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THE HORRY HERALD |
The Horry Herald began publication in 1886 in Conway, South Carolina. The first publisher was E. R. Beaty; Evan Norton was the editor in the 1890s. After the turn of the century, the Herald was edited by H. H. Woodward for many years and later run by Lem Winesett.. The articles in the newspaper provide us a glimpse into the life of that era in Horry County. We can see the daily comings and goings of the people we have found in the census and read about in historical articles. We also have a view of the complicated political climate of the time. In an era without television and radio, the citizens received all of their information on political affairs from the newspaper or political gatherings. It is easy to see how a newspaper editor could influence elections by his slant on the political climate and individual politicans. The first newspaper for Conway or Conwayborough, as it was first called, was the Horry Dispatch, which was published from 1861 to probably 1863. The editor of that paper was Joseph Walsh; it was published by Gilbert and Darr. According to Dr. Goff Bedford in The Independent Republic; A Survey History of Horry County, South Carolina, the Dispatch was balanced in its editorial policy and had generally good news coverage. He compared the Horry Dispatch with the Marion Star, which was a newspaper dedicated to "fighting state government and the Yankees with fire and invective." Dr. Bedford describes how Evan Norton of the Horry Herald adjusted his editorials and news slant after Ben Tillman was elected governor. When H. H. Woodward became editor of the Herald, his style and beliefs influenced or directly reflected the political atmosphere of Horry County for most of the first half of the twentieth century. The Telephone was published from 1878 until probably 1883 when it was continued or absorbed by the Horry Progress, which was continued from 1883 through probably 1888 by J. W. Ogilvie. Another early newspaper was the Horry News, edited by Thomas W. Beaty. I have found references to this publication from 1869 through 1877, and issues from 1871-1877. It was merged with the Georgetown Comet to form the Comet and News. Another Horry County News was published from 1936 through 1952 and was merged into the Horry County News and the Loris Sentinel. The Field started publication in Horry County around 1903 and merged with the Horry Herald in 1964 to become the Field and Herald. The existing issues of these newspapers will also be transcribed on this site at a later time. HORRY COUNTY POLITICS FROM 1870s THROUGH 1890s This era of politics was very complicated and it is difficult to make general statements of definition about any political party. The ideas brought fourth here are those expressed by Dr. Goff Bedford in The Independent Republic. Dr. Bedford's book was published by the Horry County Historical Society. According to Dr. Bedford, after the War it was necessary for a man who wanted state government help or office to be a Republican or approved by the Republican Party. Republicans called themselves the Union Party and Democrats were often referred to as Conservatives. The more hard-line or non-compromising Republicans were referred to by newspapers as Radicals. During this era in Horry County, Republicans were elected to state offices and Democrats to most local offices. Men who were Republicans and believed in compromise with the Democrats, gradually were not welcomed by the Radicals and drifted to the Democrats. As a result, the Democrats were able to regain control of politics in Horry County in the 1876 election. By the 1880s, prohibition had became a political issue in Horry County as it did throughout the nation. By the 1890s, slates of candidates for office were chosen at tightly controlled political conventions. Republicans and outsiders were not able to gain any political footing and the Alliance movement became popular. The Populist movement, centered around the campaigns of Ben Tillman, had significant impact on the life of the citizens of Horry County. By the 1900's the Populist and old Democrat factions in the Democratic party had merged. According to Dr. Bedford, this rise in Populism produced three conditions in Horry County: the black race became the enemy, society became divided into economic camps, and the government became active in all phases of life. Cooperationists: a party that began before the war as a middle ground between the Unionists, who said the state had the legal but not the moral right to secede, and the Secessionists, who wanted to leave the Union immediately. Cooperationists believed the state had the legal and moral right to secede, but the best path was to cooperate with the rest of the U.S. After the war, they supported cooperation with the Republicans. They gradually shifted into the Democratic party. Farmer's Alliance: A new political group from the early 1890s made up of families who wanted a change in state government from the let-alone policies of Wade Hampton and felt alienated by the political establishment.. T. W. Daggett was president of the Horry County Alliance in the early 1890s. Others active in the Alliance were Jeremiah Smith, Jeremiah