USA > Ohio > Wyandot County > The History of Wyandot County, Ohio, containing a history of the county, its townships, towns general and local statistics, military record, portraits of early settlers and prominent men etc > Part 43
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" We can, with much truth, say Democracy is progressing, for we are now progressing up street at a pretty fair rate. We would be glad to have all the coons in christendom here who deny that Democracy is progressing, for certainly when they would see us progressing they would have to ad- mit the fact."
In the first number of the Pioneer, Robert McKelly announces himself as an attorney at law and solicitor in chancery, and D. Ayres & Co. advertise their new store, new goods and new prices, and inform the public that "their store may be found obliquely opposite Mr. Kirby's hotel." On the
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HISTORY OF WYANDOT COUNTY.
12th of September, John Sell notifies the public of his location in Upper Sandusky, where he will hereafter practice as an attorney at law and solici- tor in chancery, and J. & J. Myers announce the opening of a new grocery and bakery.
The Pioneer continued under the management of its original proprietor until February, 1849. On the 16th of that month, the publisher announced the prospective winding up of his connection with the paper, and on the 23d he published his valedictory, and announced the sale of the establish- ment to Josiah Smith and Elijah Giles. William T. Giles soon afterward started for California, and the Pioneer was conducted by the new publishers, under the name of J. Smith & E. Giles, and with no other very obvious change. Some time in 1850, Mr. Smith withdrew from the editorial chair, and the paper remained under the sole control of Elijah Giles, until the return of William T. Giles from California in 1853.
It was during the eventful railroad campaign in the fall of 1850 that the memorable attack upon the liberty of the press in the person of the then editor of the Pioneer occurred. This event, though discreditable to the county, ought to be held in remembrance as a warning to all who may be disposed to imitate the outrage. For that purpose we reproduce, from per- haps the only copy in existence, Mr. Giles' own account of the trans- action :
"AN ATTEMPT TO MOB US.
"On the second Tuesday of October,-that ever-memorable day. when Ohioans exercise the rights of suffrage-the first and best of all blessings that freemen are endowed with-gained and given to us by our worthy and patriotic forefathers, whose names have been signed to the Declaration of Independence-thus preserving to us our liberties and the privileges that the God of Nature intended for us. On this great day, many of our fellow - citizens went to the different polls in the county ; and we among the rest, not dreaming that our country was infested with a cowardly mob of villains, went to Jackson Township. While there, six or seven bullies from Mar- seilles came for the purpose above named. One of them was sent into the house to meet and greet us as a friend, while the others were kept out, fearing mistrust of what was going on; and he had the audacity to carry it out with the impudence of old Satan. He approached us and spoke in the most friendly terms -' How do you do, friend Giles?' We spoke in re- turn. He then said he wanted to talk privately, and asked us to walk out with him, which we unhesitatingly did.
" Before getting off the porch, he said he had 'a crow to pick with us, to walk some distance with him;' all understood by his companions, that after getting us out from the house, they would surround us, so that we could not get to the house in such an emergency as this. When we were led to the spot selected -- distant from the house, so that our friends could not hear us in the hour of distress, or come to our relief-they all jumped around us, as if to say-' We've got you now.'
"Their countenances bore the most corrupt design; their fiendish eyes gave expression that led us to believe that their hearts were so tickled with the 'old boy' as to place our life in their brutal hands. At this moment our heart was full of agony, and almost bleeding to think there were men in the country who would thus take a lone stranger, and use him thus bar- barously.
" Directly after we were surrounded, the big little bully, McGavern, threw off his coat, and declared he would whip us. What a great little brave fel-
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low he was, when he had five or six bullies to back him-swearing they would have a kick at us as we would fall! McGavern struck us several blows in the breast, swearing by all that was good and bad we had weapons, for he was told so at Brownstown. Did he suppose, if we had, that we would have stood and let such insults be heaped upon us? If we would have had weapons he would not have struck us so often, for if we ever in our life could have been or was aggravated to use anything of the kind, it was at that time.
