1865
150
th
2015
ANNIVERSARY
THROUGH theYEARS
Natchez through the pages of The Democrat
Earl Norman took this photo of The Natchez Democrat’s headquarters on the corner of Main and Pearl streets in downtown Natchez.
C
ongratulations, you are officially part of an important milestone in Natchez’s history. The newspaper you are holding in your hands (or reading in digital format) is celebrating its 150th anniversary of reporting the life and times of Natchez.
We humbly thank our community; the newspaper only exists because of the dedication and support of all of those people. As the City of Natchez prepares to begin its own 300th birthday next year, it’s interesting to note The Natchez Democrat has been informing and entertaining generations for more than half Natchez’s existence. Today, after publishing literally tens of thousands of editions and likely well more than a million news articles and briefs, the newspaper continues to be a strong, community newspaper. During our last official survey more than 8 out of 10 local
residents reported regularly turning to The Democrat for news and information. The newspaper’s printed edition continues to be the most widely read source for local news with the second being the newspaper’s digital offerings. In today’s special edition, our staff — along with the help of several local historians — has attempted to organize by decade some of the biggest news that was reported in the pages of this newspaper. Despite our best efforts, we’ve almost certainly missed a few things that some readers will think should not have been omitted. We apologize for any such omissions in advance and, as always, welcome feedback by
writing to us at: P.O. Box 1447, Natchez MS 39121 or by email to newsroom@natchezdemocrat.com. We hope you enjoy this look back at a brief synopsis of your newspaper’s history. We also pause today to simply say, “Thank you.” We wish to thank our loyal readers as well as the local and national businesses whose advertising support helps the newspaper invest in our people and facilities, good community causes and remain independent of outside influence. Thank you so much for being a part of our 150th milestone, and we look forward to serving our community for decades and decades more to come. Italian-born Paul A. Botto, left, founded The Natchez Democrat in October 1865. James W. Lambert became joint owner a few months later.
Democrat’s story closely tied to city’s history From staff reports Natchez — The Natchez Democrat’s 150 years of existence have humble roots befitting a city made great over the decades by waves of European immigrants. Two mid-19th century Natchez immigrants — one Italian-born, the other a New York child of Irish parents — ultimately founded Natchez’s oldest continuously operating newspaper of record. Italian-born Paul A. Botto
founded The Natchez Democrat on Oct. 8, 1865. The first issue of the originally weekly publication was published with the assistance of Andrew Marschalk Jr., whose father is known as the “founder of the Mississippi Press.” Marschalk Jr. succeeded his father as the editor of “The Mississippi Herald and Natchez Gazette,” which began publishing at the very beginning of the 19th century. Only a few months after The Democrat started publication a
second important man entered the business — James W. Lambert. Lambert became the business manager and joint owner with Botto. Lambert and his descendants would shape much of the history of the newspaper. Neither Botto nor Lambert were Natchez natives, both having been brought to town at relatively young ages. Botto was born in Genoa, Italy, in 1840. He moved to Natchez with
his parents at age 7 and left home at a relatively young age to explore the world. He learned the printing craft in St. Paul, Minn., before returning south, eventually leading a newspaper in Alexandria, La., until 1859 when he returned to Natchez to work with his brother Louis, in merchandising. At the outset of the Civil War, Botto volunteered with
the Natchez Fencibles, part of the 12th Mississippi Regiment that saw substantial action at many battles including Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. He entered as a private but eventually became a first sergeant. Botto was captured in Petersburg in 1864 and served the remainder of the war in a Union prison. Lambert was born in New See history, PAge 3