IMAGINING COMMUNITIES: THE GLASGOW ADVERTISER AND THE KENTUCKY FRONTIER, 1790-1795

Melodee BealsLoughborough University

ORCID: 0000-0002-2907-3313@mhbeals

JOHN MENNONS• Briefly Worked for Edinburgh Courant

• Married into a Respectable Glaswegian Family

• Printer and Newspaper Editor in Glasgow

• Sold Newspaper and Purchased Coal Field• (Obstinately) Retained Business Records

• Coal Business Failed• Returned to Newspaper Printing

THE GLASGOW ADVERTISER

• Founded 27 January 1783 • Weekly, 4-Page Publication• Printed on Used Press (£200)

• Edited by Mennons and son, John• Sold interests in 1802,

1805 Respectively

• Relied Heavily Upon London News and Trongate Gossip

Glasgow Advertiser, 7 December 1789

Glasgow Advertiser, 18 December 1789

ALEXANDER MACGILLIVRAY

15 December 1750 – 17 February 1793

• Son of Trader Lachlan MacGillivray• Raised by Mother, Franco-Creek of High

Birth• Education in Charleston and Augusta • Apprenticed as a Merchant in Savannah

• Principal Chief of Upper Creek 1782-1793• Plantation Owner with Slaves• Diplomat (1790, Treaty of New York)• Repudiated Treaty with US in 1792• Received Pensions from US and Spain

Glasgow Advertiser, 12 July 1790

Public Advertiser, 15 July 1790

Edinburgh Advertiser, 20 July 1790

Gentleman's Magazine And Historical Chronicle, July 1790

A PURPOSEFUL PATHWAY

• Very Limited Changes to Text

• All Derived from London, 9 July 1790

• Scottish Connection Unlikely

But…

Glasgow Advertiser, 22 February, 17 May and 21 June 1790

A PURPOSEFUL PATHWAY

• A Combination of Sources• A Prominent Percentage• An Interest Piqued?

Dated Printed Source26 Dec 22 Feb Kingston20 Feb 17 May London5 May 21 June Kingston9 May 12 July London

Glasgow Advertiser, 25 June 1792

London Lloyd Evening Post, 20 June 1792

Evening Mail , 22 June 1792

Glasgow Advertiser, 25 June 1792

A PURPOSEFUL PATHWAY?

How Important was MacGillivray?

• Larger Curation of US News Not Always Taken

• 1792 was First Mention of Him in Two Years

• Rumours of His Death...

Rising Tensions in Little Turtle Wars (1785-1795)

THE HARMAR CAMPAIGN

• Northwest Territories, Autumn 1790

• Force Comprised of Regular Officers, Calvary and Kentucky Militia

• Hardin's in Humiliating Defeat

• Heightens Anti-Indian and Anti-Officer Sentiment in Kentucky

Glasgow Advertiser, 12 July 1790

Glasgow Advertiser, 21 February 1791

London Star, 17 February 1791

Evening Mail, 14 February 1791

WHENCE?• Look for Minor Changes at Start and End:

• "dated November 5, 6, and 7" v. "dated Nov. 7"

• "expectation" v. "impatience"

• "whole truth of the matter" v. "further particulars“

Virginia Gazette and Alexandria Advertiser, 9 December 1790

WHENCE?• Many Versions of this Story in the Atlantic

• Textual Integrity Extremely High

• Look to Para-textual Material

A Stabbing in Honduras

WHENCE

New York Daily Advertiser, 12 January 1791

New York Daily Advertiser, 14 December 1790

BASED ON CLOSE READING

Evening Mail14 December 1791

Jamaican Paper27 November 1790

London Star17 December 1791

Virginia Gazette1 December 1790

Glasgow Advertiser

21 December 1791

New York Paper December / January 1791

Bahama GazetteDecember / January

1791

EFFECTS OF THE PATHWAY

• Advertiser Continues Reliance on London

• London supported by multiple points of entry

• London Language Shapes Glasgow Version

Yet...

Glasgow Advertiser, 18 July 1791

Norwich Packet, 14 January 1791

Gentleman's Magazine And Historical Chronicle, 1 July 1791

PRE-CURATION OF CONTENT

• News From Many Different Sources Compiled at Every Node

• Neither Pages nor Sections Taken Whole

• Smaller Sub-Sets Taken or Re-curated

AUTHENTICITY OF MATERIAL

• The Advertiser Rarely Makes Any Changes

• London Newspaper Rarely Make Significant Changes

• Lazy and Laudable?

Written 1st Printed GA Printed Delay7 Nov 12 Jan 21 Feb 1 ¼

Months24 Nov 14 Jan 18 July 5 Months

THE WIDER FRONTIER DISCOURSE

• Representative• Taken from Ambiguous London Press• Largely 'American' Authorship

• Outlier• Significant Named Figures• Attempts to 'Finish Stories'

1789 1790 1791 1792 1793 17940

50

100

150

200

250

Ratio of US Stories Related to Native Americans

Non-Native American Stories Native American Stories

CONCLUSIONTracing of Dissemination Pathways Allows for a Better Understanding of Who was Writing, Revising, Curating,

and Omitting Knowledge about Frontier Life

Discussion of Conflict with Native Americans are Disproportionately Represented in the Glasgow Advertiser’s American News from 1789-1795

Mennons Taking Particular Interest in the Frontier Warfare in Kentucky

and Ohio River Valley with Kentucky Militia