George Matthew Adams (August 23, 1878 – October 29, 1962) was an American newspaper columnist and founder of the George Matthew Adams Newspaper Service, which syndicated comic strips and columns to newspapers for five decades. His own writings were circulated widely to ''

The Gettysburg Times ''The Gettysburg Times'' is an American newspaper in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Gettysburg (; non-locally ) is a borough and the county seat of Adams County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The Battle of Gettysburg (1863) and President Abraham ...

'' and many other newspapers.

Biography

Early life and education

Born in

Saline, Michigan Saline ( ') is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 8,948 at the 2020 census. The city borders Saline Township to the southwest, and the two are administered autonomously. History Before the 18th centur ...

, George Matthew Adams graduated from

Ottawa University Ottawa University (OU) is a private Baptist university with its main campus in Ottawa, Kansas, a second residential campus in Surprise, Arizona, and adult campuses in the Kansas City, Phoenix and Milwaukee metropolitan areas. It was founded in ...

in Kansas. Employed by a Chicago advertising agency, he started operating the elevator and worked his way up to become a copywriter.

George Matthew Adams Newspaper Service

In 1907, Adams borrowed money to rent and equip an office and launched the Adams Newspaper Service. Adams' syndicate was located at 8 West 40th Street in Manhattan. When Adams and ''

Emporia Gazette The ''Emporia Gazette'' is a daily newspaper in Emporia, Kansas. History William Allen White bought the newspaper for $3,000 ($ in dollars) in 1895. Through his editorship, over the next five decades, he became an iconic figure in American jou ...

'' publisher

William Allen White William Allen White (February 10, 1868 – January 29, 1944) was an American newspaper editor, politician, author, and leader of the Progressive movement. Between 1896 and his death, White became a spokesman for middle America. At a 1937 ...

met in Chicago in 1908, Adams hired White to write about political issues. Adams had copies of Walt Mason's light verse which he had clipped from the ''Gazette'', and said, "I like this stuff. I'd like to syndicate it to other papers. Suppose I could?" White responded, "Sure. Give Uncle Walt about $18 a week, and he'll be tickled pink to do it for you." Adams did, and as Mason's ''Rippling Rhythms'' column increased in popularity, he eventually increased Mason's salary to $15,000 a year. The name of the Adams Newspaper Service was changed in 1916 to the George Matthew Adams Service. Writers syndicated by Adams included

Thornton Burgess Thornton Waldo Burgess (January 17, 1874 – June 5, 1965) was an American conservationist and author of children's stories. He was sometimes known as the Bedtime Story-Man, after his newspaper column ''Bedtime Stories''. By the time he retir ...

Edgar Guest Edgar Albert Guest (20 August 1881 – 5 August 1959) was a British-born American poet who became known as the People's Poet. His poems often had an inspirational and optimistic view of everyday life. Early life Guest was born in Birmingham ...

and

Robert Ripley LeRoy Robert Ripley (February 22, 1890 – May 27, 1949) was an American cartoonist, entrepreneur, and amateur anthropologist, who is known for creating the ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' newspaper panel series, television show, and radio sho ...

. The syndicate also distributed single-panel cartoons, including some accompanied by jokes, backwoods homilies, light verse or Adams-style inspiration. Adams syndicated comic strips, including

Billy DeBeck William Morgan DeBeck (April 15, 1890 – November 11, 1942), better known as Billy DeBeck, was an American cartoonist. He is most famous as the creator of the comic strip ''Barney Google'', later retitled ''Barney Google and Snuffy Smith'' ...

's ''Finn an' Haddie'',

Percy Crosby Percy Lee CrosbyPercy Lee Crosby
at Edwina Dumm Frances Edwina Dumm (1893 – April 28, 1990) was a writer-artist who drew the comic strip '' Cap Stubbs and Tippie'' for nearly five decades; she is also notable as America's first full-time female editorial cartoonist. She used her middle name f ...

's '' Cap Stubbs and Tippie'',

Ed Wheelan Edgar Stow Wheelan (1888–1966), who signed his work Ed Wheelan, was an American cartoonist best known for his comic strip ''Minute Movies'', satirizing silent films, and his comic book ''Fat and Slat'', published by EC Comics. He was one of the ...

's ''Minute Movies'', and

Robert Baldwin Robert Baldwin (May 12, 1804 – December 9, 1858) was an Upper Canadian lawyer and politician who with his political partner Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine of Lower Canada, led the first responsible government ministry in the Province of Canada. " ...

's ''Freddy''. In addition to sports cartoons by

Lank Leonard Frank E. Leonard (January 2, 1896 – August 1, 1970), better known as Lank Leonard, was an American cartoonist artist who created the long-running comic strip '' Mickey Finn'', which he drew for more than three decades. Biography Early life and ...

, Adams syndicated

Johnny Gruelle John Barton Gruelle (December 24, 1880 – January 9, 1938) was an American artist, political cartoonist, children's book and comics author, illustrator, and storyteller. He is best known as the creator of Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy dolls and ...

