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Thomas Newman (1832–1886)
Thomas Newman published the first newspaper in Boone County, the Boone County Advocate, which was printed in Harrison (Boone County) in 1870 and evolved into the Harrison Times. Newman was the first mayor and the first marshal of the newly renamed town of Harrison, formerly known as Crooked Creek. He was a founder of what became the Arkansas Press Association and served terms as its vice president. Dubbed the “great walking editor of Arkansas,” Newman preferred to travel by foot—for example, walking from Harrison to Little Rock (Pulaski County) and back to attend press meetings and other gatherings. During the Civil War, Newman was a member of the Missouri State Militia (US).
Thomas Newman was born in Blandford, Dorchester, England, on May 12, 1832, to John and Ann Newman; he had at least one sister, Jane. The family immigrated to America when Thomas was nine years old. They arrived in New York on June 28, 1841, aboard the ship Eliza Thornton, which sailed from Liverpool.
The family settled in Pennsylvania. Newman grew up in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, where he learned the printing trade. He attended a Catholic school and may have once considered becoming a priest.
Although trained as a printer, Newman worked as a railroad engineer for the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, until 1849. In 1850, he resumed his occupation as a printer in Pottsville and boarded in the home of his publisher. Sources conflict as to Newman’s exact whereabouts next but do agree that he continued to work in the newspaper business and lived part of this decade in St. Louis, Missouri. Some sources claim he also lived in either Kansas, Iowa, or both. A descendant of the Newman family and a 1942 article in the Arkansas Gazette state that he lived in Lawrence, Kansas, and that he named his newspaper the Lawrence Abolitionist. His obituary in the Harrison Times, Boone County historian Ralph Rea, and Goodspeed’s history support his residence in Kansas. However, Fred W. Allsopp’s history of the press in Arkansas makes no mention of Kansas but says that Newman moved to Council Bluffs, Iowa, in 1858. Historian Fay Hempstead and Newman’s obituary in the Harrison Times also indicate he once lived in Iowa. However, there appears to be no mention of him in any Council Bluff newspapers or city directories. Most sources agree that Newman reportedly published his abolitionist views so vehemently in his newspaper that his opponents raided his office and dumped his equipment into the Missouri River.
Thomas Newman married Elizabeth Carr, born in Ireland, sometime in the latter half of the 1850s in Philadelphia, where he had evidently returned to marry her. In July 1860, the couple was living in St. Louis, where Newman was employed as a printer. On October 19, 1859, they had a son, John R. Newman, born in St. Louis.
During the Civil War, Newman joined the Missouri State Militia, becoming either a lieutenant or sergeant of his company. When his four-year-old son became seriously ill, he was given furlough home to St. Louis, where he remained until his son’s health improved. After the war, Newman returned to his home in St. Louis and resumed his occupation as a printer.
In 1869, Captain Henry W. Fick, the principal founder of Harrison, recruited Newman to move to Harrison and start a newspaper. Fick, a Union man and a Republican, sought to populate his town with people of like mind. Although Newman was a Democrat, he had also served the Union, and his abolitionist, progressive views were attractive to Fick, who felt Newman would help to promote the town in his desired manner. Newman made his way from St. Louis to Springfield, Missouri, presumably by rail or horse, but rail service was unavailable from Springfield on to Harrison. The only options were to ride with a mule team or to walk. Newman chose to walk.
By June 1870, the family had settled in Harrison. On July 4, 1870, Newman published the first edition of his new newspaper, originally titled the Advocate, but thereafter it was titled the Boone County Advocate. Per Allsopp, as the only paper published between Fayetteville (Washington County) and Batesville (Independence County), it was one of very few newspapers in northern Arkansas. It was a large paper for the time, containing four pages and eight columns.
Newman renamed the newspaper the Highlander to better reflect the hilly terrain. The first issue of the weekly Highlander was printed on April 12, 1873. Newman sold the Highlander to Azro Buck Cory, and it remained in publication until 1876, when its name was changed to the Harrison Times. In 1878, Thomas Newman’s son, John R. Newman, became its editor.
In 1882, Newman founded another newspaper, the Elixir Bugle, but discontinued it in 1883 after a flood nearly destroyed his office. He moved his printing business to Lead Hill (Boone County) and published the Lead Hill Bugle, which ceased operation in 1885 due to lack of readers.
On April 13, 1871, Newman was appointed as Harrison’s first postmaster. In 1882, he was elected as Harrison’s first mayor. He also served as the town’s first marshal.
Newman was a founding member of the Arkansas State Newspaper Association, which was organized in 1873 and later became known as the Arkansas Press Association, and served multiple terms as vice president. To attend the organization’s annual meetings in its early years, Newman often walked to and from Little Rock, causing him to become known by his colleagues as “the great walking editor of Arkansas.” In 1877, the Southern Standard of Arkadelphia (Clark County) reported that Newman walked 160 miles to Fort Smith (Sebastian County) to attend the press convention and declined help to return home.
Newman died in Harrison at the home of his son in November 1886, but sources conflict as to the day. The Arkansas Democrat, Fayetteville Weekly Democrat, and Harrison Times reported that he died on November 24, but the Russellville Democrat listed November 28. Newman is buried in Rose Hill Cemetery in Harrison. His gravestone inscription shows the date of his death to be November 21, 1886.
For additional information:
Allsopp, Fred W. History of the Arkansas Press for a Hundred Years and More. Little Rock: Parke-Harper Publishing Company, 1922.
“Arkansas Journalism.” Arkansas Gazette, May 10, 1885, p. 5.
“Capt. Newman Passes Away.” Harrison Times, March 1, 1919, p. 1.
“Closing Ceremonies.” Arkansas Gazette, May 9, 1885, p. 1.
“Died.” Harrison Times, November 27, 1886, p. 3.
“Editors Meet in Annual Session at Hot Springs.” Harrison Daily Times, June 21, 1921, p. 1.
Hempstead, Fay. Historical Review of Arkansas, Volume III. Chicago, IL: Lewis Publishing Company, 1911, pp. 1344–1346.
Logan, Roger V., Jr. History of Boone County, Arkansas. Paducah, KY: Turner Publishing Company, 1998.
Newman, Thomas M. “Some History of Times Development—An Estimate of the Significance of the Daily Times New Press.” Harrison Times, September 5, 1930, p. 3.
“Press Association.” Arkansas Democrat, May 12, 1884, p. 1.
Rea, Ralph R. Boone County and Its People. Van Buren, AR: Press-Argus, 1955.
———. “Sidelights on Boone County History.” Arkansas Historical Quarterly 13 (Spring 1954): 63–72.
A Reminiscent History of the Ozark Region. Chicago, IL: Goodspeed Brothers, 1894, pp. 118–123.
Shiras, Tom. “Four Generations, One Newspaper.” Arkansas Gazette, September 13, 1942, p. 9.
Untitled article. Arkadelphia Southern Standard, June 23, 1877, p. 2.
Untitled article. Arkansas Democrat, December 1, 1886, p. 2.
Untitled article. Fayetteville Weekly Democrat, December 3, 1886, p. 3.
Untitled article. Russellville Democrat, December 1, 1886, p. 2.
Nita Gould
Tulsa, Oklahoma
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