Mrs. Grundy (Tracy City, Tenn.)
Historic newspapers carry the language, views and graphic reporting of their time, including racist content. They are shown to teen and adult profiles.
359 issues from 1903 to 1921, published in Tracy City, Tennessee, digitised for Chronicling America.
Serving the residents of Grundy County in Tennessee, the newspaper known as Mrs. Grundy began life as the Tracy City News in the 1880s. It was known briefly as Mrs. Grundy of Grundy before becoming Mrs. Grundy in 1903.
Martin Marugg, a Swiss immigrant, published and edited Mrs. Grundy – “the official organ of Grundy County” – under the auspices of the Grundy Publishing Company. Marugg had previous newspaper experience at the Chattanooga Evening Democrat and the German-language Anzeiger des Sudens in Nashville. He also operated retail outlets in Greutli and Tracy City, Tennessee, and served as the vice-president of Grundy County Bank and as county auditor for ten years.
Later issues of Mrs. Grundy included an explanation of its unusual name in its masthead. “Mrs. Grundy” was a character in Englishman Thomas Morton’s 1798 comedy, Speed the Plough in which “the wife of a lucky farmer” is “envied by Dame Ashfield, a neighbor, who constantly exclaims “What will Mrs. Grundy say,” hence, society in general regarded [“Mrs. Grundy” as] a censor of morals.”(Her character never actually appeared in the play but was only referred to by others.)
The front page of the April 9, 1903 issue of the newspaper entreated the citizens to remember that Mrs. Grundy was the “helpmate” of the area. “She wants clean, readable news from all over the county, and intends to merit the hearty cooperation and support of every Grundy countian.
Mrs. Grundy was available on Thursdays for a one-dollar…
- Genres
- News
- Published in
- Tracy City, 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