History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 70

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 1314

USA > Pennsylvania > Fayette County > History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 70

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The Genius of Liberty, which absorbed the Gazette and Advertiser, has experienced more changes in edi- torial and business management than any other paper ever published in Fayette County. It was the second paper established in the county, was published in Uniontown, and was first issued as The Genius of Lib- erty and Fayette Adrertiser, Feb. 22, 1805, bearing for its motto those words of Governor Mckean, "The charms of novelty should not be permitted so to fas- cinate as to give to mere innovation the semblance of reform." The founders of The Genius of Liberty were Allen & Springer, who issued it in a four-column folio, eleven by seventeen inches in size. It must have been cut down later, as a copy of the paper dated Dec. 3, ' could throw off three sheets, twenty-eight inches

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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

square, in two minutes. This slow method did not Thursday, Jan. 7, 1813. It is a four-column folio, twelve by eighteen inches in size. The first page contains news from London, England, New York, and Philadelphia, and the leading editorial is upon the invasion of Canada, the article occupying two and one-half columns space. In local matters are two wedding notices, one announcing the marriage of Mr. George Adams, of Virginia, to Anna Maria, eldest daughter of Presley Carr Lane, Esq., and the second, the marriage of Mr. William Campbell, the former editor of the Spectator, to Miss Priscilla Por- ter, daughter of John Porter, of Washington town- ship, Fayette Co. There is also a notice of the death of Dr. Benjamin Stephens, which occurred January 3d, four days previous to the issue of that paper, at his residence near Uniontown. At the date of the paper just mentioned, Jan. 7, 1813, it was published by James Lodge, at two dollars per annum. It is not known who edited it at that time, nor how much longer it was continned. suit Mr. Littell, and he at once began to make im- provements. He moved all the office fixtures to the new brick block built by Ephraim Douglass on the public square, and afterwards to that built by John Dawson. He purchased new presses, type, and other necessary printing material in Cincinnati, Ohio, and soon had the business in a prosperous and flourishing condition. He continued in connection with the paper until the year 1840, having, some time between March, 1836, and March, 1837, absorbed a paper called The Democratic Shield. The latter name was dropped in October, 1839. In April, 1840, John W. Irons pur- chased the paper and held it until 1846, when he sold it to John W. Shugart. The last-named proprietor only kept it a year or two, when John W. Irons re- purchased and retained it until his death, which oc- curred in 1850 from cholera. John W. Skiles, a son- in-law of Mr. Irons, tben conducted it for a short time, when it was sold to R. T. Galloway, now of Con- nellsville. About two months after this change an- The American Telegraph was first published in Brownsville, in 1814, by John Bouvier, who then first settled in that place. In April, 1818, he removed this paper to Uniontown, and united it with The Genius of Liberty, publishing the paper for a while under the combined names, but eventually dropping that of American Telegraph. other took place, Armstrong Hadden and Col. T. B. Searight being the purchasers. Hadden & Searight controlled and published the paper until April 15, 1852, when Hadden retired and George W. K. Minor be- came associated with Searight. On Jan. 6, 1853, Minor assumed entire control, which he continued nntil Dec. 28, 1854, when he sold to John Bierer. This The Western Register was first published by Robert Fee, in Washington, Pa., in 1816. A year or two later he removed to Fayette County, and commenced the publication of the paper in Uniontown. One number is yet in preservation, and is dated March 10, 1823, No. 49, Vol. VI. This copy is a four-column folio, and has for its motto " Virtuous Liberty." disposal of the property was followed by another, in February, 1856, when Col. Searight became a second time the proprietor, and soon associated with him C. E. Boyle. This partnership was severed in the fall of 1860, Col. Searight retiring. In February, 1861, Boyle sold to Col. E. G. Roddy. He in turn, in Feb- ruary, 1863, made arrangements to sell to R. B. The Pennsylvania Democrat, now the Republican Standard, was established in Uniontown in the month of August, 1827, by Jacob B. Miller. The first num- ber was issued from a building on Main Street, the site of which is now ocenpied by the residence and hardware-store of Zadoc B. Springer. The Demo- crat was founded as the advocate of the re-election of John Quincy Adams, of whose administration it was Brown, of Brownsville, who was to begin a new series with his publication of the paper. Mr. Brown issued one number, dated Feb. 19, 1863, Vol. I., No. 1, and then the business returned to the hands of Mr. Roddy, by whom it was continued until his death, June 11, 1867. Mr. Boyle, administrator of the Roddy estate, then assumed the management of the paper; but it was soon purchased by Frederick Rock and James F. ; an ardent supporter. It was also outspoken against Campbell. The last-named gentleman was soon suc- ceeded by A. M. Gibson, who also bought Rock's share, and who remained in possession until April, 1871, when W. A. McDowell and George W. Litman

purchased the property, and in 1875 sold to Albert , charged for many years and until his death. Marshall a third interest.

