Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1897-05-31

paper published at that town, and made
its appearance in 1915, the publishers
being Maxwell & Harper. In Decem-
Der. 1888, John Alburtis removed from
Nartinsburg to Shepherdstown, and
began the publication of paper called
the Journal. The Shepherdstown
Register was founded in 1S49, by Hardy
& McAuly, who continued it until 1891
when ]. T. II. Bingham assumed the
management and directed the same
until succeeded in 1852, by John H,
little, who published the paper for
more than thirty years. His successors
in 1882, were J. w. and H. L. Snyder,
the latter of whom is now the owner
and publisher.
II we leave the Eastern Panhandle
and halt in the beautiful South Branch
Valley at Romney, a town laid out by
the sixth Lord Fairfax, as a seat OF
Justice for Hampshire county the old
est county in West Virginia, We shall
find an interesting bit of newspaper
history. The first newspaper published
here was the South Branch lntelli-
gencer. which was founded by William
Harper and an older brother in 1880.
They came from Chambersburg, in
PENNSYLVANIA. and while William, the
Younger. remained in charge of the In
telligencer. the elder brother went to
Clarksburg. where he established a
similar enterprise. William success
fully conducted the Intelligencer for
A FULL HALF CENTURY.
when he died and was succeeded by his
widow. Mrs. Sallie L. Harper, who, as
the first female editor and publisher in
West Virginia. continued the paper IN
til June. 1898. when it was purchased
bv Hon. e. NJ. Gnkeson and others,
who controlled it until January LIST,
1897. when. after an existence of sixty
six years, it was merged into the
Hampshire Review.
The only other paper established IN
hampshire county before the war was
the Virginia Argus, of which a. >.
Trowbridge was the founder. His sue
cessor was Col. a. Monroe, who was
speaker of the West Virginia House OF
Delegates in 1875. The paper was dis
continued about the year 1862.
After the war the South Branch In
telligencer continued to be the only
newspaper until 1884, when c. F.
Poland founded the Hampshire Re
view. the management OF which he
continued until 1890, when the paper
was purchased by the Cornwell Broth
ers. who. as above stated, purchased
the Intelligencer and merged it into the
Review in 1897. thus leaving the Re-
view as the only paper in the county.
WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES.
He who would write the history of
journalism in West Virginia must now
leave that part Of the State east of the
mountains. and follow in the wake OF
the first printing press over the ALE
chenies. 1t was hauled over the noun
tain road following closely in the path
Of Braddock's Inflated army nearly a
half century before. Where will that
press be set up? Where in the days Of
pioneer life amid the forests on the
western slope of the Alleghenies, will
there be found a people who will sup
port a newspaper? Who will make it
2 weekly visitor in their cabin homes?
Down in the beautiful Monongahela
Valley an intelligent people had gone
TO found homes for those who were
to come after them. They were among
the first settlers of the famous old
{ District of West Augusta, and when
/ il was to exist no more as a minor
civil division of the Old Dominion, they
secured the creation of Monongalia
county. and the establishment Of Nor
gantown. as its seat of justice. There
thew laid the foundation of that intel
lectual life. culture and refinement OF
which il is a center to-day, having
founded within their midst, the first
newspaper printed within the State
west of the Allegheny mountains. This
was the Mononealia Gazette and Nor
gantown Advertiser, the first number
Of which appeared in January, 1903
Il was published by Joseph Campbell
and Forbes Britton, at six cents pei
copv. 1t was a sheet sixteen by twenty
inches. four pages, with four column:
TO the page. The expectations Of the
publishers we're not realized entirely
In January. 1906, three years after it;
first publication, it was reduced in
size to twelve and a half by fifteen and
a half inches. containing only twelve
columns. the name was reduced to the
Monongalia Gazette, and the number Of
publishers was reduced to one, who va:
Joseph Campbell He was born II
Ireland. in 1880. and educated in Ire
land. learned the business Of a printer
in Philadelphia, and after founding the
| Gazette. he served as Sheriff. and later