History of the city of Columbus, capital of Ohio, Volume I, Part 55

Author: Lee, Alfred Emory, 1838-; W. W. Munsell & Co
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: New York and Chicago : Munsell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1202

USA > Ohio > Franklin County > Columbus > History of the city of Columbus, capital of Ohio, Volume I > Part 55

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FREEMAN'S CHRONICLE EXTRA, JANUARY 24, 1813.

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Miami Weekly Post

W. Doherty & Co. Troy.

The Piqua Gazette

William R. Barrington Piqua.

The Ways of the World

A. R. Colwell

Urbana.

To convey some idea of the rapid growth of newspapers numerically speak- ing, it is necessary only to say that in 1826, sixty papers were published in Ohio. Eighteen of the fortyone published in 1821 had succumbed and thirtyseven new papers had been established. The business was quite as seductive and hazardous then as now, although the losses were not as large.

The list of Columbus newspapers, living and dead, is a large one. Many of them were shortlived, and the available information about them is meager. Files are not to be had and the only obtainable fact about them, in some cases, is that they existed. The local publications are here considered biographically in the order of their establishment, and for greater convenience are divided and treated in the following order: First, political and general newspapers ; second, the German press ; third, the religious press; fourth, agricultural papers; fifth, medical journals ; sixth, secret society papers ; seventh, literary publications; eighth, law journals ; ninth, educational papers; tenth, college periodicals.

As the newspaper soon followed settlement in other parts of Ohio, No it was here. Lucas Sullivant laid out the town of Franklinton in 1797. Fifteen years later, or in 1812, the paper that must be honored as the pioneer newspaper of Columbus made its appearance. It was called the Freeman's Chronicle, and was published and edited by James B. Gardiner. Columbus, which has since grown up and absorbed the elder town, was just then being laid out. The publication office of the Chronicle was located on West Broad Street near the corner of what is now Sandusky Street, but the exact site is not identified. The first issue of the paper bore the date of July 4, 1812; the date of the last issue is unknown, but it was sometime iu the year 1815. The Chronicle was a weekly of folio form, with five columns to the page. At the top of the first page, beneath the name, was printed this motto :

Here shall the press the people's rights maintain, Unawed by influence, unbribed by gain ; Here patriot truth its glorious precepts draw, Pledged to religion, liberty and law.

There was no department devoted to editorial expression as is now the case with nearly all journals, but such remarks as the editor saw fit to make were inserted wherever and in whatever type their importance dictated or the emergency of the moment seemed to require. Roman, italic, and blackletter type, such as now used in advertisements, were used to convey the editor's ideas, as the occasion seemed to demand. Discussion, when entered upon, was conducted with Addisonian grandeur of style, and even the advertising partook of the " pomp and circumstance" of utterance. In the news columns there was very little about Franklinton ; the space was devoted chiefly to news from Europe, Washington and the Indian wars in which " Old Tippecanoe," William Henry Harrison, with headquarters at Piqua, and later at Franklinton, was then actively engaged. The foreign news was from three to five months old, the Washington news was from three to five weeks old, and

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nearly all of it was taken from other papers received in exchange. The Chronicle had also its political battles to fight, and though not a financial success it served while it lasted as a medium through which debtors were dunned, personal quarrels aired and considerable business advertised. The paper was discontinued in 1815.

The Chronicle held undisputed sway at the future capital of the State until March, 1814, when the Westeru Intelligeneer was moved to this city from Worth- ington, where it had been established in 1811 and conducted up to that time. It is to the Western Intelligencer that the present Ohio State Journal traces its origin. The career of the paper extends over a period of ninety years, marked by many vicissitudes of fortune, and absorbing the more or less extended efforts of many men. The publication of the Western Intelligencer was beguu, as stated, in 1811, but the first steps toward the establishment of the paper were made two years before. It was in the summer of 1809 that Robert D. Richardson, who, prior to that time, bad published the Fredonian, at Chillicothe, and Colonel James Kilbourn brought the first newspaper press into the county for the purpose of establishing a paper at Worthington. The intention was to begin the publication that fall, and to that end Ezra Griswold, then apprenticed to Mr. Richardson, made a trip to Chillicothe and procured paper of the then publisher of the Scioto Gazette, and set up seven columns of matter for the first number. Mr. Richardson, however, failed to issue the paper and soon left the place, and the enterprise was temporarily abandoned. It is worthy of mention that the press here referred to had been the property of James B. Gardiner, editor of the Freeman's Chronicle, having been used by him in the publication of his first paper at Marietta, Ohio. This strengthens the identification of Mr. Gardiner with the earliest journalistic ventures in the county and city, and gives him a clear title to whatever honor there is in being the father of Columbus journalism.

