JUNKIN Family archives donated to museum - 2014

JUNKIN, MARTIN, MCGIFFIN

Posted By: Joey Stark
Date: 1/10/2015 at 14:18:35

"The Fairfield Ledger"
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Front Page

JUNKIN family archives donated to museum
By Nicole Hester-Williams
Ledger staff writer

In a little more than 24 hours, Fairfield's 175th anniversary year will come to a close, but its history has been chronicled for nearly just as long in the pages of its longest running daily newspaper, The Fairfield Ledger.

"The anniversary year was coming to a close, and I thought it would be nice to cap it off by talking about the history of the Ledger," said Mark Shafer, curator of the Carnegie Historical Museum.

Shafer recently acquired a well-preserved archive of family history from Jeanie MARTIN, the great-granddaughter of the late William Wallace JUNKIN. JUNKIN purchased The Ledger in 1853, spurring on a legacy of family ownership that lasted a century and a half.

Known as a newspaper pioneer, JUNKIN began his career in printing when he was 12 years old. His parents moved to Fairfield in 1847, and JUNKIN soon found himself working in the mechanical department at The Sentinel, the town's first newspaper.

By 1849, the 18-year-old JUNKIIN was being recruited by Orlando McCraney, who began publishing the Fairfield Ledger that year.

According to a 1957 issue of "The Palimpsest," a new defunct magazine published by the State Historical Society of Iowa, McCraney hoped JUNKIN would become interested in partnering with him.

After helping to launch several other newspapers including the Ottumwa Courier, JUNKIN finally took McCraney up on his offer.

However, the partnership was short-lived.

JUNKIN left The Ledger after a year, opting for a role at the state printing office in Richmond, Virginia.

He remained in Virginia for two years before he returned to Fairfield, finding that McCraney had sold the newspaper to someone else.

After being branded a "tramp printer" by the editor of The Sentinel, JUNKIN purchased a half interest in the Fairfield Ledger for $450.

A year later in 1854, JUNKIN purchased the other half of The Ledger to become the sole owner. He printed these words in the paper: "I have bought all The Ledger and it is under my control. If anything appears in it which you do not like, just lay the blame at my door," wrote the 22-year-old JUNKIN.

For four generations, from 1854 until 1990, a direct descendent (sic) of JUNKIN has played a key role in the operation of The Ledger.

MARTIN's brother and JUNKIN's grandson, James McGIFFIN, was one such descendant. After serving as an advertising manager for The Ledger and owning another publication in Ellensburg, Washington, McGIFFIN became the Ledger's first president in 1974.

McGIFFIN died in Spain in 1990, still officially presiding over the company as its president.

On Nov. 6, 1990, The Ledger closed out of respect for McGIFFIN, the last of JUNKIN's descendants to serve at the publication's helm.

"Their family was very influential in the community," Shafer said, adding that he and MARTIN had been discussing the family's archives for a while.

"She had a long term interest in the museum and she just wanted to donate things that she felt should stay together as a collection rather than them being dispersed and ultimately lost."

Today, the JUNKIN family home still stands on West Burlington Avenue near the Roosevelt Community Recreation Center. The family's archives, titled "Coming Together in Fairfield: A Chronicled Pioneer History" is on display at the Carnegie Historical Museum.

For more information, contact the Carnegie Historical Museum at 472-6343.

*Transcribed for genealogy purposes; I have no relation to the person(s) mentioned.

Photo of William Wallace JUNKIN:
http://iagenweb.org/jefferson/General_Interest/2014/WWJunkin.jpg

Photo of James J. McGIFFIN:
http://iagenweb.org/jefferson/General_Interest/2014/JamesMcGiffin.jpg

In the photo below: Standing in front of a dress and oil-painted portrait donated by Jeanie MARTIN, the great-granddaughter of William Wallace JUNKIN, Carnegie Historical Museum curator Mark Shafer peruses the JUNKIN family archives. JUNKIN was a newspaper pioneer and former owner of The Fairfield Ledger. MARTIN donated the JUNKIN family archives to the Carnegie Historical Museum. The archives are titled "Coming Together in Fairfield: A Chronicled Pioneer History," which cover her family's history through four generations.

Jefferson Documents maintained by Joey Stark.
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