The Barrere boys in the newspaper business, Part 9
Lead Summary
By
Steve Roush-
Ladies and gentlemen, when it comes to the Barrere boys in the newspaper business, we’ve reached the final Barrere, so to speak.
In our recent colloquies, we’ve examined how back in the mid-1880s, Col. George Washington Barrere (1831-1913), a Civil War veteran, bought a pair of Highland County newspapers and merged them to form the Hillsboro News-Herald.
Over the years, four of the colonel’s sons would work alongside him at the newspaper. The colonel’s eldest son, Bebee, was with him right at the start when the News-Herald was founded and the first newspapers were printed on April 7, 1886. In that inaugural edition, it was noted on Page 3 that, “The circulation of a newspaper determines the value of its columns as an advertising medium. The News-Herald has by far the largest circulation of
any paper in Highland County, which fact advertisers would do well to bear in mind. Our lists are open to their inspection.”
A good point, then and now.
The proprietors of the newspaper were the colonel, G.W. Barrere, Bebee Barrere, then just 23 years old, and E.R. Pierson, and the subscription rate was $1.50 a year in advance. A buck fifty doesn’t seem like a lot, but let’s try to see how much that’s worth these days. According to the website MeasuringWorth.com, in 2017, the relative value of $1.50 from 1886 ranges from $37.20 to $2,380, and that a “simple Purchasing Power Calculator” would say the relative value is $40.30. But I digress somewhat.
Bebee’s days at the newspaper turned out to be relatively few, as he sadly passed away May 28, 1889 at the age of 26.
Another son of the colonel, John Mills Barrere, born in 1875, also worked at the newspaper but also passed away at a young age, as he died in 1899 in his early 20s.
George Barrere Jr. (1872-1960) also spent time working with his father at the News-Herald, but ended up leaving the publication and went on to be a successful accountant and tax examiner.
A fourth son of the colonel, Elgar Barrere (1864-1930), spent most of his life living in Circleville, where he was a businessman and ran a hardware store, Barrere and Nickerson.
The colonel had a daughter, Mary Barrere, who was born in 1873 and died in 1956 at the age of 82. In her obituary, it said her home had been 301 South High Street for many years.
As it would turn out, the youngest of the Barrere boys would spend by far the longest time at the newspaper.
On Sept. 10, 1878, Granville Barrere was born, and would have been just 7 years old when the first issue of the News-Herald was printed in the spring of 1886.
It wouldn’t be much of a stretch to assume that Granville Barrere was named after Granville Barrere (1829-1889), who was born in New Market and served as a U.S. representative from Illinois. The elder Granville was an attorney and was admitted to the bar in 1853.
And lest we forget another Barrere who was an attorney and congressman, Nelson Barrere (1808-1883), who was the uncle of Granville the elder and was a U.S. representative from Ohio after serving as representative in the Ohio Statehouse. After his time in politics, Nelson, the son of Highland County pioneer George Washington Barrere (1770-1838), who was also a state representative in the early 1800s, and brother of the colonel’s father, Civil War veteran John Mills Barrere (1800-1880), Nelson resumed his practice of law until his death at age 75 in Hillsboro.
Turns out, it appeared the younger Granville would also become an attorney. He attended school in Hillsboro and after studying at Ohio State University and Miami University in Oxford, went to a New York law school.
Many years later, it was written in the Press Gazette that, “At that time, he was bent on practicing law but when his father, who owned the News-Herald before him, died, Granville came back to run the paper in 1908.”
If you’ve been following this series, you would know that was fake news, so to speak.
The colonel was very much alive in the year of our Lord 1908, passing away Dec. 21, 1913. Back in Part 6 of this series, it was written in the paper the colonel founded, “From that time (1886) until his death, he was one of the owners of this paper and until a few years ago was active in its management and even until the last kept in touch with its affairs and aided with his advice and counsel.”
Probably what the paper should have said was that the colonel was getting older (he would have been about 77 in 1908) and his son, Granville (who would have been about 29 or 30 at the time) took over the family business.
Anyway, let’s pause for now, and we’ll continue next week with more on the Barrere boys.
