The ''Boston Evening Traveller'' (1845–1967) was a newspaper published in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
,
. It was a daily newspaper, with weekly and semi-weekly editions under a variety of ''Traveller'' titles. It was absorbed by the ''
Boston Herald
The ''Boston Herald'' is an American daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarded eight Pulit ...
'' in 1912, and ceased publication in 1967.
History
Founding
The ''Boston Evening Traveller'' was launched on April 1, 1845 by Reverend
George Punchard and
Deacon
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...
Ferdinand Andrews. The pair served as co-editors and used the paper to advocate for the
temperance movement
The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...
.
In June 1845,
Roland Worthington, a former member of the business department of the ''
Boston Daily Advertiser
The ''Boston Daily Advertiser'' (est. 1813) was the first daily newspaper in Boston, and for many years the only daily paper in Boston.
History
The ''Advertiser'' was established in 1813, and in March 1814 it was purchased by journalist Nathan ...
'', joined the paper as publisher.
Worthington years
During Worthington's tenure as publisher, the ''Evening Traveller'' became the first Boston paper to employ
newspaper hawker
A newspaper hawker, newsboy or newsie is a street vendor of newspapers without a fixed newsstand. Related jobs included paperboy, delivering newspapers to subscribers, and news butcher, selling papers on trains. Adults who sold newspapers from f ...
s to sell papers in the streets rather than rely solely on subscriptions; and was the first paper in Boston to use headline posters to advertise papers.
Compared to other papers in Boston in the 1840s, the ''Traveller'' was notable for its significantly lower retail price. The ''Evening Traveller''s first office was located at 47 Court Street. It later relocated to the
Old State House before moving into its own building at 31
State Street. Under Worthington's leadership, the paper supported the views of the
Free Soil Party
The Free Soil Party was a short-lived coalition political party in the United States active from 1848 to 1854, when it merged into the Republican Party. The party was largely focused on the single issue of opposing the expansion of slavery into ...
and the later
Republican Party. The paper's shift to the Republican Party led to the departure of Ferdinand Andrews, who supported
Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the U.S. Secretary of State under Presidents William Henry Harrison, ...
and the
Cotton Whigs. Andrews was replaced as managing editor by twenty-two year old
Manton Marble Manton Marble (1834–1917) was a New York journalist. He was the proprietor and editor of the ''New York World'' from 1860 to 1876.
Early life
Marble was born in Worcester, Massachusetts on November 16, 1835. He graduated from the University of R ...
. In 1857,
Samuel Bowles joined the paper. Marble and Bowles were unable to work together and Marble left for
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. Bowles took over as managing editor on April 13, 1857 and soon thereafter merged the ''Evening Traveller'' with the ''
Boston Atlas
The ''Boston Atlas'' (1832–1857) newspaper of Boston, Massachusetts, was published in daily and semi-weekly editions in the mid-19th century. John H. Eastburn established the paper in 1832. Editors included Richard Hildreth, Richard Haughton, W ...
'', the ''Boston Bee'', and the ''
Independent Chronicle''.
The merger was a failure and placed the paper in debt. Bowles left the ''Evening Traveler'' without notice on August 10, 1857 and returned to
Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...
. Bowles was succeeded by Joseph B. Morss.
In 1859 Morss was succeeded by Reuben Crooke. As of 1878, one guide described the ''Evening Traveller'' as "the largest four-page evening paper in New England: five editions daily; the semi-weekly and weekly of each week contains sermons of
Henry Ward Beecher
Henry Ward Beecher (June 24, 1813 – March 8, 1887) was an American Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, and speaker, known for his support of the Abolitionism, abolition of slavery, his emphasis on God's love, and his 1875 adultery ...
; 'Review of the Week;' market and shipping reports; latest news and choice reading, prepared expressly for the family fireside." In 1879, reporter James W. Clarke became the paper's managing editor. He remained with the ''Evening Traveller'' until 1885, when he accepted the position of chief of editorial writers for ''
The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
''. From 1885 to 1891, W. F. Whitcher served as editor in chief. Whitcher was succeeded by
Albert Edward Winship
Albert Edward Winship (February 24, 1845 – February 16, 1933) was a pioneering American educator and educational journalist.
