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Chronicling America
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Newspaper Ashtabula Weekly Telegraph (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1880-1886

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About Ashtabula Weekly Telegraph (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1880-1886

It was not until 1849 when Nathan W. Thayer established the Ashtabula Telegraph that the city of Ashtabula, Ohio, had a long-running newspaper. Newspapers first appeared in Ashtabula in 1823 when Asa and John Hickox established the Ashtabula Recorder. The Recorder survived only three years, and over the next few decades, several more papers were established in Ashtabula. Many of these lasted only a short time before publication either ceased or the paper moved elsewhere in Ashtabula County, such as to the more centrally located county seat at Jefferson. The Telegraph’s name was changed to the Ashtabula Telegraph and Lake Co. Advertiser in 1851, and, under this title, it began to report on local news from nearby Lake County, merging with the Painesville Free Press  in 1852 to form the Ashtabula Telegraph and Lake Co. Free Press. The Lake County interest was dropped in January 1853, and the paper, then owned and edited by John Booth, became known as the Ashtabula Weekly Telegraph.

The Telegraph was considered the newspaper of record for northern Ashtabula County, containing news and advertisements from Ashtabula and surrounding communities. The paper featured a business directory and regularly printed birth, marriage, and death notices. Republican in politics, despite its “Independent in all things” byline, the Telegraph supported Union interests during the Civil War. Ashtabula itself was at one time considered the strongest Republican county in the Western Reserve, and its proximity to Canada made it a major hub of Underground Railroad activity. News from the battlefield, soldiers’ letters, and reports from Congress were commonly included. In addition to reporting information of local and national importance, the Telegraph also printed international news.

In 1856, James Reed purchased the paper, and, in 1873, his son, James Reed, Jr., became co-proprietor. Under their leadership, the Telegraph reached a circulation of over 1,000 and held mass appeal in an area characterized by a mix of industry and agriculture. Located on Lake Erie, Ashtabula was a major coal and iron ore port; it was also situated in the heart of a rich dairy district. Most issues of the Telegraph contained household tips, poetry, and works of fiction in addition to political commentary. In 1874, the paper dropped the “weekly” from its title to become the Ashtabula Telegraph.  It expanded from four to eight page issues in 1880 when its name returned to the Ashtabula Weekly Telegraph. With this change came an increase in content, such as a regular temperance column and sections devoted to school and church news. During the latter part of the 19th century, the Telegraph experienced no major changes and continued to expand through mergers with other local papers. It even boasted a daily version, the Ashtabula Daily Telegraph, for a short time in 1884. After nearly 70 years of continuous printing, the Telegraph ceased publication in 1911.

Provided By: Ohio History Connection, Columbus, OH

About this Newspaper

Title

  • Ashtabula Weekly Telegraph (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1880-1886

Dates of Publication

  • 1880-1886

Created / Published

  • Ashtabula, Ohio : James Reed & Son, -1886.

Headings

  • -  Ashtabula (Ohio)--Newspapers
  • -  Ohio--Ashtabula
  • -  United States--Ohio--Ashtabula--Ashtabula

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Began in 1880.
  • -  -v. 37, no. 15 (Apr. 9, 1886).
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format as part of the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  Description based on: Vol. 31, no. 10 (Mar. 5, 1880).
  • -  Ashtabula telegraph (Ashtabula, Ohio : 1886) (DLC)sn 88078582 (OCoLC)17989577

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn88078581

OCLC Number

  • 17989573

ISSN Number

  • 2327-4980

Preceding Titles

Succeeding Titles

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:

Ashtabula Weekly Telegraph Ashtabula, Ohio -1886. (Ashtabula, OH), Jan. 1 1880. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn88078581/.

APA citation style:

(1880, January 1) Ashtabula Weekly Telegraph Ashtabula, Ohio -1886. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn88078581/.

MLA citation style:

Ashtabula Weekly Telegraph Ashtabula, Ohio -1886. (Ashtabula, OH) 1 Jan. 1880. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, aj.sunback.homes/item/sn88078581/.