About the time that the Germanna Colonists were coming to America, perhaps slightly later, a young German orphan, thirteen years old, landed in New York (his parents died on the trip). There he became an apprentice to William Bradford, a printer, who had been allowed by the government of New York to establish a printing office. It was not easy to obtain permission as the Colonial Governments generally were of the view that the free expression of opinions was dangerous. When Benjamin Harris in Boston attempted to start a newspaper, the " Public Occurrences ", he was stopped at once. In Philadelphia, Bradford was ordered in 1692 to close his office. He moved to New York where, after many petitions, he obtained a permit to publish the " The New York Gazette ". It was understood that the paper had to support the Governor's party.
Our apprentice served several years with Bradford, which, considering his young age when he started, would be expected. He was expert enough that Bradford made him an assistant and partner (all the more remarkable because the boy probably knew little English when he started). In 1733, the two men separated, perhaps because of their political differences. Bradford, by necessity, had been an organ for the aristocratic party, while our German was more inclined to the common man's interest.
Our German immediately started his own newspaper, the " New York Weekly Journal ", which was first issued on 5 Nov 1733. He found support among both the working class and among some of the ablest men in the colony, including some lawyers and judges who were at risk for supporting the " Journal ". A former judge wrote an article which read,
"We see men's deeds destroyed, judges arbitrarily displaced, new courts erected without the consent of the legislature, by which it seems to me trials by jury are taken away when a governor pleases; men of known estates denied their votes contrary to the recent practice of the best expositor of any law. Who is there in that province that can call anything his own, or enjoy any liberty longer than those in the administration will condescend to let them, for which reason I left it, as I believe more will."
The Governor became incensed at the "
Journal
" and he directed the Grand Jury to indict the publisher for libel. At the same time he ordered that four numbers of the offending paper be publicly burned by the hangman, "as containing many things derogatory of the dignity of His Majesty's Government, reflecting upon the legislature and tending to raise sedition and tumults in the province." The Mayor and the City Magistrates were requested to be present at the burning of the newspapers.
(13 Aug 03)
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.