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Chronicling America
National Endowment for the Humanities

Newspaper Ripley County Democrat (Doniphan, Mo.) 1905-1920

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About Ripley County Democrat (Doniphan, Mo.) 1905-1920

DeWitt Clinton Cunningham, editor and publisher of the Ripley County Democrat of Doniphan, Missouri, published an editorial on November 17, 1905 concerning the origin of the newspaper. Cunningham wrote that beginning with Volume VIII, “we have taken the opportunity offered, to change the name of the paper from The Hustler, under which cognomen it has journeyed since its purchase by Gus Henry Rife from Robert E. Douglas, and its subsequent lease and purchase by the present owner, to the more euphonious one of Ripley County Democrat.“

The Ripley County Democrat was first established around 1895 by Thomas F. Lane, who quickly sold it to Robert E. Douglas. A founder of the Ripley County Republican, Douglas sold the printing plant to Gus Henry Rife who changed the name of the paper to the Hustler. In 1898, Rife sold the paper to DeWitt Clinton Cunningham.

Cunningham had never liked the Hustler as a title for the paper, and in 1905, as soon as it had become contractually permissible, he changed its name back to the Ripley County Democrat. Cunningham published the four-page paper every Friday in Doniphan.

According to his obituary published in the Doniphan Republican on October 27, 1927, Cunningham had become involved in newspaper work at a young age in Texas. He was the first Associated Press representative in the Southwest and accompanied General McKenzie as a war correspondent on his expedition against the Apache leader Geronimo. Cunningham was active in Democratic politics, serving in both the Ohio and Missouri legislatures and as the mayor of Doniphan. The Ripley County Democrat followed him into retirement in 1918.

Provided By: State Historical Society of Missouri; Columbia, MO

About this Newspaper

Title

  • Ripley County Democrat (Doniphan, Mo.) 1905-1920

Dates of Publication

  • 1905-1920

Created / Published

  • Doniphan, Mo. : D.C. Cunningham, 1905-

Headings

  • -  Doniphan (Mo.)--Newspapers
  • -  Missouri--Doniphan
  • -  United States--Missouri--Ripley--Doniphan

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Vol. 8, no. 1 (Nov. 17, 1905)-
  • -  Ceased in 1920?
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.

Medium

  • v.

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn89067083

OCLC Number

  • 20401069

ISSN Number

  • 2378-6809

Preceding 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:

Ripley County Democrat Doniphan, Mo. -1920. (Doniphan, MO), Jan. 1 1905. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn89067083/.

APA citation style:

(1905, January 1) Ripley County Democrat Doniphan, Mo. -1920. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn89067083/.

MLA citation style:

Ripley County Democrat Doniphan, Mo. -1920. (Doniphan, MO) 1 Jan. 1905. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, aj.sunback.homes/item/sn89067083/.