Biography
Winship was born in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts. He attended Andover Theological Seminary in 1875. He wa ...
. Roland Worthington died on March 20, 1898 and the paper was sold in June 1891. The new owners replaced Winship as editor, bringing back Reuben Crooke.
Later years
In the 1900s, the paper was headquartered at 76
Summer Street (c. 1902–1912). In 1912 the ''Herald'' bought the ''Traveler'' and merged the papers into the ''Boston Traveler and Evening Herald,'' now published from the'' Heralds facility at 171 Tremont Street.
From 1914 to 1918, future
Territory of Alaska
The Territory of Alaska or Alaska Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from August 24, 1912, until Alaska was granted statehood on January 3, 1959. The territory was previously Russian America, 1784–1867; the ...
Governor and
U.S. Senator
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
Ernest Gruening
Ernest Henry Gruening ( ; February 6, 1887 – June 26, 1974) was an American journalist and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, Gruening was the governor of the Alaska Territory from 1939 until 1953, and a United States Senator from A ...
served as the paper's managing editor. In 1928, the new owners moved the paper away from Republican politics by dropping the editorial page and replacing it with a "People's Forum". The morning ''Herald'' and the evening ''Traveler'' were published until 1967, when, due to declining circulation, they were combined into a morning newspaper known as the ''Herald-Traveler''.
Variant titles
;Dailies
* ''Daily Evening Traveller'', 1845–1885
[''Daily Evening Traveller'', Vol. 1, no. 1 (Apr. 1, 1845). ]
* ''Boston Evening Traveller'', 1885–1889
* ''Boston Daily Traveller'', c. 1856–1885, 1889–1894
* ''Boston Traveler'', 1894–1912, 1914–1967
* ''Boston Traveler and Evening Herald'', 1912–1914
;Non-dailies
* ''American Traveller'' (semiweekly and weekly editions), c. 1845–1885
* ''American Semi-Weekly Traveller'', 1851–1854
* ''Boston Traveller'' (semiweekly edition), c. 1855–1885
* ''American Weekly Traveller'', c. 1851–1855
References
Images
Image:1856 TravelerBuildings BostonAlmanac.png, Traveller building, State Street, 1850s
Image:1886 Traveller building StateSt Boston.png, Traveller building, near Old State House, ca.1880s
Image:Roland Worthington USA 1817 1898.png, Portrait of Roland Worthington, publisher
Image:1902 Boston Traveler building SummerStreet.png, Traveler building, Summer Street, 1902
Image:1904 SummerSt Boston by DetroitPublishingCo detail 24.jpg, Summer Street, 1904
Image:1918 BostonTraveler 11Nov.png, Boston Traveler, 1918
External links
* Bostonian Society. Photos:
*
State Streetat the corner of Congress Street, ca. 1870
*
Congress Street 1872
*
Traveller building State Street, ca. 1874-1875
*
Traveller building ca. 1880-1894
*
State and Congress Streets ca. 1888-1894
*
State Street ca. 1890-1894
*
Demolition of Traveller's Building 1894
* Boston Public Library. Photos:
*
Image of Old Traveller Building after the alterations of the Rogers Building
*
Photo of ''Herald Traveler'' building 1930
*
Photo of ''Herald Traveler'' building and vicinity 1930
*
Portrait of Austin Waldron former ''Herald-Traveler'' cameraman, 1932
*
Portrait of Tony Cabral "famous ''Herald-Traveler'' cameraman," 1932
*
Portrait of Abe Reed ''Boston Herald-Traveler'' photographer, 1937
* MIT Libraries
Photo of ''Boston Herald'' Delivery Caron Newbury Street, Between Berkeley and Arlington Streets, 1950s
{{coord, 42, 21, 31.67, N, 71, 3, 24.87, W, type:landmark_region:US-MA, display=title
Newspapers published in Boston
19th century in Boston
20th century in Boston
Publications established in 1845
1967 disestablishments in Massachusetts
Defunct newspapers published in Massachusetts
1845 establishments in Massachusetts
Boston Herald