The Western Citizen – Hopewell Museum

What was considered newsworthy in the early 19th century when the Western Citizen started was very different from the news that was published by the end of the century and into the 20th. Early papers published international, national and state news and very little local news except for the occasional obituary or marriage. Advertisements for patent medicines, local businesses and services, agricultural products, schools, and land and livestock sales, and notices for runaways, debt settlements, lost livestock, found items, and letters at the post office took up most of the space in each issue. Poetry, funny stories and jokes, satirical pieces and other items of cultural interest took their place beside the text of treaties, and long letters by people of authority such as the President, Senators or foreign diplomats.

As the century wore on, local news began to dominate weekly papers and the Western Citizen followed suit. Advertisements began to share more space with news items on the front page and local events and activities took precedent over national or international news. The exception was reporting on war—the Civil War and later the Mexican War in the 19th century—two conflicts in which Kentuckians were deeply involved.

In December of 1807, John A. Grimes published a notice in the Kentucky Gazette, announcing a new newspaper, The Western Citizen, which he produced under the partnership of Grimes and Johnson. The earliest known issue of the paper is dated Thursday, November 3, 1808—the thirtieth number of the first volume. Since the paper was published weekly, the first issue was probably published in April of 1808.

Publishing a Newspaper

The Western Citizen was first printed on a hand press that operated essentially by the same principles as the first press invented by Johann Gutenberg and his partners in the 15th century. Prior to the invention of the printing press, books were written by hand or block printed, both immensely time consuming processes. The printing press applied pressure to an inked surface resting upon a medium such as paper or cloth and transferred an image. The invention of moveable type to form the letters was essential to the process. Gutenberg, a goldsmith, developed an alloy of lead, tin and antimony to make durable letter type. The lead type was formed by using a uniform template that quickly and precisely molded each type block. He also invented an oil-based ink that was more durable than water-based inks.

Printing the Newspaper

Printing a newspaper in the early 19th century was accomplished on wooden presses also known as a screw press or common press. The use of the term “screw” referred to the screw mechanism that lowered the inked typeset form down on the paper. It took two men and two strenuous pulls to exert enough pressure to make a satisfactory print impression. Improvements on the wooden press replaced the screw mechanism with a toggle that greatly decreased the physical effort necessary to print a page.

In 1821 Samuel Rust invented the Washington Hand Press, an iron press that immediately became popular. The Western Citizen was printed on a Washington press for a large part of the 19th century.

Editors & Offices: Joel Reed Lyle

Joel Reid Lyle, a Virginia native who moved to Kentucky by 1807, first taught school in Clark County, then moved to Paris where he assisted his brother, John Lyle, at the Bourbon Female Academy. Lyle purchased the Western Citizen in early 1809 from Grimes & Johnston. He served as editor and publisher until 1829 when ill health forced him to turn the job over to his son, William C. Lyle.

Editors & Offices: John G. Craddock

John Givens Craddock was born in Harrison County, Kentucky near the Bourbon County line. He was educated for a medical career but his education was cut short by his participation in the Mexican War. Upon his return to Paris, he began his journalism career by establishing a paper called the Kentucky State Flag which was discontinued at the commencement of the Civil War, and the Paris True Kentuckian, begun in 1866. He purchased the Western Citizen and merged the two papers under the name The Kentuckian-Citizen. A biographer described Col. Craddock as “known all the United States for his eccentricity and his friends were legion.”

Editors & Offices: Bruce Miller

Bruce Miller was a true native son, being the great-grandson of John Miller, who founded the town of Millersburg, Kentucky. He apprenticed at the Bourbon News under the tutelage of his uncle, Bruce Champ. After his uncle’s death, he partnered with Walter Champ to produce the Bourbon News. When he took over the Kentuckian-Citizen in 1899, he modernized the equipment and increased the size of the paper. The paper celebrated its 100th anniversary under Miller’s ownership and a grand reception was held. The Bourbon News described the affair which offered a sumptuous buffet and “everything that is good in the drinking line.” Their final comment: “If you were not there, you missed the reception of the season, and that’s all there is to it.”

Editors & Offices: The 1906 Office

Editors & Offices: A.S.Thompson

Alvin S. (known as “A.S.”) Thompson ran the Kentuckian-Citizen for 19 years. In his last editorial published July 12, 1940, he wrote, “In the nearly 19 years of ownership of the paper, I have given to its publication my most earnest and conscientious service…In retiring from the work I do so with much regret.”

Editors & Offices: The Brannons

Paul Brannon was a journalist to the core. He became publisher of the Carlisle Mercury in 1944, purchased the Kentuckian-Citizen in 1946, and founded the Nicholas County Star in 1947. Known for his strong opinions and fiery editorials, he felt that the mission of the small town newspaper was to “stand for the people against harm.” He once said, “Like all Irishmen, I have a long memory for my own wrongs,” and he forcefully engaged in the issues of the day through his editorials. Paul Brannon died in 1965 at age 70, leaving the paper in the hands of his two sons, Larry and Jim.

Larry Brannon earned a degree in journalism from the University of Kentucky. He joined his father and his brother, Jim, at the Citizen after he returned from military service in World War II. There he met Genevieve Sullivan who began working at the paper in 1943. She was hired to answer the phones but within two days, she was learning all kinds of jobs associated with publishing a newspaper. She and Larry married in 1949 and spent their entire married life in the newspaper business. Larry Brannon died in 1991, leaving the operation of the newspaper to Genevieve Brannon and three of their children, Rebecca Lawyer, Jimmy Brannon and BeBe Brannon.

