Newspapers in the Relic Room, State Capitol Building, Columbus, O.......... . . . 67 Ohio Newspapers in Library of the Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madi- 216 Newspapers in the Public School Library, Columbus, O.. 221 223 NEWSPAPER AND PERIODICAL BULLETIN. INTRODUCTORY NOTE. On the following pages will be found lists of newspapers and periodicals in the Ohio State Library, other libraries of the state, and a list of Ohio newspapers in the Library of the Wisconsin Historical Society and the Library of Congress. With each of these credit is given to the librarian or attendant under whose direction it was prepared. It is not pretended that these lists constitute an annotated catalogue. The means at the disposal of the Ohio State Library would not at present. permit such an undertaking. Limited space has made it absolutely necessary to compress the material, stripped of all details, into the narrowest possible limits. It is obvious that the material collected will form a substantial basis for a more extended work. In its present compact form, however, it will serve useful purposes. It shows what may be done by coöperative effort. Those interested in Ohio newspaper literature should remember that since March, 1850, county auditors have been required to keep in their offices bound volumes of leading papers, of opposite political parties, published in their respective counties. No report has been received at this office in regard to the files kept in accordance with this law. It is believed, however, that they are in fairly good condition. The law itself is an excellent one. Faithfully carried out, it will insure the preservation of much local history. In conclusion, I thank most heartily those who aided in the compilation of this work. Without their assistance, freely given, this pub-lication, of course, would have been impossible. C. B. GALBREATH, State Librarian. NEWSPAPERS AND PERIODICALS. EARLY NEWSPAPERS OF OHIO.* The first newspaper published northwest of the Ohio River was edited by William Maxwell. This pioneer journalist was born about the year 1755, in one of the eastern states, probably New Jersey. At the outbreak of the revolution the ardent youth espoused the patriot: cause and rendered valiant service till the close of the war. After the recognition of our national independence he set out from New Jersey to the great west to seek fortune in the new field that called so many worthy, brave and adventurous spirits. He crossed the Alleghenies, proceeded to Pittsburg, came down the Chio, and took up his abode in the littlevillage of Cincinnati, then numbering not more than two hundred souls.. Here he met and married Miss Nancy Robins, an excellent young lady who aided him in all his work and survived him more than half a century. Having determined before starting west to enter upon a journalstic career in the new country, he had his outfit transported over the mountains on pack horses and shipped down from Pittsburg on a packet boat. It consisted of a Ramage press, much like the one used by Dr. Franklin. and a few cases of type. A man could have moved the mtaerials at a single load in a wheelbarrow. Mr. Maxwell proceeded at once to set up his office in a log cabin at the corner of Front and Sycamore streets. The coming of the press had been announced and a list of subscribers had been secured. Now the work of arranging copy, setting type, and getting ready for the first issue became the soul absorbing occupation of the editor and his faithful helpmate. It is needless to say that the work in progress at the office of the printer was of more than ordinary interest to the inhabitants of the little community. After many delays the natal day arrives. "The printer daubs his buck-skin roll in the ink and then daubs it on the face of the type. The lever creaks, and lo! born to the light of day" is The Centinel of the North-Western Territory, November 9, 1793. Momentuous event! From this humble beginning what an evolution the century has wrought! While practically nothing has been written about the editor, much has been printed in regard to The Centinel of the North-Western Territory. About the only good thing that has been said of it is found in a favorable comment by a historian, on the happy choice of name. As. Cincinnati was then the western frontier of civilization and the gateway to the rich territory beyond, it was deemed especially appropriate that: a "centinel" should stand guard at this outpost. The same writer speaks: of the early issues as containing "few advertisements, no editorials, and no local items." Another writer says that "it had no editorial articles, *Adapted from paper read by the compiler at meeting of National Association of State Librarians, Waukesha, Wis., July 5, 1901. no local news, reviews, or poetry," and even so careful a writer as William T. Coggeshall, an Ohio man, a journalist by profession, and one of the best librarians that the state ever had, in his "Origin and Progress of Printing, with Some Facts About Newspapers in Europe and America,” published in 1854, states that the issues of the Centinel were "irregular," that it contained nothing "but meager details of foreign news, not more than half a dozen advertisements, no editorials, no local news, no opinions on country, state, or national questions, no lessons from history, no poetry, no wit, no sentiment," and as a parting shot he says that rules were not used between the columns. These statements are so sweeping and have been so widely and frequently copied that something tangible must be offered to warrant a dissenting opinion. We appeal to the paper itself to The Centinel of the North-Western Territory-a copy of which Mr. Coggeshall and his copyists certainly never saw. To begin with, the paper was not issued irregularly. As stated, the first number appeared Saturday, November 9, 1793, and every subsequent Saturday for a year at least it was delivered to subscribers A rapid but somewhat careful examination of files does not bring to light a single break in publication within the entire period of its existence. A fac-simile of part of the first page of the first issue, herewith submitted, shows very clearly that the paper had rules between the columns. And what is true of this is also true of every sul sequent issue. The Centinel was indeed a "brief chronicler of the times." It was a four page three column sheet, in small quarto form, the type of each · page occupying a space eight and one-half by ten and one-fourth inches. The columns were lengthened three and one-half inches, July 12, 1794. The motto at the masthead "Open to all parties-but influenced by none," one generous critic assures us has never been violated by its successors in the states formed from the Northwest Territory. Not being familiar with all the "successors," we will not venture an opinion, but after a careful and thorough examination of the files of the Centinel, we can truthfully say that its editor, through the three years of its life, did not deviate from the motto. Opposing interests were presented through their local champions, but the editor maintained a sphinx-like silence. In the printing of communications he was discreet and just. At the head of the first page of the first issue is the editor's salutatory. "The Printer of the CENTINEL of the North-Western TERRITORY, to the Fublic: He says in part: "Having arrived at Cincinnati, he has applied himself to that which has been the principal object of his removal to this country, the Publication of a News Paper. "This country is in its infancy, and the inhabitants are daily exposed to an enemy who, not content with taking away the lives of men in the field, have swept away whole families, and burnt their habitations. We Note. In quotations, capitalization and punctuation of original are followed. |