USA > Pennsylvania > Beaver County > History of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, and its centennial celebration, Volume I > Part 50
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"At a convention held in St. Thomas' Church, in Washington county, Pa., September 25, 1803, were present the Rev. Robert Ayres, the Rev. Joseph Dodridge, the Rev. Francis Reno and the Rev. Mr. Seaton. After divine services the Rev. R. Ayres was appointed chairman and Stephen John Francis secretary, when the following resolution was adopted: ' 'Resolved, That application for supplies shall be made to the convention in writing, with the names annexed of those who wish the supply, and that they shall become respon- ible to the minister for a sum not less than $4.' **
This convention also decided to hold an adjourned meeting, and it was held six months later at a church on General Neville's farm, on Chartiers Creek. The Centennial of this Convention was appropriately celebrated at the old church, Saturday, September 26, 1903.
* Quoted in History of Washington County, Creigh, pp. 237-238.
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gregations are still in existence, but those remaining will be noticed under the boroughs in which they are located.
From the zeal shown in the building up of this large num- ber of churches, Protestant and Catholic, it will be seen that the people of Beaver County have not neglected their spiritual interests while seeking to develop the material resources of their inheritance.
VOL. I .- 29.
CHAPTER XIII
THE PRESS
The First Newspaper - News-letters - First Newspaper in English - First English Daily - Journalistic Development in the United States - First Colonial Newspapers - First Religious Journals - Newspapers in Pennsylvania - Great Modern Newspaper Plants - Character of the American Press - History of the Newspaper Press of Beaver County.
Here shall the Press the People's right maintain, Unawed by influence and unbribed by gain; Here patriot Truth her glorious precepts draw, Pledged to Religion, Liberty and Law. STORY, Motto of the Salem Register.
THE first newspaper, in the modern sense of that term, was the Frankfort Journal, published at Frankfort, Germany, by Egenolf Emmel, in 1615, one hundred and sixty-three years after the introduction of printing from metal types. Long be- fore that manuscript news-sheets or news-letters, so-called, had been issued to subscribers, and, in England, this system of dis- tributing news did not cease for a considerable time after the establishment of printed newspapers. The first newspaper in the English language was the Weekley Newes, begun by Na- thaniel Butter, May 23, 1622; and the first daily paper in Eng- land was the Daily Courant, issued in 1702.
The United States has shown a phenomenal activity and enterprise in the development of newspapers. Rowell's Ameri- can Newspaper Directory for 1899 estimates those published in the United States and Canada at twenty-two thousand, or nearly half the total number in the world, and of the world's total more than half are printed in the English language. The first newspaper in America in colonial times appeared in Boston,
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Mass., September 25, 1690. This was a sheet bearing the title, Publick Occurrences both Forreign and Domestick, published by Benjamin Harris, and printed by R. Pierce. It was a diminu- tive thing, but large enough to excite the suspicion and hostil- ity of the provincial authorities, who suppressed it after the first issue. The only copy of it known to exist is on file in the State Paper Office in London.
In his prospectus, the publisher says :
It is designed that the countrey shall be furnished once a moneth (or, if any Glut of occurrences happen, oftener) with an Account of such considerable things as have arrived unto our Nation.
In order hereunto, the Publisher will take what pains he can to obtain a Faithful Relation of all such things; and will particularly make himself beholden to such Persons in Boston whom he knows to have been for their own use the diligent observers of such matters.
That which is herein proposed is, First, That Memorable Occurrents of Divine Providence may not be neglected or forgotten, as they too often are. Secondly, That people everywhere may better understand the Circumstances of Publique Affairs, both abroad and at home; which may not only direct their thoughts at all times, but at some times also assist their Business and Negotiations. Thirdly, That something may be done towards the curing, or at least the charming, of that Spirit of Lying which prevails among us, wherefore nothing shall be entered but what we have reason to believe is true, repairing to the best fountains for our Information. And when there appears to be any material mis- take in anything that is collected, it shall be corrected in the next.
Another publication which has often been called the first newspaper printed in America was the News-Letter, published first April 24, 1704, by John Campbell, the postmaster of Bos- ton. Campbell's prospectus was as follows:
ADVERTISEMENT
This News-Letter is to be continued weekly; and all persons who have any houses, Lands, Tenements, Farms, Ships, Vessels, Goods, Wares or Merchandizes, &c., to be sold or let; or Servants Run-away, or Goods Stole or Lost; may have the same inserted at a Reasonable Rate, from Twelve Pence to Five Shillings and not exceed: Who may agree with John Campbell Post Master of Boston.
