Newspaper's Legacy Goes Back To 1879
The Birth of a Newspaper
One hundred years ago, McNairy County was a booming little community trying to make itself known to West Tennessee and beyond. Businesses lined the streets in the county's main towns of Adamsville, Selmer, Purdy and Bethel Springs. Today, only one of those businesses is still in operation.
This week (June, 2002) marks the one hundredth consecutive year the Independent Appeal has been in publication. Although the Independent has been in print for ninety-seven years, its roots in this county go even further back than that.
Most likely, the first newspaper to ever be printed in McNairy County was The West Tennessee Argus. Little is known about this paper today, because no copies of it are known to exist. What has been learned about the West Tennessee Argus is that it first rolled off the presses in 1857, and was published by Col. Isaac W. Nash.
During the middle to late 1800s, this county, like most others, experienced the rapid births and deaths of several small newspapers. These papers often sprang up during election years in order to capitalize on the revenues brought in by those seeking office who wanted to advertise. When the election had ended, so had the newspaper.
Although many of the papers published during this time did seek only election year profits, some made sincere efforts to bring quality journalism to the county. Of these legitimate newspapers were The Falcon Worker (1880), The Whig Banner (1859, Purdy), The Selmer Sentinel (early 1900's), The Pepper Box (1890's, Selmer), and The Symposium (1906, Selmer).
One of these papers, The Selmer Sentinel, was published by two women. During its relatively brief existence, Bessie and Mary Abernathy were the lone publishers of this newspaper. However, they were not just two women who decided to start a newspaper. The Abernathy family, during this time, was perhaps the most famous publishing group in this area. Their contributions to this newspaper have also been outstanding.
Col. J.W. Purviance and the Abernathy Family
The Independent Appeal, in its earliest form, went under the name of the McNairy Independent. Its very first publication, in 1879, came under the direction of Col. J.W. Purviance in Purdy. As this article will explore, during its infancy and again in the middle 1900's, the paper changed ownership several times.
Sometime during the early 1880's, the McNairy Independent was purchased from Purviance by a man named F.M. Freeman. Freeman relocated the paper to Adamsville where he hired two ambitious young men to work for him. These two men would eventually become the heads of the Abernathy's publishing family. Their names were William Kendall Abernathy and Terry Abernathy. Before long, publication of the McNairy Independent had ceased in Adamsville. But, Mr. Purviance jumped back into the game and repurchased the paper from Freeman.
The newspaper now returned to its original home, and the Abernathy boys came with it. The rejuvenation of Purdy's best journalism was short lived, however. In 1885, a fire destroyed the building that housed the newspaper and publication came to a halt.
After the fire, the Abernathy's took over complete control of the county paper. During the early years of their reign the Independent often switched locations from Purdy to Selmer to Bethel Springs to Falcon.
The most feasible explanation for this spurt of relocations is the debate over the location of the county seat. At this time, the county was in heated discussions over which town should claim this role, and all four of the above locations were heavily considered. The Abernathy's were determined to publish in whichever city was chosen.
Not much information is known about the owners who came before the Abernathys, but many things are known about their interesting family.
William Kendall and Terry were much more than just newspaper men. Together they opened up the Abernathy and Abernathy Law Firm. William was a member of the state legislature and was elected District Attorney General. Terry became an educator, Mayor of Selmer, and, like his father, Superintendent of Schools.
All members of the Abernathy family played large roles in the production of the newspaper. The tradition was apparently handed down, as one of Terry Abernathy's grandchildren, Mary Jane Wilds, even became an editor of the Independent Appeal.
When William Kendall Abernathy was elected as a state senator in 1900, publication again ceased. It was at this time that the two Abernathy women began to publish The Selmer Sentinel. Once again it looked as though the McNairy Independent had seen its final days.
However, by June of 1902, the newspaper had be reacquired by none other than its founder, Col. J.W. Purviance. By the end of the month, June 27 to be exact, Volume 1, Number 1 of the McNairy County Independent was published in Selmer by Purviance. For 100 consecutive years now, publication has not ceased. That span covers 5,200 issues.
