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Show Old Press Once Used Against the Mormons Milwaukee Sentinel. John A. Ogden has given the Antigo "Republican an interesting history of what was known as "thp Mormon press." His sketch hero follows: "It was used in 1S44 to.print a papor antagonistic an-tagonistic to Joseph Smith at Nauvoo. Smith and his followers wrecked the printing offico and threw the press into tho Mississippi river. Several yoars afterward it was gotten out and Red-field Red-field Brothers, printers, got possession of it and took it to Waupaca, Wis., in the '503 and there printed on it the Waupaca Spirit. It was sold with the other material of their printing office to Leslie J. Perry about 1SC4 or 1S65. He did not use it. but put it in a junk pile. In 1S6S or 1SI59, Judgo C. S, Ogden Og-den bought out Mr. Perry and got possession pos-session of tho press. About this time pno O. E. Drcutzer, a lawyer of Wau paca. later of Sturgeon Bay. almost completed negotiations with Brigham Young, then at the head of the Mormon church, for the press to bo placed in their historical museum. The deal fell through on account of disagreement as to price. Iu 1S70, Judge Ogden, my father, gave the press to mo with some other old discarded printing material that had been used in the Waupaca Republican office, which was the name of the Waupaca paper at that time, and after making numerous repairs on tho old press, I started the Times at New London. Wis., and printed it with the "Mormon press." That same year I sold it to E. E. Gordon, who continued con-tinued to publish the Times. He afterward after-ward traded it to Benton & Waldo, type founders, Milwaukee, toward a moro modern press. They sold it to a publisher pub-lisher of a papor at Neillsville, Clark county. From these owners George Ratcllffe secured it and after publishing a paper at Ogdensburg and Chntonvillcj brought it to Antigo. He disposed ot it to Barnhart Brothers & Spindler of Chicago in 1SS4. They turned it over to the Illinois Historical sociot.y, whero it' remains in peaceful repose, on which is data similar to this furnished- by your humble servant." |