Daniel Read Anthony (August 22, 1824 – November 12, 1904) was an American

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

, women's suffragist, and

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

. He moved to Kansas, where he published the '' Leavenworth Times'' in Leavenworth, Kansas, as well as other newspapers in the area. He was a leader of the

New England Emigrant Aid Company The New England Emigrant Aid Company (originally the Massachusetts Emigrant Aid Company) was a transportation company founded in Boston, Massachusetts by activist Eli Thayer in the wake of the Kansas–Nebraska Act, which allowed the population of ...

. He was a younger brother of activist

Susan B. Anthony Susan B. Anthony (born Susan Anthony; February 15, 1820 – March 13, 1906) was an American social reformer and women's rights activist who played a pivotal role in the women's suffrage movement. Born into a Quaker family committed to s ...

. He killed a man in one duel, and was shot by another man in public, due to the heated politics of the era. He was considered colorful and controversial, provoking strong emotions.

Early life

Anthony was born in South Adams, Massachusetts, one of seven children of Daniel Anthony (1794–1862) and Lucy Read Anthony (1793–1880). His older sister was

. He attended school in

Battenville, New York Battenville is a hamlet in Washington County on the south town line of Greenwich, New York, located on the Batten Kill in eastern New York. It is most known as the childhood home of Susan B. Anthony, who moved at the age of six with her family to ...

. He later worked in his father's cotton and flour mill until age 23.

Kansas

Anthony first moved to

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

in 1854 with others sponsored by the

Massachusetts Emigrant Aid Company The New England Emigrant Aid Company (originally the Massachusetts Emigrant Aid Company) was a transportation company founded in Boston, Massachusetts by activist Eli Thayer in the wake of the Kansas–Nebraska Act, which allowed the population of ...

, in order to fight against the extension of

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

to the Kansas Territory. Congress was going to allow residents to determine if they wanted the territory to allow slavery. He settled in Leavenworth in 1857, residing in a house at 515 North Esplanade Street. Around this same time Anthony was involved with the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...

in Leavenworth, helping William Dominick Matthews, a freedman, provide refuge to escaped slaves. On January 26, 1861, Anthony founded the ''Leavenworth Daily Conservative'' paper, later selling it in order to purchase the ''Leavenworth Times.'' He was also appointed as the town postmaster. At the time, Leavenworth was the end of the

telegraph line Electrical telegraphs were point-to-point text messaging systems, primarily used from the 1840s until the late 20th century. It was the first electrical telecommunications system and the most widely used of a number of early messaging systems ...

. In January 1861 Anthony printed a special edition of his newspaper and rode by horseback to Lawrence, Kansas to inform the territorial legislature that Congress had approved statehood for

. In 1861, rival publisher Robert C. Satterlee of the ''Kansas Herald'' accused Anthony of being a coward. They met on the street in Leavenworth and exchanged gunfire, resulting in the death of Satterlee. A jury acquitted Anthony in the death.

Military service

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 ...

, in 1861 and 1862, Anthony served as a lieutenant colonel in the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

7th Regiment Kansas Volunteer Cavalry The 7th Kansas Cavalry Regiment (also known as "Jennison's Jayhawkers") was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 7th Kansas Cavalry was organized at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas on October 28, 1 ...

. He saw action in

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

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 ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

and

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

. He was elected as mayor of Leavenworth in 1863. He enlisted several volunteers to burn buildings of

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

sympathizers on the edge of town. Union General Thomas Ewing Jr., who placed Leavenworth under

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

during the

, had Anthony arrested for interfering with martial law. (Anthony said that the city could maintain its own order.)

Postwar years in Kansas

In 1864 Anthony bought the ''Leavenworth Bulletin''. In 1866, he was removed as postmaster because he did not support

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

policies of President Andrew Johnson, whom he thought too accommodating of the South. Johnson came to office after the assassination of President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

. Anthony was elected as presiding officer of the 1868 Republican State Convention. In 1870–1871, he was elected to the Leavenworth

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

. In 1871, Anthony purchased the '' Leavenworth Times'', the oldest daily newspaper in Kansas. His editorial stance on issues and his steady acquisition of newspapers were controversial, as observers did not think one man should control the newspapers. In 1875, William Embry, rival editor of the ''Daily Appeal'', shot Anthony at the Leavenworth Opera House, seriously wounding him. His sister Susan B. Anthony came to visit him. After recovering from his injuries, in 1876 Anthony bought the ''Leavenworth Commercial'', gaining a monopoly on local newspapers. He continued to provoke strong emotions amid the heated late 19th-century politics. In 1887, Anthony was horsewhipped by a man. Many Leavenworth residents raised money by "nickel subscription" to pay the $100 fine for the man charged with horsewhipping. In 1891, the town's mayor was fined $30 for whipping Anthony.

Death and legacy

Anthony died at the age of 80 on November 12, 1904, in Leavenworth, Kansas. He is buried at Mount Muncie Cemetery in

Lansing Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, makin ...

, Kansas. Anthony married Anna Eliza "Annie" Osborn (1844–1930) from

Edgartown, Massachusetts Edgartown is a tourist destination on the island of Martha's Vineyard in Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States, for which it is the county seat. It was once a major whaling port, with historic houses that have been carefully preserved. To ...

on January 21, 1864. They had several children together including son, Daniel Read Anthony Jr. His son Daniel Read Anthony, Jr. went into the newspaper business with his father, editing the ''Leavenworth Times''. He was elected to the US Congress, serving more than two decades from 1907 to 1929. The Anthony family retained control of the '' Leavenworth Times'' for four generations until 1960; their last editor was Daniel R. Anthony IV. The Anthony family home in Adams, Massachusetts, was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 2007. It has been preserved and is operated as a museum dedicated to his sister

, a renowned leader in the women's rights and

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

movement.

References

External links

Kansas Press Association Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anthony, Daniel 1824 births 1904 deaths 19th-century American newspaper publishers (people) 19th-century American politicians American suffragists Kansas city council members Kansas Republicans Mayors of places in Kansas People from Adams, Massachusetts People from Leavenworth, Kansas People of Kansas in the American Civil War Politically motivated migrations Underground Railroad people