Georgia Historic Newspapers

Reverend P. H. Brewster and J. J. A. Sharp established the Cherokee Georgian in Canton, Georgia, with its inaugural issue on August 4, 1875. The weekly newspaper circulated every Wednesday at a subscription cost of $1.50 per year, and Brewster managed its editorial department. Brewster formerly owned the Cartersville Sentinel, which was the center of brief controversy when he had a public dispute with the editor of the larger Cartersville Semi-Weekly Express. According to a letter Brewster wrote to the Cartersville Free Press, published in its September 23, 1880 issue, his Sentinel’s ‘press was stolen away.’ Brewster was an independent Democrat and strong supporter of Dr. William Felton, and he felt betrayed when Cartersville citizens did not patronize his newspaper after Felton’s victory in the seventh district. Unlike the Sentinel, the Cherokee Georgian had no competition in Canton, Georgia. Brewster’s letter to the Free Press, however, tells a tale of continued financial struggle. He hoped Dr. Felton would acknowledge the support the Georgian expressed for the independent Democratic cause, but this recognition never manifested. Brewster & Sharp published the Georgian for approximately four years before Brewster ceased the paper’s operations, and moved to Alabama in 1879. The two failed newspaper ventures appeared to have left Brewster melancholic, as he wrote to the Free Press: ‘I shall endeavor so to pass the remainder of my days as to escape as much as possible both the censure and applause of the world; for its applause will amount to but little when the curtain falls and the farce is over.’

Provided by: Digital Library of Georgia