"While we were in this position, asking for quarter, one of our very special friends in the house heard us, and ran to our rescue. When he found we were being abused, he stepped between us and the man that was striking us, and told us to go to the house. When we started, up stepped Mr. Lewis Merriman (a man of notoriety, by the way), begging of our friend to let us be whipped, as, he said, we so richly deserved it. But our friend, a true-hearted man, would not swerve from the integrity and friend- ship existing between us, but said: 'Never shall he be hurt as long as I am here.' A true friend in the time of need is really a true one; and his name and the names of those that befriended us in that hour shall be sacred in our bosom the longest day we live.
" Had we been surrounded by Indians of the most savage character, and made the appeals that we did to those white savages, they would have shrunk from the scene, and not treated us half so bad. Could we tell our feelings, or describe the scene as it actually took place, it would be as an imaginary picture, untold of in the history of mankind.
"It is not necessary for us to make a long preface to this story at this time, as we expect to be called upon to notice it again, and make the names and characters of the individuals conspicuous."
It need not be said that the sympathies of the entire press of the coun- try were aroused concerning this outrage, or that the expression of them was loud, frequent, and finally overpowering.
In the spring of 1853, William T. Giles, having returned from Cali- fornia, resumed the control of the Democratic Pioneer, and soon after changed its name to the Wyandot Pioneer.
Having thus hastily sketched the fortunes of the Democratic Pioneer, until the return of its founder and its change of name, we must now retrace our steps to notice other luminaries which from time to time arose and shone and went out.
On the 18th of July, 1848, at Upper Sandusky, James S. Fouke & Co .* issued the first number of the Wyandot Tribune, a sheet of the same size as that on which the Pioneer was printed, but with only five columns to the page. The Tribune was like all other tribunes in those days-a Whig paper. It was well printed, was conducted with moderate ability, and as- sisted materially in the election of Taylor and Fillmore. .
However, on the 17th of February, 1849, Fouke published his vale- dictory, in which, while declining to enumerate the reasons for his with- drawal, he gives one which is tolerably satisfactory, for he says: "The patronage of the office is not sufficient to meet our engagements, and hence the necessity of our leaving." At the same time, he announces the transfer of the paper to Mr. A. C. Hulburd, who is introduced as " a young man de- serving the encouragement and patronage of the Whig party."
-" On the 1st of December, 1849, Hulburd formed a partnership with M. R.
*G. L. Wharton was Fouke's partner when the Tribune was established. He sold out to the latter in December, 1848.
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HISTORY OF WYANDOT COUNTY.
Gould, and the Tribune was thenceforward conducted by Hulburd & Gould, until January 25, 1851, when it had reached the twenty-eighth number of the second volume. At the date last named, the publishers announced that they had found it necessary to suspend the publication of their paper for a time, in order to collect their outstanding accounts. As might have been inferred, this was the last appearance of the Wyandot Tribune.
As before stated, William T. Giles, having assumed the publication of the Democratic Pioneer, changed its name to the Wyandot Pioneer, which was issued on the 23d of June, 1853, on an enlarged sheet, as a seven-column paper, and printed on new type. With his increased experience, Giles pro- duced a paper which held a very respectable rank among the country press, and which, although Democratic, was at the same time liberal and concilia- tory. He continued to publish it until September 2, 1854, when he sold out the establishment to one William Appleton, who ran it about a year. Under Appleton's management the paper was frequently referred to as a Know-Nothing organ.
In January, 1855, Giles brought suit for an unpaid balance of the pur- chase money due for the newspaper, and swore out an attachment against Appleton as a non-resident. The press, types and fixtures were attached and appraised at $800. Shortly afterward, some gentlemen of this place (Upper Sandusky) paid off Giles' judgment, and the Pioneer passed under the editorial control of Col. William T. Wilson, and became an exponent of the principles of the then new Republican party.
The next change was in July, 1856, when the Pioneer was sold to George W. Keen and Horatio N. Lewis,* who, the next year, July 2, 1857, trans- ferred the establishment to Charles G. Mugg, who, to use the language of his salutatory in the number for July 9, 1857, thenceforth became " editor, publisher and proprietor in his propria persona."
