History of Summit County, with an outline sketch of Ohio, Part 50

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Baskin & Battey
Number of Pages: 1104

USA > Ohio > Summit County > History of Summit County, with an outline sketch of Ohio > Part 50

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The Akron Buzzard was next to play its part upon the local newspaper stage. The his- tory of this curiously-named and somewhat notorious sheet may be briefly stated thus : Its projector was a young honse and sign painter by the name of Samuel A. Lane-a Connecticut Yankee-whose shop was in a room adjoining the office of the discontinued Journal. Akron, at that time being a rapidly growing town, and having some eighteen or twenty locks of the "great thoroughfare"-the Ohio Canal-within its corporate limits, had become a convenient stopping-place, and a favorite re- sort for divers and sundry vile characters, pro- fessional gamblers, counterfeiters, confidence men, etc., whose depredations upon the public peace and the public morals, the civil authori- ties were scarcely able to cope with. To aid the officers of the law in ridding the community of these disreputable characters, a number of the young business men of the village in- formally constituted themselves into a Vigi- lance Committee for the purpose of obtaining and imparting information in regard to the op- erations of the gang, and "stirring up the ani- mals " generally, through pointed public discus- sions, scathing newspaper articles, anonymous circulars, etc. Mr. Lane, having obtained some- thing of a smattering of the " Art Preservative," while acting as editor's assistant in the office of a Georgia newspaper a few months in 1834, con- ceived the idea that, by making it a specialty, he could more efficiently accomplish the object sought, than could be done through the other channels named alone. Accordingly, getting permission from Judge Bryan to use his types and press, Mr. Lane, in the intervals of his regular business, "unaided and alone," wrote

out, set up, struck off and flung to the breeze the first number of the Akron Buzzard, on the 7th day of September, 1838. It was a three- column folio, of 12×17 inches, published semi- monthly at 75 cents a year, but doubled in size at the end of the first year, and the price raised to $1. From the favor with which the initial number was received, and not doubting its suc- cess, arrangements were made with Messrs. Smith & Bowen, for its regular semi-monthly issue from the office of the American Balance. The editorial nom de guerre assumed by Mr. Lane was "Jedediah Brownbread, Esq., and among his old acquaintances he is, to this day, more commonly saluted by the familiar sobri- quet of "Jed" than by his own proper name. The style of composition adopted by the edi- tor was the proverbial Yankee dialect, of which the detestable styles of poor English, bad spel- ling and worse grammar, more recently used by "Josh Billings," " Artemas Ward," " Par- son Nasby " and other so-called humorists, are fair samples. The character of the paper and its object were fully set forth in its " saluta- tory," which, translated into plain English, is as follows : "The Buzzard will be a real jolly, nothing-to-do-with-politics, anti-blackleg paper, devoted to news, popular tales, miscellany, an- cedotes, satire, poetry, humor, the correction of the public morals, etc. It will strike at the vices of mankind, with an occasional brush at its follies. It will expose crime, whether com- mitted by the great or the small, and applaud virtuous and noble actions, whether performed by the rich or the poor. It will encourage the honest man in well-doing, and make a trans- parency of the breast of the hypocrite. In short, it will be to society what the common buzzard is to our Southern cities, viz. : It will pounce upon, and by its influence, endeavor to reform or remove such loafers as are nuisances in the community, by holding them up to the gaze of a virtnous public." Though literally holding his life in his hand, being often greeted with "threatenings dire," laid in wait for by the "fraternity," and several times severely assaulted, the publisher of the Buzzard fear- lessly stood his ground-meantime conducting his regular business of house and sign paint- ing-for a year and a half, the paper being dis- continued on the 25th of February, 1839, not for want of patronage, for it had more than a local circulation, but because its conductor was

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about to engage in another braneli of business, and because it was believed that the paper had substantially accomplished its mission ; and in elosing this item, the writer-the veritable " Jedediah Brownbread" himself-desires to express his firm conviction, that though its methods were not approved by all of even the better elass of our people during the period of its publication, that Akron and Summit County are better to-day, morally, socially and pecu- niarily, because of the publication of the Akron Buzzard of 1837, 1838 and 1839, than they otherwise would have been.

The Pestalozzian .- This was a small, neatly printed monthly quarto, edited and published by Horace K. Smith and S. L. Sawtell, the initial number of which appeared on the 14th day of April, 1838. It was devoted to education, sci- ence, literature, ete., and though ably condueted -both of the editors being men of talent and culture-being in advance of the times, it was not duly appreciated, and succumbed to the in- evitable on the 30th day of September, 1838, after a non-paying existence of less than half a year.

