Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1916-01-06

Guy To-Day.
Col. Robert Thompson Van Horn
founded the Kansas City tMo) Journal
and was for Al years editor ot that
payer. becoming Il widely known figure
In American journalism. Kansas CITY
was village whose inhabitants num-
bored only AIS. when the young Van Horn
went there and bought tho Weekly Enter
prise for $500, in 1865. and changed the
name to the Journal. with the RAPID
growth OF the place the Journal became
one of the fourishing daily newspapers
in the West. When Colonel Van Horn
retired from control of tho pas,or, IN
1896. he was - years old. and at hls
death he was o., having been born MAJ
49, 1924.
colonel Van Horn was she son Of .
Pennsylvania farmer Of Dutch and
Scotch-Irsh ancestry His cducation
was largely on his own endeavor, with
occa sional terms at a subscription school
At Is he became apprenticed in the
printing trade and worked AT it for -
years in Pennsylvania. Indiana, Ohio AMI
New York, finally drifting to Kansas
City. to invest what little he had in tho
newspaper business for himself As an
editor he made himself known ms
lighter for the progress Of Kansas CITY
and Missouri and his whore career va.
interviewer with the history OF that re-
markablo progress.
| Colonel Van Horn served tho public
not only as an editor, hut as = soldier.
| as mayor of Kansas City many year,
ago, a member of the STAG Legislature
| and for four terms as tho representative
of his people in Congress.
His military service was with the
Union army. although In the political
| prologue TO the civil War he had been
! a pro-slavery democrat. Secession made
| a Union man and a republican of him.
lie headed Missouri regiment which
served with distinction. participating IN
the Battles of Shiloh. Cornth and West
! port While in the field with his regi-
ment he was called to take a. seat in the
| Missouri Senate, and shortly after tho
war he was sent to Congress. He intro
| duced there a bill for the organization
| of Oklahoma territory in 1Ss, and a.
! though the territory was not established
until % years late. it was Colonel Van
Horn who FOR the first time had intro
duced Congress to the now famila"
name Of Oklahoma He disavowed credit
| Tor having coined tne name, iiNI SAN
| hat F.. G. Boudinot. n Cherokee Indian.
had told him it was the Creek word
meaning Ped Mans Land.
| For many years Colonel Van Horn
was a delegate to republican national
conventions and was extremely proud Of
| the fact that he was one Of the imn,nr-
| tai 3OS." who stood for the third term
nomination of General Grant in the Chi
cago convention in 1850.
One OF Colonel Van Horns newspaper
| "reminiscences included the fact that his
Journal on August -. 1855 printed the
| first article announcing the discovery or
| gold In Colorado. He also recalled tho
days when the first telegraph news was
! received from st. Louis over wire
| completed as far as Boonville. from
which the news was forwarded by ex-
press.
In 1864 Colonel Van Horn married Miss
Adela II. Cooley of Neisc county. Ohio
| Four children were born to them, of
| whom Richard Van Horn manager OF
the Van Horn estate and a former news
paper man. is the only survivor Mrs
Van Horn died in July. 1910. Since her
death Colonel Van Horn had spent most
Of his time Mt homework on the out
| skirts Of Kansas city.