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Newspaper The People's Defender (West Union, Adams County, Ohio) 1866-Current Semi-weekly defender

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About The People's Defender (West Union, Adams County, Ohio) 1866-Current

This newspaper was first printed on January 16, 1866, in West Union, Ohio, to support the Democratic Party and provide news to the residents of Adams County. Although the People’s Defender began as a semi-weekly paper, it developed into a weekly by the early twentieth century. Issues typically ranged from 8 to 12 pages long.

A History of Adams County, Ohio, by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers, describes the People’s Defender as a “radical Democratic organ.” Its politics reflected those of the Defender’s first publisher, Joseph W. Eylar, whom Evans and Stivers identify as “a Democrat in the intensest sense of the word.” In 1890, he sold the paper to the like-minded Edward A. Crawford. Under both publishers, the paper was successful and enjoyed large circulation numbers throughout southern Ohio. Crawford also purchased the West Union Democratic Index seven years later and consolidated it with the People’s Defender.

In October 1916, Crawford divested from the paper, and a joint stock venture, the Defender Publishing Company, took over. It had strong ties to Joseph Eylar’s son, William A. Eylar, editor of the nearby Georgetown News Democrat, and the Eylar family would remain heavily involved with the People’s Defender through at least 1943. Over that span, the Defender continued to favor the Democratic Party’s candidates and platforms. It also maintained its popularity, asserting on December 30, 1937, that its circulation was wider than any other two Adams County newspapers combined.

The People’s Defender seldom covered events of national or international significance. When it did, it was often with a somewhat parochial flavor. For instance, on the front page of the first issue published after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the largest headlines read “Burley [tobacco] Prices Continue High” and “Crash Is Fatal To County Man,” while only a small four-sentence blurb announced that Italy and Germany had declared war on the United States. Other week-to-week coverage of the war usually focused on recruitment efforts, bond drives, and the Adams County men serving in the armed forces.

Local news stories reported deaths or injuries, courthouse updates, and high school sports, joined by pieces on an assortment of regional happenings. Examples include “Kansas Tourists Like Our County” (May 28, 1925) and “[Local Family] Find Snake In Christmas Tree” (December 27, 1934). While the Defender occasionally featured photographs to accompany its articles, its pages were mostly occupied by text or advertisements.

As of 2025, the People’s Defender has been published continuously over more than 150 years. It is owned by Champion Media, a North Carolina–based agency that operates several small-town newspapers across the U.S. South and Midwest. Their website states their mission: “to provide readers with the highest quality of trustworthy, relevant, and engaging local news.” Additional digitized issues of the People’s Defender from 1910 to 1922 are freely available at OhioMemory.org.

Provided By: Ohio History Connection, Columbus, OH

About this Newspaper

Title

  • The People's Defender (West Union, Adams County, Ohio) 1866-Current

Other Title

  • Semi-weekly defender

Dates of Publication

  • 1866-current

Created / Published

  • West Union, Adams County, Ohio : Jos. W. Eylar

Headings

  • -  West Union (Ohio)--Newspapers
  • -  Adams County (Ohio)--Newspapers
  • -  Ohio--Adams County
  • -  Ohio--West Union
  • -  United States--Ohio--Adams--West Union

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly, Nov. 10, 1898-
  • -  Began with Jan. 16, 1866 issue.
  • -  "Democratic." Cf. Gutgesell, S. Guide to Ohio newspapers, 1974.
  • -  Printed with title: Semi-weekly defender, Apr. 26-Nov. 4, 1898.
  • -  Description based on: Vol. 1, no. 7 (Mar. 2, 1866).

Medium

  • volumes

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn83035189

OCLC Number

  • 9526816

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:

The People's Defender West Union, Adams County, Ohio -Current. (West Union, OH), Jan. 1 1866. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn83035189/.

APA citation style:

(1866, January 1) The People's Defender West Union, Adams County, Ohio -Current. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn83035189/.

MLA citation style:

The People's Defender West Union, Adams County, Ohio -Current. (West Union, OH) 1 Jan. 1866. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn83035189/.