's illustrated ''

Raggedy Ann Raggedy Ann is a character (arts), character created by American writer Johnny Gruelle (1880–1938) that appeared in a series of books he wrote and illustrated for young children. Raggedy Ann is a rag doll with red yarn for hair and a triangle ...

'' panels from 1934 to 1938. The uplifting ''Raggedy Ann'' verses emphasized forthrightness, honesty, kindness and thrift. He also syndicated Rebecca McCann's philosophical '' The Cheerful Cherub''.

Lloyd Jacquet Lloyd Victor Jacquet (; March 7, 1899 – March 1970) Jacquet was living in the borough of Queens, New York when he died in March 1970 at c. age 71. His wife was named Grace. References Further reading * Hill, Roger. "A Report on the Discover ...

was the syndicate's art director from c. 1936 to 1937, shortly before leaving to found

Funnies, Inc. Funnies, Inc. was an American comic book packager of the late 1930s to 1940s period collectors and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books. Founded by Lloyd Jacquet, it supplied the contents of early comics, including that of ''Marvel Comics ...

The syndicate's long-time manager was Giordano Bruno Pascale. Adams's syndicate peaked in the 1920s and 1930s, eventually fading as its founder aged. In the company's latter years, the president and general manager was Harry E. Elmlark. Adams died in 1962; the remaining features were sold to The Washington Star Company in May 1965, thus forming the Washington Star Syndicate.Boyd, Crosby N., President. "THE WASHINGTON STAR HAS PURCHASED THE GEORGE MATTHEW ADAMS SERVICE, A NEWSPAPER FEATURE SYNDICATE," ''The Washington Star'' (May 9, 1965)
Archived at CIA.gov

Writing

In the 1910s, Adams was selling Dr. Frank Crane's (1861–1928) popular ''Four Minute Essays''. When he lost Crane to a competitor, he decided to write short inspirational essays himself while he traveled from city to city selling to newspapers. By the 1950s, Crane was all but forgotten, but Adams' short inspirational columns, titled ''Today's Talk'', were in about 100 newspapers and also collected in a series of books.Tripp, Frank. "About the columners", ''The Day'', May 17, 1954.
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Books

* ''You Can: A Collection of Brief Talks on the Most Important Topic in the World — Your Success'' (Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1913) * ''Take It: Suggestions as to Your Right to the World and the Great Things That are in It'' (Frederick A. Stokes, 1917) * ''Up: A Little Book of Talks on how to Wake Up, Get Up, Think Up, Climb Up, Smile Up, Cheer Up, Work Up, Look Up, Help Up, Grow Up!'' (Reilly and Lee Company, 1920) * ''Just Among Friends'' (

William Morrow and Company William Morrow and Company is an American publishing company founded by William Morrow in 1926. The company was acquired by Scott Foresman in 1967, sold to Hearst Corporation in 1981, and sold to News Corporation (now News Corp) in 1999. The ...

, 1928) * ''Better Than Gold'' (Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1949) * ''The Great Little Things'' (Duel, Sloan and Pearce, 1953)

Adams Service strips and panels

Launched in the 1910s: * '' Cap Stubbs and Tippie'' by

Edwina Dumm Frances Edwina Dumm (1893 – April 28, 1990) was a writer-artist who drew the comic strip '' Cap Stubbs and Tippie'' for nearly five decades; she is also notable as America's first full-time female editorial cartoonist. She used her middle name f ...

(1918–1965;Edwina entry
''Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999''. Retrieved December 4, 2017. continued by The Washington Star Syndicate) * '' The Cheerful Cherub'' by Rebecca McCann (c. 1916–1927) * ''The Clancy Kids'' by

Percy Crosby Percy Lee CrosbyPercy Lee Crosby
at Billy DeBeck William Morgan DeBeck (April 15, 1890 – November 11, 1942), better known as Billy DeBeck, was an American cartoonist. He is most famous as the creator of the comic strip ''Barney Google'', later retitled ''Barney Google and Snuffy Smith'' ...

(1916) * ''Miss Information'' by Wood Cowan (1919–1922; moved to the

Ledger Syndicate The Public Ledger Syndicate (known simply as the Ledger Syndicate) was a syndication company operated by the Philadelphia '' Public Ledger'' that was in business from 1915 to circa 1950 (outlasting the newspaper itself, which ceased publishing in ...

) * ''Not Now'' by

Richard W. Dorgan Richard William Dorgan (September 24, 1892 – May 5, 1953) was an American cartoonist, writer, and illustrator. His first known published work appeared in ''The New York Call'' in 1913. A wide variety of his early work was published in ''The Br ...

(c. 1916–1917) * ''The Young Lady Across the Way'' by Robert O. Ryder and Harry J. Westerman (1913–1919; moved to

McClure Newspaper Syndicate McClure Newspaper Syndicate, the first American newspaper syndicate, introduced many American and British writers to the masses. Launched in 1884 by publisher Samuel S. McClure, it was the first successful company of its kind. It turned the marke ...