Mishoe, and John P. Derham. Populism: This was a movement that called for more input from goverment in regulating everything, but did not go so far as to want public ownership of private property. They did favor public ownership of railroads and supported social security. They wanted to draw a solid barrier between blacks and whites and seemed to have a fear of the black population. Their leadership portrayed the black man as a threat to southern culture. Their campaign was that those who opposed them would "permit blacks too much freedom and destroy the poor white man." They were opposed by old line Democrats who thought the Populist programs would destroy the economy. Sessionists: Supporters of the members of the Sessions family for Sheriff and other political offices. Members of this family held the sheriff's office for most of the 19th century and well into the 20th. They were considered anti-Populist during the Tillman era. Straightouters: These were people who wanted to vote a straight Democratic ticket, rather than split between Republicans and Democrats. Tillmanites: Supporters of Ben Tillman, Governor of South Carolina. This was part of the Populist movement. Tillman's supporters "stormed" the Democratic convention of 1890 and nominated him. Conservative Democrats held a rump convention and nominated their own candidate who was also supported by the Republicans. Grover Cleveland, then President, opposed the Populist beliefs. The Herald issues show the discussion about whether Tillman, in the 1892 election, would support Cleveland as the Democratic national nominee. If he were to decide not to back the national Democratic nominee, that would show he was not a Democrat and could be opposed. However, if he did support Cleveland, "then he was a Democrat and, though hated, had to be supported." Thomas W. Beaty: Editor of the Horry News and a major leader in the county. He had been a secessionist, was a early Straightouter, and supported Wade Hampton. Franklin G. Burroughs: A merchant and entrepreneur who was the dominant figure in Horry County until his death in 1897, although he never held political office. He was in partnership with his brother-in-law, Benjamin Grier Collins. Wade Hampton: Governor and later U. S. Senator from South Carolina. Probably the most influential politician of the era, he had cooperated with the Republicans. He was elected in 1876 as the first Democratic governor since the War. According to Dr. Bedford, Hampton's philosophy was that government should "keep order, protect the land from enemies, and provide a very minimum of services." He and his followers had provided an honest government with little taxation, but by the 1890's, the population wanted more from their government. In 1896 he was defeated in the Senate race by the Populist candidate, Ben Tillman. William H. Long: He was the Chairman of the Democratic Party from 1885 and was able to consolidate Conservatives and Alliance members in 1892 to nominate a county compromise ticket. Jeremiah Smith: A major politician of the 1880s and early 1890s. He was state Senator from Horry County (1884-1892). He never was a part of the establishment and joined the Horry County Alliance in hopes for a seat in Congress. Ben Tillman: He was elected Governor in 1890 as the Populist candidate, thus ushering in the era of Populism in South Carolina politics. See Tillmanites. The purpose of this page is to provide the early issues (earliest available to just after the turn of the century) of The Horry Herald on line so that all researchers will have this valuable material available to them. Microfilm is available for many issues of the newspaper, but so far no one has transcribed these microfilm copies. The microfilm is available in the South Caroliniana Library (Columbia, SC) and the Coastal Carolina University Library (Conway, SC). I will be gradually transcribing the existing issues from microfilm to a web format as I obtain hard copies from the microfilm. I also will be adding transcriptions from other early newspapers as copies are available. The original issues that were microfilmed have wrinkles, smudges, and occasionaly areas that were clipped out. Any unclear passages or transcribers notes will be indicated by question marks or comments in brackets []. Most of the issues consist of 4 or 5 pages. Although the format changes slightly over the years, the first page is usually national and international news, the second page contains editorials and political speeches, the third page is local personal and political news and advertisements, while the remaining pages are ads, poetry and continuation of local news. Because of the scope of this project, I am beginning with page 3 of the available issues because they contain the most mention of individuals by name. My plan is to transcribe the other pages in each issue at a later time. Each page consists of 6 or 7 columns that I have divided into 2 pages for readability in a web page format. I am attempting to make the newspaper look as much like the original as possible while keeping the formating as simple as possible. |
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Site last updated August 24, 2006.
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