USA > Pennsylvania > Erie County > A twentieth century history of Erie County, Pennsylvania : a narrative account of its historic progress, its people, and its principal interests, Volume I > Part 94
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It was in 1848 and 1852 that the Catholic churches sought to find a location for cemetery purposes beyond where the city would grow up and surround it, but in a good deal less than twenty years what had been sought to be provided against came upon them. The city had grown up into that which had been a rural neighborhood, and a new location was desired. This was found in a tract of land on the Lake road four miles west of the city, which was bought by Bishop Mullen, and was consecrated as Trinity cemetery on Sunday, May 23, 1869. It was a notable occasion, and the ceremonies were witnessed by thousands. The procession, including the various Catholic socie- ties, the sections headed by four bands, formed in the city and marched out to the cemetery, escorting Bishop Mullen and the clergy. Arrived at the grounds, the throng gathered around a massive cross erected in the center of the field, the clergy and the choir in the center. A short address in English was made by Bishop Mullen, a sermon in German was delivered by Father Wenderlein, and then the ceremony of conse- cration took place. The cemetery obtained its name from the fact that the date of its consecration was Trinity Sunday. Joseph Scheloski was the first superintendent, and served for ten years-until his death. Joseph Haas, Sr., succeeded, serving until April 1, 1887, and was fol-
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lowed by his son, Joseph Haas, Jr., and he in turn was succeeded by Philip Weschler, the present superintendent. The agreement for the purchase of the cemetery was made by Bishop Young, and one of the first interments at Trinity was his body, removed from the South Erie cemetery.
Immediately west of Trinity cemetery, on the Lake road, two acres of ground was secured for burial purposes by St. Stanislaus Polish Catholic church. The land was bought October 15, 1889, and dedicated November 2, of the same year.
The Hebrew cemetery, on the Ridge road, or Twenty-sixth street as it is now, was purchased in 1858. It is located a short distance west of Erie cemetery. on the summit of the ridge.
Lakeside Cemetery Association was incorporated in 1895, and secured a tract of land 135 acres in extent on the lake shore, about a mile east of the city limits, and in August of that year began the work of laying out drives and lawns. It is beautifully situated, including a fine little vale through which a stream winds, falling into the lake by a little cascade. The lots are sold subject to a perpetual care pro- vision, and trees, shrubbery and hedges have been planted. Near the northern edge of the cemetery, overlooking the blue waters of the lake, a plot was secured in which were interred the remains of Capt. C. V. Gridley, commander of Admiral Dewey's flagship Olympia in the battle of Manila. Later the plot, named Gridley Circle, was marked by four antique cannon of silver bronze taken at Cavité when the Spanish surrendered the place, and sent to Erie by the United States government. Later John P. V. Gridley, a son of the Captain, who was killed by an explosion on the U. S. S. Missouri, was buried in the same plot.
CHAPTER XXI .- JOURNALS AND JOURNALISTS.
EARLY NEWSPAPERS IN ERIE .- THE GAZETTE, OBSERVER, AND OTHER WEEKLIES .- THE DISPATCH THE FIRST DAILY .- PAPERS AND PEOPLE RECALLED.
I wonder if any of the thousands of Erie readers of newspapers of the present time ever laid aside the sheets they have been perusing, long enough to bestow thought upon what newspaper effort in Erie in- volved; how many an attempt to establish business in publishing came to wreck; what an army of men have, first and last. been con- nected with journalistic work in Erie; what the amount of booming and bolstering and exploitation of Erie's claims and charms has been, and how many fond hopes were blasted along with the enterprises that failed for lack of support. Sometimes in the bitterness of heart that failure in business induced, the disappointed printer has declared that "Erie is no newspaper town, anyway"-and the fact that there is only a single instance on record where a publisher contrived to make a competence out of the business in Erie seemed to warrant the as- sertion. And yet, Erie, if judged by the number of newspapers that have from time to time been published here must be a great town for papers, for there have been no less than forty-four different journals published in Erie, and if weekly editions of daily papers, and daily editions of weeklies, should be taken into the account, there were more than fifty since the appearance, in 1808, of the Erie Mirror.
