Michael Hagan
| Michael Hagan | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1831 |
| Died | 1896-11-02 Okanagan Mission (Kelowna), British Columbia |
| Occupation | Journalist, publisher, newspaper editor, school principal, farmer |
Michael Hagan (c. 1831 – 2 November 1896) was an Irish-born journalist and publisher who founded the Thunder Bay Sentinel at Prince Arthur's Landing in 1875, and later established the Inland Sentinel, one of British Columbia's longest-running newspapers.
Early life
Hagan was of Irish origin and was apparently well educated. Before arriving in northwestern Ontario he spent time in the oilfields of Pennsylvania and Ontario, and reportedly worked with the Irish-Canadian journalist Thomas D'Arcy McGee.[1]
Career
Thunder Bay
In July 1875, Hagan established the Thunder Bay Sentinel at Prince Arthur's Landing (present-day Thunder Bay), during the period of Canadian Pacific Railway construction through the region. He edited the paper for approximately three years before moving west to Manitoba.[1]
British Columbia newspapers
By 1879 Hagan had settled in British Columbia. He founded a newspaper at Emory Bar in the Fraser Canyon and published the first issue of the Inland Sentinel on 29 May 1880.[1] In June 1881 he acquired a French printing press that had previously been used by Bishop Modeste Demers in Victoria and Barkerville.[1]
When Emory Bar declined as a settlement, the Sentinel relocated to Yale in October 1880. Hagan was known as a liberal-minded and outspoken journalist who defended oppressed groups, including Indigenous peoples and Chinese railway workers during CPR construction. A devout Roman Catholic and abstainer from alcohol, he earned a reputation for integrity.[1]
In August 1881 Hagan reported that he was heading the Yale Force Pump Placer Mining Company.[2] In 1882 he toured the British Columbia interior and visited Kamloops. The Inland Sentinel moved to Kamloops and published its first issue there on 31 July 1884.[1] Throughout this period Hagan continued to criticize the CPR and its contractor Andrew Onderdonk, while promoting Kamloops as what he called the "inland capital."
By 1886, advancing years and impaired sight led Hagan to sell the Sentinel to Hugh McCutcheon.[1] Under various owners the paper persisted for 107 years, until December 1987.
Kamloops Indian Industrial School
In 1889 the MP John Andrew Mara recommended Hagan as superintendent of the new Indian industrial school at Kamloops, citing his reputation for honesty, managerial skill, and farming experience.[1] The appointment of a layman proved controversial; the Sisters of St. Anne withdrew from the school in July 1891. The government transferred administration to the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, and Hagan resigned in June 1892.[1]
Later years
After leaving the school Hagan returned to his 640-acre farm at Okanagan Mission (modern Kelowna). He continued to contribute articles to the Sentinel, the Vernon News, and the British Colonist, and was planning a hog-raising and bacon-manufacturing operation when illness overtook him.[1] He also wrote a novel, Myra, or the Broken Hearted, which was serialized in the Inland Sentinel from 5 January to 2 March 1882.[3]
Death
Hagan died on 2 November 1896 at Okanagan Mission and was buried there, with a substantial attendance at his funeral. He had no known surviving relatives.[1][4]
In the Papers of the Thunder Bay Historical Society
According to D. Smith's history of the local press, Hagan launched what was probably the first newspaper printed from type in the district: the Sentinel, established at Port Arthur in 1874.[5] The ambition for a local paper predated his arrival by two years; a subscription list from that earlier period — described as the first ever drawn up on the north shore of Lake Superior — had raised $4.59 in pledged advances, with contributors expecting repayment in printing and advertising. No one claimed the fund, and it fell to Hagan to actually put a paper into print.[5]
Hagan ran the Sentinel for a few years before departing westward.[5] The paper continued as a daily or weekly under subsequent ownership until 1898, when the sheriff sold the plant; the equipment was removed to Sault Ste. Marie and, according to Smith, formed part of the Soo Express.[5]
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 Ken Favrholdt."Ken Favrholdt, "Hagan, Michael," Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 12."[website].Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 12 (University of Toronto/Université Laval).1990.University of Toronto/Université Laval.Link.(Rights: copyrighted | Access: open)
- ↑ "Inland Sentinel (Yale, B.C.), 4 Aug. 1881."[newspaper].Inland Sentinel.1881-08-04.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ Michael Hagan."Myra, or the broken hearted (serialized in Inland Sentinel, Yale, B.C., 5 Jan.–2 March 1882)."[newspaper].Inland Sentinel.1882.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ "Obituary notice."[newspaper].Vernon News.1896-11-12.Vernon, B.C., 12 Nov. 1896.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 D. Smith."The Newspaper."[book].Papers of the Thunder Bay Historical Society.1913.p. 177.Link.(Rights: public_domain | Access: open)
- ↑ M. E. Arthur (ed.)."Thunder Bay District, 1821–1892: A Collection of Documents."[book].1973.Toronto.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ Mary Balf."Michael Hagan."[newspaper].Kamloops Daily Sentinel.c. 1964.Kamloops, B.C..(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ B. R. Campbell."From hand-set type to linotype: reminiscences of fifty years in the printing trade."[book].British Columbia Historical Quarterly, vol. 10 (1946).1946.p. 266.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ "Pre-emption records, township 26, sect. 25 west half; sect. 26 east half."[record].Kelowna Land Titles Office.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ "RG 10, B3, vol. 3799, file 48432-1."[record].Library and Archives Canada (NA).(Rights: unknown | Access: open)