J.W. Purviance continued to serve as publisher of this newspaper until around 1920. His exit was due to the renewed interest in the paper of the Abernathy family. They purchased the Independent from Purviance shortly after the close of World War I. Although they had not been involved with this particular paper, the Abernathy's had been back in the newspaper industry in 1906, when they began publishing The Symposium.
Tragically, The Symposium was also a victim of fire and the Abernathy's decided to take a few years off from the business. Purviance's willingness to sell opened a window for their reentry.
With the Abernathy's return came another member of the family; Terry and William's brother, Orpheus, became the publisher of the paper and William became the editor.
Matthew Ramsey Abernathy was the father of these children and the first Abernathy to have newspaper training. After learning his trade at the Tennessee River News in Savannah, Matthew returned home to begin the Abernathy's newspaper profession. In 1880, he founded The Falcon Worker.
The Middle Years
As years passed, time eventually caught up to the Abernathy's. Matthew passed away on the last day of the 19th century, followed by his son Orpheus in 1939, and then William the following year. After their deaths the paper again started to change hands frequently.
Following Williams's passing, The McNairy County Independent was leased to Kenneth Duke for a short time and then to B.O. Weeks. In 1945, Weeks hired Wilbur Wright to work for the paper. By November of the next year, Wright had purchased the Independent at public auction in an estate settlement.
For the next seventeen and a half years, Wright, along with his wife Delilah, published and edited the paper. But, in March of 1964, poor health pushed him and Mrs. Wright into retirement.
Before leaving, Mr. Wright sold the paper to George Morris Hamilton. Four years later, Hamilton acquired the Tennessee Valley Appeal from Leslie Houston. The Appeal had been serving the citizens of Adamsville since 1942, but under Hamilton the two papers merged to form The Independent Appeal.
Hamilton's contribution of merging the two papers was monumental, but his stint as owner was brief. After Hamilton's departure, the Independent Appeal passed into corporate ownership for two short periods until July 1, 1976.
The Rail Family
On that date, William J. Rail took ownership. Mr. Rail, a native of Mt. Pleasant, Tn., has dedicated his entire life to the newspaper industry. His career has spanned nearly half a century, beginning in 1950, when he attended the Southern School of Printing in Nashville to learn linotype.
For the next fifteen years he worked setting type on a linotype machine for the Mt. Pleasant Record. In 1966, he bought that newspaper and served as its owner for ten years before moving to Selmer and purchasing the Independent Appeal. Rail stated that his goal for this paper has always been "to have the best paper McNairy County could have."
Bill Rail's contributions to the Independent Appeal have been phenomenal. In his twenty-three years as owner, circulation has risen over 75% from 4,000 to 7,000, with a high of 7,400. Mr. Rail has also greatly increased productivity at the paper by implementing the latest computer technology.
On July 1st of 1999, Bill Rail's twenty-three year run as publisher came to an end, with the sale of the Independent Appeal to his daughter, Janet. Mr. Rail continues to work with the paper in an advisory capacity.
Janet Rail is a relative newcomer to the newspaper industry, though growing up in the business has prepared her well. Ms. Rail has been working as publisher of the Independent Appeal since purchasing the paper from her father. Before her return to Selmer in 1996, she was serving as the Director of Nursing at the Transitional Hospital Corporation in New Orleans, La. Ms. Rail graduated from the University of Tennessee, Memphis with a B.S. in Nursing.
Upon assuming the role as owner and publisher of the Independent Appeal, Rail states her goal to be "To strive to meet the needs of the people and promote McNairy County. I also want to continue to strive for excellence as my father has, because people can always improve."
The staff at the Independent Appeal wish to thank all of our advertisers and readers for their support. We would also like to thank everyone for helping to make us the oldest existing business in McNairy County.
Much of the text in this article is taken from the 1999 article "Newspaper's legacy goes back to 1879" by former Independent Appeal staff writer Heath Teague.
©Copyright 2002 McNairy County Publishing, LLC