T. A. Bell
This may describe the same person as Thomas Bowden Bell.
| T. A. Bell | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Newspaper editor and proprietor |
T. A. Bell (fl. 1894) was a newspaper editor and proprietor in Fort William, Ontario.[1]
Bell was listed as editor and proprietor of the Daily Journal. His residence was recorded as the Canadian Pacific Railway hotel in Kaministiquia.
In the Papers of the Thunder Bay Historical Society
D. Smith's 1913 essay on the newspaper history of the Lakehead records that Bell entered the newspaper field following the death of Mr. Cummings.[2] Though primarily a contractor, Bell purchased the newspaper from McLaren and Rutledge on 21 January 1893 and continued it as a semi-weekly until 12 October 1895, when he launched a daily.[2] He established a Port Arthur office under the charge of T. A. Keefer, who was succeeded upon his death by Hull Austin; A. M. Frank subsequently took charge of that office.[2]
The Fort William Journal under Bell was an active promoter of Fort William's commercial prospects, and Smith credited Bell's efforts through the paper as a significant factor in the location of the Ogilvie Flour Mill — described as Fort William's first industry — in the city, an event that occasioned what Smith described as the first special illustrated newspaper edition produced in Fort William.[3]
In June 1895 Bell was induced by associates in Winnipeg to take control of the Nor-Wester (later the Telegram), and sold the Journal to Smith and T. W. Rutledge.[3] That sale was cancelled when the purchasers, lacking capital and facing depressed business conditions, found the arrangement unworkable, and Bell resumed operation of the paper with McNally as news editor and Smith as manager.[3] Bell subsequently disposed of his interest in the Nor-Wester and entered the life insurance business in Winnipeg, directing the Journal from that city; B. G. Hamilton replaced McNally in charge of news and editorial.[3]
Approximately two months after Smith and Rutledge launched their rival semi-weekly, the Times, in September 1899, Bell was stricken with a sudden illness and died, after which the Journal plant and business were placed on the market.[3]
References
- ↑ Case's Directory of Fort William, Port Arthur and the District of Thunder Bay, May 1894, p. 28.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 D. Smith."The Newspaper."[book].Papers of the Thunder Bay Historical Society.1914.p. 24 (scan p. 178).Link.(Rights: public_domain | Access: open)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 D. Smith."The Newspaper."[book].Papers of the Thunder Bay Historical Society.1914.p. 25 (scan p. 179).Link.(Rights: public_domain | Access: open)