Pioneer history of Ingham County, compiled and arranged by Mrs. Franc L. Adams, secretary of the Ingham County pioneer and historical society.

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PIONEER HISTORY OF INGHAM COUNTY

packed printing materials for publishing a paper, and started the
same for Eaton county in charge of a competent printer. They
found the field already occupied by a party from Marshall. Then
'twas right about face. They made up from the columns of the
Patriot forms for a newspaper, christened it the 'Ingham Democrat,' then took these forms to Leslie to the office of Hon. Henry
Fiske, then Probate Judge of this county and former president of
the wild-cat bank at Kensington, and there with a brush printed
off a few copies of the Democrat. Judge Fiske made affidavit
that the paper was printed in Ingham county, and with that
affidavit and a copy of the paper they posted off to Detroit and
placed them in the hands of the Auditor General, and that officer
on the first day of April designated the Ingham Democrat to do
the tax advertising for that year.
"Almost the first intimation that the people of Mason had that
another paper was to be published in the county was a rumor
that a jaded span of horses, with a wagon freighted with printing
materials, was coming through the mud and mire on the old
Columbia road. After being dragged through the swamps and
sloughs of Eaton county and part of those of Ingham in search of
a tax list, the materials found a resting place in the village of
Mason.
"For several weeks no one appeared to take charge of the
Ingham Democrat. Some time in May Mr. Child, of the Herald,
entered into articles of agreement with Storey and Cheney to
publish the Democrat in their name until the conclusion of the
advertising and then to purchase the establishment. About onethird of the purchase price was paid down. Whatever amount
was realized from publishing the list was to be placed to the credit
of Mr. Child. After the list was placed in form ready for publication, Storey and Cheney replevied and removed the materials.
Again appeared the obnoxious youth before referred to as employed by another Jackson firm to print their paper in Mason,
and who had suddenly disappeared from the village. These proceedings caused a great deal of ill feeling and excitement. But a
few days passed, when one night most of the materials were removed from the Democrat office, no one knew whither. After a
series of years some of them were found secreted in several places