The Chian and New Era -During a portion of the year 1838, Mr. Jonathan F. Fenn, one of Akron's earliest merchants and manufacturers, published a small folio sheet, devoted to free banking. Though conducted with considerable ability, and though a financial organ, it was not a financial success, and had an existence of a few months only.

The Glad Tidings and Ladies' Universalist Magazine .- This was a neatly printed eight- page paper, published in Akron during the years 1838, 1839 and 1840. It was edited and published by Revs. S. A. Davis, N. Doolittle and J. Whitney. It was a spirited exponent of the doctrine of universal salvation, and was very ably edited indeed. With the close of 1840, the paper was removed to Cineinnati, where, under the name of the Star in the West, it has for the past forty years " fought a good fight " in the interests of the denomination, by whom its pioneer file-leader, the Glad Tidings, was originally founded in Akron, being discon- tinued only a few months ago, for reasons to the writer unknown.

The Summit Beacon .- This paper, the legiti- mate successor of the American Balance, was started on the 11th day of April, 1839, by Hiram Bowen, Esq., on a pledge of adequate

support from the business men of Akron, and leading members of the Whig party within the limits of the prospective new county then about to be erected. Like most of the weekly papers of that early day, the Beacon had a hard strug- gle for existenee for several years, but finally, as the official organ of the new county, and through the pluck and energy of its founder, its success became assured, and though its office of publication and total contents have three times been consumed by fire, the paper, for the full forty-two years of its existence, has never missed an issue, though sometimes tem- porarily diminished in size while recovering from its several disasters, and now sturdily stands, where it has ever stood, in the front rank of the weekly papers of Ohio. In or about the year 1845, Mr. Bowen sold the paper to Laurin Dewey, Esq. (formerly editor of the Ohio Star, at Ravenna, and Sheriff of Portage County ; afterward Warden of the Ohio Penitentiary, and more recently a prominent politician and a member of the Legislature of Iowa, now de- eeased), and his brother-in-law, Mr. Richard S. Elkins, then a member of the book and drug firm of Beebe & Elkins, and afterward Post- master of Akron for eight years, under the ad- ministration of Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson, Mr. E. now residing on a farm near Ravenna, in the adjoining county of Portage. On the 9th day of June. 1848, the office was destroyed by fire, but immediately re-estab- lished, and later in that year, Messrs. Dewey & Elkins sold the paper to John Teesdale, Esq., formerly editor of the Ohio State Journal, and since the State Printer for Iowa. Mr. Teesdale soon afterward formed a partnership with Messrs. Beebe & Elkins, uniting the printing with the book and drug business, under the firm name of Elkins, Teesdale & Co., Mr. Teesdale being the sole editor of the paper. He was a graceful, but ineisive writer, and under his man- agement, the Beacon, becoming with the change of parties in 1854-55, the organ of the Repub- liean party, attained a high degree of popularity. Mr. Teesdale sold his interest to his eopartners, Messrs. Beebe & Elkins, February 27, 1856, con- tinuing, however, to act as editor until May 1, of that year, when James S. Carpenter, Esq., became sole editor of the paper. Under the able editorial management of Mr. Carpenter, the high reputation of the Beacon, as voicing the advanced sentiment of the Republican party of

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the Western Reserve, was fully maintained. On his accession to the bench of the Court of Com- mon Pleas of Summit, Medina and Lorain Coun- ties, Judge Carpenter, on the 22d day of Oeto- ber, 1856, vacated the editorial chair in favor of Hon. Asahel H. Lewis, a former State Senator for Summit and Portage Counties, a thorough scholar and a pungent writer, the name of Mr. R. S. Elkins, one of the publishers, also at this time appearing as associate editor. On the 29th day of September, 1856, the office, together with the book and drug store of its proprietors, was again destroyed by fire, but, Phoenix-like, it once more speedily arose from its ashes in a far more attractive form than ever before. The editorial connection of Mr. Lewis with the Beacon contin- ued until January 10, 1861, when he was super- seded by Mr. Samuel A. Lane, then just retiring from four years of service as Sheriff of Summit Connty. Mr. Lane, during the war, did the sole editorial work of the paper, giving especial atten- tion to army correspondence, and of both city and county local news, the weekly circulation increasing during four years of the war, from 1.300 or 1,400 to about 2,500 copies. 3 In January, 1865, Mr. Lane, who had hitherto been working on a salary, bought of Messrs. Beebe & Elkins, a one-third interest in the Beacon, another third being bought by Mr. Hor- ace G. Canfield, a practical printer and foreman of the office, the firm name being changed to Elkins, Lane & Co. Two years later, January, 1867, the remaining one-third interest of Beebe & Elkins was purchased by Albertus L. Paine and Denis J. Long, former apprentices in the office, the Summit County Journal (noticed else- where) published by them being merged in the Beacon, the firm name adopted being Lane, Canfield & Co. Mr. Lane continued to act as sole editor of the paper until the winter of 1868 -69, when Mr. Thomas C. Raynolds, an Akron boy, freshly graduated from Michigan Univer- sity, but with decided journalistic proclivities, was employed as assistant editor and local re- porter. In 1867, the strictly advance pay sys- tem was adopted and rigidly enforced, a feat that but few of the weekly papers of the coun- try had at that time dared to attempt, a feature highly advantageous to both the publishers of the paper and its subscribers.

