Worcester morning daily spy., 1898-02-03
A BIT OF HISTORY.
Paper from Which the Immortal
Declaration Was Read.
The Historic Act by Isaiah Thomas, Which
is COMMUNICATED on the Tablet IN 81
the New City Hall.

In the address on fOld time news
papers and their editors,'' given by
! Caleb A. Wall in the Society of Anti
guilty building, last June, there was a.
much more detailed account of the old
est newspapers printed in this country
| than there was space to print in the re-
port made of the meeting. In the ac-
count of newspapers started in the diff
ferent states, or colonies, It was stated
that the Philadelphia American Week
ly Mercury" started Dec. %, lit, the
| first newspaper printed in Pennsyl-
vania, was printed and published by
Andrew Bradford till his death, Nov. 80
l742, and afterwards continued by his
| widow till 1746, and soon after discon-
| tinued. This Andrew Bradford was sou
| of William Bradford, the first printer In
Pennsylvania and in New York, and it
was for Andrew Bradford that Benja-
min Franklin first worked as printer
when he left his brother James in Bos-
ton and went to Philadelphia in 1923. at
the age of 16, he and his brother having
| had a falling out. After working short
time for Andrew Bradford, Franklin
started printing office on his own ac-
count, in Philadelphia, with the idea of
starting also another newspaper, but he
was baked by the sudden appearance OF
by Samuel Keimer, called 1.-THE Univer-
sal Instructor in All Arts and Sciences,
| and Pennsylvania Gazette"
| Franklin being greatly disappointed,
used his utmost efforts to bring. the
paper into contempt, having such effect
that after it had been published mine
months less than one hundred subscrib-
ers had been obtained for it, and Frank
| lin managed to buy it out for small
consideration. He eXpunged the first
part of the title, retaining the last part,
the Pennsylvania Gazette, = and con-
tinued it with this name, with success.
Until Franklin's appointment as post
master Of Philadelphia in 174O, however,
Bradford's Mercury" had the largest
circulation, but after that Franklin's
paper had the lead in circulation and in
fluence, and Bradford's was soon after
discontinued; so we have here practical
evidence of Franklin's success of
newspaper business competitor
In 174S Franklin took in David Hall as
partner, who succeeded to the sole man
agement of the paper in 1753. when
Franklin was appointed deputy post
master general for the colonies, After
Halls death in 1772 the paper passed
into the hands of Andrew Brown, who
changed the name to Philadelphia Gaz
cite. his son and Samuel ,Rolfsucceed
ing in the paper.
"A
torshfp and management, this old paper
started by Benjamin Franklin, In 1923,
ceased to exist in 1S45 when it was
merged in the Philadelphia North Amer
Ifcan, after a life Of 116 years. This
Pennsylvania Gazette, afterward, in
1772. named the Philadelphia Gazette, is
the paper containing the Declaration of
Independence, which was intercepted on
its way from Philadelphia to Boston,
Juiv IA, 1776, from which Isaiah Thomas,
the founder of the Massachusetts Spy,
read that immortal document to his fell
low-citizens in Worcester from the
porch of the Old South Church, the first
time it had been read or proclaimed on
Massachusetts or New England soil
1t is very natural that Isaiah Thomas.
who was then postmaster of Worcester,
by appointment of Benjamin Franklin
as postmaster general of the United
Colonies should read that document
from a paper which had been so long
identified with the name Of his dis
tinguished friend and fellow-printer,
Benjamin Franklin.
To show that the citizens of Worces-
ter appreciated the patriotic act Of
Isaiah Thomas in being the fiT'se tol9ead
the Declaration of Independence on
Massachusetts, soil at the celebration
of the Fourth of July, in Worcester, in
1880, when Rejoice Newton presided.
with Col. Isaac Davis and Otis Corbett
as vice-presidents, the Grafton was bv
Hon. Peter c. Bacon. and addresses
were made by Gov. Lincoln and John
Davis and the following toast, proposed
by Isaac Goodwin, was drank with
signal enthusiasm: Our venerable
towpsman, Isaiah Thomas, Esq, who
first promulgated the Declaration of IN
dependence to the inhabitants OF this
vicinity, from the church and ibs
press
In the eulogy ON Isaiah Thomas de-
livered after his death. the followers
year, by Isaac Goodwin special refer
ence was made to this act of Isaiah
Thomas by his eulogist
q =. s-saIn a .. q. = 81