The Worthington newspaper enterprise remained undeveloped and the press lay idle in the possession of Colonel Kilbourn until 1811, when the publication of the Western Intelligencer was begun by Joel Buttles and George Smith. In 1812, Mr. Smith sold his interest in the paper to Doctor James Hills and Ezra Griswold, who, together with Mr. Buttles, continued the publication of the paper until the spring of 1813, when Mr. Buttles, who had been the editor, retired from the firm, having connected himself with the Worthington Manufacturing Company, then doing business at Franklinton. Mr. Buttles's interest in the paper passed into the hands of Captain Francis Olmsted, who subsequently sold or gave it to his son, Colonel P. H. Olmsted. It was while the paper was in the hands of Hills, Griswold and Olmsted that the removal to Columbus was made. Professional duties com- pelled Doctor Hills, who had been editor, to retire, and Mr. Buttles came back into the firm, the name of the paper being at the same time changed to Western Intelligencer and Columbus Gazette. Mr. Griswold became the editor and cou- tinned in that capacity until the winter of 1816-17, when both he and Mr. Buttles withdrew and Colonel P. H. Olmsted became the sole proprietor. Hle changed the name of the paper to the Columbus Gazette and continued the publication unchanged until July 1, 1825, when George Nashee and John Bailhache bought into the concern and the name of the paper became the Ohio State Journal and Colum-

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bus Gazette. On November 18, 1826, this partnership was dissolved by the retire- ment of Mr. Bailhache. Messrs. Nashee and Olmsted continued the paper under the firm name of George Nashee & Co., until the death of Mr. Nashee May 16, 1827. The following month, Mr. Olmsted took into partnership in the concern John Bail- hache, and William Camron, one of the editors of the Lebanon Star, and Mr. Bail- hache became the principal editor. Mr. Camron sold his interest to his partners in May, 1829, and went to Springfield, where he bought an interest in the Western Pioneer. Bailhache and Olmsted continue I together until September, 1831, when Mr. Olmsted retired and Mr. Bailhaehe became the sole proprietor, continuing in that capacity until the spring of 1835, when he sold out to Charles Scott and Smithson E. Wright. In 1837, Mr. Wright sold his interest to Mr. Scott, and John M. Gallagher came into the firm, bringing with him the Ohio Political Register, which he had established a few months before. The name of the paper was changed to Ohio State Journal and Register, but before long the latter part of the name was dropped and the paper assumed its present name. In the spring of 1839 Mr. Gallagher sold and was succeeded in the partnership by Samuel Douglas, who remained in the firm less than a year and sold to Mr. Scott. In 1843, John Teesdale came in ax editor and the paper was published under the firm name of Charles Scott & Co. In October, 1846, Messrs. Scott & Teesdale retired and W. B. Thrall became editor and proprietor. In May, 1848, Henry Reed bought an interest in the paper and became one of the editors. This arrangement continued until Novem- ber, 1849, when both Thrall and Reed retired, and Charles Scott again became part owner, his partner being William T. Bascom. In 1854, this firm made an assign- ment, and the paper was issued for a time by I. Thomas, assignee, who offered it for sale and succeeded in March of that year in selling it to a joint stock company organized for the purpose.

The principal stockholders in this company were Oren Follett, of Sandusky, and Aaron F. Perry, of Columbus. Under the new management, Messrs. Oren Follett and William T. Bascom were the editorial writers and John Greiner was the city editor. Mr. Perry sold his stock in February, 1855, to Charles B. Dennett and Nathaniel W. Lefavor. In July, 1856, the paper passed into the hands of William Schouler & Co. The new proprietors were Colonel William Schouler, of Cincinnati, and prior to that, of Boston, and Mr. A. M. Gangewer, proprietor of the Ohio Columbian, which be brought into the firm with him and consolidated with the Journal. This partnership continued until April 27, 1858, when Colonel Schouler retired. Mr. Gangewer was not suceessful in the publication, and in the following August the material of the office was levied on by Miller & Hines to secure a debt incurred for paper. On November 19, 1858, the paper passed into the hands of Henry D. Cooke and J. and H. Miller. In April, 1859, J. and H. Miller sold out and Mr. C. C. Bill bought into the concern, and the paper was published under the firm name of Henry D. Cooke & Co., until November of the same year, when Mr. F. W. Hurtt, of Cineinnati, bought an interest, and the firm name became Cooke, Hurtt & Co. This arrangement terminated in July, 1861, Cooke withdraw- ing and the publication being continued by Hurtt, Allen & Co.