Advertising Pays the Bills

Throughout the history of weekly newspapers, advertising was and continues to be a significant source of revenue. Paid advertising by local businesses, service providers, and others brought in badly needed financial support when subscriptions were inadequate to meet expenses, or, as often happened, difficult to collect. William Rogers, who faithfully subscribed to the Western Citizen from 1807 to 1859, was exceptional. Subscriptions frequently were past due or paid in commodities such as eggs, a couple of chickens, or preserved goods when money was tight.

Buy Locally

Having a local newspaper to announce a business startup, advertise a new shipment of goods or seek locally produced agricultural products “for which good money will be paid” was a boon to local businessmen. Businessmen, merchants, artisans, craftsmen and professional people such as lawyers and doctors, then as now, advertised their services, wares and skills in the newspaper. Need your portrait painted or your will written? The newspaper was as good as the Yellow Pages to help you find what you needed. Local schools and seminaries also profited by a newspaper’s promotion.

Making it fit

It’s not uncommon to see advertisements that are inserted sideways or upside down. Rather than being a mistake made by the printer, this arrangement was apparently requested by the advertiser to draw attention to the ad in what was a veritable sea of competition.

Runaway Slaves, Apprentices and Wives

The Western Citizen frequently served as the forum for slaveowners, artisans and craftsmen and disgruntled husbands seeking their missing slaves, apprentices or wives. Missing slave and apprentice ads included the individual’s name, age, physical description, and the reward offered. Personality or physical quirks were also included to help identify the runaway party. Missing wives were generally identified only by name and the advertiser gave notice that he would not pay any bills she incurred, but, sometimes, as in the case of Bridget McDallough, a husband aired the family problems in detail.

Runaway Slaves, Apprentices and Wives

WIFE ADVERTISED

Run away from Patrick Mac Dallough—Whereas My wife Mrs. Bridget McDallough is again walked away with herself & left me with five small children and her poor blind mother and left no body else to take care of house and home, and I hear has taken up with Tim Guigan the lame fiddler, the same that was put in the stocks last Easter, for stealing Barney Doody’s game cock. This is to give notice that I will not pay for bite or sup on her account to man or mortal, and that she had better never show the marks of her ten toes near my house again.

PATRICK MCDALLOUGH

P.S. Tim had better keep out of my sight.

Newspaper Politics

Country newspapers were fiercely partisan in their politics and editors did not hesitate to express their opinions. Under the editorship of Joel Lyle, the paper’s politics supported the Democratic-Republican party against the Federalists, supporting the War of 1812 in which many Kentuckians fought, and allying with the politics of Henry Clay and John Quincy Adams against Andrew Jackson. When the party split in 1824, the Western Citizen supported the Whig party whose charismatic leader, Senator Henry Clay, hailed from Lexington, Kentucky and was one of the state’s most influential 19th century politicians at the national level.

During the Civil War, the Western Citizen supported the Union cause and opposed secession. The paper’s war coverage vilified the Confederates and championed the Union, despite considerable Confederate support within the Bourbon county citizenry. In 1864 when Abraham Lincoln was returned to office in a bitterly fought contest, the Western Citizen published vote totals that showed Bourbon County overwhelmingly opposed Lincoln, following the rest of the state.

After the war, the paper espoused Democratic Party principles under the editorship of F. L. McChesney and Lemuel Fisher. Conservative Democratic values characterized the paper’s political stance throughout the 20th century. Paul Brannon was known for his fiery editorials and his willingness to take on controversial issues.

War Coverage

Newspapers were one of the most effective ways to disseminate news about war to the general population. Even illiterate citizens had access to information because newspapers were often read aloud to any interested listener at taverns or other gathering places. The first war that the Western Citizen reported was the War of 1812 in which many Kentuckians participated. Letters and dispatches from the war front spread the news of the war’s progress. The Western Citizen occasionally printed war news as broadsides, special one-page issues that printed a particularly important or relevant letter or dispatch such as the one written by William Garrard, Jr., a Bourbon County native.

War Coverage

The Civil War prompted extensive and highly partisan coverage. The Western Citizen initially supported the right of Kentucky to refrain from taking sides in the conflict and reported on the Border States Convention that was held in 1861. As events made neutrality impossible, the paper supported the Union. News coverage took the form of reports of movements at the various war fronts, editorials about Confederates, news of local soldiers and reprinted articles about the war from other papers.

Both World Wars garnered front page headlines amidst the local day to day news and the ever-present advertisements. But the Vietnam War was barely mentioned except for news about soldiers from the local area because the newspaper at that time operated exclusively as an advertiser and, for the most part, left international and national news to the daily newspaper, the Paris Daily Enterprise.

For the Traveler

Bourbon County is traversed by a major road, known as the Limestone Trace, the Lexington-Maysville Turnpike, and Highway 68, that passes directly through Paris and exits the county at Millersburg. Stagecoach lines regularly travelled this road as did many other travelers on horseback, or in a wagon, buggy or carriage. The road was lined with taverns and inns or hotels, regularly spaced stagecoach stops and turnpike toll booths. Businesses catering to travelers frequently advertised in the local newspaper.