On the 29th of October, 1857, Mugg reduced the size of the Pioneer, making it once more a six-column paper, and on the 11th of February, 1858, having sold out to Col. Wilson, he retired from the "tripod" with some- thing of a flourish. It may be said that nothing in his editorial career be- came him like the leaving it, as witness this specimen brick from his vale- dictory:
"Since we have been in the business, we have filled all sorts of positions -we have at the same time been editor, foreman, pressman, jour. and devil (by the way, the devilship suited tolerably well, as we were somewhat devilishly inclined before we went into the business), and have been com- pelled to labor day and night to get out our paper, and if any of our patrons think they could have done better than we have done, just let them invest $800 in a 'one-horse' printing office, and try the experiment. There are various reasons why we have not succeeded any better as a newspaper political editor; we were too honest to be a politician-too poor to be inde- pendent-too proud to beg-worth too much property to get our work done for nothing -drank too much lager for a temperance man-too little 'rot- gut' for the 'rummies'-too much of a moral man for the b'hoys- too much of a rowdy for the pharisaical part of the community-in fine, we had all the disadvantages, and but few of the advantages of our exalted position."
Again we must go back to gather up the broken threads of our narrative.
*Horatio N. Lewis, then twenty-five years of age, died at Chicago, Ill., in September, 1857, from in juries received on the cars of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad, near Alliance, Ohio, in July 1857.
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By the transfer of the Pioneer to William Appleton in 1854, the Demo- cratic party was left without an organ, a tolerable state of affairs, though not to be of long continuance, for on the 3d of November, 1854, Robert D. Dumm commenced the publication of the Democratic Vindicator, a hand- somely printed seven-column folio, of the same sized sheet then used by the Pioneer. About the close of the first volume, the new paper passed under the editorial control of N. W. Dennison, who conducted it until July 3, 1857, at which date he bade the public farewell, and informed them that he was about to pitch his tent in the West. He soon after went to Boonsboro, Iowa, taking press and types with him, and thus did the Vindicator cease to vindicate.
The gap was soon filled, however, for there was no lack of valiant men ready to spread buckets full of printer's ink on the least provocation or smallest chances of remuneration, and on the 20th of August, 1857, Nathan Jones and J. W. Wheaton issued the first number of the Democratic Union. As early as December 24, following, Mr. Jones had become sole editor and publisher, and on the 18th of February, 1858, he published to the world his farewell address, and Robert D. Dumm took control of the Union. As first. issued by Jones & Wheaton it was a six-column folio. The office was par- tially destroyed by fire just before it passed into the hands of Jones.
When Col. Wilson took charge of the Pioneer the second time, it was conducted for awhile as a neutral paper. It soon manifested Republican proclivities, and erelong became a decided political and party organ.
NOTE .- With the most scrupulons investigation into the lives and deaths of the ephemeral newspapers of Wyandot County, we have omitted in its proper place to mention the short-lived Wyandot Herald. This paper was started after Elijah Giles had ceased to publish the Pioneer. It was con- ducted by "Charles Warner, editor and publisher," and its first number was issued April 19, 1853. It survived long enough to reach its sixth number, when it passed into the hands of William T. Giles, and No. 7 was issued by him on the 23d of June, 1853, as the Wyandot Pioneer. It was Demo- cratic in politics, and not otherwise remarkable.
The Democratic Union, under the control of Robert D. Dumm, * and the Wyandot Pioneer, in charge of Col. William T. Wilson, were respec- tively the organs of the Democratic and Republican parties for a number of years, following the party banners and playing the party tunes with a faithfulness and devotion which, however undesirable in a newspaper, are indispensable qualifications for a party organ.
On the 3d of May, 1861, Colonel, then Capt. William T. Wilson, left for the seat of war in Western Virginia, in command of a company of Wyandot County volunteers, then known as the "Wyandot Guards," and his estimable wife, Mrs. L. A. Wilson, was left in charge of the Pioneer. The newly-installed lady editor published three numbers, which were fully equal to those which preceeded and followed them under other manage- ment. The Pioneer then passed into the hands of Louis A. Brunner, & former resident of Maryland. On the 16th of September, 1864, Otho J. Powell became a joint proprietor of the paper, and the Pioneer was pub- lished by Brunner & Powell until August 23, 1865, when Mr. Brunner again became sole proprietor. A few months later, however, or on the 31st of January, 1866, the Pioneer again passed under the control of Col. Wil- son, who on the 27th of September, 1866, was succeeded by Pietro Cuneo,
* In 1865, Mr. Dumm introduced the first cylinder press run in this part of Ohio; several years, indeed, be- fore such a press was used in Tiffin, Lima or Mansfield.
