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Chronicling America
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Newspaper Portage Sentinel (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854

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About Portage Sentinel (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854

The Portage Sentinel was first published in Ravenna, Ohio, on June 5, 1845, by Samuel D. Harris, Jr. and Roswell Batterson, beginning its run as a 22×32 inch, four-page newspaper featuring 24 columns at an annual advance subscription price of $1.50. The latest of several attempts to successfully publish a Democratic paper in Portage County, the Sentinel established itself as the local Democratic organ, claiming only to oppose “any system of laws which shall favor one class of the community at the expense of the other.” Quoting President James K. Polk, the paper’s motto first read: “The Constitution–The Safeguard of our Federal Compact.” In June of 1847, that motto became “Opposition to Tyranny, is Obedience to God,” quoting former President Thomas Jefferson; by October of 1852, it had been dropped from the masthead. The Sentinel featured articles concerning a variety of topics including business, politics and acts of the legislature, local news, medicine and health, in addition to poetry and anecdotal humor.

In 1851 and 1854, respectively, Batterson and Harris retired from the Sentinel, leaving the paper in the hands of Alphonso Hart and R. E. Craig, who began a new series after Harris’s departure and retitled the paper the Weekly Portage Sentinel. The firm of Hart & Craig enlarged the paper and continued its Democratic voice, adding the phrase “The Union–It Must Be Preserved” to the masthead and frequently publishing in opposition to the local Republican organ, the Portage County Democrat. In 1858, the Sentinel came under the control of James Somerville, who operated the publication until its cessation in 1862 and the sale of the office to Lyman W. Hall, owner of the competing Democrat. Portage County was then without a Democratic organ until Samuel D. Harris, Jr. emerged from retirement to print the Democratic Press in 1868.

Provided By: Ohio History Connection, Columbus, OH

About this Newspaper

Title

  • Portage Sentinel (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854

Names

  • Harris, Samuel D.
  • Batterson, Roswel

Dates of Publication

  • 1845-1854

Created / Published

  • Ravenna, Ohio : Harris & Batterson, 1845-1854.

Headings

  • -  Ravenna (Ohio)--Newspapers
  • -  Ohio--Ravenna
  • -  United States--Ohio--Portage--Ravenna

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Vol. 1, no. 1 (June 5, 1845)-v. 10, no. 6 (Aug. 2, 1854) ; new ser., v. 1, no. 1 (Aug. 9, 1854)-v. 1, no. 2 (Aug. 16, 1854).
  • -  Publishers: S.D. Harris & R. Batterson, 1845-1851; S.D. Harris, 1851-1854; A. Hart & R.E. Craig, 1854.
  • -  Democratic. Cf. Gutgesell, S. Guide to Ohio newspapers, 1974.
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  Weekly Portage sentinel 2376-2632 (DLC)sn 83035102 (OCoLC)9419227

Medium

  • 10 volumes ; 55-60 cm

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn83035101

OCLC Number

  • 9419217

ISSN Number

  • 2376-256x

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:

Portage Sentinel Ravenna, Ohio -1854. (Ravenna, OH), Jan. 1 1845. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn83035101/.

APA citation style:

(1845, January 1) Portage Sentinel Ravenna, Ohio -1854. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn83035101/.

MLA citation style:

Portage Sentinel Ravenna, Ohio -1854. (Ravenna, OH) 1 Jan. 1845. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn83035101/.