The Genius of Liberty has been nearly all of the time, from first to last, an exponent of Democratic principles, and is still published by MeDowell, Lit- man & Marshall, at their office on Broadway, Union- town.

Masonry. The foreman of the paper was David S. Knox, a gentleman of education and culture, who subsequently became cashier of the Monongahela Bank of Brownsville, a trust which he worthily dis- In 1829, Mr. Miller desired to go West, and he prevailed upon J. C. S. Goff and Samuel L. Yarrell, printers in his employ, to assume charge of the paper and conduct it on their own responsibility during his absence, the profits resulting therefrom to inure to their own bene- fit. They did so, but they never owned the Democrat, only managed and edited it during the absence of Mr. Miller. Mr. Goff writes that the venture did not prove lucrative, as there was at that period very little job-work or advertising. Of all the business honses in Union-

The Fayette und Greene Spectator, established by William Campbell, was published in Uniontown, and the first issue of the paper appeared Jan. 1, 1811. The only copy known to be in existence belongs to Mr. Frank Stephens, and is No. 2, Vol. III., dated town not one out of five was represented in the col-

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UNIONTOWN BOROUGH.

umns of the Democrat, while most of the advertising patronage consisted of legal notices, the publication of which was required by law. The subscription list numbered abont five hundred, many of whom re- garded lightly their financial obligations to the printer. At the time of its establishment, and for a number of years thereafter, the Democrat was a six-column folio, price $2.50 per year. In the spring of 1830, Yarrell & Goff were succeeded by Jacob B. Miller and John F. Beazell.

Job S. Goff was born in Harrison County, Va., In the summer of 1844, Thomas Foster came from Harrisburg and bought the Democrat from Samuel McDonald, and it may have been that he restored the original name. When John F. Beazell retired from the paper in 1834 he went to Cookstown. In the great conflagration of 1845 in Pittsburgh he lost most of his property, which consisted principally of a stock of glass. Returning to Uniontown in the spring of 1846, he bought from Thomas Foster a half-interest in the Democrat. It was not a great while afterward that Mr. Foster disposed of the remaining half to a company, and eventually Mr. Beazell became sole owner of the entire paper, at the head of which he remained until March 1, 1866. The Democrat nnder April 12, 1807. He came of the family of Goffs who emigrated to that State from Massachusetts in 1790. Both his grandfathers served in the Revolutionary war. His father was an officer of note in the war of 1812, and subsequently served several terms in both branches of the Virginia Legislature, being a member of the Senate at the time of his death. Job S. Goff served his apprenticeship as a printer in the office of the Clarksburg, Va., Intelligencer. After his retire- ment from the Democrat he dealt in live-stock for a year or two, when he went to Waynesburg, Greene Co., Pa., and established the Greene County Republican, which flourished during the anti-Masonic excitement. He supported Ritner for Governor, and Solomon G. | Mr. Beazell became the advocate of the principles of Krepps, of Brownsville, for member of the State the American or Know-Nothing party, and as evi- dence of its sympathy with and advocacy of them the name of the paper was changed on Nov. 18, 1854, to the American Standard. When a couple of years later the Republican party was born the Standard { became a supporter of its principles, to which it has ever since remained true, with the exception of a few months in 1878, when Jacob B. Miller carried it tem- porarily into the Greenback camp. Thronghout the Rebellion it never swerved in its fealty to the Union or its support of the men and measures of the Repub- lican party. On March 1, 1866, Mr. Beazell sold the Standard to A. W. Boyd and James G. Johnston. Senate. After the election the paper failed through want of patronage. During the period in which he was editor and publisher, Mr. Goff succeeded, after · considerable expense and trouble, in getting up a river improvement convention, the object being to adopt measures looking toward the improvement, by locks and dams, of the navigation of the Mononga- hela River from Pittsburgh to Morgantown. Mr. Goff's large acquaintance with many prominent citi- zens of Virginia and Pennsylvania enabled him to obtain a generous response in delegates. The con- vention was held at Greensboro', Greene Co., and was an emphatic success. At this writing Mr. Goff is living at Bellefontaine, Ohio. In 1861 he and two sons enlisted from Ohio in the Union army. After two years' service Mr. Goff' was wounded and sent home, since when he has been a partial cripple and unable to work.

