The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1877-05-24
THE STARK COUNTY DEMOCRAT
TWEN7 YNINE YEARS AGO.

ter, till 1854, occupying the west room OF
the old county building.
The STARK COUNTY DEMOCRAT was pur-
chased from Messrs. Carney & Letter by
John & A. McGregor, father and son, on
May 10th, 1S4s, issuing their first paper
on May goth, Carney & Letter publish"
ed the paper year and six weeks, hav-
ing bought it of the late Daniel Gotshall,
Esq. Mr.. John McGregor, the father,
died at Wadsworth in September follow
ing, in his fifty-third year, after which
A, MCGregor took sole charge. The de-
ceased was educated at Glasgow Univer-
sity, Scotland, and had for years been
the distinguished and successful teacher
of the Wadsworth Academy. That he
was a ripe scholar and gentleman of
attainments is we'll known to those who
enjoyed his acquaintance.
The prominent men of the Democratic
party in Canton in 1S4S have mostly
passed away. We may name Hon. D,
A. starkweather, Judge Belden, DIR. R,
H, Mccall, George Dunbar, H. P. Dun
bar, B. F. Letter, Arnold Lynch, Daniel
Raft and others.
Some prominent Democrats Of that
day in the county are still living here,
or elsewhere among whom we may
name James D. Brown, Esq, of
Omaha DR.. Harman Stidger, of I'm
iontown, Pa; James B. Estep, Massillon;
VIM. Dunbar, Mt. Vernon; Ex-Judge
Peter Loutzenheiser. two miles north OF
Canton; John E. Dunbar, R. A, Dunbar,
Judge S. Meyer, Thomas Mccall, then
living on his farm in Sandy tp.; L, Alex
ander, then having q wooden factory
near Alliance, and others, The late Sam
uel Lahm was then Member of Congress
from this district, composed of Stark
and Wayne counties, having been elected
by the Wings as an independent, over
Mr.. starkweather.
The orator Ajax of the old Whig party
here at that time was Hiram Griswold,
ESQ.,, now of Leavenworth. Mr.. Girls
void was an able lawyer, and removed
to Cleveland in 1858. The only speci-
men of the old Democracy remaining at
Massillon, that we think of, is Thomas
Blackburn, still an acting Justice of the
Peace, and still sound n,mind, as sound
in Democracy. The McCullys are gone;
Sam. McCaugheyi lives on his farm in In
diana, and sound as eyer, being Hen
bricks delegate at the st. Louis conven-
ton last fall. So much for personalities.
Since 184S things have much changed;
railways have come, population has in
creased, mining and manufacturing large
ly developed, changing Canton from a
little, dried up, inland county town of
some 1000, to an outspreading city Of
the second class, with twelve or fourteen
thousand souls.
At that time Cantonians used to have
the high satisfaction of seeing well load
ed wheat wagons, sometimes hundreds
per day, pass through on their way to
Massillon. Canal towns were then, the
wheat buying points. Alliance was then
non est. A few old frame houses down
near the river, there still, were called
the village of Freedom. The wonderful
coal developments of the Tuscarawas val
ley have added largely to the population
thereabouts, and done much for the bust
ness prosperousness of Massillon and Ca
nal Fulton.
It will be noticed we have passed
through transition period in this local
ity, as we'll as in the country, In 184S
the junior, John McGregor, was aged but
three years, and many of our active
youngermen inthe county had not then
seen light The average length ofhuman
life is only about thirty years. Short
lived humanity -..,v
Occasionally an old Democratic friend
who remembers the DEMOCRAT Office
when the only press was the old hand
press, speaks Of the wonderful changes as
he passes through the establishment and
sees and notes the cylinder and steam
job presses of to-day.
The constant and increasing demands
of the printing business-imperative re-
qnirements, of a more imposing and in.
fdential Democratic organ in this, the
fifth county in Ohio in population, espec-
tally five hoped everto get Stark back to
the Democratic fold, has compelled large
investments, within the past few years. j
q We may be allowed to say also. that
the trials and pecuniary losses during the
late war period between the North and
South, seriously affected Democratic pa
pers in some localities, and not one in
The State probably more than the STARK
County DEMoCRAT. The aim seemed to
be to crush out the Democratic organiza-
ion and its organ, and SO make Stark
permanently a Republican stronghold,
! But in this article we simply aimed to
yiye a brief sketch of the past as we en-