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In October, 1864, the paper passed into the hands of a company known as the Ohio State Journal Company which, in January following, sold to William T. Cog- geshall & Co., who in turn, on November 8, 1865, disposed of the paper to Comly, Roby & Smith. On October 12, 1866, A. P. Miller, formerly of the Scioto Gazette, purchased Mr. Roby's interest but remained in the firm but six months. In 1868, J. Q. Howard bought a onethird interest and became an editorial writer, continuing there until March, 1871, when he retired to accept a literary position in the East, selling his interest a year later to Comly & Smith. In 1872, Mr. A. W. Francisco, who had just left the Cincinnati Times, was employed as business manager, and on September 19 of the following year, he purchase l a onethird interest, the firm name being changed to Comly, Smith & Francisco. On March 3, 1874, Geo- eral Comly purchased Doctor Smith's interest, and later Messrs. Comly and Fran- cisco became equal owners. General Comly was appointed United States Minister to Ilonolulu and retired from the editorship, September 1, 1877, when Mr. Francisco assumed full control, with Mr. Sylvanus E. Johnson as the leading editorial writer. Later, when Mr. Johnson was called to the editorial staff of the Cincinnati Enquirer, Colonel James Taylor became leading editorial writer. In July, 1878, Mr. Fran- cisco disposed of a onesixth interest in the paper, selling onetwelfth to Samuel J. Flickinger and onetwelfth to George E. Ross, and the firm name was changed to Comly, Francisco & Co. In March, 1879, Mr. Ross sold to W. W. Bond, and the partnership continued unchanged until January 1, 1882, when it gave way to the Ohio State Journal Company. At the time of this change, Mr. Alfred E. Lee, who had been assistant writing and news editor for three years with General Comly, was leading editorial writer, having succeeded Mr. Taylor in the preceding Novem- ber, but retired June 24, 1882, and was succeeded by General B. R. Cowen. Mr. Henry Monett was president and business manager of the new company, but retired from the latter position May 3, 1882, to become General Passenger and Ticket Agent of the Nickel Plate route and was succeeded as business manager by Jerome C. Briggs. In November, 1884, General Cowen resigned as editor, having been chosen Clerk of the District and Circuit United States courts for Southern Ohio, and was succeeded by Samuel J. Flickinger. In the summer of 1889, Mr. Briggs retired from the business management, and Mr. Flickinger assumed the double duty of managing editor and business manager, in which capacity he is still serving. Ile has associated with him in the editorial department, W. S. Furay and E. K Rife, while his main assistant in the business department is George B. Hische, who, on the retirement of Mr. Briggs, was elected treasurer of the company.

Having thus traced the career of the Western Intelligencer from its beginning to the Ohio State Journal of to-day, we must take a leap backward to 1816 and mention the third newspaper to make its appearance in Columbus. That was the Columbian Gazette, published with the outfit of the defunct Freeman's Chronicle by John Kilbourn. Two numbers only were issued before the publisher lost faith in the enterprise, discontinued the paper and sold the material by piecemeal.

. That same year (1816) witnessed the birth of the Ohio Monitor, which has a lineal descendant today in the Press. The publishers were David Smith and Ezra Griswold. The Monitor was not only the rival, but also the politicial opponent of the

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Intelligencer - an antagonism which was maintained until July, 1888, a period of seventytwo years. Messrs. Smith and Griswold did not continue long together in this enterprise, the latter selling out to his partner, Mr. Smith, who conducted the paper alone until 1835, when he sold it to Jacob Medary by whom it was con- solidated with the Hemisphere, and published under that name until July 5, 1837, when its name was changed to the Ohio Statesman, with Samuel Medary & Brothers as proprietors. It was issued weekly except during the sessions of the General Assembly, when it was published twice a week. Eventually it was pub- lished tri-weekly, as well as weekly, and was thus continued until August 11, 1847, when the first number of the Daily Ohio Statesman was issued.