Samnel L. Yarrell was born in Menallen township, Fayette Co., Jan. 14, 1809. He learned printing in the office of the Democrat. In 1820 he removed to Highland County, Ohio, and died Sept. 6, 1855, near Morris, Grundy Co., Ill.

The Democrat remained in the possession of Miller & Beazell until abont 1834, when it was sold to Samuel and William McDonald, brothers, who either jointly or singly retained ownership until 1844. Stray copies of the paper, of different dates within this period, show that during a part of the time it was published by S. & W. McDonald, and during the re- mainder of the time, apparently from 1838 down, by S. McDonald alone. While the latter was editor and publisher, and towards the close of his administra- 1 Republican Standard.

tion, he changed the name of the paper to the Union- town Weekly Democrat and Fuyette County Advertiser. When this change was made and how long the name was retained it is impossible to accurately determine, because of the absence of files of the paper and ina- bility to obtain reliable data bearing on this point. That the name existed, however, is shown by a copy of the paper now before the writer, dated April 23, 1844, Vol. XVII., No. 36. The general impression is that the name was not long retained.

John F. Beazell was born in Allegheny County, Pa., Jan. 1, 1805. He graduated at Madison College, Uniontown, with honor and distinction. He died in Uniontown, Aug. 31, 1876. During a considerable part of his ownership of the Standard he was ably assisted in both the mechanical and editorial depart- ments by his son, Col. John W. Beazell.

Boyd & Jolinson controlled the paper jointly nntil Dec. 12, 1866, when Mr. Johnson bought the interest of his partner. About May 1, 1867, Mr. Johnson sold a half-interest to Jacob B. Miller, who passed its con- trol and profits over to his half-brother, William H. Miller. In the spring of 1868, Jacob B. Miller bought the remaining half, and William H. Miller became the nominal proprietor and joint editor with the former. The Standard remained under their control until March 21, 1879, when, Jacob B. Miller having died, and William H. Miller having become sole editor and proprietor, it was consolidated with the Fayette County Republican, under the name of the

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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

The Fayette County Republican was founded June 6, 1878, by John S. Ritenour and William J. Rush, in the interests of themselves and the Republican party, the Standard being at that time published in the in- terest of Greenbackism. After the death of Jacob . B. Miller, which occurred in Uniontown, Dec. 6, 1878, the Standard returned to Republican princi- ples. The consolidation spoken of followed, and the new firm was known as Miller, Rush & Ritenour, the latter becoming writing editor, which position he filled until his retirement from the paper. On June 21, 1879, G. C. MeKnight bought the half-interest of William H. Miller, whose place in the firm-name he also took. June 11, 1881, Rush & Ritenour disposed of their half to John K. Ewing, Jr., and Orrin J. Sturgis, and a few days later Mr. MeKnight sold to them his in- terest.

From the inception of the Pennsylvania Democrat until his death Jacob B. Miller was, during almost all the administrations, a contributor to the editorial columns ofthe paper. He was an independent thinker, and a strong, forcible, and fearless writer. The free- dom with which he expressed his opinions got him into trouble more than once. He was noted for his rare power of invective, a faculty which he handled when occasion seemed to demand it unhesitatingly and with great effect. Mr. Miller was born in Union- town, Feb. 21, 1799. Graduating at the Washington, Pa., College, he adopted law as his profession, but confirmed dyspepsia compelled him to forego the sed- entary life of a lawyer, and prevented him from reach- ing any degree of eminence in the pursuit for which he was by inclination and education peculiarly adap- ted and upon which he entered with brilliant pros- pects. In the session of 1832-33 he represented Fay- ette County in the Legislature. This much space is devoted to and is due Mr. Miller for the reason that without it a history of the leading men of Fayette County and the Standard's most brilliant and most merciless editor would be incomplete. James G. Johnson probably imparted more of literary grace,

culture, and refinement to the editorial columns of , by J. Nelson H. Patrick, then district attorney of .

the paper than any other writer.

The American Banner and Literary and Temperance Journal was established in the month of April, 1832, in Uniontown, the first number appearing April 16th. It was a five-column folio, edited by Alfred Patter- son, and printed by William II. Whitton, at a sub- scription price of two dollars per year. There is nothing on record to show the length of time the paper was published.

