Lake County Ohio GenWeb
The Press of Lake County
This biography is taken from History of Geauga and Lake counties; Williams Brothers, 1878.
Transcribed and submitted by Becky Falin, 1996.
The Painesville Telegraph
The Painesville Telegraph was established July 16, 1822, by Eber D. Howe, and was the first paper published in Painesville,
and one of the first on the Reserve. There were but three papers established in "New Connecticut" prior to the starting of the
Telegraph, and these were the Cleveland Register, which began an existence in 1817; the Tramp of Fame, published by
Warren, started in 1812, and soon merged into the Western Reserve Chronicle; and the Cleveland Herald, which was established
in 1819 by Willes & Howe. The latter dissolved his connection with the Herald in 1821, and in 1822 became the founder
of the Telegraph. It began with a subscription list of one hundred and fifty, and the first number contained five advertisements.
It was a four column sheet, and of a very respectable appearance for that period. Mr. Howe admitted James H. Paine to a
partnership in May, 1828. Paine retired the following September. June 16, 1829, Madison Kelley was received as partner and
the Telegraph enlarged. November 9, 1830, Mr. Howe again assumed exclusive charge of the paper, and conducted it without
change until January 1, 1835, when the paper was enlarged and otherwise improved, and Mr. M.G. Lewis admitted as assistant
editor. A few weeks later Mr. Howe retired from the paper, and his brother, Asahel Howe, became the publisher, with M.G. Lewis
as editor. January 1, 1836, it passed into the hands of Howe & Jaques, with the latter as editor. January 1, 1838, Edward
Jaques became editor and proprietor. After Mr. Jaques, Mr. Hanna succeeded to the proprietorship; after Hanna came
Winchester; after Winchester, Charles B. Smythe; after Smythe, H.C. Gray, who assumed the management of the paper in
1845. In 1852, Gray sold an interest to Mr. Doolittle, and in 1854 retired from the paper, Mr. John R. French having purchased
Mr. Gray's interest. Doolittle & French were the publishers until January 17, 1855, when Doolittle was succeeded by Batchelor, and the
paper was continued under the management of French & Batchelor until January 8, 1857, when Batchelor was succeeded
by Skinner. The proprietors were French & Skinner until January 1, 1858, when John R. French became sole proprietor.
May 13, 1858, L.S. Abbott purchased the sheet, and was succeeded by Mr. H.C. Gray in 1861. February, 1866, John H.
Merrill was sole proprietor from April till July of 1870, when J.F. Scofield was received as partner. Merill & Scofield were
publishers until July, 1877, when Merrill sold to Scofield, and J.F. Scofield has since been and now is the editor and
proprietor of the Painesville Telegraph. January 2, 1835, the paper was enlarged from four to six columns; in 1852 it was
made a seven-column paper; in 1868 it was enlarged to eight columns; and in 1870 to nine columns. It has a large circulation
and a liberal advertising patronage, and ranks confessedly among the leading weekly papers of the Reserve.
Painesville Republican
The first number of this paper bears date November 21, 1836, and was issued by Horace Steele, Sr., a veteran editor,
formerly from Vermont, but more recently from Buffalo, New York. The paper was a six column four page weekly, Democratic
in sentiment, and was one of the first of its class on the Reserve. At the expiration of the second volume the subscription
list had swelled to eight hundred names. After the expiration of four years, Mr. Steele rented the office to J.F. Scofield for
one year. He then sold the office, and the publication of the paper was discontinued.
Grant River Record
December 11, 1852, this paper, also Democratic in sentiment, made its first appearance. This was a seven column weekly,
J.F. Scofield editor and proprietor. At the expiration of one year the office was disposed of to Messrs. A.H. Balsley &
Co., of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who removed the same to other and, it is presumed, more lucrative fields of labor.