) * ''Zimmie'' by Arch Bristow (1912–1913) Launched in the 1920s: * ''Billy's Uncle'' by Ben Batsford (October 9, 1922 – August 2, 1924) * ''In Our Office'' by Wood Cowan (early 1920s) *

sports cartoons (c. 1927–c. 1936) * ''Minute Movies'' by

(1921–1935) * ''Pecos Bill'' by Tex O'Reilly and Jack Warren (1929–1938) * '' Reg'lar Fellers'' ostensibly by Gene Byrnes; ghosted by Tack Knight (1924–1929; came over from the

Bell Syndicate The Bell Syndicate, launched in 1916 by editor-publisher John Neville Wheeler, was an American syndicate that distributed columns, fiction, feature articles and comic strips to newspapers for decades. It was located in New York City at 247 West ...

; moved to

King Features Syndicate King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editoria ...

) Launched in the 1930s: * '' Alec the Great'' by

(1931–1965; continued by The Washington Star Syndicate) * ''Cap'n Cloud'' by Robert Weinstein (1935) * ''Decks Awash'' by Augustus J. Robinson (November 16, 1935 – April 4, 1936) * ''Doctor Remedy'' by Adolph Schus (1939) * ''The Enchanted Stone'' by Adolphe Barreaux (1935) * ''Hector Hicks'' by

(1933) * ''Loco Luke'' by Jack Warren (July 5, 1935 – April 4, 1936) * ''

'' by

(1934–1938) * ''Ted Strong'' by Al Carreno (1935–1939) Launched in the 1940s: * ''Miki'' by Tom Morrison (c. 1945-c. 1950) Launched in the 1950s: * ''Barkis and Family'' by

Crockett Johnson Crockett Johnson (October 20, 1906 – July 11, 1975) was the pen name of the American cartoonist and children's book illustrator David Johnson Leisk. He is best known for the comic strip '' Barnaby'' (1942–1952) and the ''Harold'' series of bo ...

(1955) * ''Freddy'' by

(1955–1966; continued by

Publishers-Hall Syndicate Publishers-Hall Syndicate was a newspaper syndicate founded by Robert M. Hall in 1944. Hall served as the company's president and general manager. Over the course of its operations, the company was known as, sequentially, the Hall Syndicate (194 ...

) * ''Mr. Holiday'' by Chad Kelly Additional on February 4, 2010. and Fran Matera (1950–1951) * '' Sky Masters of the Space Force'' (1958–1961) by

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential c ...

(1958–1961),

Marvin Stein Marvin Stein (February 11, 1925 – February 11, 2010) was an American comic book artist who also worked in animation, advertising, illustration and television broadcast graphics. Biography Stein was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, the ...

(1958), David Wood, Dick Wood, &

Wally Wood Wallace Allan Wood (June 17, 1927 – November 2, 1981) was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, widely known for his work on EC Comics's titles such as '' Weird Science'', ''Weird Fantasy'', and ''MAD Magazine'' fro ...

(1958–1960) * ''Uncle Charlie'' by

Peter Laing Peter Laing (born 5 October 1984) is a South African cricketer. He played in 17 first-class and 16 List A matches for Boland and Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: *Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, R ...

(c. 1955–1965; continued by The Washington Star Syndicate 1965–1978) Launched in the 1960s: * ''The Birds'' by Joe Appalucci (1963) * ''Buenos Dias'' by

Ed Nofziger Ed, ed or ED may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Ed'' (film), a 1996 film starring Matt LeBlanc * Ed (''Fullmetal Alchemist'') or Edward Elric, a character in ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' media * ''Ed'' (TV series), a TV series that ran fro ...

(1963–1965; continued by The Washington Star Syndicate 1965–1967)Ed Nofziger entry
''Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999''. Retrieved December 4, 2017. * ''Cuppy the Newsboy'' by Joe Appalucci (October 8, 1962 – March 7, 1964)

Adams Service columnists

* George Matthew Adams's ''Today's Talk'' (c. 1913–c. 1955) *

's ''Bedtime Stories'' (1912–1960) * Dr. Frank Crane's ''Four Minute Essays'' (c. 1913) *

(c. 1917–?) *

Walt Mason Walt Mason (May 4, 1862 – June 22, 1939) was a Canadian-born American journalist and writer, whose daily column was syndicated by George Matthew Adams in over 200 US and Canadian newspapers during the early part of the 20th Century. He was cal ...

("Uncle Walt")'s ''Rippling Rhythms'' (1908–?) *

References

External links

''You Can'' by George Matthew Adams

''Up'' by George Matthew Adams

George Matthew Adams Quotes

George Matthew Adams House

George Matthew Adams essays
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, George Matthew 1878 births 1962 deaths American newspaper journalists People from Saline, Michigan American businesspeople George Matthews Adams Service