Nathaniel Willis (1780-1870)
Encyclopedia
Nathaniel Willis was an editor and publisher in Boston
, Massachusetts
, in the 19th century. He established the Eastern Argus and the Boston Recorder newspapers, and The Youth's Companion magazine.
(1755-1831). In 1787 he moved to "Winchester
, [Virginia], and was employed in [a] newspaper office, and subsequently at Martinsburg
, [Virginia], on the Potomac Guardian.... Young Nathaniel was put to work at once in folding papers and setting types. At Martinsburg he used to ride post, with tin horn and saddle-bags, delivering papers to scattered subscribers in the thinly settled country. ... At the age of fifteen young Nathaniel returned to Boston and entered the office of ... the Independent Chronicle
. ... He also found time, while in Boston, to drill with the 'Fusiliers.' In 1803, invited by a Maine congressman and other gentlemen of the Republican party, he went to Portland
, [Maine], and established the Eastern Argus in opposition to the Federalists."
He married Hannah Parker in 1803; children included Nathaniel Parker Willis
, Sara Willis Parton (Fanny Fern
), Richard Storrs Willis, Lucy Douglas (born 1804), Louisa Harris (1807), Julia Dean (1809), Mary Perry (1813), Edward Payson (1816), and Ellen Holmes (1821).
Back in Boston in 1816, Willis established The Recorder newspaper, "published every Wednesday afternoon at no.76 State-Street, ... entrance through Mr. H. Messinger's Hat-Store or in the rear of the building from Wilson's Lane." Associates included Sidney E. Morse
. He later moved to Congress Square. Willis sold the paper to Martin Moore in 1844.
In 1827 he established "a religious paper for children", The Youth's Companion (1827-1929). He served as editor "for about thirty years."
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, in the 19th century. He established the Eastern Argus and the Boston Recorder newspapers, and The Youth's Companion magazine.
Biography
Willis was born in Boston in 1780 to newspaperman Nathaniel WillisNathaniel Willis (1755-1831)
Nathaniel Willis was a publisher and editor in the late 18th century. He participated in the Boston Tea Party in 1773. He issued the Independent Chronicle and the American Herald in Boston, Massachusetts, and worked for some years with Edward Eveleth Powars as "Powars & Willis.""In 1784 he sold...
(1755-1831). In 1787 he moved to "Winchester
Winchester, Virginia
Winchester is an independent city located in the northwestern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the USA. The city's population was 26,203 according to the 2010 Census...
, [Virginia], and was employed in [a] newspaper office, and subsequently at Martinsburg
Martinsburg, West Virginia
Martinsburg is a city in the Eastern Panhandle region of West Virginia, United States. The city's population was 14,972 at the 2000 census; according to a 2009 Census Bureau estimate, Martinsburg's population was 17,117, making it the largest city in the Eastern Panhandle and the eighth largest...
, [Virginia], on the Potomac Guardian.... Young Nathaniel was put to work at once in folding papers and setting types. At Martinsburg he used to ride post, with tin horn and saddle-bags, delivering papers to scattered subscribers in the thinly settled country. ... At the age of fifteen young Nathaniel returned to Boston and entered the office of ... the Independent Chronicle
Independent Chronicle (Boston, Massachusetts)
The Independent Chronicle was a newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts. It originated in 1768 as The Essex Gazette in Salem, and The New-England Chronicle in Cambridge, before settling in 1776 in Boston as The Independent Chronicle. Publishers included Edward E...
. ... He also found time, while in Boston, to drill with the 'Fusiliers.' In 1803, invited by a Maine congressman and other gentlemen of the Republican party, he went to Portland
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
, [Maine], and established the Eastern Argus in opposition to the Federalists."
He married Hannah Parker in 1803; children included Nathaniel Parker Willis
Nathaniel Parker Willis
Nathaniel Parker Willis , also known as N. P. Willis, was an American author, poet and editor who worked with several notable American writers including Edgar Allan Poe and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. He became the highest-paid magazine writer of his day. For a time, he was the employer of former...
, Sara Willis Parton (Fanny Fern
Fanny Fern
Fanny Fern, born Sara Willis , was an American writer and the first woman to have a regular newspaper column. She was also a humorist, novelist, and author of children's stories in the 1850s-1870s. Fern's great popularity has been attributed to her conversational style and sense of what mattered to...
), Richard Storrs Willis, Lucy Douglas (born 1804), Louisa Harris (1807), Julia Dean (1809), Mary Perry (1813), Edward Payson (1816), and Ellen Holmes (1821).
Back in Boston in 1816, Willis established The Recorder newspaper, "published every Wednesday afternoon at no.76 State-Street, ... entrance through Mr. H. Messinger's Hat-Store or in the rear of the building from Wilson's Lane." Associates included Sidney E. Morse
Sidney Edwards Morse
Sidney Edwards Morse was a U.S. inventor. He was the brother of Samuel Morse.-External links:* See an 1844 map by Sidney E. Morse, hosted by the .* See an 1856 map by Sidney E. Morse, hosted by the ....
. He later moved to Congress Square. Willis sold the paper to Martin Moore in 1844.
In 1827 he established "a religious paper for children", The Youth's Companion (1827-1929). He served as editor "for about thirty years."
Further reading
- Henry Augustin Beers. Nathaniel Parker Willis. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and company, 1885. Google books
- National cyclopaedia of American biography: being the history of the United States as illustrated in the lives of the founders, builders, and defenders of the republic, and of the men and women who are doing the work and moulding the thought of the present time, Volume 14, Part 1. James T. White & Co., 1910. Google books.