The Democratic Shield made its first appearance in May, 1834. It was edited and published by James Piper. T. Patton and .I. G. Morris were the printers, and the office was a few doors east of the court-house in Uniontown. A copy of the paper, dated Wednes- day, Nov. 4, 1835, is a five-column folio, fifteen by twenty-two inches in size, with the motto : " A sup- port to the expressed will of the people is the great

test of Democracy. Education is the shield and bul- wark of a free constitution." In [836, J. G. Morris, one of the printers, had become the editor, and before the year 1837 had closed, the paper had been bought by and become a part of The Genius of Liberty.

The Harrisonian and Weekly Conservative was estab- lished in Uniontown early in the year 1840. It was edited by George W. Sullivan and B. F. Lincoln, and published at the Clinton House by N. Byers. Only one number of the paper can now be found, which is dated Sept. 15, 1840, No. 26, Vol. I., and gives the price as one dollar for a volume of twenty-six num- bers. As the name indicates, this journal was merely a campaign paper, and its publication ceased in No- vember, 1840.

The Cumberland Presbyterian was established in Uniontown, in 1847, by Robert W. Jones, of Athens, Ohio. He continued its publication here but a short time when he removed the paper and office material to Brownsville, after that to Waynesburg, Greene Co., and finally to Pittsburgh, at which place it was pub- lished in the interest of the Cumberland Presby- terian Church at large. In 1865, Mr. Jones discon- tinued the publication of The Presbyterian, and in 1873 assumed the ownership and management of The Journal, published at Athens, Ohio, whither he had removed. He continued in this place and business until his death, which occurred Jan. 29, 1881, at the age of fifty-five years. Mr. Jones acquired his knowl- edge of printing in the office of The Genius of Liberty . during the editorship of John W. Irons.

The Fayette Whig was started in 1849 by John Bos- ler, of Pittsburgh, the first number appearing June 2d of that year. It did not survive long, owing to some trouble between Bosler and John F. Beazell, editor of the Pennsylvania Democrat, also published in Uniontown at that time. There are no copies of The Whig from which to gain information of its labors and success, even for the short time the paper ex- isted.

The Democratic Sentinel was first published in 1850, Fayette County. In 1855 he had taken a partner, and the firm-name reads Patrick & Reilly. In June of the same year the proprietors removed The Sentinel from Uniontown to Connellsville, and not long after Patrick sold his share of the office to a man named Wallington. The firm of Wallington & Reilly did not long continue, and in a few months the paper and printing material, except the hand-press, was purchased by the publishers of The Genius of Liberty. Capt. James Downer, of Uniontown, bought the hand-press and shipped it to Kansas. The Sentinel was a six-column folio, issued weekly for one dollar per year. Patrick is now living at Omaha, Neb., prac- ticing law. In the fall and winter following the elec- tion of R. B. Hayes to the Presidency he was con- nected with Cronin, of Oregon, in the trouble with the electoral vote of that State.

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UNIONTOWN BOROUGHI.

The American Citizen, a seven-column folio, pub- lished in the interest of the Know-Nothing party in Uniontown and vicinity, was started in 1855 by Wil- liam H. Murphy and Jesse B. Ramsay. Its publica- tion lasted but little more than two years, and but slight information can be gained of it except of its founders personally. Mr. Ramsay now lives in Pitts- burgh. Mr. Murphy died in Galveston, Texas, in 1866, of fever. He served in the Union army during the whole of the Rebellion. He was a first-class prac- tical printer, and excelled as an editor and publisher. He never wrote out editorials or locals for his paper, but went to the case and set the type as he shaped the article in his mind.

The Baptist Journal, established Dec. 20, 1855, had for its founder, editor, and proprietor James C. Whaley. The Journal was a four-column folio, 16 by 21 inches in size, was issued monthly at fifty cents per year, and devoted to the dissemination of re- ligious knowledge and news, and the promotion of Christian interests generally. It was conducted but one year, when its existence ceased, and Mr. Whaley removed from Uniontown to Kentucky, to publish the Kentucky Intelligencer. At the breaking out of the late civil war he abandoned his paper and entered the Union army, where he served through all the grades up to major by brevet. He was wounded eight different times during his years of service, had his clothes riddled by rifle-balls from sharpshooters, and his command had the honor of capturing the Washington Light Artillery of New Orleans at the battle of Mission Ridge, taking men, horses, and guns complete. Mr. Whaley is now working on The Genius of Liberty, in Uniontown, and is at present the only living representative printer of the days from 1850 to 1858 now working in Fayette County.

