The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1877-03-26
NEWSPAPERS AND NEWSPAPER
MEN IN ROCK ISLAND
COUNTY.
BY J. b. DANFoRTH, JB.
THE CoMMERCIAL-lS5S
BY J. b. DANFoRTH, JR.


On the 7th of July 1858, G. ", Kirk
lend commenced the publication OF morn
ing daily paper, and also a weekly paper
called The Commercial. In his first issu
he said 1.-THE Commercial will be the firm
jealous and consistent supporter OF tn
principles of the Republican party" III
printing was done at Raymond's office, i
Gothic Block, the Sd story Of the bulldln
now occupied by Baker as a jewelry store
and by Quist as a tobacco store 1t wa
short-liyed, being discontinued on the Zn'
of February, 1859, for want OF patronage
The following is an extract from the Issue
of that date:
,., ,,,, ,,,,,her onT connection with the Daily
and WEEKLY Commercial ceases ana we Cav -, y
in n pecuniary point Of view that II Is muoh " Uui
rggret We have published the paper thus lal nt
sacrifice and should have discontinued II Ions 49,
INF Tor a feeling OF pride natural TO newsPappeL
obIisbsrs and tbe hope OF The ilustrious Micawber
clingiug TO US that something would TURN ny ~
mag b pay pay nnmber Of the ri Weekly Register
under the auspices Of Mr.. T. j. Pickett me- Gar
the Peoria Daily Republican, VII appear on DA'
urday morning next - w.
The paper, like those that lived and died
before il. failed to meet the wants OF the
public, patronage dropped off, and it died
Kirkland was born in Utica, n. T., Dec.
% 1881, and learned the printers trade in
the Office of the Evangelist, at Oberlin,
Ohio. His first venture, on his own ac
count, was in publishing paper at Medina
Ohio, called the Gazette. After q years
of fair success he sold out and came to
Peru, Illinois, where he engaged in the
same business, but not successfully. He
came to this city in June, 1858. After the
failure of his newspaper enterprise here he
remained in town, working at his trade,
until September, 1861, when he enlisted in
Capt, John B, Hawley's company, and he
staid until the close of the war, participa-
ting in the battles Of Forts Henry, Douel-
son, Shiloh, and Corinth, besides numer-
Gus skirmishes, and on the 4th of De-
cember, 1868, was promoted to cap
taincy in Company "A" of the Goth
u. S. G. l., in which he remained until
out on the Goth of March, 1866
He was recommended for the position of
major and lieutenant colonel during his ser
vice with the Goth, but, as he says: lowing
TO the Vaccinations of the war department
and the political intrigues of those valiant
citizen-warriors of the north, the vacancies
of ou- regiment were most uDjustly and
summary filled by couple of imported
parlor officers from the states, who should
have been taken by the nap of the neck
and kicked out on the first day of their ap-
pearance in the regiment. But the officers
choked down their Indignation at this out
rageous insult, and bore with these monde
scripts until the end Of the service"
After being mustered out, Kirkland, IL
company with other officers of his regl-
ment, became convinced that there was a
fortune in cotton raising, but it proved a
disastrous failure. One season was
enough for him, and he babe adeiu to the
Sunny South. On the lstof January, 1861
he returned to Chicago, and since then ma,
experienced various vilissitudes Of fortune
Before the panic he was in fair circum
stances. Since then, through the failure
of almost everything in which he had al
investment, he has felt himself compelled
to 90 back to his old friends the stick ant
the rule" But he still has a Wilkin
Micawbcr eye towards the future