The Akron Daily Beacon .- In the meantime, Akron had grown from a village of 3,000 inhab- itants in 1860, to a city of 10,000 in 1869, with

an augmented commercial and manufacturing business to match, creating a demand for some- thing faster than a weekly paper ; and on the 6th day of December, 1869, the first number of the Akron Daily Beacon, a seven-column folio, was issued, Mr. Lane, as chief, and Mr. Ray- nolds, as assistant, doing the entire editorial and reportorial work. Though quite a large advertising patronage was at once accorded to the daily by the liberal-minded business men of Akron, its average daily circulation the first year was only about six hundred. Gradually, however, the people have come to appreciate its worth as a gatherer and disseminator of local as well as fresh general news, and its average daily circulation is now (April, 1881) a little over 2,200. In June, 1870, Mr. Raynolds severed his connection with the paper, Carson Lake, then a compositor in the office, taking his place, and for several weeks during the summer and fall of that year, during the illness and ab- sence of Mr. Lane from the office, performing the entire editorial and reportorial work upon the paper. In December, 1871, the establishment was transferred to the Beacon Publishing Com- pany, Messrs. Canfield and Paine retiring, Messrs. Lane and Long holding their respective one- third and one-sixth shares, as stock in the new corporation, Mr. Lane being elected business manager, and Mr. Long continuing to act as superintendent of the news department, Mr Raynolds being recalled and placed in charge of the editorial department of the paper, in which capacity, with the exception of one year's inter- regnum, he has ever since acted, with Mr. Wilson M. Day as his able and faithful associate. In the meantime, the business of the concern had as- sumed such large proportions, that the four- story 22x60-foot building then occupied was found to be too straitened for the purposes of the company, and in March, 1872, the owner of the building commenced work upon a 60-foot addition in the rear. Before the walls were completed, however, the entire concern was again destroyed by fire on the 27th day of April, 1872. Temporary quarters were pro- cured, and new material ordered by telegraph and express, so that on the fourth day after the fire its regular issue on its own new type was resumed, a smaller sheet being furnished to its subscribers during the intervening three days, through the courtesy of the publishers of the Akron City Times. The burned building was

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re-erected on the enlarged plan, considerably improved, being 22x117 feet, three-stories high, exclusive of the basement on Howard street, and five stories on Canal street, with stone front, large plate-glass windows, with steam elevator running from the basement to the up- per floor, and steam heating apparatus through- out the entire building, the enlarged structure being fitted up with strictly first-class fixtures, machinery and materials from top to bottom. By reason of the heavy loss occasioned by the the fire (fully one-half of its $25,000 capital stock) and the closely following financial and commercial revulsion of 1873, the affairs of the company became so seriously embarrassed that, in January, 1875, the entire stock was sacrificed, and the concern, with its machinery, news and job printing materials, book-binding apparatus, stationery stock, good-will, etc., was transferred to Messrs Thomas C. Raynolds, Frank J. Staral and John H. Auble, in consid- eration of their assuming and paying its liabili- ties, enough of the old stock-holders nominally retaining sufficient stock to keep the corporate organization of the company intact. About two years later, Mr. Auble withdrew, leaving Messrs. Raynolds and Staral sole proprietors, under whose auspices the Beacon establish- ment, in all its departments, is at this writing (April, 1881) enjoying a high degree of pros- perity. It would be interesting to minutely trace its growth from a few fonts of second-hand type, a patched-up, medium-sized hand press, with a single journeyman printer, and the pro- verbial printer's " devil," as its entire operative force, to its present magnificent appointments, but space will not permit. Suffice it to say that, besides its full complement of news, job, and book-binding materials, its machinery, run by a finely-built eight-horse power steam en- gine, consists of one mammoth four-roller Pot- ter cylinder job press, with 32x50-inch bed ; one two-roller Potter cylinder job and news press, with 31x46-inch bed ; one two-roller Potter job press, with 21x27-inch bed ; one No. 1 improved Campbell jobber ; one quarto Imperial jobber, and one eighth-medium Gor- don card and circular press ; two large paper cutters, besides a large-sized Wells hand press, proof presses, card cutters, etc .; the total oper- ative force of the establishment at this writing being forty-six, though at some seasons of the year from fifteen to twenty more hands are