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the present editor and proprietor of that paper. On the 7th of January, 1869, Mr. Cuneo changed the name of the Wyandot Pioneer, which since that time has been known as the " Wyandot County Republican." He was the first Upper Sandusky publisher to introduce steam power.
On the 12th of November, 1868, Robert D. Dumm took leave of the Union, and was succeeded by E. Zimmerman, who on the 1st of November, 1870, was in turn succeeded by Louis A. Brunner. The latter continued as sole editor and proprietor of the paper until during the month of Aug- ust, 1873, when Mr. Dumm (who, as the senior member of the firm of R. D. Dumm & Co., had been editing and publishing the Ft. Wayne, Ind., Senti- nel, a daily and weekly newspaper, from November, 1868), returned and purchased a one-half interest in the Union. The firm of Dumm & Brunner then continued until October, 1874, when they sold out to Charles L. Zahm. The last named individual continued in control until about the 1st of No- vember, 1877, when he transferred his interests to D. J. Stalter and R. D. Webster. The firm of Stalter & Webster only continued some six or eight months, when the junior member retired, leaving Mr. Stalter in sole control until November 27, 1879, when the Union again passed into the hands of Messrs. Dumm & Brunner, its present editors and proprietors, who erected for it the building on the corner of Main and Railroad streets, and put in steam power to run its presses.
The old, and it may be added trite saying, that "tall oaks from little acorns grow," is quite applicable when reference is made to The Weekly Chief, Upper Sandusky's latest acquisition in the journalistic field. It ap- pears that in August, 1876, H. A. Tracht, then a youth of but fourteen years of age, purchased $6 worth of material and began printing cards. As his business increased he added more stock to his office, which was then located in the back part of his father's shoe store, and in May, 1878, began the publication of a small monthly sheet, styled the Wyandot Chief, which was continued for one year. After the discontinuance of this paper, the youthful editor again increased his facilities for doing job work and secured the assistance of practical mechanics.
On the 16th of August, 1879, he issued the first number of The Weekly Chief, which in size was a folio of 13x20 inches. In January, 1880, it was made a six-column folio. Prosperity rendered another en- largement necessary, and on the 21st of May, 1881, it appeared as a seven - column folio, and in April, 1882, as an eight-column folio. In September, 1883, it was changed to its present dimensions and style-a well-printed six-column quarto.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
It is a pleasing task to write of those connected with the early history of Wyandot, and certainly no one occupies a more prominent place in the recollection of our people than William T. Giles, our first Democratic editor.
The subject of this sketch was born in New Lisbon, Columbiana County, Ohio, July 18, 1823. He attended the schools of that then quaint old town until he was about fifteen years old, when he went into the print- ing office of the Ohio Patriot to learn the business. The Patriot was then owned by Hetzell & Gregg, and young Giles remained with them until the office was sold to William Duane Morgan, brother of Gen. Morgan, and the last Democratic Auditor of State, prior to the election of Mr. Kisse- witter last October. He continued in the office with Mr. Morgan until 1843,
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when he went to Bucyrus, holding a position on the Crawford County Democrat, then published and edited by T. J. Orr. Printing offices in Bucyrus those days were not the bonanzas they are now, and Giles could not get enough money from handsome Tom Orr to pay his board, which was $1.25 per week. Mr. Orr would rather sit on a store box all day than dun a subscriber, and consequently Tom's bank book was always a few loads of wood behind. Tom was an able writer, but could do nothing with more ease than any other man in America. The Crawford County Democrat was started some time early in 1845, but in Orr's hands it was a failure, the paper collapsed, and he urged Giles, his only employe, to buy the material and remove it to Upper Sandusky and commence the publication of a Democratic paper. Giles insisted that he neither had money nor experience as a writer, and did not feel like embarking in the enterprise. Orr, however, insisted, giving Giles to understand that unless some arrangement could be made, he could not pay him for labor due, and that he might be com- pelled to count imaginary railway ties on his way back to New Lisbon. After a good deal of persuasion, Giles, in company with a personal friend, the late lamented William. M. Scroggs, visited Upper Sandusky, which at that time was a very small place. The Democrats, Capt. S. M. Worth, R. McKelly, Col. A. McElvain, Col. Joseph MeCutchen, Peter B. Beidler, C. R. Mott, George Harper, and in fact, all the Democrats urged the establish- ment of a Democratic paper, while the Whigs put in their words of dis- couragement, saying it could not live in so new a county; but Giles thought it was a case of necessity; he was like the fellow after the ground hog-he must have meat-and there was mighty little prospect of getting any out of Tom Orr; so he said, "Sink or swim, survive or perish, here goes." He returned to Bucyrus, informed Orr of his decision, in case they could agree upon terms. Orr wanted to know what proposition Giles had to make. Giles said, "If you sell me the material on eight months' time, taking a note for the amount over what is due me, and agree to take the material back in. case payment is not made when due, and will then agree to pay me my wages, deducting ten per cent for use of materials, it is a go-otherwise not." Orr agreed to the proposition. Col. Scott, a very fine lawyer, drew up the contract and note, which were properly signed.
