The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1877-04-12
Newspapers in Port Byron.

paper and support printing Office, and Port
Byron is no exception. 1t is difficult
enough to keep a printing Office open in
Moline or Rock Island. as numerous
failures attest-but how any man who knows
anything about the business should suppose
that Port Byron or LeClaire can support
a printing Office, is what no intelligent
fellow can find out. There IS not population
enough or business enough in Port Byron, |
LeClaire, Hampton, Cordova, and Rapids |
City combined to warrant any such under
taking. But dealers in corner lots,o stone
OF lime quarries, or coal mines, have
encouraged a good many poor fellows to
waste their time in trying to make print
ing Office live-and probably will continue
to do so as long as they can find printers
who have nothing but their time to loose.
The result is harvest of debts by the
village merchants and others against poor
printers, and some items to profit ands loss
for the ambitious corner lot dealers and
quarrymen.
POhT Byron MESSENdEh-lOOl.
No files can be found, but some time in
1857 John H. Shipman, civil engineer in
charge Of the 4th division of the old
Warsaw l. Rockford railroad project, and |
with headquarters at Port Byron, under |
took to establish a newspaper there. |
Fleming & Impey, across the river in
LeClaire, were publishing small weekly |
sheet, called the LeClaire Messenger or Lee
Claire Enterprise, liam not certain which,
aud Shipman furnished local matter for
this side Of the river and, with change of
heading to Port Byron Messenger, and
dating it at Port Byron, produced paper
which was printed at LeClaire, aud was
mainly the same as the LeClaire paper
1t had no political opinions. The Warsaw
l. Rockford railroad enterprise was a
failure and Shipman closed his business
and lett Port Byron some time in 1858. He
was born at Andover, Mass. in 1926, went
10 New York city with his fathers family
in 1882 and was educated in the public
schools there. He became civil engineer
and at 81 years of age came to this state
and was employed on several different
railroads. In 1853 he was appointed city
engineer for Alton. During that year, in
connection with John L. Roberts, he pur-
chased land in Macoupin county and laid
out the town of ''Shipman." After he left
Port Byron he returned to New York and,
at the close of 1860, obtained position on
the Sun where he served as night editor
until the winter of 1868. In 1869 he was
appointed on the editorial staff Of the New
York World where he is still employed.
THE PORT BYRON TIMEs-1S59.
After Shipman left, the editorial mantle
fell on the shoulders of Hon. E. H. J ohnston,
lawyer, of Port Byron, and he, in con-
nection with Nath'l Belcher Esq, pur-
chased press and type and started a
printing Office in Port Byron. Not long
afterwards there came along a man named
Lyman +. Knapp, who represented him
self to be just the man to run the concern,
and Belcher and Johnston installed him in
the position of business manager, etc. His
chief qualification was drinking whisky anG
loaGng He coptir,oI G
loanng; II IL y c5"..uIoV Tor year or two
The new paper was named The Port ByrO,
Times. l haye two copies of it. The frs
is dated March 81, 1859, and it is Vol. l
No. SO it must have been commenced
March "a, 1859. The other copy is date
April goth 1851. L. Knapp PubEshe
and Editor" In the issue of March 81, i
a notice that the LeCIaire Enterprise hat
been discontinued for want Of support.
The change of name of the Port Byro1
paper from Messenger to Times, and tn
establishment Of printing Office on thi
side of the river, gave little impetus t
the affair, but it was hopeless task, fron
the beginning, to attempt the establishment
of paper there. The price was only 81
year, and it was neutral in politics. !
was six column paper.
Belcher and Johnston finally got rid o
Knapp, and took, in his place, one Cham
bers p. ODER. He was better maj
than Knapp, except in one PARTICULAR
could drink more whisky, and he under
took to promote the cause Of temperate
by drinking all the whisky himself
Knapp run the Office about six months
and ODER about a year,-bOth neutral
If he could have prefxed q capital S t
his name ODER might have lasted longer
After the Office was chosen ODER moved +
Geneseo In 1862 he enlisted in tn
army, and returned to.Rock Island at tn
close of the war, sometimes finding worI
in The ARGUS Office and sometimes a
the Union Office. In 1867 he went t
Geneseo, and, we hear became a stead
man, and is still working ut his trade i
the Office of the Republic. He was borl
in Westmorland county Pa, in 1923, Sc
his first type in Keosauqua. Iowa, an,
finished his apprenticeship in Keokuk.
Messrs Johnston aud Belcher deserv
some better mention. Johnston, who CAV
more time and effort to the newspape
matter than anybody else, and got moth
ing for it, was born in Barnet, Caledoni
county, Vermont, Sept. 18th 1923, and wa
brought up on farm. By his own ex
ertions he secured good education, sup
porting himself as teacher until
commenced the study of law, with Gov
Bebb, at Hamilton, Ohio, He was ad
,,;tfad fo tho bar at thok Ylooa IN 1896