needed in the job and binding departments. The Beacon, therefore, may well be considered one of the permanent institutions of Summit County, and taken all in all, is one of the most complete establishments of its kind in the State.

The American Democrat .- On the 10th day of August, 1842, Mr. Horace Canfield issued, in Akron, the first number of the American Democrat. With some slight changes of name, the paper-being at one time under the edi- torial control of Lyman W. Hall, Esq., of Ra- venna, for one year, as a Free-Soil paper- finally settling down into the Democratic Stand- ard, was continued under that name until the death of Mr. Canfield, December 29, 1853, and for a short time thereafter by his two sons, Thomas and Horace G. Canfield. The office was afterward sold to Mr. H. P. Abel, and the paper re-established, Mr. Abel, in the spring of 1855, also issuing a small daily. The venture, however, was non-successful, Mr. Abel being obliged, soon after, to discontinue both daily and weekly. In the winter of 1855-56, the office was purchased by Mr. W. D. Bien, and the paper re-established under the name of the Summit Democrat, afterward, in the winter of 1859-60, passing into the hands of Mr. J. Hays Webb, who continued its publication here until just before the Presidential election of 1860, when the office was removed to Can- ton, where, under the name of the True Demo- crat, it was run until the spring of 1861. Mr. Webb, on returning to Akron, changed its name to the Summit Union, continuing its publication here until the close of the Val- landigham-Brough Gubernatorial campaign, in the fall of 1863, when the paper was discon- tinued and the office taken to Ravenna.

The Cascade Roarer .- After a peaceful slum- ber of five years, the Akron Buzzard was re- vived as a Temperance paper, March 15, 1844, by its former proprietor, Mr. Samuel A. Lane, and Mr. William T. Coggeshall, afterward the author of a number of finely-written and intensely in- teresting literary works ; State Librarian under Govs. Chase and Dennison, from 1856 to 1862 ; and Minister to Ecuador, South America, in 1866, dying of consumption at Quito, in the summer of 1857. The name of the paper was changed to the Cascade Roarer-a five-column weekly-which had a successful run of about two years, when Mr. Lane disposed of his inter- est to Mr. James Drew, the new firm, in the in-

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terest of Labor as well as Temperance reform, changing the title of the paper to the Teetotal Mechanic. Its publication here was continued until September 24, 1846, when it was removed to Cleveland and merged in the Ohio Temper- ance Artisan, which, after a few months' sickly existence, was finally discontinued.

The Summit County Journal .- In September, 1865, Messrs. Albertus L. Paine and Denis J. Long, two practical printers, who had learned their trade in the office of the Summit County Beacon, on their discharge from the army, in which they had faithfully served during the war, started a new Republican weekly paper under the above title, with Judge James S. Car- penter as its editor. The Journal was neatly printed, ably edited, and reasonably successful, but, on the accession of Messrs. Paine and Long to a one-third ownership in the Beacon, the Journal was discontinued, and the subscrip- tion-list. good-will, etc., merged with those of the Bracon. in January, 1867.

The Akron City Times .- On the 20th day of January, 1867, Mr. J. C. Loveland started a new Democratic paper in Akron, a nine-column weekly, entitled the Akron City Times. Mr. Loveland's administration not proving very satisfactory, to either the party upon whom he mainly depended for support or the people of Summit County, the office was transferred to Mr. George C. Crain, in August, 1867. On the 28th day of April, 1868, Mr. Crain was suc- ceeded by R. S. Bean & Co., who in turn trans- ferred the concern to S. L. Everett & Son, in October of the same year. On the death of the senior Mr. Everett, some two or three years later, the entire management of the paper de- volved upon the son, Sebastian L. Everett- more generally known by the familiar sobri- quet of " Don "-who successfully continued its publication until 1873, when it was trans- ferred to its present genial proprietor, Mr. Richard H. Knight, under whose management, with his son, Mr. Clarence R. Knight, as editor, it is enjoying a high degree of prosperity, and has evidently become one of the fixed and per- manent institutions of the city and county, being printed on a cylinder power press, run by steam, and having a well-stocked and liber- ally patronized job printing office attached.