All persons in Town or County may have said News-Letter every Week, Yearly, upon reasonable terms, agreeing with John Campbell, Post-master, for the same.
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The Hartford, Conn., Courant is the oldest newspaper in the United States in continuous publication. It was started in that city October 29, 1764, and is believed never to have missed pub- lication for an issue up to the present time.
The question as to what was the first religious newspaper published in the United States has been much disputed. By some it is said to have been the Herald of Gospel Liberty, begun September 1, 1808, at Portsmouth, N. H., by Elias Smith. We are not acquainted with the evidence on which the claim is based. It is certain, however, that the Religious Remembrancer, edited by J. W. Scott, and published at No. 147 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, was started September 4, 1813. A complete file of this paper is preserved in the rooms of the Presbyterian His- torical Society in the Witherspoon Building, Philadelphia, and the first number bears that date. It may be a surprise to some of the readers of the New York World to learn that that paper was founded in 1860 by a company of religious gentlemen with the distinct purpose of having one newspaper in the metropolis that would be free from the taint of "yellow journalism!"
There are now published in the State of Pennsylvania alone over fifteen hundred newspapers, of which Beaver County has seven. The Minerva was the first newspaper published in this county. It was printed on brown paper, and the pages were 10 X 17 inches in size. The first colonial sheet spoken of above was smaller still. Its size was three pages of a folded sheet, leaving one page blank, with two columns to a page, and each page was about eleven by seven inches. It will be instructive to put down here, by way of contrast with these, and as showing the marvelous advance in the science and art and machinery of newspaper publishing, some figures descriptive of the issues and the plants of the big New York dailies.
Nearly all of the metropolitan papers are now practically magazines in size, ranging from ten to sixteen pages for the week-day issues, and from forty to fifty for those of Sunday. Modern presses of the largest kind cost as high as $100,000, and some of these great plants have a dozen or more of such presses, each of which can print in five or six colors, or, by superimpos- ing, in a hundred shades. There are single machines, needing only three men to operate them, which can print, fold, cut, paste, and count ready for delivery forty or fifty thousand copies
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in an hour. The New York Journal alone has fourteen presses that can print in an hour nearly one hundred thousand eight- page papers, with five colors on the front and back. These fourteen presses can print in less than three seconds one thou- sand copies of an eight-page paper, as many as the average country newspaper with good circulation prints in a day of a four-page paper. The largest New York papers have as many as one hundred men serving them in their city department almost every night, and their pay-rolls alone run from $25,000 to $50,000 a week.
It has been said that newspapers are powerful in three ways -as narrators, as advocates, and as weathercocks. "They re- port events, they advance arguments, they indicate by their attitude what those who conduct them and are interested in their circulation take to be the prevailing opinion of their read- ers." In the first of these respects the American press is the strongest, perhaps, and is certainly unrivaled in this regard by that of any other country in the world. The American press- man has naturally (to use a bit of his own slang) "a nose for news." It may be true that with it he too often smells out the rancid and unsavory messes in the world about him, and "if there's a hole in a' our coats " is too anxious "to prent it"; but we think that on the whole the press in this country has lived up to the motto of the Salem Register which we have put at the head of our chapter, and has been generally the defender of the people's rights and of religion, liberty, and law. That eminently fair and intelligent foreign critic of our institutions, Mr. Brice, has said: "The American press may not be above the moral level of the average good citizen-in no country does one either expect or find it to be so-but it is above the level of the machine politicians in the cities. In the war waged against these wor- thies the newspapers of New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Chicago have been one of the most effective battalions." And whatever may be true of the city newspapers we are sure that the history of the Beaver County press shows that there has been in this important field of activity a long succession of worthy men who have followed the right as they have seen the right, and have sought to be true to the best interests of the commun- ity. Instead of ourselves trying to tell their story, we will give the rest of this chapter to two of the craft, whose long services
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as editors and residence in the county qualify them to speak as having the authority of knowledge. We refer to Mr. Francis S. Reader of the Beaver Valley News of New Brighton, and Mr. Michael Weyand, formerly for years editor of the Beaver Argus and more recently of the Beaver Times. These gentlemen have collaborated in the preparation of the following
HISTORY OF THE NEWSPAPER PRESS OF BEAVER COUNTY
BEAVER
The Minerva
The first paper published in Beaver County of which any copy is known to be in existence was the Minerva of Beaver- town, issued every Saturday by John Berry, the first number being dated November 4, 1807. It was a four-page sheet, the pages ten and a half by seventeen inches in size, and was sold at two dollars per year. The motto of the paper, taken from Cowper's Task, was: "This folio of four pages; happy work! What is it but a map of busy life, its fluctuations and its vast concerns." In the centre of the head-line was a somewhat crude representation of the goddess whose name it bears (Minerva). The first and second pages were taken up with European news. The third page had a notice that Coulter, Bever & Bowman had begun building a paper-mill at the mouth of the Little Beaver; and also the proclamation of Governor Thomas Mckean, offering a reward of $500 for the arrest and conviction of the person who murdered James Hamilton September 23d last past ; said Hamilton having accompanied William B. Irish, deputy marshal in the District of Pennsylvania, George Holdship, Esq., and Ennion Williams, agent of the Pennsylvania Population Company, to dispossess William Foulkes.
