Tioga Herald

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For a number of years, there has been writing about the Tioga County Herald, a weekly newspaper founded in Newark Valley, running successively from 1876 to 1966 when, under the last owner and publisher, Gus Brandes, it folded. To celebrate the Bicentennial in 1976, exactly 100 years after the publication of the first Tioga County Herald during the year of the American Centennial celebration, three graduates of Newark Valley High School’s Class of 1973 put out a special edition of the newspaper for the Bicentennial celebration in Newark Valley. Douglas Cornwell, then a Music Education major at SUNY Potsdam with a major interest in history and genealogy (taking many classes at Potsdam with History professors such as Dr. Judith B. Ranlett and Dr. Vincent J. Knapp) was the editor. Mark Monroe, a student at Cornell University, did the lion’s share of the writing, and Eric Steinkamp, a student at Clarkson UniversityClarkson UniversityClarkson University, was the financial manager, managing the books and the sales of advertising. (Today, Douglas has a tintype photo of his great-grandfather, Samuel J. Cornwell, at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia).

Looking back at these events, people have some good memories!

Retired Professor Douglas Cornwell has been writing that the newspaper was founded in 1876 by Gilbert E. Purple. Correction to this. According to records at the Library of Congress, it was not until just about a decade later that Purple was involved. Perhaps Professor Cornwell was clouded by his great-grandfather’s (Samuel J. Cornwell) tintype at the Centennial Exposition of 1876 and wished, after reading the deed of 1919 when Samuel purchased a property in Newark Valley from Gilbert E. Purple. Clouding of the mind is not unusual for any human being. Let that be a lesson!

Provided below is the actual information about the Tioga County Herald and its publishing history from 1876 to 1966 (Library of Congress, Newspaper: Tioga County Herald… 1876-1966).

Notes –  Weekly, –  Vol. 1, no. 1 (Mar. 4, 1876)- –  Ceased in Aug. 1966. Cf. Faibisoff, S.G. Bibl. of newspapers in 14 N.Y. counties.

Publishers:
[George M.?] Jordan & [?] Riley, 1876;
George M. Jordan & Henry A. LeBarron, 1876- ;
Jordan & [Charles Louis] Noble, 1877;
Charles L[ouis]. Noble, 1879-1883;
Charles L[ouis]. Noble & G[ilbert].Elsworth]. Purple, 1884-1889;
[?] More & Purple 1890;
G.E. Purple, 1901-1908;
[?], 1909;
A.L. Sherman & L.A. Worden, 1910;
Ivan C. Purple, 1913-1931;
[?], 1932-1945;
Grace B. Allen, 1946-1955;
[?], 1956;
Lloyd C. Allen, 1957;
Leon G. [“Gus”] Brandes, [1958?]-1966.

Further notes from the Library of Congress with regard to the Tioga County Herald (Library of Congress, The Owego Times … 1867-1967) indicate that the Tioga County Herald had a brief “after life” from 1966 to 1967. “Published as: Owego times-Tioga County herald, Sept. 2, 1966 and Oct. 14-Nov. 11, 1966. –  Tioga County times-herald (DLC)sn 90066443 (OCoLC)22044833″ until 1970.

Also, according to Library of Congress records, the newspaper was published as The Tioga County Sun-Times & Herald from 1970-1971. From 1971 to the current time, Library of Congress records say the publication was titled the Tioga County Gazette & Times. Apparently, the “Herald” name dropped. However, there is a discrepancy in the Library of Congress records as Professor Cornwell now subscribes to a newspaper from Owego titled Tioga County Courier and the Gazette name has been dropped.

Circumstantial evidence has indicated, since Rollie Noble of Newark Valley owned the complete run of the Tioga County Herald (1876-1966), that he was related to one of the original people involved in this newspaper. That person was Charles L. Noble who was involved from 1877-1889. Research of Ancestry.com has hopefully provided the answer. Rollie Noble is a 1st cousin once removed to Charles Louis Noble who was living in Newark Valley. Once Charles Noble married his wife in 1889, he departed town, the nearest which can be determined. This coincides with the evidence that Charles L. Noble was part of the Tioga County Herald from 1877-1889. Research is always continuous. Probably another reason why Rollie Noble had in his possession, the complete sequence of newspapers from 1876-1966. Later, Mr. Noble indicated he had worked with the New York Newspaper Project to put those newspapers on microfilm and copies of the microfilm had been placed in Newark Valley’s Tappan Spaulding Memorial Library. However, this was prior to Rollie’s death in 1983. It was confirmed that the microfilm was in the local library, but it has not been confirmed in 2021.

The New York State Historic Newspapers website contains digital copies of other Tioga County newspapers, but the Tioga County Herald has not been found there. Why?

In the list of newspaper availability, Tappan Spaulding is not on the list. Why? It was there at one time with the entire sequence, as had been seen at Rollie Noble’s home.

Here is a list of availability found on a New York State Newspaper website:

Tioga County herald (Newark Valley, N.Y.) Published 1876-1966 : Weekly. OCLC 11405329 Continued by: Owego times (Owego, N.Y. : 1867)

• New York State Library NY 77 Newark Valley 93-32030
  F Scattered issues missing 1888-1916. <1876:3:4-7:8,29, 8:26-12:30> <1877:1:6,27-4:21, 5:12-6:30, 7:14,28-8:11, 8:25-9:1,15-12:22> <1883:5:26-7:7,21-28> <1884:1:5-1888:12:29> <1889:1:5-6:29, 7:13-1908:2:21> <1910:1:4-12:30> <1916:1:4-6:30> <1923:1:5- 1966:7:22>
• New York State Library Master microfilm
  M Scattered issues missing, 1888-1916 <1876:3:4-7:8,29, 8:26-12:30> <1877:1:6,27-4:21, 5:12-6:30, 7:14,28-8:11, 8:25-9:1,15-12:22> <1883:5:26-7:7,21-28> <1884:1:5-1888:12:29> <1889:1:5-6:29, 7:13-1908:2:21> <1910:1:4-12:30> <1916:1:4-6:30> <1923:1:5- 1966:7:22>
• Cornell University
  P <1881:9:24> <1882:7:8> <1890:3:8,22> <1891:3:8,22> <1902:2:28> <1903:11:20>
  
