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Newspaper The Daily Free Press (Trenton, N.J.) 1876-1877

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About The Daily Free Press (Trenton, N.J.) 1876-1877

The Daily Free Press, established in Trenton, was a four-page, two penny afternoon newspaper, published every day except Sunday. The editors and publishers were Charles B. Yard and Charles W. Jay. Yard was business and printing manager at the Daily State Gazette. “Charlie Jay,” as he was locally known, was editor. There was also an accompanying The Weekly Free Press published by Yard and Jay on Thursdays. The newspaper was Democratic in political outlook, and opposition to “crooked Republicanism” and supporting “straight Democracy” was its aim.

By 1876, Trenton was a busy, industrial capital city with a population of just over 25,000. It was home to thriving pottery, wire rope, and rubber industries made possible by European immigrant workers and the construction of the canals and railroads. In 1910, the slogan for Trenton became “Trenton Makes, The World Takes” in recognition of Trenton’s central place in American manufacturing. As the state capital and the county seat, it was a bustling center for law and government.

Jay was a figure known in Trenton journalism for his sharp and biting wit and his willingness to criticize anyone. In 1844, he had published The Clay Banner, a Whig campaign journal, and in 1852 he published a Democratic campaign paper called The Republican Privateer. In 1874, he was farming in northern Michigan and returned to Trenton in 1876 in order to edit the Daily Free Press. The first editorial on January 18, 1876 is couched in religious sentiment and imagery and claims “the great body of our voters mistake partisanship for patriotism.”

Jay published a witty and sarcastic column of local news with his byline of Reporter, though he was also not above making fun of himself. In the January 31, 1876 issue, an image caption states “Charles W. Jay is talked of as a candidate for Mayor of this city, at the April election. But we regret to say that all the talking in that direction is done by himself.”

Jay and the Daily Free Press endorsed Tilden and Hendricks (Democrats) in what came to be the disputed presidential race of 1876.  On the day after the election, the Daily Free Press, along with most other newspapers, declared Tilden the winner of the presidency as he had clearly won the popular vote. Seeing a narrow path to victory, Hayes refused to concede. “Thieves,” “scum,” and “fraud,” were some of the terms Democratic newspapers, including the Daily Free Press, used to describe their opponents.

A note in the Daily State Gazette on February 18, 1878, states that the Daily Free Press suspended publication on February 16. Charles Jay returned to farming in Michigan, where he died in 1884.

Provided By: Rutgers University Libraries

About this Newspaper

Title

  • The Daily Free Press (Trenton, N.J.) 1876-1877

Dates of Publication

  • 1876-1877

Created / Published

  • Trenton, N.J. : Chas. W. Jay & Chas. B. Yard

Headings

  • -  Trenton (N.J.)--Newspapers
  • -  New Jersey--Trenton
  • -  United States--New Jersey--Mercer--Trenton

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Daily (except Sun.)
  • -  Began with Jan. 18, 1876 issue; ceased in 1877? Cf. Direct. of N.J. newspapers, 1765-1970.
  • -  Editor: Charles W. Jay, <1876>.
  • -  "Democratic."
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  Description based on: Vol. 1, no. 230 (Oct. 12, 1876).

Medium

  • volumes

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn85025540

OCLC Number

  • 11789123

ISSN Number

  • 2835-401x

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 Daily Free Press Trenton, N.J. -1877. (Trenton, NJ), Jan. 1 1876. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn85025540/.

APA citation style:

(1876, January 1) The Daily Free Press Trenton, N.J. -1877. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn85025540/.

MLA citation style:

The Daily Free Press Trenton, N.J. -1877. (Trenton, NJ) 1 Jan. 1876. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn85025540/.