“In the News” is the topic for Week 30 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge. My 3rd great-grandfather, Charles Henry Turner, had a life-long relationship with the news. Not only was he frequently mentioned in the newspaper, but in 1895 at the age of 88 years old, he had the distinction of being the oldest compositor in the state of Maine -- likely one of the oldest in the country.
At age of 14 or 15, Charles left the home of his aunt and uncle in Augusta, Maine, and entered an apprenticeship as a compositor at the Boston Commercial Gazette, where the famous lawyer and statesman Daniel Webster was the leading political contributor at the time. The job of a compositor or a printer was to set the type. Working rapidly from right to left, their nimble fingers plucked backwards characters from divided trays called cases and set them in forms which would later be inked and pressed. Charles was likely a proficient reader and writer before beginning his apprenticeship and developed an aptitude for reading backwards during his training. It was a challenging career. Compositors worked long hours in poor lighting, performing a job that required speed, precision, and manual dexterity. In addition to setting the type, compositors were also expected to proofread the text as they did so, picking up on spelling and punctuation errors the editor missed. Because of the specialized skillset and lengthy apprenticeship, it was considered the highest-skilled position in the printing industry, and one that paid quite well.
In the newspaper article, “An Aged ‘Typo’: Charles H. Turner of Mt. Vernon Chats with a Journal Man,” which appeared in the September 25, 1895 edition of the Kennebec Journal, Charles provided an interesting first-hand account of life as an apprentice:
When I was an apprentice I was obliged to serve seven years before the trade was learned, ten hours every day, and part of the time nights and Sundays. For three years or till I was 18, I received $30 a year, my board and six pairs of shoes. From the time I was 18 until my trade was learned, $50 a year was my pay. I then received $8 a week on an average.
In 1828 when his apprenticeship was finished, Charles purchased a newspaper in New Hampshire and then established a Republican paper, the Courier, in Northampton, Massachusetts. When competition from a rival newspaper became too fierce, he moved to New York City where newspaper work was plentiful. Within two days, he secured a position at the recently formed Herald. Charles said, “The establishment was in a cellar and the compositors did their work by the light of tallow candles.” Imagine how taxing that was on the eyes! Shortly after, the self-proclaimed “staunch Republican” joined a Democratic daily paper, the Express, initially as a sub before gaining a permanent position. He held that position until the fall of 1829 when he was offered a job in New Orleans.
Then I received an offer of $25 a week to take charge of a printing office in New Orleans. I stayed there for eleven years, or until 1840, when a fierce conflagration swept nearly the whole business portion of New Orleans, including the establishment where I was employed.
Little is known about Charles’ eleven years in New Orleans, though he is mentioned in October of 1838 in a paper called True American. Someone called him out for being a “swindler” and encouraged other newspapers not to hire him. It makes me wonder if he really left New Orleans in 1840 because the printing office burned down, or if he left or was let go of his position in 1838 due to a work dispute. If so, perhaps being called out in the newspaper tarnished his reputation. That may have prompted his 1840 move back to New England.
During his continued chat with the Kennebec Journal, he outlined the next several years of his career. His account is peppered with historical events:
I then came back to Boston, which was during the presidential campaign of William Henry Harrison. I tell you, it was hot times those days. In 1840 I went to work as a compositor on the Boston Daily Mail, a new Republican penny paper, remaining five years.
In the year 1845, when the Bunker Hill Monument was completed, I, with five others established the Boston Daily Sun, my share of which I disposed of a year after, having lost considerable money on my investment.
Charles spoke about his move back to Maine in two different articles. In an 1894 article, the reporter wrote that he returned and worked as a compositor at a newspaper called the New Age for 16 years. In the 1895 article previously quoted, Charles made it sound as though he worked as a compositor in a state office. Perhaps he did both or the printing house used for the state printing was the same printing house used for the New Age.
