The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1891-05-29
The owosso Newspapers Of Fifty
Years Ago.

THE TIMES scribe recently was shown
two copies of the Shiawassee Argus and
Clinton Advocate, the first newspaper pub
lished in OwOssO. The copies preserved
are of the dates of Sept 4, 1S41, and Janu-
airy 90, 1912, and respectively Nos. IL and
"a of volume 1, so that the first newspaper
published in Owosso must have been in
June 1S41, fifty years ago. Clinton and
Shiawassee counties were under the same
judicial government with the county seat at
Owosso. The Argus and Advocate was
published by Edward L. Ament in an old
wooden building on the site now occupied
by the opera house. The subscription price
was two dollars and fifty cents per year and
the paper was devoted to Agriculture,
| Health, Amusement and News of the day.
Elias Comstock and Joseph Roberts were
associate judges, Elisha Brewster sheriff,
Jno. X. Smith, county clerk, Andrew Par
sons register of deeds, Isaac Castle county
treasurer, Ira b. Howard judge of probate,
Philander Il. Main county surveyor, David
Bush Jr., Peter Cook and Francis j. Pre-
vost, county commissioners, Jno. Wood
| hull and Lyman Melville cOroners. Al
| though the name of prosecuting attorney
does not appear in the above list under the
| cards of business records Sanford nj. Green
announces that he holds such Office and is
| located over Goodhue's store. GOOdhue and
| Williams advertise general store, Chip
man and Parkill are chair makers, Daniel
Gould house and sign painter. Luke III.
Parsons is an attorney ut Corunna, county
site of Shiawassee county. s. Perkins
| is a briclzmaker and mortar mason. The
county commissioners publish notice
warning people against county orders reis-
sued by Joseph Pierce, ex-county treasurer,
in violation of the law, and the reader is led
to the belief that ex-treasurer Pierce was
very dishonest. S. Simpson advertises to
exchange sett of blacksmith tools for oxen
or wheat on three or four months time.
John Tyler's fiscal bank bill veto sent to
congress Aug. 10th, is published nearly a
month later in the Argus and Advocate.
Mortgage sale after mortgage sale appears
to the number of twenty-five or more which
shows that times were hard and mortgages
were known even before the Ubiquitous re-
publican tariff. Senator Woodbridge gets
editorial thanks for public documents. Sew
eral items of humor creep in. A husband
having hanged himself upon an apple tree,
neighbor's wife who would be rid of her
husband likewise, came and asked for a
branch of the limb from which the suicide
had depended in order that her trees might
bear similar fruit. Under the head of an
awful warning Is told how man who owed
an editor two dollars said he had no money,
afterward that same day lost his pocketbook
containing $1,000. One notice strange to
newspapers now is that paper rags would
be received upon subscription. The issue
of Jan'y "a, 1912, prints the register of
county officers for Clinton county showing
the separation of the two during the latter
part of 1s41 or before Jan. "a, 1912. The
tyno oattipo upou this iesua xvae done Inv
our own Dr. G. p. Parkill. Among the
stories is one selected from the Ladies'
Companion entitled Rapin of the Rock or
the Outlaw of the Ohio. One popularity of
the newspapers of fifty years ago was the
entire absence of local matter and the pub
LEGATION of other news like the arrival of U.
s. steamers in Boston Harbor.
These papers are in the possession of DIR.
G. p. Parkill and will be valuable contrbu-
tons to the pioneer societies of Shiawassee
county.