The ''Fair Haven Gazette'' was a

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

newspaper. It was published in the late 1700s; James Lyon (1776-1824) was the nominal owner and publisher, but the ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' owner and author of much of its content was Lyon's father

Matthew Lyon Matthew Lyon (July 14, 1749 – August 1, 1822) was an Irish-born American printer, farmer, soldier and politician, who served as a United States representative from both Vermont and Kentucky. Lyon represented Vermont in U. S. Congress, Congre ...

History

In the early years of Vermont statehood, there were two newspapers in circulation: the ''

Bennington Bennington is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. It is one of two shire towns (county seats) of the county, the other being Manchester. As of the 2020 US Census, the population was 15,333. Bennington is the most populous to ...

Gazette'' and the ''

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia *Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area *Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wind ...

Journal''.

was an early political, military, and business leader of Vermont. He founded the town of Fair Haven in 1783, and constructed and operated several businesses, including mills and forges. Having been trained as a printer and bookbinder, in 1793 Lyon decided to create a newspaper as way to communicate his ideas to the voters; he had been an unsuccessful candidate for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

in 1791 and 1792, and intended to run again in 1794. Lyon established a newspaper in Fair Haven; though his son James, also a printer and publisher, was the nominal owner, much of the paper's management was overseen by Matthew Lyon, and he authored much of the content. In addition to Matthew Lyon's articles, other stories and columns were prepared by James Lyon and Alden Spooner (1757-1827). In 1794, James and Matthew Lyon sold the physical plant for the ''Fair Haven Gazette'' to Reverend Samuel Williams and Judge Samuel Williams of

Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...

; they used these items to establish the ''

Rutland Herald The ''Rutland Herald'' is the second largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Vermont (after ''The Burlington Free Press''). It is published in Rutland. With a daily circulation of about 12,000, it is the main source of news geared towards t ...

'', a newspaper which has remained in circulation ever since.

Legacy

Matthew Lyon failed to win a U.S. House seat in 1794; he was finally elected on his fourth attempt in 1796. As a way to continue communicating his

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

ideas to his constituents and oppose the ideas of the

Federalists The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of de ...

, Matthew Lyon and James Lyon started a new paper, ''The Scourge Of Aristocracy and Repository of Important Political Truth''. In 1798, Matthew Lyon was found guilty of violating the

Alien and Sedition Acts The Alien and Sedition Acts were a set of four laws enacted in 1798 that applied restrictions to immigration and speech in the United States. The Naturalization Act increased the requirements to seek citizenship, the Alien Friends Act allowed th ...

, based on anti-Adams administration comments he had made in the ''Scourge'', and a letter to Alden Spooner; Spooner was now publisher of the ''Vermont Journal'', and the letter appeared in his paper. Lyon was held in prison in

Vergennes, Vermont Vergennes is a city located in the northwest quadrant of Addison County, Vermont, United States. The municipality is bordered by the towns of Ferrisburgh, Panton, and Waltham. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,553. It is the smalle ...

; he won reelection to Congress in 1798 while he was incarcerated. Lyon's prison term expired on February 9, 1799; he could not pay the fine which was part of his sentence, or the costs associated with his imprisonment. Political supporters raised the necessary funds, enabling him to be released and take up his seat in the House. After failing to win reelection in 1800, Lyon moved to

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, where he was involved in several business ventures and was again elected to Congress.

References

Sources

Magazines

Books

* * *{{cite book , last=Novotny , first=Patrick , date=2014 , title=The Press in American Politics, 1787–2012 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SDeaBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA21 , location=Santa Barbara, CA , publisher=ABC-CLIO , page=21 , isbn=978-1-4408-3289-5 , ref={{sfnRef, ''The Press in American Politics, 1787–2012'' Fair Haven, Vermont Defunct newspapers published in Vermont History of Vermont