Charles Gove Shanks (1841 – July 24, 1895) was an associate editor of the ''

Louisville Journal Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

''. In

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

he worked for the '' New York Star'' and the '' Albany Times''.

Biography

Shanks was born in Shelbyville, Kentucky in 1841. He served as an

amanuensis An amanuensis () is a person employed to write or type what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another, and also refers to a person who signs a document on behalf of another under the latter's authority. In one example Eric Fenby ...

for

George D. Prentice George Dennison Prentice (December 18, 1802 – January 22, 1870) was an American newspaper editor, writer and poet who built the ''Louisville Journal'' into a major newspaper in Louisville, Kentucky, and the Ohio River Valley, in part by the vir ...

, who edited the ''Louisville Journal'' (predecessor to ''The Courier-Journal'') prior to the American Civil War. He fought for the Union Army with the 22nd Kentucky Infantry. He achieved the rank of First Lieutenant and was an aide de camp to General Lawlow by the end of the conflict. Shanks became the night editor of the ''

New York Herald The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the ''New-York Tribune'' to form the '' New York Herald Tribune''. His ...

'' at the conclusion of the Civil War. He was appointed state librarian of the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...

by New York Secretary of State

Allen C. Beach Allen Carpenter Beach (October 9, 1825 – October 17, 1918) was an American lawyer and politician from New York who served the lieutenant governor of New York from 1869 to 1872. Life He was born on October 9, 1825, in Fairfield, Herkimer Cou ...

. Shanks served under John Bigelow on the Panama Canal investigating committee, a position he was appointed to by Governor

Samuel J. Tilden Samuel Jones Tilden (February 9, 1814 – August 4, 1886) was an American politician who served as the 25th Governor of New York and was the Democratic candidate for president in the disputed 1876 United States presidential election. Tilden was ...

. Afterwards he was an Albany correspondent for several New York newspapers.

Family

His older brother, William F. G. Shanks, was a war correspondent who later edited '' The Bond Buyer'' of New York City. His sister, Sallie G. Shanks, was a contributor to ''

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the st ...

'' for three decades.

Death

He died in Albany, New York in 1895 of

heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, hea ...

at his home on Chapel Street.

References

American librarians People from Shelbyville, Kentucky People of Kentucky in the American Civil War 1841 births 1895 deaths 19th-century American journalists American male journalists 19th-century American male writers Amanuenses {{LouisvilleMSA-stub