Now just imagine the puffing and blowing of all this half hundred newspapers combined into one blast; what a gale that would be! It would be sure to move something. But has it not? In that hundred years who can tell the amount of good that has been done for the city of Erie by the efforts of those newspapers, devoted to the work of keeping the advantages and charms of Erie before the public eye; to an unceasing effort to maintain local pride, quicken local enterprise and invite outside capital? Erie has grown from the little hamlet perched on the bluff near the entrance to the bay, to be a great city with miles of mills and factories and leagues of handsome homes ; with a thousand business enterprises and tens of thousands of contented and prosperous citizens; from the "sleepy borough," as it was one time called, to one of the most populous and progressive cities of the state,
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wide awake to improvements and abreast of the times in all that con- tributes to the comfort or convenience of its people. How much of all this is due to the efforts of the newspapers? Who shall say? No doubt very much was the result of the agitation, the suggestion and sometimes the criticism of the local newspaper, and even the ephem- eral sheet that endured for but its brief day may have lived long enough to point a finger in the direction of progress, and encourage effort toward the development of Erie's commerce and industries.
The first of Erie's papers was the Mirror, established in 1808. At that time the population of the entire county was hardly more than 2,000, and of Erie proper, less than 400. It is not remarkable that the Mirror did not long endure to cast its reflections. In 1812 the suc- cessor of the first newspaper venture appeared in the Northern Sentinel. which in its struggles for existence "played many parts." appearing successively as the Genius of the Lakes, the Phoenix, and finally as the Reflector, yielding to the inevitable in about 1820, when it pulled up stakes and moved holus-bolus to Mayville, N. Y. These early days were not auspicious for newspapers. There was one called the Patriot, started by a Mr. Zeba Willis, in 1818, which was published here for but a single year, when it was moved to Cleveland and be- came in course of time the Herald, long one of the principal daily newspapers of that city, and eventually merged in the Cleveland Leader.
In 1820, the Gazette was started by Joseph M. Sterrett. At that time the population of Erie was 635, and of the entire county 8,541, but it endured for a longer period than any of Erie's newspapers, covering a period of 70 years. It was followed by the Observer, start- ed in 1830, and published for 67 years. The Dispatch was begun in 1851 in Waterford, moved to Erie in 1856, in 1864 began the publica- tion of the Daily Dispatch, and has continued to this date, through varied fortunes and misfortunes, but always recognized as a paper of Erie and for Erie to the best of the abilities of its several editors.
Perhaps a survey of newspaper chronology may be worth pre- senting. Following the Gazette and Observer these appeared: Chron- icle, 1840; Commercial Advertiser, 1846 ; Constitution, 1852; Truc Amer- ican, 1853 ; Express, 1857; Daily Bulletin, printed for a short time in the Observer office, 1861 ; a daily edition of the Dispatch, (moved to Erie in 1856), 1861 ; Unsere World, 1851 ; Zuschauer, 1852; Eric Presse, 1860; Leuchutthurm, 1870; Republican, 1867; Daily Bulletin, 1874; Argus, 1875; Advertiser, 1876 ; Lake Shore Visitor, 1874; Lake City Daily, 1878 ; Jornal de Noticias, (Portugese), 1877 ; Herald, 1878 ; Graphic, 1880; Star of Liberty, 1882; Sonntagsgast, 1881; Times, 1888; Sunday Globe, 1891 ; News, 1892 ; Highland Light, 1892 ; Arbeiter-Zeitung, 1891 ; People, 1892; Sunday Messenger, 1894; Truth, 1895; Morning Record, 1895; Daily Journal, 1896. Besides these, B. F. H. Lynn, who founded the Daily
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Dispatch, somewhere in the early seventies published a very readable weekly called the Western Pennsylvanian, which, however, was not a financial success and was merged in the Gazette. Soon afterwards D. F. H. Ohr published a weekly for a short period, its name is not now recalled. Besides these, there was John M. Glazier's Record, and the Echo, a newspaper after its kind, and last of all the numerous progeny, the Post. Reading over the list it would appear as though there was little left in the newspaper vocabulary for future newspaper projectors to select a name from.
