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The parochial chapels are:

"Epiphany (in Epiphany parish).

"Holy Comforter (in Rock Creek parish).

"St. Alban's (in St. Alban's parish).

"St. Agnes' (in Trinity parish).

"St. Mary's (in St. John's parish).

"St. Matthew's (in Washington parish)."

The single congregation of colonial days has hence increased to thirty-nine congregations in 1905.

At the time of the last diocesan convention, in May, 1904, there were 62 clergymen residing in the District of Columbia, and 13,475 communicants.

CURIOUS CUSTOMS OF THE PAST AS
GLEANED FROM EARLY ISSUES OF

THE NEWSPAPERS IN THE
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

BY ALLEN B. SLAUSON.

(Read before the Society, April 10, 1905.)

Primarily, it is my purpose to give a concise account of what is known concerning those important sources of the early history of the city of Washington, the newspapers.

After that to read to you some of the articles, communications, discussions and advertisements, to be found in these papers, which it is hoped will prove to be of as much interest to you as they have been to me.

The field is a large one, and it has been found necessary to limit the scope of the present essay to the papers which began publication prior to 1810.

All mention of the early press of Alexandria is purposely omitted from this paper. And in using the words District of Columbia that portion of the original ten miles square on the north side of the Potomac is meant.

The first newspaper published in what is now the city of Washington was The Times and Potowmack Packet. It began in February, 1789, the exact date being uncertain. Nothing like a complete file of this paper is known to be in existence. Harvard University has some numbers in 1791 and the Library of Congress has one issue, that of April 23, 1789. This probably owes its preservation to the fact that it contains the announcement of the departure of General Washington

for New York, where he went to take the oath of office for the first time as President of the United States. Washington City did not then exist, except perhaps in the ever-active mind of the President-elect, but Georgetown looked upon itself as quite a rival of Alexandria, for the expected commerce of the Potomac with Europe and with the great unknown West. This paper is also valuable in that it contains the farewell address of the Mayor of Alexandria, and Washington's reply, and also the account of Washington's passing through Georgetown the next day. The printers of the Potowmack Packet were Charles Fierer and Thomas N. Fosdick, and they advertised that they "performed" job work "with Care, Elegance and Expedition." They invited in each issue of the paper subscriptions, "Advertisements, Articles of Intelligence, Original Essays, &c." The paper was delivered to subscribers in town by carrier "at their houses, weekly, on Wednesdays, and to those at a distance by the quickest conveyance.' An indescribable wood-cut-embracing five female figures intended to represent Justice, Liberty, Literature, Art and Music, judging from what they bear in their hands-occupies the center of the heading. The figure of Justice is seated upon the head of a cross-eyed lion, and the whole effect of the cut, if enlarged and thrown upon a screen before an audience would be to frighten children and drive men to-good resolutions.

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Just below the head the paper bore this motto, taken from the writings of Junius-a great favorite in those days:

"Let it be impressed upon your minds, let it be instilled into your children, that the Liberty of the Press is the Palladium of all the civil, political and religious Rights of Freemen."

This was before the alien and sedition laws.

How long this paper lived is not known, but certain it is that it occupied its field without a rival only a little over a year. In March, 1790, the day of the month unknown, appeared the first issue of the Georgetown Weekly Ledger. Harvard University and the American Antiquarian Society each possess a portion of the file of this paper, which is extremely rare. Five issues have been preserved in the Library of Congress. These are replete with valuable historical information concerning the new Federal City located in that year. Day & Hancock, printers, were probably the first publishers of the Ledger. Their names appear upon the first number known to be in existence, but there was a change of ownership prior to September 17, 1791, which issue was printed by Alexander Doyle, the Georgetown merchant. Saturday was the Ledger's publication day. William Nelson, the New Jersey historian, obtained all his information regarding this paper from the copies which have been preserved in Harvard University library. He erred, therefore, in the statement which he made in his New Jersey Archives, Vol. XI, that "the latest known issue is No. 23 of Vol. 2, Saturday, November 26, 1791, whole number 85." The latest issue known is Vol. 4, No. 36, October 5, 1793, whole number 182, James Doyle (probably a son of Alexander) being the publisher.

The Ledger probably ceased publication before the end of this year.

In December, 1793, Hansen and Priestley, another firm of Georgetown printers, essayed a semi-weekly paper, The Columbian Chronicle, printed Tuesdays and Fridays, which struggled along for nearly two and a half years. It carried at its head the same motto from Junius as The Times and Potowmack Packet, and

there is reason for believing that the same type was used in the publication. A second motto followed the one from Junius-a quotation from LaFayette: "For a people to be free it is sufficient for them to will it." The first issue I have seen bears (February 3, 1795) the imprint "by Hanson & Priestley," and the location "opposite Dr. Smith's." Some have questioned if Dr. Joseph Priestley was not one of the publishers. He came to America in 1794, and went at once to Northumberland, Pa., but may have afterwards come to Washington, which was by this time being well advertised. The issue of the Chronicle for Tuesday, August 11, 1795, names Samuel Hanson alone as publisher. Probably No. 251, Tuesday, May 10, 1796, was the last issue. The type, presses, good will, etc., became the property of Green, English & Co., who, on Tuesday, the twenty-third of May, began the publication of a paper called the Centinel of Liberty and Georgetown Advertiser.

The Centinel of Liberty was published twice a week. The price was three dollars a year, exclusive of postage, "the price of six months to be paid in advance." The place of publication was given as "George-Town on the Potomak," thus changing the hitherto accepted spelling of the name of the river. A year later the publishers had discovered that they could not pay expenses on three dollars a year and the subscription price was raised to $4. In 1797 the heading contained this quotation from Montesquieu:

"Liberty is a right of doing whatever the laws permit; and if a citizen could do what they forbid he would be no longer possessed of liberty, because all of his fellow citizens would have the same power."

Substituted for these words of the French philoso

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