It was in the year 1846 that I came to Augusta, my old home, where I was born, where my wife lived, and a place which had many tender memories for me. At that time the Democrats were in control of the Legislature and William T. Thompson was doing the State printing. In the fall I applied to him for a position and he told me he would grant my request upon the assembling of the Legislature, which he did. Notwithstanding the fact that I was the staunchest of staunch Republicans, I was in the employ of Mr. Thompson for 16 consecutive years.
In the year 1862, James G. Blaine and John L. Stevens, who were connected with the Kennebec Journal, offered me a job on the paper at a greatly advanced price per week than I was receiving which was accepted by me. I worked on the Journal five years and in 1867 retired from a compositor to private life, being at that time 67 years of age.
Charles’ attitude towards women in the workplace was refreshingly progressive for a man living in the 1800s. When he returned to work in Augusta, he was asked to sign a petition banning women from working as compositors. In this excerpt from his 1894 Kennebec Journal interview, he shared his experience working with male and female coworkers:
Mr. Turner’s mind is clear and active in spite of his years, and he has a wonderful memory for dates and events. He recalls the fact with some pride that when the question of employing ladies as compositors in the city of Augusta was agitated, and he was asked by a brother printer to sign a petition against their employment in that capacity, he refused to do so, stoutly ascertaining that he could see no reason why, if ladies could do the work as well as men they should not be permitted the privilege. He thought it was not fair play to attempt to exclude them from any occupation, whose labors they were qualified to perform.
“I regret to say,” remarked Mr. Turner, “that in those days printers were, to a large degree, addicted to intemperate habits. They were paid off on Saturday nights, and as a result, many of them frequently failed to put in an appearance upon Monday mornings. The employment of ladies has been a powerful influence in changing this old state of affairs, and in elevating their morals. I certainly believe it has been a vast benefit, not only to the publishing business, but to all employed in its work.”
Even in his late 80s, Charles was a forward-thinker. He lived through the Industrial Revolution and witnessed many changes to the printing industry, from the use of flat-bed presses to rotary presses. He was of the opinion that new technology would eventually replace compositors, making their jobs obsolete, just as the printing press did to the once coveted jobs of scribes. When asked by the reporter if he would encourage young people to become printers, Charles responded:
“No sir, I wouldn’t advise a young man to go into the printing business, as the machinery which is being constantly invented will do away partially, and in time altogether with printers.”
Charles enjoyed his 29-year retirement on his Mount Vernon farm. He was mentioned in the news from time to time for crop yields or praised for improving his breeding stock by importing prize-winning livestock from other states. Though he was proud of his farm, years after his retirement he still self-identified as a printer. Nearly every time he made the paper, his name was followed by “compositor” or “printer.” In fact, his short obituary didn’t mention Lucy, his wife of over 50 years, his son, or his two grandsons, but largely focused on his career.
It's fortunate that when Charles stopped by the Kennebec Journal on his way to visit his friend and chatted with a reporter, he wasn’t brushed off. The reporter didn’t dismiss him as a doddering, bored old man. Instead, he listened to Charles, found his stories intriguing, and chose to print them. There are really two stories intertwined in these articles. The most obvious is Charles’ first-hand account of his career. He outlined his entire work history – where he worked, when he worked there, even at times how much money he made – and provided interesting inside details about his apprenticeship contract. Then there’s another story about all the history one elderly man witnessed during his life. Railroads were built across the country. He was there when the cornerstone of the Bunker Hill Monument was laid and lived through the Civil War. During his lifetime, slavery was abolished, and women were admitted to colleges. Important court cases were tried like the Amistad case and Dred Scott. 28 states joined the union, including Maine. Charles voted in every presidential election from 1828 when he cast his first vote for John Quincy Adams to 1892 when he voted for Benjamin Harrison. He had an incredible career recording everything from grand historical events to mundane gossip. How fitting that in his twilight years, the story of an old compositor’s life was preserved in print.
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