The first of the newspaper men to take up a stable position among his fellow citizens was Joseph M. Sterrett, who, for years filled a very important place in affairs in Erie. There was a time when the Whigs swore by the Gazette and the office was the political storm center of this portion of the state. All the leaders of the Whig party counseled with Mr. Sterrett and made his office their headquarters and the source from which instructions and orders emanated, and for years after Mr. Sterrett left it, after Mr. Gara, his partner and successor, also had long ceased to be connected with it, the Gazette office was still the Mecca toward which the Republicans of the old regime turned their faces when they sent up their political prayers. It was in 1830-31 that Hor- ace Greeley worked as a journeyman printer on the Gazette, and there can be no question of the important influence his brief career in Erie, associated as he could not help being with the conditions as they then existed, had, upon his future course, for he afterwards remarked that there was more politics to the square foot in Erie than in any other place in the whole United States. Mr. Sterrett was the oracle whom all consulted. Was it any wonder, then, that he should be given preferment in a political way? He held the offices of county commis- sioner, state senator, associate judge and postmaster of Erie. And yet no man ever spoke of Judge Sterrett as a boss. He was universally respected, and to his death in 1888, maintained the esteem of his fel- low citizens. The writer remembers him only as an aged man of the kindliest disposition and most engaging manner, an interesting talker and ever disposed to friendliness.
A man who had ceased to be reckoned among the ranks of the newspaper fraternity at a comparatively early day, although he went in and out amongst us until within a few months, was Henry Catlin, editor of the True American for a number of years and until its discon- tinuance, after the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion. His was a most delightful personality. He was a gentleman of rare parts. A man of peace, he was nevertheless of leonine courage. It took a man of heroic mould to assume the role he did, even in Erie, a stronghold of Whiggery and Republicanism, for his paper was the only sturdy ex-
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ponent of abolition in this part of the country. It was a matter of con- science with him; whether or not it were a paying investment finan- cially did not so much enter into his calculations as whether his views were. right. He believed they were, and he courageously defended them. He was an aider and abetter of the Underground Railroad move- ment; as a believer in the iniquity of the institution of slavery and as a sympathizer with the bondman risking life for his liberty he was ever ready to lend a hand and contribute from his purse to the cause of negro freeedom. Nor did he fear to face the opposition and boldly ap- pear in public places as the champion of an enslaved race.
Once he announced in his paper that there would be a public ad- dress delivered in Erie by Frederick Douglass. the eloquent freedman. It raised a storm of indignant protest from the supporters of slavery in Erie. and they served notice upon him that he took his life in his hand if he dared to introduce that nigger to Erie as an instructor. If they had any idea that these threats would intimidate him they little knew Henry Catlin. The contrary was the effect. When Mr. Douglas arrived at the station Mr. Catlin was there to receive him. Taking the bag of Mr. Douglass in his hand, the editor of the True American walked down State street arm in arm with the representative of the despised race, and not a hand was lifted nor a voice of challenge or protest raised. Before this splendid exhibition of courage the very rabble was dumb, and when he introduced the speaker from the stage that evening he was greeted with applause.
The True American went out when the booming of Union guns and the tramp of Union feet proclaimed the doom of slavery. No longer was it required that a paper should exist to advocate alone the abolition of that cursed institution. It was in fact dead when the first shot was fired upon the stars and stripes in Charleston harbor, and all that breathed the spirit of loyalty were united in and animated by the one desire of crushing the rebellion and restoring the Union. Faction died out, and, recognizing the aspect of affairs, Mr. Catlin furled his flag and retired from the fight as a victor, well satisfied that the right would prevail.
We have known Mr. Catlin as a useful citizen-the people now living can testify that the city was better because he had lived in it. and that his efforts in behalf of this community continued to the very last. Without ostentation or vainglorious pretense, he bent his ener- gies to add to the culture of his home town. In literature, in art, in music he maintained a step in the lead and his co-workers cheerfully followed. It was an attribute his fellows in every worthy effort recog- nized and respected.
In September, 1846, there came to Erie, to become associated with Joseph M. Sterrett in the management of the Gazette, Isaac B. Gara.
