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Chronicling America
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Newspaper Monongalia Mirror (Morgantown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1855

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About Monongalia Mirror (Morgantown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1855

Simeon Siegfried Sr., a Baptist minister from New Britain in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and a printer with 33 years’ experience, published the first issue of the Monongalia Mirror in Morgantown, Virginia (later West Virginia), on August 11, 1849. Siegfried’s son, Simeon Siegfried Jr., also a Baptist minister, served as assistant editor beginning in January 1852. The Mirror was a four-page weekly published on Saturday mornings, initially with six and later seven columns per page. Historians mention evidence of the appearance in 1849 of two other Morgantown newspapers, the Monongalian and the Jeffersonian, but both quickly folded leaving no trace of their existence.

Although he presented the Monongalia Mirror as an independent newspaper, the elder Siegfried’s religious and political views are evident in his work. In addition to the Mirror, Siegfried published a statewide Baptist journal, the Mountain Messenger, and Baptist Recorder  from September 1850 through at least July 1857. Siegfried reprinted editorials in the Mirror that were first published in the Messenger. Additionally, many issues of the Mirror had a front-page column titled “Religious and Moral” that gave spiritual advice to its readers. The pastor and publisher vigorously promoted temperance, rebuked atheists, contrasted the irrationality of Hinduism and Islam with the reason of Christianity, and took an aggressive stance against Catholicism. In other writing, Siegfried advocated for improvements in transportation, particularly in railroads, roads, and steamboat travel. Siegfried was particularly prolific, publishing the monthly official organs for several local social and religious organizations in addition to his newspapers. Siegfried’s use of exchanged and reprinted material was typical of both religious and secular journals of the period which benefited from federal laws allowing postage-free exchanges of newspapers between editors.

While remaining open to various opinions, the Mirror began publishing, allegedly by request, the objectives of the American Party or “Know Nothing” Party in 1855, although the purported impartiality is questionable given that the Mirror was transformed into an American Party organ shortly after the party platform was printed. The final issue of the Monongalia Mirror was published on June 23, 1855. Assistant editor Simeon Siegfried Jr. assumed responsibility for managing the paper. Taking the opportunity to promote the views of the American Party, he changed the newspaper’s name to the American Union and proclaimed his publication the Mirror’s successor.

Simeon Siegfried Sr. moved to nearby Grafton, to begin publishing and editing the Grafton Sentinel, the first of two newspapers he established in that town. No issues of Siegfried’s Sentinel are known to have survived. After Simeon Siegfried Jr. accepted a pastoral position in Belmont County, Ohio, the elder Siegfried took over publication of the American Union on April 16, 1858, and the paper dropped its affiliation to the American Party, shifting to a posture of independence on all subjects. The final issue of the American Union was published on March 19, 1859. Siegfried went on to establish the Grafton Guardian soon thereafter.

Provided By: West Virginia University

About this Newspaper

Title

  • Monongalia Mirror (Morgantown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1855

Dates of Publication

  • 1849-1855

Created / Published

  • Morgantown, Va. [W. Va.] : Simeon Siegfried, Sr., 1849-1855.

Headings

  • -  Morgantown (W. Va.)--Newspapers
  • -  West Virginia--Morgantown
  • -  United States--West Virginia--Monongalia--Morgantown

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Vol. 1, no. 1 (Aug. 11, 1849)-v. 6, no. 305 (June 23, 1855).
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  American union (Morgantown, Va.) (DLC)sn 86092124

Medium

  • 6 volumes ; 57 cm

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn86092163

OCLC Number

  • 13090976

ISSN Number

  • 2374-2178

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:

Monongalia Mirror Morgantown, Va. W. Va. -1855. (Morgantown, WV), Jan. 1 1849. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn86092163/.

APA citation style:

(1849, January 1) Monongalia Mirror Morgantown, Va. W. Va. -1855. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn86092163/.

MLA citation style:

Monongalia Mirror Morgantown, Va. W. Va. -1855. (Morgantown, WV) 1 Jan. 1849. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn86092163/.