The ''Wolverine Citizen'' was an important weekly

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of 8 ...

. The paper also operated as a general printer.

History

In 1850, Francis H. Rankin, Sr. came to

Flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

and opened the ''Genesee Whig''. Six years later it was renamed ''The Wolverine Citizen and Genesee Whig''. Later yet, Genesee Whig was dropped from the title. The paper was used to support the formation of the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

from the remains of the Whig Party and the anti-slavery section of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, the newspaper switched to daily publication for 18 months. The paper was very supportive of the Federal side. When Francis, Jr. - son of Francis H. Rankin, Sr. - was thirteen, he started working at the press. In 1881, he gained some interest in the ''Citizen,'' and went on to continue the paper after his father's death in 1900, up until 1915. A number of prominent Michigan journalist got their start at the ''Citizen'': W. R. Bates, '' Lumberman's Gazette''; C. B. Turner, '' Pontiac Gazette''; R. L. Warren, '' Lawrence Advertiser''; Morgan Bates, Jr., Marshall Statesman; E. D. Cowles, of the ''

Saginaw Daily Courier The Saginaw Daily Courier was a newspaper published from 1868 to 1881 in Saginaw, Michigan. It has it roots with an earlier local newspaper called the East Saginaw Courier. Merging with other newspapers as time went on it eventually became the ''Sa ...

''; W. A.. Smith, of the ''

Charlevoix Sentinel Charlevoix ( , ) is a cultural and natural region in Quebec, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River as well as in the Laurentian Mountains area of the Canadian Shield. This dramatic landscape includes rolling terrain, fjords, headlands, ...

''; Harry Hall, '' Stuart Locomotive''; Charles Fellows, of the ''

Flint Journal ''The Flint Journal'' is a quad-weekly newspaper based in Flint, Michigan, owned by Booth Newspapers, a subsidiary of Advance Publications. Published Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, it serves Genesee, Lapeer and Shiawassee Counties. ...

''; Orlando White, of the '' Linden Record'' and A. M. Woodin, of the '' Lansing Sentinel''.

References

Newspapers published in Michigan Mass media in Flint, Michigan {{michigan-newspaper-stub