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a native of Lancaster county, a Whig from the foundation up, and a newspaper man by instinct and training. At the age of 19 he had edited a Whig paper in the eastern part of the state, and it was the beginning of a continuous career as an editor until he retired in 1866. Soon after he became associated with Mr. Sterrett, the editorial con- duct of the Gazette came into his hands, and his work was marked by a care and a ready command of language that commended his writings to the many readers of the Gazette. He had a style peculiarly his own, and, unlike Kipling of our day, had no objection to adjectives or ad- verbs. One feature of his editorial work is that he never was abusive and seemed not to understand vituperation. It appeared to be a rule of his life to speak only good of people, and his criticism of the oppo- site political faith was, by his kindly methods, made possibly more ef- fective as a weapon than it would have been if he had resorted to verbal violence. As a natural result he soon became popular in Erie and a leader socially, in politics and in business figuring in all the public doings of the time.
It is told of Mr. Gara that his custom was to set his own editorials at the case. By this arrangement he was spared any vexations that might have been caused by the work of the intelligent compositor, a standing grievance of the profession, if traditions go for anything. He retired from active journalism in 1866, but never lost his interest in newspaper work or public affairs, and almost to the day of his death was a frequent contributor to the newspaper press, both of Erie and elsewhere.
Soon after his retirement from business he was appointed deputy secretary of the commonwealth, a position he filled ably but for a brief period of time, resigning to accept the position of postmaster at Erie, the appointment coming from President Grant. He served two full terms. Upon the conclusion of his service in the postoffice he re- mained in Erie, leading the life of a retired gentleman, yet active in every good work that claimed the attention of the people. With his wife he was very active in charity.
No man was better known to the people of Erie. He was the model of a fine old gentleman-a gentleman of the old regime, who greeted his numerous acquaintances as he met them with character- istic courtesy. He was invariably accompanied by his wife, and his habitually cheerful countenance, his suavity of manner and unfailing optimism were a perpetual charm. He grew old gracefully, and his penchant for always saying kind things, no matter what the circum- stances, in time became a subject of remark, sometimes with the pur- pose of provoking a smile. He always took great interest in politics and during campaigns was often a speaker from the hustings, travel- ing even to the remote sections of the county in this work. It was re- lated of him on one occasion that having consented to speak at a Re-
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publican meeting somewhere in the neighborhood of Beaver Dam, it chanced that the weather was wretched. It was necessary to drive over muddy roads from Corry, through driving sleet, and when the destination was reached the only entertainment that had been pro- vided was a meal at a farmer's house where the provision consisted chiefly of salt bacon and other such homely fare. None of the party fully relished the spread and silence settled down upon the table and continued for a considerable space. At length Mr. Gara found voice. "They have excellent salt out here," said he. And then the table broke into a roar. Good nature was restored and the general verdict was that Beaver Dam never before had so spirited a political meeting and that district was heard from with due effect when the votes were counted.
Another philosopher of the olden time was Sidney Kelsey. He was a sort of a plodder, but few could equal him in quoting from Shakespeare or the Bible. He was a disciple of Uncle Oliver Spafford, and from him had imbibed a portion of the wisdom that caused Uncle Oliver to be known as the Benjamin Franklin of Erie. Sid Kelsey was constitutionally opposed to directness in telling his story. He ap- proached it by stealth and stratagem, and thereby made it much more ornate according to the tastes of the day in which he lived.
The most notable writing that Sid Kelsey ever did appeared anonymously, and the fame that came to him posthumously was very mild and weak compared with what it might have been had hie been less timid about acknowledging his authorship. It was he who wrote the "E-pistol of John," that created so much stir during the most ac- tive period of the railroad war. It appeared as a brochure and excited such a degree of interest (to us it seems much greater than the merits of the work warranted), that Mr. Kelsey was fearful of consequences and kept his secret locked up in his breast until a short time before his death, when he confessed it.
Of all the editors Erie ever boasted, however, none could equal for enterprise and push and energy, B. F. H. Lynn, the founder of the Daily Dispatch. Ben. Lynn was no idler. He was phenomenally ac- tive, and, waking or sleeping, his mind was filled with the business in hand, and that business was the publication of the Dispatch. His en- terprise became extravagance, for in the course of two or three years he had brought the Dispatch up to the grade of papers that had com- munities of 100,000, or upwards, to draw support from. He gathered about him a corps of editors and printers that were away above Erie's class in those days, and he had his own way of establishing and main- taining the esprit de corps that made his force effective. When the anniversary of the paper came there would be a big picnic with a
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chartered special train and Mehl's band. On New Year's day there would be a big dinner to the entire force. If he achieved a big news scoop all hands were invited across to Capt. Graham's for an oyster supper. He figured as a leader in Fourth of July celebrations, and had a prominent part in the demonstrations with which the Union victories toward the end of the war were celebrated.