Samuel Medary having become sole proprietor of The Statesman, it was, in July, 1845, transferred by him to C. C. and C. R. Hazewell, the former being editor. In July, 1846, C. R. Hazewell became sole proprietor, C. C. Hazewell con- tinuing as editor until October 23, 1846. On November 4, 1846, Samuel Medary again assumed the proprietorship of The Statesman and became its editor. The next change occurred on April 1, 1853, when James Haddock Smith, Colonel Medary's soninlaw, and Samuel Sullivan Cox were announced as the editors and proprietors of the paper. On January 2, 1854, Mr. Smith sold his interest to Mr. Cox, who then became sole proprietor and editor. The latter sold on May 23, 1854, to the proprietors of the Daily Ohio State Democrat and H. W. Derby, the well-known publisher and bookseller. The proprietors of the Democrat were Osgood, Blake & Knapp, who had started it a short time before as a rival Dem- ocratie paper. The two papers were consolidated and the new journal took the name of The Ohio Statesman and Democrat. The editors of the Demoerat, Horace S. Knapp and Charles B. Flood, became the editors of the consolidated paper.

On February 10, 1855, the paper was again sold to Samuel Medary, who thus, for the third time, became its sole proprietor and editor. The words "and Dem- ocrat " were dropped from the title, and the paper again assumed its historic name, The Ohio Statesman. On August 17, 1857, it was sold to James Haddock Smith, with whom Charles J. Foster became associated in the editorial management. On June 5, 1858, Mr. Smith sold a onehalf interest in the paper to Thomas Miller, and on January 4, 1859, the latter and George W. Manypenny became proprietors of the Statesman, Colonel Manypenny taking the position of editor. Three years later, Colonel Manypenny retired from the editorship to take the management of the Public Works of the State for the lessees thereof (he being one of them), and Amos Layman, of Marietta, was chosen to take the place of editor. Mr. Layman entered npon his editorial duties on the first of January, 1862. Two years after- ward, he organized The Ohio Statesman Company, and on the seventeenth of January, 1864, the paper was sold by Manypenny & Miller to this company. Mr. Layman was president of the company and continued to hold the position of editor until he sold his interest in the paper and retired from its management in 1867. During several months of the year 1864, Lewis Baker, of Wheeling, West Virginia, was associated with him in the editorial department. When Mr. Baker retired, E. B. Eshelman, of Chillicothe, took his place as asssociate editor and, on the with- drawal of Mr. Layman from the paper, became the editor.

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The Statesman was sold on November 13, 1867, to Richard Nevins, and Charles B. Flood became editor with Mr. Eshelman. The latter retired from the paper in January, 1869, and soon thereafter F. II. Medary acquired an interest in it, when the firm became Nevins & Medary, with C. B. Flood as editor. On March 31, 1870, the announcement was made that the proprietors were Nevins, Medary & Co., with James Mills as editor. April 1, 1872, Jonathan Linton and E. S. Dodd bought the Statesman and changed it from a morning to an evening paper. Mr. Dodd retired after a few months and Mr. Linton conducted the paper alone. In July, 1872, however, he suspended the publication of the daily and transferred its subscription list to the Evening Dispatch, continuing the publication of the Weekly and Sunday issues of the Statesman. Mr. Linton also sold the Statesman's Associated Press franchise to General Comly, then of the Ohio State Journal, who afterward sold it to the Evening Dispatch. In October, 1874, Mr. Linton sold the paper to Judge Joel Myers, of Mansfield, and A. J. Mack, of Shelby, who in turn sold it to John H. Putnam in 1876. The following year Mr. Linton bought the paper back and resumed the publication of the daily edition. In the fall of 1878, Captain Putnam again became owner of the paper, but sold it the following year to The Columbus Democrat Company, which had for some time been publishing the Columbus Democrat. The two papers were consolidated and the new journal was known as the Democrat and Statesman, both morning and evening editions being published. Solon L. Goode was manager; James Goode, his brother, was editor ; the late George W. Henderson, afterwards of the Cleveland Plaindealer, was associate editor and Leslie McPherson was city editor.

In November, 1879, Captain Putnam brought suit to foreclose a chattel mort- gage for $8,800. George B. Okey was appointed receiver and continued the busi- ness with Captain Putnam as manager, the Sunday issue of the paper being dis- continued. On March 15, the Times Publishing Company was organized, with Captain Putnam as manager ; V. C. Ward, assistant, and William Trevitt, treasurer. The name of the paper was changed to the Times, and Carson Lake was chosen to assist Captain Putnam in the editorial department. In November, 1880, John Gi. Thompson bought a half interest in the paper, and in August, 1882, Captain Putnam sold his remaining half interest to George H. Tyler, of the Chillicothe Register. Mr. Thompson continued as leading editorial writer, and Leslie McPherson became news editor. Under this management the paper was con- tinued for about a year and a half, when it again fell into financial distress and the courts were resorted to. The paper was bought at judicial sale by Judge J. Il. Collins who, on February 29, 1884, sold it to the Franklin Printing and Publish- ing Company, which had been incorporated with a capital stock of $20,000. The incorporators were : Simeon K. Donavin, W. W. Medary, R. S. Warner, F. W. Prentiss, and William Trevitt. Mr. Donavin became editor, and E. K. Rife city editor. In December of the same year, Henry T. Chittenden, as president of the company, took control of the paper and conducted it both editorially and finan- cially. On February 9, 1885, the Times forsook the evening field which it had occupied for some time and became a morning paper, its United Press franchise passing by purchase into the hands of William D. Brickell, proprietor of the

