In ongoing research, I came across an intriguing piece in The Bellville Countryman (Bellville, Texas), Volume 5, Number 25, Edition 1, Tuesday, March 21, 1865 regarding Edward William Johnston (1799-1867):
The Louisville Journal* says: Gen. Joe Johnston is a brother of Edwin William Johnston, the "Il Segretario" that used to write remarkably brilliant letters for the Louisville Journal.
[Beeville editorial comments]: Edward William Johnston (not Edwin) is, if still living, an older brother of Gen. J. E. Johnston. He was, in 1854, editor of the New Orleans Crescent, and had been for many years previously connected with the National Intelligencer. Few men connected with the press of this country controlled a more vigorous pen, and we know of none superior to him in scholarly attainments except, perhaps, Prof. Dmitry.
"Founded on July 28th, 1860, the Bellville Countryman* was a semi-weekly newspaper published by W.S. Thayer and edited by John P. Osterhout, and it served the populations of Bellville and Austin, Texas." (Source: The Portal to Texas History at http://texashistory.unt.edu/explore/collections/b/ )
Assuming that the above is correct about Edward William Johnston being the editor of the New Orleans Crescent in 1854, it couldn't have been for long, because he relocated up the Mississippi River to St. Louis soon thereafter. Walt Whitman (1819-1892) worked on the Crescent staff in 1848 when it was new, for three months.
*no italics in original.
If you have any further information about the early history of the New Orleans Crescent, the Louisville Journal or the Bellville Countryman, please do leave a comment below or email me at efrance23@gmail.com
'Whitman, with his fourteen-year-old brother Jeff, left New York in February 1848 at the invitation of J.E. McClure to help establish the New Orleans Crescent. Traveling by rail, coach, and boat for the 2,400 mile trip, Whitman experienced the vastness of the American land and fixed in his mind the fullness and diversity of his beloved America.
ReplyDeleteArriving on the St. Cloud on 25 February, Whitman and Jeff took temporary quarters but later moved into the Fremont House in the American district across from the St. Charles Hotel and the offices of the Crescent. The city was at the height of the festival season; General Taylor's men, back from the Mexican War, swarmed the streets. Over the next few weeks, as he roamed the streets in early morning, during break times, and late at night, Whitman observed bustling wharves lined with steamboats, active courtrooms, lively theaters, the opulent opera, the candle-lit cathedral, gaming houses, fancy brothels, jaunty parades, and Saturday night balls. He absorbed the exotic French-Spanish flavor of the flowered courtyards. He enjoyed lounging in large barrooms and hotel saloons, drinking the select drinks they afforded. But most of all, he enjoyed strolling along the levees and marketplaces, where he listened to Indian and Negro hucksters proffer their wares and where he bought coffee and a biscuit for breakfast from a large Creole mulatto woman. These experiences and impressions formed the basis of feature articles in the Crescent and, later, "New Orleans in 1848" in November Boughs (1888).' http://www.whitmanarchive.org/criticism/current/encyclopedia/entry_35.html