The editor said, "The Minerva shall be strictly impartial, free from influence of party and political prejudice. He will not asume the office of Dictator and will gladly receive and publish political essays when such are written with moderation and couched in respectful language. It shall never become the channel through which partizans may give vent to their gall."
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The editor had no hesitation in declaring the politics of the paper to be Republican, and said he was warmly attached to the Constitution of the State and of the Union.
How long this paper was published is not known, but as it was the same in size, type, and general make-up as the Western Cabinet, it is probable that it was continued until the latter was started, July 4, 1812.
The Western Cabinet
The Western Cabinet began July 4, 1812, "printed and pub- lished by Joseph W. White" at Beavertown, Pa., every Satur- day at two dollars per year. Its motto was: "The basis of our political system is the right of the people to make and to alter the constitution of Government .- WASHINGTON." No record exists of how long it was published, but it is believed that it pas- sed out of existence with the advent of the Crisis, which it resembled in size, make-up, and general appearance.
The Crisis and Gazette
Three papers were started in Beaver in May and June, 1813, within three weeks of each other, the Crisis, the Beaver Gazette, and the Crisis and Beaver Gazette, and it has been the belief of some persons that the former two were consolidated into the latter.
The first, the Crisis, was started by J. and A. Logan, May 22, 1813, "printed every Saturday morning at their printing office Centre avenue, adjoining the Court House." The last number known to be in existence was dated April 30, 1814, without the name of the publisher.
The Beaver Gazette was begun June 8, 1813, the same size as the Crisis, by A. Logan, published every Saturday at two dol- lars per year. Its motto was, "Free, but not Licentious." The last copy of the paper known to exist is dated March 15, 1817, but whether it was continued later than that date is not known.
The Crisis and Beaver Gazette, began June 10, 1813, of which three copies are known to be in existence, one dated September 30, 1815, and the last one April 18, 1816, all published by A. Logan. The last number had the same motto as the Gazette, "Free, but not Licentious." This paper, it is believed, was
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published until September 1, 1818, when James Logan, one of these brothers, began the Western Argus. In his salutatory in the Western Argus, James Logan announced that he "sent on the first number to the patrons of the Beaver Gazette," showing that this paper then existed and was the predecessor of the Western Argus.
The Western Argus
James Logan began the publication of the Western Argus, September 1, 1818, and conducted it until 1825, when he dis- posed of the establishment to Thomas Henry, who had just closed his work as sheriff of the county (see biographical sketch, Chapter IX.).
January 28, 1831, Thomas Henry sold the paper to his son William Henry, who was born June 28, 1808. At the age of six- teen years the latter entered the office of the Western Argus as an apprentice, and was its editor at twenty-three years of age, which position he held until 1851. Mr. Henry was an earnest advocate of public improvements in the county, among which may be named the Erie Canal from the Ohio River to Lake Erie; the Beaver and Conneaut Railroad, which was surveyed in 1836, but work on which was prevented by the panic of 1837, on the line now covered by the Pittsburg & Lake Erie Railroad, and the Ohio & Pennsylvania Railroad, now the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne, & Chicago branch of the Pennsylvania lines. He took an active part in the discussion of the great questions of the day, notably the nullification movement, the tariff, the United States Bank, and the Mexican War. Mr. Henry was one of the ablest editors in western Pennsylvania, with a terse, vigorous, and aggressive style that attracted attention. He was treasurer of the county, 1857-58; a member of the Legislature, 1861-2-3; and served the people faithfully in every position he held.
