Beginning in the 1820’s, Cecil County saw the birth of its first newspapers. Prior to this, communities received their news by letters or word of mouth from village to village. With the publication of newspapers came the world of advertising, which allowed business owners and entrepreneurs to market, not only their products, but also make names for themselves.
There were five major newspapers in the county that were all first published within a relatively small window of time from the early 1820’s through the early 1840’s. Two of those newspapers, the Cecil Whig and the Cecil Democrat, have an interesting story to tell about political rivalry and murder!
The first of the five papers was the Elkton Press and Cecil County advertiser. First published in Elkton on July 5, 1823 by Andrews and M’Cord, it was published weekly up until it ceased publication, sixteen years later in 1839. The second paper was the Cecil Republican and farmers’ and mechanics advertiser, which was founded in 1832 and also published weekly in Elkton. Ceasing publication in 1843 after only two years of publication makes it the shortest running newspaper out of the five. The Cecil Gazette was third, being first published in 1834 by Henry Bosee. It too was published weekly out of Elkton until it ceased publication in 1842.
The fourth and fifth newspapers, the Cecil Whig and the Cecil Democrat are not only the two most well known, but they are also the ones that stood the tests of time in terms of readership and longevity. But, perhaps less known is the story of these two papers, their rivaling editors, and a murder that would shock our rural county.
First published in Elkton on August 7, 1841 by Palmer Chamberlain Ricketts, the county’s fourth newspaper, the Cecil Whig is our most recognized newspaper as it is still in operation today. Ricketts, born and raised in Elkton, was a prominent supporter of the Whig party. Following the aftermath of William Henry Harrison’s presidential victory, he founded the Cecil Whig as a means of promoting news about the Whig party. The fifth newspaper, and runner up to the Cecil Whig in terms of longevity and popularity was the Cecil Democrat. Started by H. Vanderford in the 1840’s and based out of Elkton, it too was published weekly. Eventually, a man named Amor T. Forwood would assume the duties of editor for the Democrat and so would begin the rivalry between editors and the infamous murder that followed.
In the autumn of 1843, Ricketts and Forwood began arguing on the steps of the Elkton post office and Ricketts ended up shooting and killing Forwood. Ricketts was jailed in Elkton while he awaited his trial, but so devoted to his beloved newspaper, he diligently continued to publish the Whig from his jail cell. Ricketts was eventually acquitted of the murder, on the grounds of self-defense as Forwood had apparently been wielding a cane when he came towards Ricketts. Although Ricketts was acquitted, the infamy and scandal of the murder would leave Ricketts with a reputation that stayed with him for the rest of his life.