Joseph Gales Jr. (June 15, 1786 – July 21, 1860) was an American
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
and the ninth
mayor of Washington, D.C.
The mayor of the District of Columbia is the head of the executive branch of the government of the District of Columbia, in the United States. The mayor has the duty to enforce district laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed ...
, from 1827 to 1830. He was the only Mayor born outside the United States or the American colonies.
Early life
Joseph Gales Jr. was born in
Eckington, Derbyshire
Eckington is a village and civil parish in North East Derbyshire, England. It is 7 miles (11 km) northeast of Chesterfield and 9 miles (14 km) southeast of Sheffield city centre, on the border with South Yorkshire.
It lies on the B60 ...
, England. His father,
Joseph Gales Sr.
Joseph Gales (4 February 1761 – 21 July 1841) was an American journalist, newspaper publisher and political figure. He was the father of the younger Joseph Gales.
Life in Britain
Gales was born in Eckington, Derbyshire, in England to Timothy ...
(1760–1841), was a printer in
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
, who was compelled to emigrate to America in 1795 because of his republican principles. After living in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
from 1795 to 1799 where the elder Gales transcribed the debates in Congress and owned the ''Independent Gazetteer'', he moved with his family to
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...
. Gales, Jr. was educated at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
and in 1807 settled in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, where he became the assistant and partner of
Samuel Harrison Smith in the publication of the ''
National Intelligencer
The ''National Intelligencer and Washington Advertiser'' was a newspaper published in Washington, D.C., from October 30, 1800 until 1870. It was the first newspaper published in the District, which was founded in 1790. It was originally a Tri- ...
''. In 1810 Gales became sole proprietor of the journal and made it a triweekly publication, and in 1813, having previously formed a partnership with his brother-in-law,
William Winston Seaton, the paper was issued daily and so continued until 1867 (after the deaths of both publishers).
Printer
For many years Gales and Seaton were the official printers to
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
, and the files of the ''National Intelligencer'', containing a running account of the debates in both Houses, are one of the most valuable sources of
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
congressional history for more than a quarter of a century. Under the title of ''Annals of Congress,'' Gales and Seaton published (1834–56, in 42 volumes) the debates in Congress from 1798 to 1824, together with the more important documents and laws, and under the title of ''Register of Debates in Congress'' (29 volumes) continued the publication in similar form to cover the years (1824–37). Gales was long the sole reporter on the
U.S. Senate
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 ...
.
Newspaper publisher
He began as a reporter for the ''
National Intelligencer
The ''National Intelligencer and Washington Advertiser'' was a newspaper published in Washington, D.C., from October 30, 1800 until 1870. It was the first newspaper published in the District, which was founded in 1790. It was originally a Tri- ...
'' in 1807, Reporting the debates in Congress and went on to become the publisher of the newspaper, which appeared three times a week. He made it a daily paper in 1813, originally with a focus on congressional debates. Increasingly it became a political newspaper, spokesman for the opponents of Jackson and supporters of John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, and the Whig Party. In 1851, the Washington ''Daily Globe'' replaced it as the official reporter for Congress, and circulation declined.
Societies
![Gales School - Central Union Mission](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Gales_School_-_Central_Union_Mission.jpg)
During the 1820s, Gales was a member of the prestigious society,
Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences
The Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences (1816–1838) was a literary and science institution in Washington, D.C., founded by Dr. Edward Cutbush (1772–1843), a naval surgeon. Thomas Law had earlier suggested of such a socie ...
, who counted among their members former presidents
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...
and
John Quincy Adams and many prominent men of the day, including well-known representatives of the military, government service, medical and other professions.
Mayor of Washington
Gales was elected Washington
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...
in 1814. In 1827 the city council elected him to fill out the term of the resigning
Roger C. Weightman
Roger Chew Weightman (June 15, 1787 – February 2, 1876) was an American politician, civic leader, and printer. He was the eighth mayor of Washington, D.C. from 1824 to 1827.
Early and family life
Weightman was born in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1 ...
. He was then elected to his own two-year term in 1828. As mayor, he broke ground on the District of Columbia's
C&O Canal
The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, abbreviated as the C&O Canal and occasionally called the "Grand Old Ditch," operated from 1831 until 1924 along the Potomac River between Washington, D.C. and Cumberland, Maryland. It replaced the Potomac Canal, wh ...
. He also established relief committees for the poor and dispossessed of Washington.
Belva Lockwood And The 'Way Of The World'
Later life
In 1830, Gales built a "country mansion" near the old Brentwood Road on 112 acres of land he bought in 1815. He named the estate for his town of birth, Eckington and it became the namesake of the Eckington neighborhood. The house was sold to George Truesdale, who turned it into a hotel and then, following a fire that nearly destroyed it, into a women's college known as Washington College for Young Ladies. By 1922 it became the Mt. Carmel Retreat House for Women run by the Catholic Church.
Gales died on July 21, 1860 and was buried in Congressional Cemetery.
References
Further reading
* Ames, William E. "The National Intelligencer: Washington's Leading Political Newspaper." ''Records of the Columbia Historical Society'' (Washington, D.C., 1966): 71-83
in JSTOR
* Ames, William E. ''A history of the National Intelligencer'' (University of North Carolina Press, 1972)
* Eaton, Clement. "Winifred and Joseph Gales, Liberals in the Old South." ''Journal of Southern History'' 10.4 (1944): 461-474
in JSTOR
* Hunt, Gaillard. "Joseph Gales on the War Manifesto of 1812," ''American Historical Review'' (1908) 13#4 pp 303–1
in JSTOR
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gales, Joseph
Mayors of Washington, D.C.
American publishers (people)
American male journalists
Burials at the Congressional Cemetery
1786 births
1860 deaths
People from Eckington, Derbyshire
English emigrants to the United States
19th-century American politicians
19th-century American businesspeople