The name of the paper was changed to the Beaver Argus, August 2, 1843, and it was enlarged, June 26, 1850, when A. G. Henry, brother of William, was taken into partnership, which relationship was continued until November 26, 1851, when William Henry sold his interest to Michael Weyand, and the firm became M. Weyand & A. G. Henry.
The name of the paper was changed, July 27, 1853, to the Beaver County Argus.
-
Michael Weyand.
William Henry.
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M. Weyand was born in Somerset, Pa., June II, 1825, the son of Henry and Magdalena Weyand, both natives of Somer- set County, Pa., and of German descent. When a year old his parents removed to Beaver County, Pa. At the age of twelve years he entered the office of the New Castle, Pa., Intelligencer as an apprentice and served one year, and in the spring of 1838 entered the office of the Western Argus, served four and a half years as an apprentice, and afterwards was a journeyman printer. He was married to Amanda Somers, November, 1851, having four children.
On June 28, 1854, Jacob Weyand, brother of Michael, bought A. G. Henry's interest in the paper, which he held until Decem- ber 16, 1857, when he sold his share to his brother and engaged in newspaper work in Carrolton, Ohio, purchasing the Free Press, which he sold at the beginning of the Civil War, raised a company of volunteers of which he became captain, and was attached to the 126th Ohio Infantry. Jacob Weyand was born in Beaver County, Pa., March 29, 1828. He worked on a farm until he attained his majority, attending the country schools until he was fifteen, and afterward school in Beaver for a short time. He was a brave soldier, was twice wounded in battle, and at the battle of Monocacy, Md., July 9, 1864, he was in command of his regiment and was publicly mentioned in the official report of the battle for his courage and skill. For his gallant services he was recommended to the Secretary of War for brevet promotions as major and lieutenant-colonel. He was married, July, 1857, to Victoria, daughter of the late Dr. Milo Adams. They had seven children, four of whom are living: Emma, wife of Harry W. Reeves, Beaver Falls, Pa .; Edwin S., attorney at Beaver; Blanche, stamp clerk at the Beaver Falls post-office; and Paul, a minister of the M. E. Church. He was married a second time to Miss Mary Cooke, daughter of Major J. M. Cooke, late of Rochester, Pa. Colonel Weyand is a member of the M. E. Church. - He was a member of the Pennsylvania Legislature for two terms, 1893 and 1895.
In December, 1859, Michael Weyand sold the paper to Samuel Davenport, who changed the name again to the Beaver Argus. Mr. Davenport was President of Beaver College and Musical Institute, and in 1862 was appointed Assessor of Internal Revenue. After the war he removed to Indiana, where he died.
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December 28, 1861, Mr. Davenport was succeeded in the paper by Thomas C. Nicholson, who took charge, January I, 1862, the publishers being T. C. Nicholson & Co. In Septem- ber, 1862, he enlisted in the 140th Pennsylvania Regiment, and later moved west. The acting editors, Rutan and Anderson, were left in charge. February 11, 1863, D. L. Imbrie assumed control of the Argus as editor and proprietor. He continued in charge until November 2, 1864, when he announced his re- tirement, and the next week D. W. Scott, Jr., took charge as editor and manager. On account of ill health he sold his interest in the paper at the close of the year, and died of consumption, April 6, 1865. He was a student of Beaver Academy and a graduate of Jefferson College and intended to enter the ministry.
January 4, 1865, Matthew S. Quay and James S. Rutan, who had bought the paper, assumed control and conducted it to- gether until October 18, 1865, when Mr. Rutan announced that he had purchased Mr. Quay's interest and would thereafter conduct it as sole editor and proprietor. This continued until November 22, 1865, when J. S. Rutan & Co. were published as editors and proprietors, J. L. Anderson being the other member of the company.
