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Newspaper The Abbeville Messenger (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887

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About The Abbeville Messenger (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887

The Abbeville Messenger (1884-87) was one of several short-lived newspapers that arose in Abbeville County, South Carolina, in the late 19th century to challenge the dominance of the leading weekly papers, the Abbeville Press and Banner and Abbeville Medium. The Abbeville Messenger began as the Greenwood Saluda Argus in 1881. Although only a few issues of the Saluda Argus have survived, contemporary sources depict it as a struggling enterprise. In 1884, Milledge Lipscomb Bonham, James Sumter Perrin, and Thomas Perrin Cothran purchased the Saluda Argus and renamed it the Abbeville Messenger. The first issue appeared on October 1, 1884.

Despite receiving accolades from other South Carolina newspapers, including the influential weekly Edgefield Advertiser, the Abbeville Messenger never established a niche among its competitors. In 1885, the American Newspaper Directory recorded only 510 subscribers (that same year, the Abbeville Medium and Abbeville Press and Banner boasted 900 and 816 subscribers, respectively). On January 13, 1887, the Anderson Intelligencer announced that Bonham had turned over his share of responsibilities to Cothran. On July 20, 1887, the Sumter Watchman and Southron reported that the Abbeville Messenger had ceased publication. Its failure was attributed “to the fact that Abbeville County cannot support three good papers at the county seat.”  The latest known surviving issue is dated June 28, 1887.

From a historical perspective, the Abbeville Messenger is particularly interesting given the accomplishments of its proprietors. Prior to moving to Abbeville, Bonham had edited the Ninety-Six Guardian and Newberry News. He served as adjutant and inspector general of South Carolina (1886-91) and an associate justice (1931-40) and chief justice (1940-43) in the South Carolina Supreme Court. Cothran served as a state representative (1905-10, 1915-17), Speaker of the House (1918-21), and an associate justice in the South Carolina Supreme Court (1921-34). Perrin went on to practice law and serve as vice-president of the Citizens Bank and Trust Company in Yazoo City, Mississippi. The Abbeville Messenger may have failed, but for Bonham, Cothran, and Perrin it was merely a minor stumbling block in their careers.

Provided By: University of South Carolina; Columbia, SC

About this Newspaper

Title

  • The Abbeville Messenger (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887

Dates of Publication

  • 1884-1887

Created / Published

  • Abbeville, S.C. : Bonham and Perrin

Headings

  • -  Abbeville County (S.C.)--Newspapers
  • -  South Carolina--Abbeville County
  • -  United States--South Carolina--Abbeville--Abbeville

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Began Oct. 1, 1884; ceased in 1887. Cf. Watchman and southron, July 20, 1887.
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  Description based on: Vol. 1, no. 1 (Oct. 1, 1884).
  • -  Latest issue consulted: Vol. 3, no. 38 (June 28, 1887).

Medium

  • v.

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn93067668

OCLC Number

  • 27841291

ISSN Number

  • 2375-0081

Preceding 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 Abbeville Messenger Abbeville, S.C. 1884 to 1887. (Abbeville, SC), Jan. 1 1884. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn93067668/.

APA citation style:

(1884, January 1) The Abbeville Messenger Abbeville, S.C. 1884 to 1887. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn93067668/.

MLA citation style:

The Abbeville Messenger Abbeville, S.C. 1884 to 1887. (Abbeville, SC) 1 Jan. 1884. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn93067668/.