• Cortland County Historical Society
  P <1887:10:8>
  
• Tioga County Historical Society
  F <1876:3:4-1877:12:22> <1883:5:26-7:28> <1884:1:5-1908:12:25> <1909:4:2-1916:12:29> <1918:7:5-1919:6:27> <1923:1:5-1966:7:22>
  P <1879:7:5> <1882:9:30> <1896:9:4> <1905:1:6,20-2:17, 3:3-4:28, 5:12,26-12:29> <1906:9:28-11:16> <1912:7:2-9,16-9:10,17-12:31> <1913:1:7-5:26, 6:3-7:22, 7:29-10:7,21,28-12:30> <1915:1:1-6:29> <1923:1:5-12:28> <1924:2:22-3:28, 4:11, 8:29> <1925:5:15> <1926 :1:15, 10:15> <1927:1:7-4:29, 6:3-12:30> <1928:1:6-12:28> <1929:1:4-12:27> <1930:3:7> <1931:1:2-1933:10:13> <1936:3:27-4:3,17, 5:1-1962:12:21>

Having all issues of this newspaper, from 1876 to 1966, are of great concern, not exclusively as a means to complain about this loss, but because of the collection which was seen at Rollie Noble’s home and a need to preserve historical information, but because locating some obituaries during that time frame, for those who resided in Newark Valley during those days, it has been the Tioga County Herald which has been the best resource. Also, it has been the best for many other news items which are very local to Newark Valley and not published in other newspapers in the county, as well as big city newspapers. Even the Tioga County Historical Society does not list the newspapers past 1962 and it was published until 1966. What has happened?

When the Bicentennial edition of the Tioga County Herald was published in 1976, Professor Cornwell, then a student at SUNY Potsdam, recalls working with “Duke” Evans of Owego, in order to publish the newspaper. In the Fall 1975 academic semester, Cornwell had enrolled in Dr. Ranlett’s American Family History class at SUNY Potsdam. Cornwell was then off his family history “starting gate” with a large part of his four family lineages of Cornwell, Schoonmaker, Eldridge, and Albro. The results were submitted as a research paper. He then went to work on putting together the Bicentennial edition of the Tioga County Herald. He also continued with the research begun in 1975, at a time when he traipsed through many cemetery sites (with Rockefellers buried there) and so forth, in southwestern Cortland County and northeastern Tioga County.

Cornwell is mystified by the success of commerce in what was once known as “Tioga” and run by the indigenous people here in an area which crosses our geography from Pennsylvania to New York.

Cornwell is seeking to research in more detail about this topic. Knowing about those who tried to develop a “research triangle park” with IBM in Endicott as the foundation of it and extending in a “triangle” to Ithaca (Cornell) and Elmira, Cornwell finds the results deplorable because IBM has departed from this area and now has a large base in a Southern research triangle park. The triangle park in the Southern Tier would have been better. The center of the “triangle” in the Southern Tier would have had Tioga County, NY, right in the middle of it all. Instead, the movement South (and North Carolina) destroyed it and there is no IBM anymore here in the Southern Tier.

The indigenous folks were more intelligent, were they not? With counties such as Broome, Tompkins, and Chemung (plus others) carved out of the original Tioga County, NY, we have divided this land as people from each geographic urban area fighting with one another rather than making life better for all.

Perhaps Cornwell lives in a fantasy world, right? The reality was dictated to the Southern Tier by fat cats at the top of big corporations who have worked to herd everyone into Dixie. It is very disgusting. Cornwell speaks out bluntly about it. Today, Cornwell finds too much pessimism in this area. Sad. To overturn this pessimism, Cornwell is using this medium of a blog named Tioga Herald.

Call Professor Cornwell crazy, but he believes in the American melting pot of multi-culturalism. The outgoing Trump Secretary of State made a claim in a mentally ill state of mind saying that “America is not multi-cultural.” Sure. Embolden Proud Boys, the KKK, John Birchers, and racial hate groups. What a dolt who has a right to an opinion, but not his own damn facts and emotions. Here Professor Cornwell is, bringing to the table the stupidity of the Trump regime of dictators favoring white supremacy. Perhaps people should examine Professor Cornwell’s Ancestry.com family tree called American Tree with Multi-cultural Roots. Then there would be those who, with humility for learning, might learn and gain wisdom. As pessimists would say, “don’t count on it.” Jenna Bush just described how her grandmother, Barbara Bush, adamant against the LGBTQ people, listened to someone and changed her mind. Humility and someone learns. Too many Republicans today refuse to do this and that is also very sad, causing the pessimism which I hear from so many people. Optimism, not pessimism.”The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Do you know who said that?

Tioga Herald. A blog for optimism for the future and based on the name, Tioga, from the indigenous folks of this region. Like it or lump it, but amen and so be it. This particular blog provides a history of a newspaper in this region and the folks who made it happen. Gilbert Elsworth Purple also started the first telephone company in this area. It became Chenango & Unadilla Telephone and is now called Frontier. Hearsay says the original phone lines for the switchboards of that phone company still exist in the basement of the home once owned by Gilbert’s son, Jay Purple. (See the Purple Family Tree on Professor Cornwell’s Ancestry.com website)