Painesville Advertiser
The first number of this sheet was issued by M.R. Doolittle in June, 1855. It was a small issue, being but about half its
present size, and was published monthly, for advertising purposes. The September following it was elarged to twenty-two
by thirty-two inches, and issued weekly. December 1, 1859, a consolidation was effected with the Press, a seven column
weekly, and the Press and Advertiser, under the management of John R. French, at present sergeant-at-arms of the United
States Senate, was published for one year, when it was merged into the Telegraph. January 1, 1868, M.R. Doolittle
revived the Advertiser, and, with an entirely new outfit, continued its publication until October 1, 1870, when the present
proprietor, Mr. E.W Clark, came into possession of the paper. Mr. Clark has conducted the paper continuously until the
present time, with the exception of the year 1873, when S.C. Durban was in charge. The Advertiser is conducted with
ability, and enjoys a liberal and constantly-increasing patronage. It is an acknowledged force among the newspapers of
the Western Reserve.
The Northern Ohio Journal
The Northern Ohio Journal was established in the summer of 1871 by its present proprietors, Messrs. W.C. Chambers &
Son, as a paper which should be independent of parties in politics and "isms" in its religious and social departments. It was
among the first papers in the country to advocate what afterwards came to be known as the "Greenback" idea, and in the
presidential campaign of 1876 labored for the election of Peter Cooper, the candidate and champion of that principle.
In 1872 it also organized and led the indepedent opposition to the re-election of James A Garfield, which, two years later,
almost succeeded in effecting his defeat at the polls. In 1877, when the Democratic party adopted a platform embodying
the principles of financial reform, for which it had so long been battling, the Journal supported the candidates of that party,
and since then has been the recognized Democratic organ of that portion of the congressional district embraced in the
three counties of Lake, Geauga and Ashtabula. It is among the largest papers in the State, and has always dispatched much
enterprise in its local and grand news departments. Its editor is a writer of more than average ability, and his editorials evince
a warm devotion to the financial theories he has espoused.
Madison Star, Independent Press, Dairy Gazette,...
The newspaper history of Madison township may be summed up as follows: In the year 1871, Ferdinand Lee started an
amateur monthly journal in North Madison, called the Star. This he published for one year, and meeting with satisfactory
success, was induced to undertake the publication of a paper at Madison Village. Accordingly his father, Daniel Lee, and
himself issued the Independent Press, the first number bearing date January 3, 1872. As the paper did not meet with the
success its proprietors were led to expect, it sought to extend its circulation by representing the dairy interest. Accordingly
its name was changed to the Dairy Gazette. This change gained considerable patronage; but, as it necessitated an expense
proportionately much greater, the project was, after the expiration of six months, abandoned, the name of the paper changed
to the Madison Gazette, and its character changed to that of a local paper. From this time forward it was made to pay its
way, and was conducted with reasonable success until the fall of 1876, when the office and fixtures were removed to
Jefferson, Ohio, and the Jefferson Gazette established by Messrs. D. Lee & Son. Shortly after this Ralph R. Montgomery,
a young man from the west, began the publication of another paper called The Madison Gazette. This was conducted for
something like eighteen months, when, not receiving patronage sufficient to warrant its further continuance, suspended, and
removed the presses and material to Jamestown, Pennsylvania. Madison does not seem to be a particularly lucrative
field for the journalist; the superior excellence of the newspapers published on either side of it renders it extremely difficult
for any paper to get a foothold.
Willoughhby Gazette
The first number of this paper issued October 1, 1868, by J.B. Brown, its present editor and proprietor. The Gazette was
a four column quarto, issued semi-monthly for the first half-year, at the expiration of which period the publication was made
weekly. In 1870 the paper was discontinued, Mr. Brown removed the office to Ashtabula, Ohio. In September, 1875, number
one, volume one, of the present Gazette was issued. It was a five column quarto, independent in everything. Its motto
reads, "Money - Gold, Silver, and Greenbacks of equal value - the Unit of Values."