OSBORN, John Willson
John Willson Osborn
Source: Weik's History Of Putnam County, Indiana
Illustrated 1910: B. F. Bowen & Company, Publishers Indianapolis, Indiana
Author: Jesse W. Weik, P. 439
The first half of the nineteenth century was characterized by the emigration of the sterling element which made the great commonwealth of Indiana what it is. These pioneers were sturdy, heroic, upright, sincere folks, such as constitute the intrinsic strength of a state and give solidity to its institutions. It is hardly possible that in the future another such period can occur, or, indeed, any period in which such a solid phalanx of strong-minded, determined men and self-sacrificing women will take possession of a new country, develop its resources and lay broad and deep the foundation of an advanced and permanent state of civilization. Too careful or too frequent reference cannot be made in the pages of history concerning those who have thus figured as founders and builders of a commonwealth, and equal credit is also due to the sturdy sons and daughters who, born and reared among the stirring experiences of those heroic times, nobly assumed the burdens borne by their predecessors and with patience and fortitude such as the world has seldom seen excelled, carried on the good work until what was under so many difficulties begun, was in due course of time most earnestly and triumphantly completed. Among the Indiana pioneers whose depth of character, public-spirit, unswerving devotion to right principle, and indefatigable energy enabled them to play their parts in the early development of Indiana, was John Willson Osborn, who, although long since a pilgrim to that "undiscovered bourne from which no traveler ever returned," set in motion such ameliorating forces while he sojourned on earth for more than three score years and ten, that his influence will not wholly be dissipated, but will continue to bless the generations that follow him "unto the perfect day. " Therefore this noted pioneer Hoosier editor is eminently deserving of a conspicuous place in the history of this state, as well as worthy of emulation by the youth of the present day whose ambitions are to serve mankind and whose destinies are yet matters for future years to determine. Mr. Osborn was born at St. Johns, New Brunswick, February 7, 1794. He was the second son of Capt. Samuel Osborn, a gallant and accomplished officer in the British navy. His maternal grandfather, Col. John Willson, and his eldest brother, Capt. William Osborn, were also officers in the service of his majesty the king of England. The former was an intimate friend of General Brock, acted as commissary general, and filled many places of trust. It was for him that the immediate subject of this sketch was named. William Osborn, the eldest son of Capt. Samuel Osborn. Jr., was promoted to a captaincy when very young for bravery during several sharp engagements at sea. Thus by the divine right of inheritance and early associations, John W. Osborn was fitted for the struggles and privations of pioneer life which need a brave heart and an untiring devotion, progressive and aggressive, to the principles of right. His mother's maiden name was Alice Willson, the daughter of John and Rebecca (Thixton) Willson. She was born on Staten Island, and she was educated in New York, where the family always spent a part of each year, her father being an officer in the British army, loya1 to his king. They finally left the United States and sought a new home in Canada, sometimes living at Halifax, Quebec, Montreal, Canancoqua, and finally settling down at Toronto, buying land and laying, as they supposed, a permanent foundation for a home. Colonel Willson sent to Scotland and brought a hundred families from that country, settling them upon his lands in Canada, and, believing in the magic power of the press to enlighten and civilize, he sent to England for a printing press, type and men and started a paper in the then almost wilderness of the west. Associated with him in the publication of The Upper Canada Guardian and Freeman's Journal was Col. Joseph Wilcox, who ws a member of the provincial Parliament, an ardent politician, an educated Irish gentleman and a Republican. This paper was strongly devoted to the cause of liberty and free government, and it was as an apprentice in this office that young John W. Osborn learned the printer's art, this experience giving direction to the whole current of his after life, for he immediately imbibed the principles he was aiding to disseminate, and when the war of 1812 ensued he followed his leader in espousing the American cause, leaving his country and kindred on August 12, 1812, and cast his lot with the people of the United States. His father, Captain Osborn, had died when his son was yet a lad, and the Captain's associate in the journalistic field, Colonel Wilcox, joined the army of the Republic and was made a colonel in the American army, and was killed while leading his men in the sortie up Lake Erie. Mr. Osborn, upon leaving the service, resumed his professional labors. A book publisher of Albany, New York, induced him to go to Cortlandville, that state, where he took charge of and edited the Cortland Republican, a paper still published there. This paper, which was an ardent supporter of the United States government, he continued to publish until 1816. In the year succeeding the admission of Indiana to the Union as a state, the eyes of eastern people being attracted to the wonderfully developing West, Mr. Osborn, on April 18, 1817, in company with Lucius H. Scott and others, sailed from Ogdensburg, New York, and arrived at Vincennes on June 11th following, where he became associated with Elihu Stout, in publishing Indiana's first newspaper, The Western Sun. In July of that year he visited the site of Terre Haute, on which he found one log house. Being strongly attracted by the native beauty of the spot, he finally returned there in 1823 and established the Western Register, the first newspaper published at the now flourishing city of Terre Haute. Though twenty-two signed a protest against its publication, it was continued until 1832, the latter part of the time under the editorship of his son-in-law, Hon. S. E. Gookins. Mr. Osborn found slave trade flourishing at Vincennes and he at once lifted a voice against it, finally, in co-operation with others, he carried the question to the supreme court of the state and obtained a decision which set at rest forever the question of slavery in Indiana. The first issue of the Register at Terre Haute created something of a sensation in the then wilderness, and the inhabitants came from all parts of the country to view the great wonder. It was published