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A biography of J. E. QuinlanSo, just who WAS James E. Quinlan? We confess that we found ourselves asking that question during the months we spent preparing this latest edition of his history of Sullivan County. Now, thanks to the generosity of Quinlan descendents Ellen Thomas and Christy Campbell, we are able to bring you a comprehensive biography of this author who was also a historical figure in his own right. Without further ado, here's a biography of J. E. Quinlan. 1. JAMES ELDRIDGE4 QUINLAN (JOHN3, THOMAS2, JOHN1) was born February 23, 1818 in Fallsburg, Sullivan County, NY1,2, and died May 14, 1874 in Monticello, Sullivan County, NY3,4. He married AMANDA BAKER April 06, 1842 in Westport, Connecticut4. She was born November 08, 1824 in Westport, Conn.5, and died March 17, 1896 in Monticello, Sullivan County, NY5,6.
Notes for JAMES ELDRIDGE QUINLAN: James Eldridge Quinlan was owner of DeVoe and Quinlan Publishers in Monticello, NY. He was also editor of the Monticello Republican Watchman newspaper from 1838 until 1866.
In 1851, he published the novel "Tom Quick, the Indian Slayer; and the Pioneers of Minisink and Wawarsink." (Monticello, NY; DeVoe and Quinlan Publishers, 1851) From his "To The Reader" section of that book:
"Many of the following chapters were written for the columns of a newspaper entitled the "Republican Watchman," of which the writer is the junior editor. Notwithstanding their many imperfections, they were received with much favor by the public, and a very general desire was expressed for copies of the work in a form convenient for preservation. To gratify this desire, our little volume is published.
"Before the reader begins to peruse what follows, the writer wishes to say DISTINCTLY and EMPHATICALLY that he is not actuated by the hope of entering the ranks of the literati. He KNOWS that his work is no fit model for those who would win the world's applause with the "gray goose quill;" and he does not hope that it will be made a closet companion by the student, or a book of reference by the historian. Its aim is humble. It is written for the amusement of a class of people who take an extraordinary interest in narrations of the "olden time," when their ancestors followed the plough with their rifles slung to their backs, and on retiring to rest at night, first thanked God for preserving them from harm during the day, and then put fresh powder in the pans of their guns to be ready to meet the dangers of the night....
"While collecting materials for our port folio, we visited many old people, and heard their narrations of the early history of the Delaware region; and we have ransacked all the old documents, family records and books within our reach. These we have compared together, and when they conflicted with each other, we have adopted that which appeared to me most probable. That an accurate or complete narrative could in this manner be obtained was not anticipated, however much it may have been desired. 'Such as it is,' courteous or captious reader, 'you have it,' and no one will dispute your right to 'make the most or the least of it,' as your good or evil nature may influence you." - - - - - - - - - - -
He was a controversial figure because of his pro-South views during the Civil War. The following excerpt is from "The Catskills, Land in the Sky" by John G. Mitchell and Charles D. Winters, 1977:
"Nathan Weiss, the Sullivan County Historian of 1960, tells us that Quinlan, editor of the Monticello Republican Watchman, favored a compromise peace during the Civil War. A former Hunker Democrat, and during the war a Peace Democrat, Quinlan was frequently charged with Copperheadism.
"On one occasion, the local Unionists were alleged to have threatened to burn down Quinlan's newspaper if he did not desist. Those were the days when the freedom of speech was practiced without restraint. When word of this plan reached Quinlan's supporters in the back country, they let it be known that they would retaliate by burning down the local Republican newspaper.
"Democrats patrolled the streets of Monticello to guard the Watchman office against violence. Ben Reynolds, later a Union officer and prisoner in Andersonville, spread the rumor that gunpowder was planted under the floor of the Watchman office, gunpowder which would blow any trespassers to Kingdom Come.
"Eventually Quinlan retired from his editorship under pressure from his friends who feared that injury might be done him if he remained on the job." -----------------
In 1873, James Eldridge Quinlan published "The History of Sullivan County" (G.M. Beebe & W.T. Morgans Publishers, Liberty, NY). He had hoped to to publish it on August 1, 1872, but the preface, introduction, and list of contributors was stolen from his safe, which delayed publication by about two years. To this day, his book is the accepted authoritative work on Sullivan County. It was re-organized, edited, and reprinted by David M. Gold in 1993, Marielle Press, S. Fallsburg, NY. From the back cover of the reprinted edition:
"Well over a century after it first appeared in print, Quinlan's "History of Sullivan County" remains the leading authority on the early history of Sullivan County. For this new edition of Quinlan's classic work, editor David M. Gold has selected and rearranged material from the original to present a more readable account of Sullivan's development from the days of the Delaware Indians to the construction of the New York and Oswego Midland Railroad in 1873."
James Eldridge Quinlan was instrumental in the founding of Monticello Academy in Monticello, NY; he pursuaded Professor Snook, the Academy's founder, to locate it in Monticello.
Was the owner of "Pleasant Pond" in Monticello, which later was called Lake Kianesha and was a popular resort of the time.
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