Giles then returned to Upper Sandusky to seek shelter for his press and material, but could not secure a place, without buying a building-a small chair shop -- that stood in the middle of Fourth street, in the vicinity of the present African Church. Now came the question, " How can I buy ?" Giles related the condition of things to some Democratic friends, and the result was, the money was raised, the house bought and held for payment. The next move was to get the material from Bucyrus to Upper Sandusky. Giles borrowed Col. McKelly's horse, took an early morning start, rode over to Bucyrus, employed Frederick Fireing, loaded his wagon, and returned to Upper Sandusky the same day, without eating a bite until arriving at McElvain's old log hotel, located where the brewery now stands.
The publication of the Democratic Pioneer was begun under these embar- rassing circumstances, and all the difficulties did not stop here. Giles had to buy a lot to put his building on, as there was some law or restriction compelling the removal of all houses from the streets. At the time of the removal of the building by Mr. Russel, Giles stood at the case, set up the notice of the removal, and headed it "Progressive Democracy," as can be seen by reference to the old files of the Pioneer, which have only been fully preserved in the county by Hon. J. D. Sears.
11
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HISTORY OF WYANDOT COUNTY.
Pay day came, and Giles owed more than he did at the start, so he at. once wrote T. J. Orr the following lines:
UPPER SANDUSKY, -, 1846.
T. J. Orr, Esq., Bucyrus, Ohio:
DEAR SIR-Unable to make the payment-ready to comply with the article. Respectfully yours, W. T. GILES.
Mr. Orf was in the same condition-he could not pay-and in a long letter urged Giles to go on and pay when and as he could. Giles took his advice and worked away. One evening, as Giles was passing Col. Mc Cutchen's store, he heard his name mentioned, and naturally felt inclined to hear what was being said, and to see who were in the store. He quietly approached the door, and in the dim candle light, saw Cols. Chaffee, Mc- Cutchen and others, and heard them lamenting the condition of the young editor. They were " really sorry that the country was so thinly settled and -the town so small, that the Pioneer could not survive; that Giles was indus- trious, energetic, etc., but the fates were against him." After hearing their remarks, Giles said, " By the Eternal, if I burst it will not be my fault." He went home but did not sleep much that night. In the morning, he rose and resolved to board himself, and did for about sixteen months, on an average cost of 48 cents per week, earning and saving sufficient to pay all his debts. After free from debt, he boarded at Zimmerman's Blue Ball Hotel till 1849.
During his struggle for existence, Giles was urged to "take the post office as it would help him to stem the tide." He refused for a long while, but finally consented. A petition was put in circulation, and Col. McElvain, who was then Postmaster, and had urged Giles to take the office, refused to sign the petition, remarking that " Giles could not get the office without he had other signers." This raised the Irish in Giles, and he "made a vow that he would have the office with just those names and none other, or not have it at all." He then wrote to the Hon. Henry St. John, who was then the Member of Congress from this district, giving a statement of facts, and sent forward the petition. Col. McElvain called upon Giles and wanted him to call a meeting, and let the meeting decide between them. Giles said: "No, I have done everything I am going to do in this matter, and you may call all the meetings you want." No meeting was called, but Giles became Postmaster, but only held the office long enough to see that it would not pay him, when he resigned, and had John A. Morrison appointed before any one knew of his resignation, excepting Mr. Morrison and a few friends.
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