July 11, 1866, Jacob Weyand bought the paper and took charge as editor and proprietor. September 17, 1873, the Argus was consolidated with the Radical, under the name of the Argus and Radical, published by the Beaver Printing Company, with Mr. Rutan as editor and Mr. Weyand as business manager. The office was burned down, March 17, 1874, and publication was resumed April Ist.
In December, 1879, Smith Curtis bought the interest of Mr. Rutan in the paper, and W. I. Reed bought Mr. Weyand's interest, Mr. Curtis being editor and Mr. Reed business man- ager.
Smith Curtis was born in Sherburne, N. Y., December 21, 1834, was graduated from Union College, Schenectady, N. Y., in 1858, and from Union Theological Seminary, New York City, in 1861. In the same year he was ordained a minister by the Congregational Association of Ohio at Columbus, and had charge of a Presbyterian Church at Fostoria, Ohio, for three years, where he conducted an academy for two years. He was elected a chaplain during the Civil War, but did not serve. He came
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to Beaver County in 1865, and was married, March Ist, that year, to Isidore Calhoon, who bore him five children. He was principal of the Beaver public schools, 1868-9, and was editor of the Radical after Senator Quay's retirement until the con- solidation in 1873.
Mr. Reed was a member of one of the prominent families of the county, and a well-equipped and thorough journalist. They started the Daily Argus in May, 1883, the second daily paper in the county, which was run for a few years and then discon- tinued.
September 1, 1885, W. F. Bliss and Howard Bliss bought Mr. Reed's interest, and the firm name became Curtis & Bliss, Howard Bliss being business manager. Later, W. F. Bliss, who had been deputy sheriff, moved to California, and the Bliss interest was sold to John E. Smith in 1890. Howard Bliss con- tinued in the newspaper business, and was recognized as one of the best reporters in the county, retiring January, 1903, when he became sheriff of the county. On the retirement of Mr. Bliss as business manager of the Argus and Radical he was suc- ceeded by T. S. Laughlin, son-in-law of Mr. Smith, who retired after a few years, the paper then becoming the property of Mr. Curtis alone, who conducted it as a weekly until it was discon- tinued in May, 1903.
January 3, 1903, a charter was granted at Harrisburg, Pa., to the Radical Printing Company of Beaver, capital $15,000, which absorbed the Argus and Radical, and started a daily paper called the X-Ray, May 4, 1903. The officers of the com- pany were named as follows: President, H. P. Brown; Secretary, Milton J. Patterson; Treasurer, Joseph L. Holmes; Editor, Smith Curtis; Business Manager, F. L. Parker; Circulation Manager, J. H. Hamilton. The paper was suspended, July 13, 1903, and the weekly Argus and Radical was then resumed by Smith Curtis.
The Beaver Radical
In November, 1868, Matthew S. Quay established the Radi- cal in Beaver, in opposition to the Argus, which was kept up until the fall of 1873, when the Radical, under the management of James S. Rutan who bought it the previous year from Mr. Quay, was consolidated with the Argus, under the name of the
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Argus and Radical, published by the Beaver Printing Company, with Mr. Rutan as editor and Jacob Weyand of the Argus as business manager. The Radical was an ably edited paper, and became an authority in Republican politics of the State. (See biographical sketch, Hon. M. S. Quay, Chapter VI; and of Hon. J. S. Rutan, Chapter IX.)
The Beaver Times
The Beaver Times was established as a Republican weekly paper by Michael Weyand, April 1, 1874, a nine-column folio, and was continued by him as editor and publisher until Feb- ruary, 1898, when he disposed of the plant to G. A. Hays of Sewickley, Pa. September 22d of the same year Mr. Hays assigned his interest to the Beaver Publishing Company, whose officers are as follows: President, Henry Hice; and H. Dwight Anderson, Manager. The company began the publication of a daily issue, April 27, 1899, in connection with the weekly issue.
Mr. Weyand was retained as editor until January 1, 1900, when he was appointed postmaster of Beaver, and was suc- ceeded by Ellis N. Bigger, Esq., a prominent attorney at the Beaver bar, who was editorial writer until his death in July, 1902. Mr. Weyand was perhaps the longest in newspaper work of any one in western Pennsylvania, and the oldest in service as editor in Beaver County, but not in continuous service on any one paper, which distinction belongs to F. S. Reader, editor of the Beaver Valley News, New Brighton, Pa.
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