the name of the paper was changed to the Home Companion and Whig, and so remained until its amal- gamation with the Ohio Star in April, 1854.
The Portage County Democrat sprung from the amalgamation of the Ohio Star, owned and edited by Lyman W. Hall, and the Home Companion and Whig, of which John S. Herrick was the editor and proprietor. It was estab- lished by the firm of Hall, Herrick & Wadsworth, the last- mentioned gentle- man having been connected with the Ohio Star from December, 1842, until July, 1848. The Democrat was first issued April 5, 1854, and was a four- page, thirty-two-column paper, 26x40 inches in size, published at $1.50 per annum in advance, or $2 at the close of the year. The new paper took for its motto Jefferson's saying: "Resistance To Tyrants Is Obedience To God," which had previously been the motto of the Sentinel. In the State election of 1855 the Know-nothings and the new-born Republican party united on all of the candidates excepting Governor, and the Democrat supported the combination ticket, and Salmon P. Chase, the Republican Gubernatorial nominee.
In 1858, three years after its organization, the Republican party of Ohio embraced within its fold most of the strength of the Whig, Free Soil, and Know-nothing parties, previously the opponents of the Democracy. The Democrat was its local organ in Portage County throughout this gathering-in process, and, with the changes in name, has so remained up to the present.
With the issue of April 30, 1856, Mr. Wadsworth's connection with the Democrat ceased, H. R. W. Hall, son of the senior partner, taking his place, the firm becoming Hall, Herrick & Co. In March, 1859, Mr. Herrick sold his interest to the Halls, and the title of the firm changed to L. W. Hall & Son, who continued the business, raising the subscription price to $1.50 in advance, $2 at the end of six months, and $2.50 after that period. In April, 1861, the junior partner severed his relations with the Democrat, retiring on account of
20
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his physical health becoming impaired. Lyman W. Hall continued as editor and proprietor, giving his earnest and vigorous support to the Union cause. In March, 1862, he took his son into the office as associate editor. The high price of labor, paper, and all other materials during the war, necessitated the advancement of the subscription price, which, in March, 1864, was raised to $2 in advance, and the following December to $2.50. In March, 1866, H. R. W. Hall again obtained an interest in the paper, and the firm became once more L. W. Hall & Son. On the 18th of April, 1866, the Democrat came out enlarged, and in an entirely new dress, printed from new type. It was now a four-page, thirty-six.column paper, 28x44 inches in size. In November, 1868, the Democrat announced as its terms $2 in advance, $2.50 within the year, and $3 if not paid until the end of the year. On the 9th of March, 1870, the junior partner retired from the firm, his father continuing alone until April, 1871, when he turned over the office to his son, H. R. W. Hall; but in April, 1873, the elder Hall again assumed joint control, L. W. Hall & Son composing the firm.
Since December 9, 1868, the paper had at its head the cut of a printing- press placed between "Portage" and "County," and over the press the word " Republican." In July, 1875, they placed at the head of the first column, on page 1, the "Portage County Republican-Democrat." In March, 1877, the name was changed to the Republican- Demoerat, and an eight- page style adopted, containing fifty-six columns, printed on a sheet 35x48 inches in dimensions, but the subscription price remained as before the change. Financial disaster finally overtook the long-time publishers of the paper, and with the issue of February 27, 1878, it passed from their ownership and control into the hands of J. D. Horton and C. A. Reed, assignees of L. W. Hall & Son, who engaged H. R. W. Hall to edit and man- age it. On the 2d of May, 1878, the assignees sold the paper and office to the Republican-Democrat Publishing Company, a stock company organized for the purpose of buying it, and who are now the owners, although some changes have occurred in the personnet of the company. The sheet was at once reduced in size to 30x44 inches; and in July, 1878, the subscription price was established at $2 in advance. Mr. Hall continued to edit and manage the Republican- Democrat until September, 1882, when he was succeeded by Arthur Mosley, Esq., the present efficient editor and manager.
On the 1st of March, 1882, the company bought out the Portage County Republican, a Republican paper which had been in operation in Ravenna about four years, and on the 2d of May, 1883, the paper came out as the Ravenna Republican, the publishers regarding that title as more consistent and euphonious than the old one, which was both unwieldy and misleading. The Republican was enlarged April 30, 1884, and is now an eight-page, fifty. six-column paper, 35x48 inches in dimensions. The annual subscription, how- ever, remains at $2, and like its predecessor, it is issued every Wednesday. During its long and varied career, this paper, under its several names, has always stood in the front rank of country journals, and it is still the aim and earnest effort of the publishers and its present editor and manager to keep the Republican fully abreast with the progressive journalistic spirit of the age. In connection with the paper is operated a first-class job office, equipped with the best and most approved machinery and printing appliances. The Repub- lican is the official organ of Portage County, and claims a circulation of about 2,300.
The Independent Press, subsequently called the Reformer, was first issued from its office in Ravenna, April 25, 1855, as "a religious and anti-slavery
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journal, independent of party or sect," with W. B. Orvis editor and publisher. I was a four-page, twenty-eight-column sheet, 24x36 inches in size, and was published at $1.50 per annum. In December, 1855, the paper came out as the Independent Press and Reformer, and A. Pryne became associated with Mr. Orvis in its publication. The latter retired in January, 1856, and was succeeded by Willard Burr. The following February the name of the paper was reversed, being then named the Reformer and Independent Press, and in April the latter part of the title was dropped. In September, 1856, James Gregg took the place of Mr. Burr on the paper. With the beginning of Vol- ume III, the Reformer was reduced in size and also in price to $1 per annum. But those changes do not seem to have been judicious, as the paper soon after- ward gave up the struggle and was numbered among the many dead news- paper enterprises whose wrecks are to be found in every town from the Atlan- tic to the Pacific.
The Hickory Flail and Fusion Thresher was a small Democratic humor- ous campaign paper published in Ravenna during the Gubernatorial campaign of 1855. It was a four-page, sixteen-column sheet, 17x23 inches in size. The Hickory Flail supported William Medill for Governor of Ohio, and was edited and published by a coterie of Democrats with the sole purpose of accom- plishing that object, but though the Democracy of the State made a gallant fight they were defeated, and the Flail went down at the same time.
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