Old Marietta Papers - Number 27

The Marietta Register, April 1, 1864

"Old Marietta Papers" was a series of columns compiled and published in 1863 and 1864 by Rodney M. Stimson, editor of "The Marietta Register."

Three weeks ago we printed that Rev. J. T. Wheat, Episcopal, conducted services in the forms of that church at Library Hall, July 15, 1832; and stated that it was "the first notice we have seen of preaching by that denomination in Marietta." But we since discover that on Sunday, March 25, 1832, Rev. Mr. Robinson, Episcopal, preached at the Old Court House.

Rev. Joseph Willard, who lived in the house were Dr. John Cotton died, on Butler Street, near the present Post Office, and who died during the epidemic of 1823, was an Episcopal clergyman. Whether he ever conducted religious services in Marietta, in the Episcopal form, we are not advised.

Lyceum. We wish here to refer to the "Marietta Lyceum," which was organized on Monday evening, Feb. 28, 1831. The first officers were President, John Cotton; Vice President, Caleb Emerson; Corresponding Secretary, Arius Nye; Recording Secretary, James M. Booth; Treasurer, John Mills; Curators, Arius Nye, S. P. Hildreth, Billy Todd.

April 12, a lecture on Astronomy was delivered by Dr. John Cotton, the President. He read many papers before the Lyceum, in course of time, on astronomical subjects.

The first discussion was upon the question, "Has the discovery of the art of Printing been more beneficial to the world than the Magnetic Needle?"

Four lectures before the Lyceum were announced for January, 1833, to wit: By Dr. S. P. Hildreth, "On the saliferous rock formation of the valley of the Ohio." John Delafield, Jr., "Egyptian Hieroglyphics." William A. Whittlesey, "Lyceums." John Brough, "The discovery and progress of the art of printing."

The Lyceum was sustained some years, doubtless with much profit to many.

Jan. 7, 1833, Samuel Hall began a singing school in Marietta. Many will recollect Mr. Hall. This was his beginning here - laboring to obtain an education. He was one of the four graduates of Marietta College in 1838 - its first class.

Apr. 8, 1833, the annual meeting of the Marietta Temperance Society was held. Elected officers for the ensuing year, to wit: William A. Whittlesey, President; Mansfield French and J. C. McCoy, Vice Presidents; Samuel Hall, Secretary; Robert Crawford, Treasurer; D. T. Morgan, E. Emerson, J. Way and D. Putnam, Jr., Executive Committee.

Apr. 20, 1833, Mr. Prentiss announced that he had sold the "Friend & Gazette" to Delafield & Nye, to be delivered on May 11th; and John Delafield, Jr., and Edward W. Nye published their prospectus for the "Marietta Gazette," in an enlarged form.

"Died in this town, after a short illness, on Tuesday, the 23d instant, Col. Levi Barber."

Col. Barber lived in Harmar; had been for many years a leading citizen of Washington County, and one of the most prominent in this part of Ohio; previous to 1817 he was for years Clerk of the Court; was a member of the State Senate in 1819-21; was Representative in Congress in 1817-19 and in 1821-23; yet the above simple announcement is all the notice of his death that appears in the "Friend."

A few marriages in the early part of 1833:

Jan. 13, Chad A. Phillips and Sarah M. Morse.

Jan 22, Samuel Shipman and Lucina Bingham, of Cornwall, Vermont.

Feb. 7, John Riley and Mrs. Tabitha Thorniley.

Feb. 28, John M. Gates of Waterford and Eleanor Walker of Rosbury.

Apr. 2, Junia Jennings and Eliza Reckard.

Apr. 10, Martin Sinclair and Naomi J. Baldwin of Zanesville.

Apr. 14, Lewis Anderson Jr., and Louisa Hildreth.

Apr. 25th, Otis Wheeler and Nancy F. Foster.

Apr. 25th, Jonathan Caywood and Eliza Henton in Fearing.

Apr. 25th, Luther Leonard of Waterford and Caroline Adams of Watertown.

The Valedictory of Mr. Prentiss appears May 11, 1833. After that the title "American Friend" was dropped from the paper, and it was published as the "Marietta Gazette" for about eight years.

Mr. Prentiss had been a proprietor of the paper for nineteen years, most of the time sole proprietor, "during which time," he says, "the principal part of the mechanical labor has been performed by myself, without which, and close application to business, too, it could not have survived to the present day." He gives as one of his reasons for selling, "that the profit of the business is not sufficient to remunerate me for the labor and money actually expended in carrying it on."

That the "Friend" was not remunerative to Mr. Prentiss is undoubtedly true. Of all the newspapers yet published in Marietta during a period of over sixty-two years, probably the only one that ever afforded a profit, worth naming, to the publisher, was the Intelligencer, while published by Beman Gates, Esq. Mr. Gates was a first-rate newspaper man - none better for his time - was an industrious, active and energetic business man, and he succeeded. The "Hoe News," published by Mr. Winchester for two or three years, was a capital little paper of its kind, but could not have afforded, probably, a revenue worth talking about.

Mr. Prentiss struggled industriously to keep his paper alive; and in twenty years by close economy, getting a little from the office of Town Clerk, some from the office of County Treasurer, which he held two years, and some from four years in the County Auditor's office, he managed to save a small property, just enough to keep him from actual want - not what is usually called a competency.

Evidence of the hard struggles of Mr. Prentiss is to be found in the files of the "Friend." A call upon "my patrons for money to enable me to buy paper," is common during the whole nineteen years from 1814 to 1833. Almost every year, if not every one, half sheets or small sheets were published for one, two, three or four weeks, as well as issues missed altogether, several times for four or five weeks in succession. And he could not help this - his income was insufficient.

Two remarks are in place here:

First, down to this date - May 1833 - Marietta papers, as was then the custom in like towns, were published with very little editorial matter, very little of a local nature, almost all the reading being selected from exchanges, from Cincinnati, Columbus, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and other places. Many a paper was published without a line of a local nature, unless in an advertisement, but with two or three columns from Europe and Asia. The only editors in thirty-two years who wrote articles that could be dignified by the name of "leaders," were Caleb Emerson, in the Spectator, 1811-12; David Everett, in the Friend, 1813; and John Brough in the Western Republican, 1831-32; and they did not often write a "leader."

Second, no pro-slavery paper was published in Marietta until subsequent to the date to which we have now arrived - May, 1833. The Spectator, published by Caleb Emerson in 1811-12, was decidedly anti-slavery, and so always was the Friend, from 1813 to 1833. They on many occasions published articles, such as we have been accustomed to hear called "abolition," "nigger-head," and "incendiary," during these latter years of new ideas. Everybody hereabouts, in those days, seemed to regard slavery as an "evil" not to be extended, and not a "blessing" to be forced upon the whole country; and that the papers here should publish anti-slavery articles was deemed a matter-of-course - although there was no violent discussion on the subject save at the time of the admission of Missouri in 1820. What Northern paper then - in 1820 - took the slavery side of the question! and how quick were the Northern people to drive into obliion the few of their representatives who then proved false to Freedom!