THE POLITICAL CENSOR:
This was the title of the first newspaper ever published in
Clermont and was a humble beginning in an avocation in which
so many citizens afterwards distinguished themselves.
It was printed at Wiliamsburg , the ancient and honroable shire-
town of the county,and its first number was issued Friday ,
Jan 15 , 1813.
This pioneer sheet was published,owned and edited by Thomas
S. Foote and Robert Tweed , both well known public men of the
day;the former,a noted lawyer,and for many years prosecuting
attorney,and the latter elected coroner.
The first Censor was a dingy sheet,like all the prints of that
early day,and contained a few advertisements,no local news ,
and some items of national and foreign news two months old.
Owing to the meagre settlements and the troubleous times
attending the war of 1812,its lease of life was only of short
duration,and from the data at hand we conclude that its period
of publication was less than a year.
THE WESTERN AMERICAN
This newspaper was also published at Williamsburg. Its first
issue bore the date Aug 5 , 1814 and its proprietors were David
Morris and George Ely. The former was the editorial head and
was a man of more than ordinary capacity,possessing great ability
as a pungent writer;the latter is better known as the original
proprietor of Batavia,and was probably the capitalist of the
firm , who soon after disposed of his interest.
The Western America was printed on a sheet twelve by nineteen
inches , folded into four pages of four columns each,and issued
every Saturday. Its terms of subscription wre two dollars ayear
, if in advanceand two dollars and a half at expiration of
year.The paper lasted two years.
THE CLERMONT SENTINEL
This was the first newspaper that incorporated as part of its
title the name of the county in which it was issued , and to
which it looked for its moral and material support.The first
issue bore the date July 4,1818,and the palce of publication
was also williamsburg. The publisher was Chalres D. McManaman.
It was published on Saturday , but how long it was issued we
are unable to determine.
THE FARMER"S FRIEND
This was published in Williamsburg , and its editor was Wiliam
A. Camron,who removed an office to this place from
Lebanon,Ohio.The Friend was begun in 1820,and was continued
several years.
THE WESTERN PATRIOT
This newspaper was published in Batavia , which had become the
county seat , and its first issue was dated May 24 , 1824.It
was printed by Z. Colby & Co.,on Water Street every Saturday,at
two dollars per annum in advance,or three dollars after the
expiration of a year.After the paper had been published six
months,and the funds to sustain it not coming in rapidly enough
to lubricate the machinery,it advertised in a leaded notice
to receive corn,wheat,flour,whiskey,oats,and pork in payment
for subscription.
In August,1826,appeared the last number of the Western
Patriot,its publisheer,Mr. Colby,having sold out his
office,type,and printing press to David Morris.
THE SPIRIT OF THE TIMES
David Morris , who in 1814 had published the Western America
,at Williamsburg , merged the Western patriot of Mr. Colby,when
he purchased it and its good-will,into the Spirit of the
Times,the first number of which was issued at Batavia on July
21,1826,some seven weeks before the Patriot sold out,and was
of the same size at that paper.
Mr. Morris held control of the paper until its publication
ceased,some time in 1829,when after a short period , he became
the editor of a new paper.
THE CHRONICAL OF THE TIMES
This paper originated in 1829 as a political rival of the Ohio
Sun .It absorbed whatever remaining interests there wre of the
Spirit of the Times,and for most of the time David Morris was
the editorial head.The paper was printed until the year 1835,when
it ceased to chronicle the events of the times under that
name,but was,after a period of about a year , merged into a
brand new paper.
THE CLERMONT COURIER
The date of the first issue was March 19,1836 and Andrew M.
Gest and R.W. Clark were the founders, using the same type,press
and room which had formerly belonged to the Chronicle of the
Times.
THE CLERMONT SUN,FOUNDED AS THE OHIO SUN
On the first day of July , 1828 , the first number of this paper
was issued in the village of Bethel,and was thereafter published
every Wednesday by Samuel Medary,although the enterprise was
begun and for some time fostored by Thomas Morris.The paper
was a folio of five columns to a page,which measured thirteen
and a half by twenty one and a half inches,and up to that date
was the largest paper ever printed in the county. This seemingly
extraordinary size was looked upon by the wiseacres as a daring
adventure,fraught with great risk and possible misfortune.But
the paper has been a success from the beginning.
THE NEW RICHMOND PRESS
The first periodical was issued in the days when New Richmond
was the county seat,and was called The Luminary. The publishers
wre four brothers,A.,C.,J.,and W. Herron,and the printing office
was in the upper rooms of the Seneca Palmer fulling mill.Its
first issue bore the date July 3,1823. it appeared every
Wednesday for about a year at the subscription price of two
dollars per annum if paid in advance. The paper soon died from
lack of patronage after the county seat was removed to Batavia.
THE PHILANTHROPIST
In 1834 , James G. Birney,the celebrated champion of human
liberty and equal rights,began the publication of THE
PHILANTHROPIST at New Richmond , in a building which stands
at Walnut and Willow Streets,and continued issuing the paper
there for several years.Mr. Birney came to New Richmond with
his newspaper,a large and well printed four page sheet , upon
hte assurance of the Donaldson brothers and other well known
anti-slavery men that he could there pursue his work
unmolested.Although the sentiments of New Richmond frowned down
any attempt to disturb Mr. Birney in his avocation,yet danger
from mobs was several times apprehended. Lawless men from
Kentucky and other places threatened to sack the office,and
the abolistionists and personal friends of the editor of THE
PHILANTROPIST rallied to defend the paper.At the signal of danger
a meeting was held in the old market house of that vilage,which
was addressed by Caleb Walker and other friends of freedom,and
the most emphatic assurance given Mr. Birney that they would
stand by him , though it should require the sacrifice of life
and property. On one occasion the villagers were violently
alarmed by the report that a boat had been chartered at
Cincinnati to bring up a party of pro-slavery men whose avowed
purpose was to destry the PHILANTHROPIST. Again the people of
New Richmond assembled to take measures to sustain Mr. Birney,and
some counseled a report to extreme measures should the destroyers
come. Happily , better counsels prevailed,and the boat did not
leave Cincinnati;but all that night the friends of a free press
patrolled the town in front of the PHILANTROPIST office to
protect it from possible assault. Some time in the spring of
1836 mr. Birney moved his office to Cincinnati,and on hte night
of July 30th it was destroyed by a lawless and infuriated mob,who
scattered the type into the streets,tore down the presses,and
completely destoyed the office.Afterwards the friends and
supporters of this famous abolition paper subscribed and
purchased a new outfit for Mr. Birney,and he resumed its
publication.
Copyright © 1999 , 2000 , 2001 Tammy Collins - Altman
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