The Akron Germania .- This is an independ- ent weekly paper, published, as its name im- plies, in the interests of the German-speaking

portion of our population. It was founded in the, fall of 1868, by Mr. H. Gentz, Prof. C. F. Kolbe succeeding to the proprietorship carly in the following year. September, 1872, the paper was transferred to the Akron Paper and Printing Company, and early in 1873, was transferred to the Germania Company, with Mr. Stephen Ginther as business manager, and Mr. Paul E. Werner as editor. In October, 1875, Mr. Werner bought and continued to edit the same until 1878, when other duties claiming his entire attention, Mr. Louis Seybold was em- ployed as editor, which position he still ably and efficiently maintains. The paper is now owned by the Germania Printing Company, formed in November, 1880, with Mr. Paul E. Werner as business manager, and commanding a good healthy circulation and a liberal adver- tising patronage. The business and mechan- ical departments of the Germania Printing Com- pany are most complete, and, besides having a full supply of the newest styles of job and fancy type and other material, it has six power- presses run by steam in constant operation, viz .: a Cottrell & Babcock cylinder, with 33x46-inch bed; a Cottrell & Babcock, air spring, with 25x38-inch bed ; a Potter Pony ; a quarter and an eighth medium Liberty jobbers, and a " Model" card press. There is also a book bindery connected with the establishment, which, in all its departments, is at this date (April, 1881), in a highly prosperous condi- tion, with a regular operative force of twenty- five hands, and occasionally demands from ten to fifteen additional.

The Akron Daily Argus .- In March, 1874, the Akron Daily Argus was commenced by H. G. Canfield & Co., with Elder John F. Rowe as editor, a semi-weekly edition also being issued by the same firm. It was an independent pa- per and ably edited. The paper passing into possession of the Argus Printing Company, sub- sequently formed, was, in September, 1874, by a majority vote of the stockholders, changed into a Democratic paper under the editorial management of Sebastian L. Everett-" Don " -formerly of the City Times. March 20, 1875, the concern passed into the hands of Elder John F. Rowe, former editor, and his brother, Frank M. Rowe, a practical printer, who under the firm name of Rowe Brothers, again changed its character from a political to an independent paper. It was continued by Rowe Brothers

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until December 25, 1876, when the establish- ment was purchased by Mr. Carson Lake, un- der whose business and editorial management it was continued as a Democratic paper until July 1, 1879, at which date the office and fixtures were bought by Messrs. Paul E. Werner and B. F. Nelson, by whom the Argus was discontinued.

The Sunday Gazette .- This is a six-column quarto, devoted to the general and local news of the week, literature, miscellany, religious in- telligence, etc. It was started in December, 1878, by Mr. Paul E. Werner, as publisher, and Prof. Carl F. Kolbe as editor. It was con- solidated with the Weekly and Daily Tribune, on the establishment of those papers, July 26, 1879, the name being changed to Sunday Trib- une, but, after two or three issues, again changed to Sunday Gazette, which name it still bears. On the dissolution of the firm of Wer- ner & Nelson, and the discontinuance of the Tribune, on the 2d day of February, 1880, the Gazette was continued by Mr. Paul E. Werner, in connection with the Germania, until Septem- ber 25, 1880, when it was sold to Mr. Carson Lake, under whose management it is rapidly increasing in circulation and popularity.

The Akron Commercial .- This is a nine col- nmn monthly, devoted largely, as its name im- ports, to advertising and commercial matters, but furnishing with each issue a large amount of interesting miscellany, with a monthly spicy editorial melange of local and general gossip. It is published and edited by Josiah Jackson Wright (commonly and for short called " Jack Wright " ) formerly for many years the efficient City Marshal of Akron. It was commenced in the spring of 1874, and is still vigorous and hearty, and apparently one of the fixed news- paporial stars of Akron and of Summit County.

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History of Summit County, with an outline sketch of Ohio, Part 50

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848- Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Chicago, Baskin & Battey Number of Pages: 1104

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Baskin & Battey
Number of Pages: 1104