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Newspaper The Democratic Pioneer (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1845-1853

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About The Democratic Pioneer (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1845-1853

The Democratic Pioneer was not the first paper in Wyandot County, Ohio, nor was it the first to support the Democratic Party, but it certainly was the first to gain enough patronage to make it out of infancy. Started in August 1845 by William T. Giles, the Pioneer served the populace of Upper Sandusky, the seat of Wyandot County. Perhaps helping the paper gain early support was the eruption of the Mexican-American War in 1846. Giles printed regular updates from the battlefront, in addition to his usual weekly doses of news pertaining to the local community and political happenings.

After getting the paper on a good footing, Giles sold the Pioneer to Josiah Smith and Elijah Giles in 1849 in order to pursue riches during the California Gold Rush. Under new ownership, the Democratic Pioneer made it a point to create content that would be interesting to the farmer, mechanic, tradesman, and merchant who picked up the paper, often printing articles that listed up-to-date market prices, promoted local businesses, and shared livestock or agricultural knowledge.

William T. Giles returned to the Democratic Pioneer a few years later in 1853, taking back control of the paper he had started. In an effort to move away from Democratic politics, Giles renamed the paper the Wyandot Pioneer, opting for a more independent view of political happenings. Giles’ reentry into the newspaper business did not last long. With weekly readership dwindling, he sold the Pioneer a year later to William Wilson who concentrated on advertisements and local news.

Finding it hard to turn a profit, Wilson sold the paper to George Keen and Horatio Lewis in 1856. With the Republican Party gaining steam, the Wyandot Pioneer, under its new owners, became the official organ of the party in the county. The Pioneer was sold to Charles G. Mugg in 1857, and less than a year later, William Wilson purchased the paper, resuming his role as editor and publisher until 1866.  Under his renewed tenure, the publication claimed to be Independent in politics, but soon began to support Republican candidates, including Abraham Lincoln for president in 1860.  The next owner was Pietro Cuneo, who changed the paper’s name to the Wyandot County Republican in 1869 to accurately reflect its political affiliation. In 1903, the Wyandot County Republican merged with the Daily Union to form the Wyandot Union-Republican. After changing its name back to the Daily Union in 1916, the publication eventually merged with the Daily Chief in 1938. The currently running Daily Chief-Union in Upper Sandusky can trace its roots back to the Republican.

Provided By: Ohio Historical Society, Columbus, OH

About this Newspaper

Title

  • The Democratic Pioneer (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1845-1853

Dates of Publication

  • 1845-1853

Created / Published

  • Upper Sandusky, Ohio : W.T. Giles

Headings

  • -  Upper Sandusky (Ohio)--Newspapers
  • -  Ohio--Upper Sandusky
  • -  United States--Ohio--Wyandot--Upper Sandusky

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Began with Aug. 29, 1845 issue; ceased with Apr. 15, 1853 issue? Cf. Gutgesell, S. Guide to Ohio newspapers, 1974.
  • -  Editor: Elijah Giles, <1852>.
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  Description based on: Vol. 1, no. 3 (Sept. 12, 1845).
  • -  Wyandot pioneer 2379-3139 (DLC)sn 87076863 (OCoLC)16994024

Medium

  • volumes

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn85026335

OCLC Number

  • 12168605

ISSN Number

  • 2379-1489

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:

The Democratic Pioneer Upper Sandusky, Ohio -1853. (Upper Sandusky, OH), Jan. 1 1845. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn85026335/.

APA citation style:

(1845, January 1) The Democratic Pioneer Upper Sandusky, Ohio -1853. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn85026335/.

MLA citation style:

The Democratic Pioneer Upper Sandusky, Ohio -1853. (Upper Sandusky, OH) 1 Jan. 1845. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn85026335/.