through many difficulties, it being necessary to bring the stock of paper used principally from Madison on pack horses, through the primitive woods. His paper was delivered by private carriers up and down the Wabash, as the nearest post offices were St. Louis on the west, Vincennes on the south and there was little civilization to the north. During that year. while he was riding up the Wabash toward Ft. Dearborn, he came to the Tippecanoe battleground, where he discovered that the Indians had unearthed the soldiers buried there and, after stripping and scalping them, left their bones to bleach in the sun and wind. Mr. Osborn returned to Terre Haute and induced Capt. Nathaniel Huntington to take his company of cavalry to the spot and reinter the bones with military honors. Having occasion to pass through Greencastle, Putnam county, in 1834, Mr. Osborn was much impressed with the high rolling country, delightful location from a standpoint of health, and natural beauty, and soon decided to locate there, having sold his Terre Haute paper, and he accordingly began the publication of the first newspaper in Greencastle, a few of the first issues being entitled The Hoosier, but this was soon changed to the Western Plough Boy, which was the first truly agricultural paper published in the state. Becoming convinced of the evils of strong drink, he published a sort of leaflet called the Temperance Advocate, and sent it without cost as a supplement, thus giving to Indiana her first temperance paper. The country was new, times were hard and much of his pay was in produce- venison, corn, wood and many things were among the rewards for his labors, but his motto was "Know no failure," and, with characteristic energy, he succeeded at whatever he undertook. Being not only interested in the furtherance of the temperance movement and the development of the new country, but also in educational affairs, his labors in Greencastle, in a very large measure, resulted in the establishment and location of Asbury (now DePauw) University, the leading literary institution in the state, of the Methodist denomination, of which he was an active and zealous member. His name is on the record as one of the first trustees and original incorporators. In 1836 Mr. Osborn attended a state editorial convention at Indianapolis, where he succeeded in obtaining a unanimous vote in favor of abolishing "treating" at elections, and he was in 1841 elected state printer, which led him to sell the Plough Bay and its entire equipment. In the meantime, however (1838), he moved to Indianapolis and published the Indiana Farmer and Stock Register, also continued the publication of his temperance paper. At the close of his term of office he retired from active newspaper business, but was a frequent contributor to various local journals during most of his after life. When the war between the states began, he was too old to take the field, but, being a stanch supporter of the national Union, he could not be idle during such stirring times, and he went to Sullivan county, the very hot-bed of Democracy, and there commenced the publication of a war campaign paper, The Stars and Stripes, and he rendered valuable service to the cause, until failing health compelled him to abandon the enterprise. He returned to his home in Greencastle, where, after a long, painful illness, which he bore with Christian fortitude, he passed to his rest on November 12, 1866. Mr. Osborn was a worthy member of the Masonic order, and during the last thirty-five years of his life he was a most earnest Christian. Zealous in every good cause, he promoted zeal and perseverance in others. Mr. Osborn's life was one of increasing activity, and of his work John B. Dillon, one of Indiana's first historians, justly says: "He was devoted to labors for the uplifting of society, was a pioneer in every movement for education, humanity and religion, and was always in the van of civilization and progress, leading others to noble and heroic efforts, and opening the way where masses of his fellow men have followed. He was genial and generous to a fault. " How wonderful and how grand the life and labors of this noble, yet modest man. For a full half century constantly battling, and that often in the face of bitter and violent opposition, for justice, for liberty, for the good of the farmer and stock raiser, for every moral and social reform, for temperance, for everything that tended to ameliorate the conditions of the human race. Mr. Osborn married, in Homer, Cortland county, New York, on March 31, 1814, Ruby W. Bishop, a daughter of Thomas Lee and Ruby (Webb) Bishop. Mrs. Osborn was of distinguished colonial and Revolutionary ancestry, being a direct descendant of the renowned Governor William Bradford, of Plymouth; also of the Adamses, Lee, Palmer, Hobart, Allen, Ripley, and others of the most notable families of New England. Through Mrs Osborn her descendants are many times eligible to most of the patriotic societies of the United States. She was a close student and retained, almost to the hour of her death, a keen interest in affairs which pertained to public welfare. It is said that the editorials in her husband's papers were always submitted to her before publication and that she was often the proofreader for the entire paper. A group of young men, who afterwards became well known in the state, were gathered in the office of the Western Register. Mrs. Osborn directed their course of study, and to her is given the credit of first discovering the poetical talent of Mr. Osborn's nephew, George W. Cutter, author of "E Pluribus Unum," "Song of Steam" and "Buena Vista. " She constantlv encouraged these young men in all worthy effort and urged them to lofty aspirations, and their expressions of appreciation were a great solace to her in her declining years. Mrs. Osborn died in Indianapolis on April 15, 1880, and is buried beside her husband in Forest Hill cemetery, in Greencastle, Indiana. Seven children were born to John Willson and Ruby (Bishop) Osborn, of which number three died in infancy. The four who lived to maturity were: Mary Caroline, who became the wife of Judge Samuel B. Gookins, of Terre Haute, died in Columbus, Georgia, August 26, 1889, and is buried in Woodlawn cemetery, Terre Haute; Bishop Webb, born in Terre Haute, died in Indianapolis on April 9, 1891, and is buried in Forest Hill cemetery, Greencastle; Hannah M. became the wife of Solomon Claypool and resides in Indianapolis; Ruby Alice, who was the wife of Hon. L. P. Chapin, long an honored citizen of Greencastle, and who is the subject of a sketch found elsewhere in this work, died in Indianapolis on November 6, 1907, and is buried in Forest Hill cemetery, Greencastle.