Mennons and

MacGillivrayScotland and the

North American Frontier

1790-1795

Melodee Beals

Sheffield Hallam University

@mhbeals

Reprints in the 18th Century

Minimal Copyright Law Across the Atlantic

Limited Correspondence Networks

Manual Transmission of News Content

Accepted, Appreciated, Encouraged

Anonymity... Structure of the Printing Trade

Brainy Working-Class Boys

Patronage and Formal Correspondence

Local Gossip and Personal Correspondence

The By-Line a post-1850 Convention

Limited, Even (Especially) by Public Figures

Latinised Pseudonyms For Commentary

News Largely Detached from Authorship

Assured, but Anonymous, Authority

...and Historiography

"Killer Quotations"

Conflation of Editor, Author, and Location

Limited Time and Resources

Local Archives and Digital Archives

Tracing Dissemination Manual Keyword Searching

Multiple Terms

Multiple Databases

Usual Suspects and Textual Clues

Plagiarism Detection Software

nGram and Edition Tracking

OriginalReprint

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

First Major Story was

the Peace with France

Weekly, 4-Page Publication

Printed on Used Press (£200)

Edited by Mennons and son, John

Sold interest in 1802,

1805 Respectively

Relied Heavily Upon London News

and Trongate Gossip

Alexander MacGillivray15 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

Effect of the Pathway

Very Limited Changes to Text

All Derived from London, 9 July 1790

Scottish Connection Unlikely

Glasgow Advertiser, 25 June 1792

London Lloyd Evening Post, 20 June 1792

Evening Mail , 22 June 1792

Glasgow Advertiser, 25 June 1792

Effect of the Pathway

How Important was MacGillivray?

First Mention of Him in Two Years

Rumours of His Death...

Larger Curation of American News Not Taken,

Despite Having Subscription to Evening Mail

The Harmar Campaign Northwest Territories, Autumn 1790

Plan By St. Clair and Harmar

Force Comprised of Regular

Officers, Calvary and Kentucky

Militia

Hardin's in Humiliating Defeat

Most Commanders Die

Harmar and Hardin Attempt to

Save Reputations

Heightens Anti-Indian and

Anti-Officer Sentiment in Kentucky

Glasgow Advertiser, 21 February 1791

London Star, 17 February 1791

Evening Mail ,14 February 1791

From 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

From Whence? Many Versions of this Story

Related News Immediately Lost, Offers No Clues

Look to Para-textual Material

A Stabbing in Honduras

Glasgow Advertiser, 21 February 1791

New-Hampshire Spy, 12 February 1790

New-Hampshire Spy, 1 January 1790

The Pathway

Both Appear in 'New York Press'

Not in Same Digitised Newspapers

Both Appear in New-Hampshire Spy

Not Exactly Same Language

Both Appear in Evening Mail

Identical Typography and Placement

Effects of the Pathway Advertiser Continues Reliance on London

London not Reliant on Major US Cities

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

Authenticity of Material

The Advertiser Rarely Makes Any

Changes to London Text

London Newspaper Rarely Make

Significant Change to American Texts

Lazy and Laudable?

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

The Wider Frontier Discourse

Representative

Taken from Ambiguous London Press

Largely 'American' Authorship

Outlier

Significant Named Figures

Attempts to 'Finish Stories'

Glasgow and Edinburgh Shared Stories

Conclusion

Tracing of Dissemination Pathways Allows

for a Better Understanding of Who was

Writing, Revising, Curating, and Omitting

Knowledge about Frontier Life

It Also Suggests Physical Pathways between

Major and Minor Cities beyond Postal and

Major Trade Routes

Mennons and

MacGillivrayScotland and the

North American Frontier

1790-1795

Melodee Beals

Sheffield Hallam University

@mhbeals