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

Brooklyn Eagle :''This article covers both the historical newspaper (1841–1955, 1960–1963), as well as an unrelated new Brooklyn Daily Eagle starting 1996 published currently'' The ''Brooklyn Eagle'' (originally joint name ''The Brooklyn Eagle'' and ''King ...

.''

Life

Van Anden was born on December 12, 1812 in

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie ...

, 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 or ...

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 borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

, 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 Whig or Whigs may refer to: Parties and factions In the British Isles * Whigs (British political party), one of two political parties in England, Great Britain, Ireland, and later the United Kingdom, from the 17th to 19th centuries ** Whiggism ...

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 Henry Cruse Murphy (July 5, 1810 – December 1, 1882) was an American lawyer, politician and historian. During his political career, he served as Mayor of Brooklyn, a member of the United States House of Representatives, U.S. Minister to the ...

and other Democrats in the city founded a

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

paper, the ''

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

mayor of Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, behin ...

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 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 The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia appo ...

in the

1868 presidential election The following elections occurred in the year 1868. North America United States * 1868 New York state election * 1868 South Carolina gubernatorial election * United States House of Representatives elections in California, 1868 * 1868 and 1869 Unite ...

. 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 ...

References

External links

Isaac Van Anden
at ''

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'' 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 Burials at Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Anden, Isaac