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Evening Dispatch. On June 14, 1885, Mr. Chittenden sold the Times for $7,500 to Ferd. J. Wendell, of Dayton, who soon made an evening paper of it again. In November, 1887, Mr. Wendell organized the company by which it is now published, and, in July, 1888, changed the name of the paper to The Press. The paper had been Democratic continuously for seventytwo years, but when this last change of name was made, the paper ceased to be a party organ and became independent in politics. Editions of the paper for every morning except Monday were added, and the paper is now published in morning and evening editions. The morning United Press franchise of the old Times was retained and the company has since added the franchise of the Press News Association. The Press is now conducted under the general management of Mr. Wendell, with Charles W. Harper as busi- ness manager, J. H. Galbraith as chief editorial writer, and William C. Parsons at the head of the local staff.

The Western Statesman was founded in 1825 by Zachariah Mills and Martin Lowis. In 1826, Mr. Mills sold his interest to Captain Elijah Glover, and the publication firm was for a time Lewis & Glover. Freedom Sever subsequently bought Mr. Lewis's interest, and Glover & Sever sold the paper in 1828 to John Bailhache and P. H. Olmsted, and they merged it into the Ohio State Journal.

The Civil Engineer and Herald of Internal Improvements, a weekly issued on Saturdays, was published here for a time, beginning July 10, 1828. John Kilbourne was its editor, and it was devoted to the interests of canals and roads, and the advancement of manufactures and internal improvements generally.

In 1829, the Ohio State Bulletin was founded by John A. Bryan and John A. Lazell. In about a year, Bryan sold his interest to Lazell, though he continued as editor. In 1832, the paper was sold to George Kesling and George H. Wood, who changed the name of the paper to the Columbus Sentinel and published it until 1835, when they sold it to Scott & Wright, and the paper was merged into the Ohio State Journal. Jonas R. Emrie was associated for a time with Kesling and Wood in the publication of the Sentinel, and, beginning in July, 1833, P. C. Gallagher was associated with Colonel Kesling in the editorial work.

The National Enquirer, a weekly paper, was established in June, 1827, by Horton Howard. The character of the publication may be best judged by the announcement of the editor, in which he said that, in North Carolina, his native State, he had become acquainted with the feelings of the slaveholders, and that his travels in the Middle, Northern and Eastern States, and a residence of " seven and twenty years in that part of the western country which is now the State of Ohio," have made him acquainted with the feelings prevailing in these sections of the country. He deprecates sectionalism, wants to preserve the Union, and proposes " to encourage charitable dispositions and promote botanic research with a view to encourage the use of the. vegetable productions of our own country for the preven- tion and eure of disease." The paper was published for eighteen months, with Harvey D. Little as editor, being discontinued in December, 1828, and consolidated with the National Historian, published at St. Clairsville.

The publication of the Western Hemisphere, a Jacksonian Democratie paper, was begun in 1832 by Gilbert & Melcher. It was a weekly, but had for a short

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time in the winter of 1833.4 a daily edition which was called the Daily Advertiser. This latter was very small and very shortlived, but it enjoys the distinction of being the first daily publication in Columbus. Mr. Melcher sold his interest soon after this daily venture to Russell G. Bryan, and Gilbert & Bryan sold to Jacob Medary and George W. Manypenny. The latter sold it to Sacket Reynolds, who sold it to Jacob Medary again. Mr. Medary consolidated it with the Monitor, as previously stated.

The Ohio Register and Anti-Masonie Review was moved to this city from Milan, Huron County, about the time of the Morgan excitement, and was published here for three years by Warren Jenkins and Elijah Glover In 1833 the anti- masonic excitement having abent died out, the paper was discontinued.

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History of the city of Columbus, capital of Ohio, Volume I, Part 55

Author: Lee, Alfred Emory, 1838-; W. W. Munsell & Co Publication date: 1892 Publisher: New York and Chicago : Munsell & Co. Number of Pages: 1202

Author: Lee, Alfred Emory, 1838-; W. W. Munsell & Co
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: New York and Chicago : Munsell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1202