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Elijah Parish Lovejoy (1802-1837) was a Presbyterian minister in St. Louis, Missouri. He began publishing a religious newspaper, The St. Louis Observer, and advocating the abolition of slavery. He moved to Alton, Illinois, in July, 1836 after his press was attacked by a mob. He actively supported the Anti-Slavery Society of Illinois, which enraged many of the local citizens. Even after three presses had been destroyed, he continued to publish the Alton Observer. On November 7, 1837, a mob attacked the warehouse where a new press was being stored, and Lovejoy was killed. This account is dated November 8, and is written from a pro-abolition perspective, calling the attack nothing less than arson and murder. William Butler began publication of the Hampshire Gazette on September 6, 1786, in Northampton, Massachusetts. It has been in continuous publication since then and is now called the Daily Hampshire Gazette.

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