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Newspaper South Branch Intelligencer (Romney, Va. [W. Va.]) 1830-1896

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About South Branch Intelligencer (Romney, Va. [W. Va.]) 1830-1896

Located in Romney, West Virginia, the South Branch Intelligencer served eastern West Virginia as a source of news and politics throughout the 19th century. The newspaper was the product of William Harper, a young editor from a family of editors: William’s father George ran The Franklin Repository in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania for many years, while William learned the printing business from his older brother Kenton, editor of the Staunton Spectator in Virginia. In 1829, William Harper moved from Staunton to Romney and established the Hampshire and Hardy Intelligencer, but by 1830 renamed it the South Branch Intelligencer. Under Harper’s leadership, the Intelligencer would continue publication for nearly six decades.

In the years before the American Civil War, the Intelligencer promoted Whig politics and as the clouds of war loomed in 1860 and 1861, it advocated for settlement of the slave question within the Union. Yet the eruption of the Civil War swept over Romney and the nation regardless; the town of Romney endured occupation by both sides numerous times throughout the war. The war’s turmoil left Harper unable to produce the Intelligencer and the paper ceased publication from 1861 to 1865. With the cessation of hostilities, however, Harper quickly revived the Intelligencer. In the post-war era, the newspaper supported the Democratic Party, although politics rarely dominated the Intelligencer‘s pages. Instead, the newspaper devoted most of its columns to local and national news, business affairs, short stories, and poetry.

Upon William Harper’s death in 1887, his wife Sallie kept the paper afloat for several years. In 1890, a company of local investors purchased the Intelligencer and Charles Poland served as the paper’s editor. Poland had prior editorial experience, having founded and edited the crosstown The Hampshire Review until he sold it to local attorneys John Jacob and William Cornwall (John Cornwall later served as West Virginia’s governor). Poland continued as the Intelligencer‘s editor for six years but in January 1897, he sold the paper to the Cornwall brothers. Uninterested in maintaining two local newspapers, the Cornwall brothers ceased publication of the Intelligencer but incorporated the paper’s founding date into the masthead of their own Review. The Review remained under the Cornwall’s purview until the 1950s and it continues publication to this day.

Provided By: West Virginia University

About this Newspaper

Title

  • South Branch Intelligencer (Romney, Va. [W. Va.]) 1830-1896

Dates of Publication

  • 1830-1896

Created / Published

  • Romney, Va. [W. Va.] : William Harper, -1896.

Headings

  • -  Romney (W. Va.)--Newspapers
  • -  Hampshire County (W. Va.)--Newspapers
  • -  Romney (Va.)--Newspapers
  • -  West Virginia--Hampshire County
  • -  West Virginia--Romney
  • -  United States--West Virginia--Hampshire--Romney

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Began in 1830. Cf. Norona and Shetler. W. Va. Imprints.
  • -  -v. 101, no. 26 (Dec. 24, 1896).
  • -  Suspended during the Civil War. Cf. Kiplinger, J.L.W. Va. History, Jan. 1945, pp. 127-176.
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  Description based on: Vol. 8, no. 1 (June 24, 1837).

Medium

  • volumes ; 56 cm

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn84026826

OCLC Number

  • 10691979

ISSN Number

  • 2640-382x

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:

South Branch Intelligencer Romney, Va. W. Va. -1896. (Romney, WV), Jan. 1 1830. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn84026826/.

APA citation style:

(1830, January 1) South Branch Intelligencer Romney, Va. W. Va. -1896. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn84026826/.

MLA citation style:

South Branch Intelligencer Romney, Va. W. Va. -1896. (Romney, WV) 1 Jan. 1830. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn84026826/.