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Newspaper Norfolk Gazette and Publick Ledger (Norfolk [Va.]) 1804-1816 Publick ledger / Norfolk gazette and public ledger

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About Norfolk Gazette and Publick Ledger (Norfolk [Va.]) 1804-1816

John Cowper’s life before becoming the proprietor of the Norfolk Gazette and Publick Ledger shaped the newspaper he would later create for the thriving port town he called home. As a young man, he was a shipmaster in his father’s merchant fleet, oversaw the family business, was instrumental in forming Norfolk’s chamber of commerce, and served as the town’s mayor in 1801. When Cowper started the Norfolk Gazette and Publick Ledger in 1804, he hoped to provide a newspaper for Norfolk merchants with the ultimate goal of shaping political policies that would be favorable to that audience. At the time of the Norfolk Gazette’s creation, the town had only one other newspaper, the Norfolk Herald, a Republican triweekly issued by Charles Willet and James O’Connor, which had been published in various iterations since 1795.

Having the will but not the experience to produce a newspaper, Cowper hired the capable Federalist editor George L. Gray, formerly with Baltimore’s Republican or Anti-Democrat, with which Gray had hoped to “expose the glaring falsehoods of the democratic party.” The Norfolk Gazette and Publick Ledger’s introductory issue, dated July 17, 1804, explained in a letter addressed to the public that its “chief objects should be, the promotion of the Commercial interests of the Borough, by collecting and publishing mercantile information.” The Norfolk Gazette was published Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays and cost subscribers $5 per annum. Advertisements were 50 cents for the first appearance and 25 cents for each succeeding appearance.

With Cowper dictating the content of the paper and Gray editing and supervising its production, the partnership proved successful. Gray’s tenure with the Norfolk Gazette was short-lived, however. On July 26, 1805, Gray announced that he was retiring from his editorial role due to health problems. To take his place, Cowper hired William Davis, also a merchant and the founder of an earlier newspaper called the American Gazette, and Norfolk and Portsmouth Weekly Advertiser. A typical issue of the Norfolk Gazette contained a copious amount of advertisement space featuring items for sale by subscribers such as tobacco, coffee, flour, pork, salt, sugar, rum, timber, medicines, and candles; ads for freighter ships, land, and homes for sale; and rewards for stolen items and for the capture of people who had escaped from slavery. Pages two and three had articles on topics such as the Bank of the United States and congressional proceedings, reprinted presidential addresses, news from abroad, and news from Washington (mostly excerpted from other newspapers). The final page was devoted to additional commercial news and advertisements.

Cowper and Davis focused heavily on foreign affairs and the region’s maritime trade in their newspaper, which also took a strong anti-France stance. Cowper’s antagonism towards France stemmed from an incident that had occurred during the Quasi-War (1798–1801), when a French privateer captured and sold one of his family’s ships, causing enduring financial hardship for the Cowper family business. In the pages of the Norfolk Gazette the partners also fumed against the Embargo Act of 1807, believing it created unnecessary restrictions on maritime trade, and opposed the War of 1812 because of its negative impact on Norfolk businesses. In April 1813, wartime shortages forced them to reduce the frequency of publication from three to two times a week, which only heightened their opposition to the conflict.

With Davis’s retirement from the Norfolk Gazette in 1816, Cowper, unable to find a suitable replacement, turned his attention toward pursuits outside of newspaper publishing. In the penultimate issue, dated September 14, 1816, Cowper told his readers that the “editor of this paper, finding it not in his power to bestow the attention, which he would wish . . . has determined to dispose of the establishment of the Norfolk Gazette and Publick Ledger.” The final edition of the paper, issued on September 17, 1816, brought its 12-year run to a close.

Provided By: Library of Virginia; Richmond, VA

About this Newspaper

Title

  • Norfolk Gazette and Publick Ledger (Norfolk [Va.]) 1804-1816

Other Title

  • Publick ledger
  • Norfolk gazette and public ledger

Names

  • Cowper, John
  • Gray, George Lewis, 1777?-1808
  • Davis, William

Dates of Publication

  • 1804-1816

Created / Published

  • Norfolk [Va.] : John Cowper & George L. Gray, 1804-1816.

Headings

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Triweekly, Mar. 20, 1815-1816
  • -  Vol. 1, no. 1 (July 17, 1804)-v. 13, no. 27 (Sept. 17, 1816).
  • -  Publisher: William Davis for the Proprietor, <1805>-1816.
  • -  Also issued on microfilm from Bell & Howell, Micro Photo Div.

Medium

  • volumes : illustrations ; 49 cm

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper 10063

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn85025815

OCLC Number

  • 11931567

Additional Metadata Formats

Availability

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress believes that the newspapers in Chronicling America are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions. Newspapers published in the United States more than 95 years ago are in the public domain in their entirety. Any newspapers in Chronicling America that were published less than 95 years ago are also believed to be in the public domain, but may contain some copyrighted third party materials. Researchers using newspapers published less than 95 years ago should be alert for modern content (for example, registered and renewed for copyright and published with notice) that may be copyrighted. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item.

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Norfolk Gazette and Publick Ledger Norfolk Va. -1816. (Norfolk, VA), Jan. 1 1804. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn85025815/.

APA citation style:

(1804, January 1) Norfolk Gazette and Publick Ledger Norfolk Va. -1816. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn85025815/.

MLA citation style:

Norfolk Gazette and Publick Ledger Norfolk Va. -1816. (Norfolk, VA) 1 Jan. 1804. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, aj.sunback.homes/item/sn85025815/.