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Chronicling America
National Endowment for the Humanities

Newspaper The Charleston Advocate (Charleston, W. Va.) 1894-189?

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About The Charleston Advocate (Charleston, W. Va.) 1894-189?

An eight-page monthly journal, the Charleston Advocate served the Methodist communities of Charleston and of West Virginia more broadly during its brief tenure. The few extant issues of the Advocate provide a window into West Virginia Methodism during the 1880s.

The Advocate represented the labors of Reverend Christopher Bream Graham, the Presiding Elder of the Charleston District of the Methodist-Episcopal Church. Graham hailed from a diverse professional background, having grown up in coal mines, supplemented by stints as a merchant and a schoolteacher. In 1879, Graham entered the ministry and gained admittance to the West Virginia Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Responding to popular calls for a church paper, Graham spearheaded the creation of the monthly Charleston Advocate in July 1884. Church pastors served as agents of the paper and took subscriptions from around the state. As a “religious journal,” the Charleston Advocate offered its readership the latest news regarding the activities of the Methodist Episcopal Church, both locally and around the state. District reports from church reverends detailed recent conversions, special services, Sunday schools, church improvements, new appointments, and more. Of course, the paper also offered religious and spiritual reflections, poetry, and prudent household advice. The paper seems to have avoided most political topics, although a preference for temperance and an editorial on the impropriety of public dancing at a “state ball” honoring the West Virginia Legislature hint at the Advocate‘s conservative moral tone.

Sponsored by the Charleston District of the Methodist Episcopal Church, the paper was initially published on a three-month trial basis, but it continued publication for some months, apparently ceasing publication in 1885. Graham continued serving the West Virginia Methodist community later in life, remaining deeply involved in the state conference, serving on the first Board of Trustees for West Virginia Wesleyan University, and eventually settling down to oversee a Methodist church in Wheeling.

Provided By: West Virginia University

About this Newspaper

Title

  • The Charleston Advocate (Charleston, W. Va.) 1894-189?

Dates of Publication

  • 1894-189?

Created / Published

  • Charleston, W. Va. : Herald Pub. Co.

Headings

  • -  Charleston (W. Va.)--Newspapers
  • -  West Virginia--Charleston
  • -  United States--West Virginia--Kanawha--Charleston

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Began in 1894.
  • -  "A religious journal."
  • -  Editor: Rev. C.B. Graham.
  • -  Members of the Methodist-Episcopal Church.
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  Description based on: Vol. 2, no. 4 (Jan. 1895).

Medium

  • volumes

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn85059815

OCLC Number

  • 12920587

ISSN Number

  • 2640-1851

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 Charleston Advocate Charleston, W. Va. -189?. (Charleston, WV), Jan. 1 1894. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn85059815/.

APA citation style:

(1894, January 1) The Charleston Advocate Charleston, W. Va. -189?. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn85059815/.

MLA citation style:

The Charleston Advocate Charleston, W. Va. -189?. (Charleston, WV) 1 Jan. 1894. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn85059815/.