Steve Roush is a vice president of an international media company, is vice chairman of the Highland County Historical Society Board of Trustees and is a columnist and contributing writer for The Highland County Press. He can be reached by email at roush_steve@msn.com.
In our recent colloquies, we’ve examined how back in the mid-1880s, Col. George Washington Barrere (1831-1913), a Civil War veteran, bought a pair of Highland County newspapers and merged them to form the Hillsboro News-Herald.
Over the years, four of the colonel’s sons would work alongside him at the newspaper. The colonel’s eldest son, Bebee, was with him right at the start when the News-Herald was founded and the first newspapers were printed on April 7, 1886. In that inaugural edition, it was noted on Page 3 that, “The circulation of a newspaper determines the value of its columns as an advertising medium. The News-Herald has by far the largest circulation of
any paper in Highland County, which fact advertisers would do well to bear in mind. Our lists are open to their inspection.”
A good point, then and now.
The proprietors of the newspaper were the colonel, G.W. Barrere, Bebee Barrere, then just 23 years old, and E.R. Pierson, and the subscription rate was $1.50 a year in advance. A buck fifty doesn’t seem like a lot, but let’s try to see how much that’s worth these days. According to the website MeasuringWorth.com, in 2017, the relative value of $1.50 from 1886 ranges from $37.20 to $2,380, and that a “simple Purchasing Power Calculator” would say the relative value is $40.30. But I digress somewhat.
Bebee’s days at the newspaper turned out to be relatively few, as he sadly passed away May 28, 1889 at the age of 26.
Another son of the colonel, John Mills Barrere, born in 1875, also worked at the newspaper but also passed away at a young age, as he died in 1899 in his early 20s.
George Barrere Jr. (1872-1960) also spent time working with his father at the News-Herald, but ended up leaving the publication and went on to be a successful accountant and tax examiner.
A fourth son of the colonel, Elgar Barrere (1864-1930), spent most of his life living in Circleville, where he was a businessman and ran a hardware store, Barrere and Nickerson.
The colonel had a daughter, Mary Barrere, who was born in 1873 and died in 1956 at the age of 82. In her obituary, it said her home had been 301 South High Street for many years.
As it would turn out, the youngest of the Barrere boys would spend by far the longest time at the newspaper.
On Sept. 10, 1878, Granville Barrere was born, and would have been just 7 years old when the first issue of the News-Herald was printed in the spring of 1886.
It wouldn’t be much of a stretch to assume that Granville Barrere was named after Granville Barrere (1829-1889), who was born in New Market and served as a U.S. representative from Illinois. The elder Granville was an attorney and was admitted to the bar in 1853.
And lest we forget another Barrere who was an attorney and congressman, Nelson Barrere (1808-1883), who was the uncle of Granville the elder and was a U.S. representative from Ohio after serving as representative in the Ohio Statehouse. After his time in politics, Nelson, the son of Highland County pioneer George Washington Barrere (1770-1838), who was also a state representative in the early 1800s, and brother of the colonel’s father, Civil War veteran John Mills Barrere (1800-1880), Nelson resumed his practice of law until his death at age 75 in Hillsboro.
Turns out, it appeared the younger Granville would also become an attorney. He attended school in Hillsboro and after studying at Ohio State University and Miami University in Oxford, went to a New York law school.
Many years later, it was written in the Press Gazette that, “At that time, he was bent on practicing law but when his father, who owned the News-Herald before him, died, Granville came back to run the paper in 1908.”
If you’ve been following this series, you would know that was fake news, so to speak.
The colonel was very much alive in the year of our Lord 1908, passing away Dec. 21, 1913. Back in Part 6 of this series, it was written in the paper the colonel founded, “From that time (1886) until his death, he was one of the owners of this paper and until a few years ago was active in its management and even until the last kept in touch with its affairs and aided with his advice and counsel.”
Probably what the paper should have said was that the colonel was getting older (he would have been about 77 in 1908) and his son, Granville (who would have been about 29 or 30 at the time) took over the family business.
Anyway, let’s pause for now, and we’ll continue next week with more on the Barrere boys.
Steve Roush is a vice president of an international media company, is vice chairman of the Highland County Historical Society Board of Trustees and is a columnist and contributing writer for The Highland County Press. He can be reached by email at roush_steve@msn.com.