Get the news and print it regardless, were his orders, and one time he had the narrowest possible escape from losing his life through the publication of a news item. The Dispatch had alluded to the place kept by one Felix McCann as a doggery, and Felix was naturally very much put out about it. About the middle of the forenoon he came into the office-it was then on Fifth street-and passing up stairs, found Mr. Lynn with his coat off and his sleeves rolled up working at one of the newspaper imposing stones. The greeting was brief and the reply even briefer. Lynn ordered the intruder to get out or be thrown out, but McCann, grabbing an iron foot stick from beside the form at which Lynn had been working, brought it viciously down upon Mr. Lynn's bald head, cutting a long gash from which the blood poured over his face and ears. McCann turned and ran, for the office force, surprised at first, quickly recovered. The air was filled with planers, shooting-sticks, mallets-anything that could be pressed into duty as a missile, but the invader escaped uninjured. There was a story in the next issue that was not a retraction.
The editorial force at that time was worthy of notice. The chief editor was Jesse H. Lord, who left Erie to become editor of the Scien- tific American. Charles Edwyn Hurd was assistant, and he became associated with Boston journalism. Tom E. Wilson was night editor; he went to New York, in time was of the World force, and for many years and up to the time of his death, was editor of the World Almanac. John R. Graham, the city editor, after having the management of the Gazette for a time, went west and settled in Kansas, but his advance- ment was in politics instead of journalism.
Mr. Lynn's liberality turned out to be bad management. Before long the sheriff became his partner and that closed his connection with the Dispatch. A few years later he returned and established the West- ern Pennsylvanian, an excellent weekly, but he could not make it go. Again he failed. Many another venture turned out wrong. Toward the end of the seventies he was found dead one morning at the home of a relative in Mauch Chunk. There are very few living in Erie today who remember the Dispatch establishment at that time, but the recol- lection of all is that it formed a golden epoch in memory. Mr. Lynn could get more work out of men than most employers, but yet he was a fellow-craftsman-a comrade rather than a master, and all, from the devil up, were attached to him with the friendliest kind of devotion.
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A few years after Mr. Lynn left it the Dispatch came into the pos- session of a firm of which Mr. James R. Willard was a member, and, first and last, Mr. Willard continued to be associated with the paper for a period of twelve years or more, and during his administration of its affairs it probably saw its most prosperous days. Erie still re- members Mr. Willard kindly and well. He was popular alike with the public and his employes, for he was a genial gentleman. He left journalism, however, for another line of business and acquired a large fortune on the Chicago Board of Trade.
His partner, Eben Brewer, was another and a splendid gentle- man, and his only fault was his lack of the business instinct-perhaps rather he lacked the talent of getting down to business as it pertains to the printing office or the publication of the newspaper. Socially, he was the ideal of a gentleman and surely was a born diplomat. He possessed remarkable abilities along certain lines, which was recog- nized by his appointment to represent the United States at the Paris exposition, and at Vienna, and also by an important position in con- nection with the Columbian exposition at Chicago in 1893.
Eben Brewer died in Cuba during the Spanish-American war, a victim to his zeal in the performance of a difficult duty entrusted to him. He was in charge of the mail service of the army, and gave the business his personal attention, performing a prodigious amount of work in the line of duty and, as well, most important service in helping to care for the sick and wounded. It was more than he was able to bear up under. He took the yellow fever and died, as gallant a hero as ever followed the flag of his country.
There were others who might be named as having distinguished themselves at home or abroad, who were connected with the Dispatch. Being still alive, it may be sufficient to merely mention them. Wil- liam Eleroy Curtis, for example, has become noted as a journalist, author, diplomat and traveler, and is especially well known in con- nection with the Pan-American Congress. Sam Woods, lately de- ceased, was in his day one of the best city editors in the state. Nelson Baldwin was for a long time managing editor of the Herald, leaving that desk to become collector of customs for the port of Erie, and is now of the editorial staff of the Times.
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