Public Ledger (Memphis, Tenn.)
Historic newspapers carry the language, views and graphic reporting of their time, including racist content. They are shown to teen and adult profiles.
5,465 issues from 1866 to 1883, published in Memphis, Tennessee, digitised for Chronicling America.
In 1856, brothers William and Edwin Whitmore established a job printing office in Memphis. Their clients included, amongst others, the Memphis Daily Appeal. In 1863, William Whitmore purchased the printing establishment of Saunders, Clark & Co. and started the Daily Journal. The paper flourished under his management, but he soon sold his share and it was not long before the publication ceased.
Upon Edwin’s return from the Confederate Army in 1865, the Whitmore brothers began publishing an evening newspaper, the Memphis Public Ledger. The first issue rolled off the press on September 4th. The daily (except Sundays), which featured the state seal on its masthead, took its name from the Philadelphia Public Ledger after William Whitmore visited Philadelphia and was impressed with the city’s paper. By March 1866, the Public Ledger claimed to have the largest circulation in Memphis; a fact proudly proclaimed on its masthead. However, the Memphis Daily Appeal boasted the largest circulation in the region due to a wider distribution area, which included parts of neighboring states. The two dailies were able to co-exist successfully because one was a morning and the other an evening paper. Between 1870 and 1890, the Weekly Public Ledger, was also published.
The Public Ledger’s first editor was Frank Y. Rockett–an experienced journalist before the war–and the Whitmore Brothers were its publishers. In March 1867, William Whitmore died at the age of 29. On July 15, the name of the…
- Genres
- News
- Published in
- Memphis, Tennessee, United States
- Language
- English
- Collection
- Chronicling America
- Licence or status
- None stated by the archive
- Rights
- 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.
- Credit
- Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities
- Who can read it
- Teens profiles and older (placed by Invisible Network from what the archive says; archives give no ratings)
- Archive
- Library of Congress