Our Paper was a monthly journal, which was pub- lished for about a year in Uniontown, beginning in October, 1872. It was a paper having eight pages of four columns each, issued at a subscription price of fifty cents per year, and was edited by a committee from the Young Men's Christian Association.

The Uniontown Enterprise was a free advertising sheet, which was first published in 1876 by J. Austin Modisette. It was a four-column folio, 16 by 20 inches in size, and only existed for one year.

The Temperance Radical was established in 1878, and was another of the several papers that have had a brief existence in Uniontown. Its first number ap- peared May 23, 1878, and the last one ten months later. It was a four-column folio, edited by W. J. McDowell.

The Uniontown Democrat is an advocate of the prin- ciples of the Democratic party, the first number of which appeared on Aug. 13, 1878, edited and pub- lished by Joseph Beatty and Charles B. Conner. It was first issued as a six-column folio, twenty-two by thirty inches in size. On April 1, 1879, it was changed from that to a seven-column folio, twenty-six by thirty-

six inches, and again on May 20, 1879, it was enlarged to eight columns, twenty-six by forty inches in size. This enlargement of The Democrat has been necessi- tated by the constantly increasing patronage, the cir- culation having now reached fifteen hundred. The office is in the Tremont building, corner of Main and Morgantown Streets, Uniontown.

The National, edited and published by W. L. Perry in the interests of the Greenback party, was first issued July 31, 1879, at one dollar and fifty cents per annum. It was a seven-colum folio. For lack of support it died Nov. 1, 1879, having existed but four months.

The Amateur was another free advertising sheet, started in Uniontown in 1879 by George Irwin. It was a monthly paper, four pages of ten by twelve inches, but did not last any length of time.

PHYSICIANS OF UNIONTOWN.

Dr. Samuel Sackett, who had been a surgeon in the Revolutionary war, removed from Connecticut in September, 1781, to Uniontown, where he resided till Nov. 10, 1788, when he removed to his farm on Georges Creek, one mile south of Smithfield, where Wilham Sackett now lives. He practiced his pro- fession in Uniontown and on Georges Creek for about forty years, and died at his farm in 1833. Ile had ten children,-four sons and six daughters. His son Samuel, who is well remembered by many of the older citizens, was the father of William Sackett, who still lives on the homestead. One of the daughters (Sally) became the wife of Dr. Lewis Marchand.

Dr. Henry Chapese was a physician and druggist of Uniontown between 1790 and 1800, but neither the date of his coming nor the length of time that he re- mained is known. The county records show that on the 13th of August, 1791, he purchased of Jacob Bee- son lots 4 and 5, on the north side of Elbow Street, west of Morgantown Street. In an old account-book of Benjamin Campbell, under date of May, 1792, Dr. Chapese is credited with a small amount for medicines of various kinds, and other entries are found in the same book until November 19th of that year. The lots which he purchased of Jacob Beeson in 1791 he sold to John Savary, March 25, 1793; but this sale did not mark the date of his removal from Union- town, as is shown by the following advertisement, found in the Pittsburgh Gazette of July, 1793, viz. :

"The subscriber informs the public in general that he has just received a new recruit of Patent and other medicines, which he will sell at the most reduced prices for cash. Any person taking a quantity, as a practitioner, may rely on getting them nearly as low as they can be purchased in Philadelphia. He has also an infallible remedy against snake bites in small vials. By wetting with said substance and drinking about 15 drops of it, diluted in a gill of water, an immediate cure is ohtained. Price 38 9ª each.

" He has also for sale a general assortment of paint, flax-seed oil, and an assortment of English vials and pencils.

" HENRY CHAPESE.

" UNIONTOWN, July 6, 1793."

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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

Dr. Robert MeClure came from York County, Pa., and was in Uniontown as early as 1792, as appears from an entry in the account-book of Benjamin Campbell, dated November 22d in that year, eredit- ing Dr. McClure " By sundry medicines to this date." This is the only fact which has been found tending to show that he practiced his profession here. In 1795 he purchased a village lot on Elbow Street. In 1798 he opened a public-house nearly opposite the court- house. He kept it as a tavern till about 1812, when he removed to the West.

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History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 70

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885 Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts & Co. Number of Pages: 1314

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 1314