Isaac Van Anden (December 12, 1812 – August 4, 1875) was an American newspaper publisher and founder of the ''

Brooklyn Eagle The ''Brooklyn Eagle'' (originally joint name ''The Brooklyn Eagle'' and ''Kings County Democrat'', later ''The Brooklyn Daily Eagle'' before shortening title further to ''Brooklyn Eagle'') was an afternoon daily newspaper published in the city ...

.''

Life

Van Anden was born on December 12, 1812, in

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ) is a city within the Poughkeepsie (town), New York, Town of Poughkeepsie, New York (state), New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, New York, Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie i ...

, the son of Abraham Van Anden and Mary Lawless. Van Anden grew up on his father's farm. At a young age, he became an apprentice for the

Dutchess County Dutchess County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie. The county was created in 1683, one of New York's first twelve counties, and later org ...

newspaper ''Poughkeepsie Telegraph''. In 1837, he formed a partnership with Alexander Lee, bought the ''Westchester Spy'' from Samuel G. Arnold, and settled in White Plains. He then sold the ''Spy'' to Lee, moved to

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, and published the ''Brooklyn Advocate'' with Arnold. In 1840, the paper was merged with the ''Brooklyn Daily News'' but remained under the same management. The ''Daily News'' was a non-partisan newspaper, but William A. Green bought the paper to make it a Whig paper. The firm Arnold & Van Anden was dissolved, but Van Anden retained much of the equipment from the ''Advocate'' and conducted a small printing office. In 1841, Henry C. Murphy and other Democrats in the city founded a Democratic paper, the ''

'', and made Van Anden the paper's manager and publisher. Murphy was elected

mayor of Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

later that year, and in 1842 Van Anden became the sole proprietor of the newspaper. Van Anden and the ''Eagle'' were Democrats, but under him the paper had an independent lean. Under him, the paper grew in prominence and eventually had the largest circulation of any evening newspaper in the country. He was also an early supporter and later commissioner of

Prospect Park Prospect Park may refer to: Businesses * Prospect Park (production company), entertainment production company *Prospect Park Productions NZ, theatre company based in Dunedin, New Zealand Places New Zealand * Prospect Park, New Zealand, a portion ...

and a director of the Mechanics' Bank, the Brooklyn and Standard Life Insurance Companies, and the Safe Deposit Company. Van Anden was a

presidential elector In the United States, the Electoral College is the group of presidential electors that is formed every four years for the sole purpose of voting for the president and vice president in the presidential election. This process is described in ...

in the 1868 presidential election. He sold the ''Eagle'' to the Eagle Association in 1870. He never married. Van Anden died at his brother William's home in Poughkeepsie on August 4, 1875. He was buried in the

Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery The Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery is a rural cemetery located in Poughkeepsie, New York and includes the gravesites of several notable figures. It also has a crematory. The forty-four acres of land used for the cemetery were purchased by Matthew Vas ...

References

External links

Isaac Van Anden
at '' Find a Grave'' 1812 births 1875 deaths People from Poughkeepsie, New York People from Brooklyn 19th-century American newspaper founders American newspaper executives New York (state) Democrats 1868 United States presidential electors Brooklyn Eagle people Burials at Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Anden, Isaac