Farley family

Farley family
MembersSamuel Farley I
Samuel Farley II
Edward Farley II
Felix Farley
Elizabeth Farley
Sarah Farley
Hester Farley

The Farley family pioneered news media in provincial England.[1][2] In the 18th century, Samuel Farley I's Exeter Post Man emerged as the first weekly newspaper in Exeter, and as one of the first newspapers in provincial England, and in 1729, Edward Farley II was made a veritable martyr for press freedom when he died in gaol prior to his scheduled release on account of being pardoned for defying the British government's ban on Jacobite literature, and in 1731, Samuel Farley I won a case against the British government's attempted censorship, and the British government ceased intervention in provincial newspapers until 1736, and in 1757, Elizabeth Farley was the first British journalist to be prosecuted for libel, and she defeated the prosecution.[3][4][5][6]

Background

The Farley name is listed in the Domesday Book of 1086, and Adam Farlegh of Somerset is the first of the name to be listed as a land owner in the Hundred Rolls of the 13th century.[7][8] Until 1695, the British government had prevented the establishment of printing presses in the provinces, and then the Licensing of the Press Act lapsed.[9] In Freshest Advices: Early Provincial Newspapers in England, Professor R. M. Wiles recognises three newspapers as being “the pioneers in English provincial journalism”, namely the Norwich Post, of which the earliest extant issue is from 1707, and the Bristol Post Boy, of which the earliest extant issue is from 1704, and Samuel Farley I’s Exeter Post Man, of which the earliest extant issue is from 1711.[10][11] The governing Whigs came to see provincial newspapers as auxiliaries of the Tory opposition in London, and in 1726, the Comptroller of the Post Office was mandated to institute surveillance, and from then on, all English, Irish and Scottish newspapers were to be purchased for examination by the Treasury Solicitor. Thus began the 'print wars' in which Edward Farley II was an early casualty.[12][13]

Samuel Farley

Samuel Farley I (c. 1675–1730) was the patriarch of the Farley family. He published the pioneering Exeter Post Man.[14][15] He was also a founding publisher of Sam Farley's Bristol Post Man from 1715, and Farley's Bristol Newspaper from 1725.[16] In 1716, he published the Jacobite Hague Letter in Farley's Bristol Newspaper, and he kept it in print despite the British government's orders for censorship of the letter.[17][18] The British government lost the case for censorship in 1731, and the British government ceased further intervention in provincial newspapers until 1736.[19][20]

Samuel Farley II

Samuel Farley II (c. 1699–1753) was a son of Samuel Farley I. In partnership with his brother Felix Farley, he was a founding publisher of Sam Farley's Bristol Journal, which was continued as Farley's Bristol Journal, and then as the Bristol Journal.[21][22]

Edward Farley II

Edward Farley II (c. 1705–1729) was a son of Samuel Farley I. In the 1720s, he published the Jacobite Persian Letter in Farley’s Bristol Newspaper, and he kept it in print despite the British government's orders for censorship of the letter, and he was imprisoned for high treason. He petitioned Queen Caroline for his release, and in turn the Attorney-General Philip Yorke, who became the 1st Earl of Hardwicke, issued a pardon for Farley, but he had an untimely death in gaol prior to his scheduled release.[23][24]

Felix Farley

Felix Farley (c. 1708–1753) was a son of Samuel Farley I. In partnership with his brother Samuel Farley II, he was a founding publisher of Sam Farley's Bristol Journal, and from 1742, he published two newspapers of his own on alternating Saturdays, namely Felix Farley's Bristol Journal and Farley's Bristol Advertiser.[25][26] Felix Farley's Bristol Journal was in print until 1853, when it was merged with the Bristol Times to form the Bristol Times and Journal, and in 1865, the Bristol Times and Journal was merged with the Bristol Mirror to form the Bristol Times and Mirror, and in 1932, the Bristol Times and Mirror was merged into the Bristol Evening World, and in 1949, the Bristol Evening World was merged into the Bristol Evening Post, and the Bristol Evening Post is today known as the Bristol Post.[27][28][29] He is also known for publishing the works of the architect John Wood, the Elder.[30][31]

Elizabeth Farley

Elizabeth Farley (c. 1710–1779) was the wife of Felix Farley. She was a publisher of Felix Farley's Bristol Journal from 1753 to 1774. In 1757, she was the first British journalist to be prosecuted for libel, and she defeated the prosecution.[32][33]

Sarah Farley

Sarah Farley (c. 1699–1774) was a granddaughter of Samuel Farley I. She was a publisher of the Bristol Journal.[34][35]

Hester Farley

Hester Farley (c. 1750–1806) was a daughter of Felix Farley and Elizabeth Farley. In 1775, she sold the Bristol Journal to George Routh and William Routh and Charles Nelson, and the Bristol Journal was continued as Sarah Farley's Bristol Journal.[36][37]

See also

References

  1. ^ Maxted, Ian (2004). "Farley family (Per. 1698–1775), printers and publishers | Oxford Dictionary of National Biography". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/64308. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
  2. ^ https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1163/j.ctvbqs8w9.17?seq=5
  3. ^ https://www.exetermemories.co.uk/em/newspapers.php
  4. ^ https://museums.bristol.gov.uk/narratives.php?irn=3035
  5. ^ Sack, James J (1993). From Jacobite to Conservative: Reaction and Orthodoxy in Britain. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521432665.
  6. ^ Cranfield, Geoffrey Alan (July 2016). The Press and Society: From Caxton to Northcliffe. ISBN 9781317872542.
  7. ^ Surname Database: Farley
  8. ^ House of Names: Farley
  9. ^ https://archive.org/details/early-bristol-newspapers/page/n5/mode/2up
  10. ^ R.M. Wiles, Freshest Advices: Early Provincial Newspapers in England (Columbus, Ohio: Ohio State University Press, 1965), pp. 11–16
  11. ^ https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1163/j.ctvbqs8w9.17?seq=5
  12. ^ Francis Adams Hyett; William Bazeley (1897). Bibliographer's Manual of Gloucestershire Literature. Vol. 3: City of Bristol.
  13. ^ Maxted, Ian (2004). "Farley family (Per. 1698–1775), printers and publishers | Oxford Dictionary of National Biography". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/64308. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
  14. ^ https://www.exetermemories.co.uk/em/newspapers.php
  15. ^ https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1163/j.ctvbqs8w9.17?seq=5
  16. ^ City and County of Bristol Public Libraries (1956). Early Bristol Newspapers: a detailed catalogue of Bristol newspapers published up to and including the year 1800 in the Bristol Reference Library. Bristol: Corporation of Bristol. p. 5.
  17. ^ Sack, James J (1993). From Jacobite to Conservative: Reaction and Orthodoxy in Britain. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521432665.
  18. ^ Black, Jeremy (18 October 2010). The English Press in the Eighteenth Century (Routledge Revivals). ISBN 9781136836299.
  19. ^ "Devon newspaper bibliography: Exeter". Local Studies. Devon County Council. Retrieved 17 September 2013.
  20. ^ Maxted, Ian (2004). "Farley family (Per. 1698–1775), printers and publishers | Oxford Dictionary of National Biography". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/64308. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
  21. ^ https://bristol.localpast.com/paprlist.html
  22. ^ Maxted, Ian (2004). "Farley family (Per. 1698–1775), printers and publishers | Oxford Dictionary of National Biography". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/64308. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
  23. ^ Cranfield, Geoffrey Alan (July 2016). The Press and Society: From Caxton to Northcliffe. ISBN 9781317872542.
  24. ^ Sack, James J (1993). From Jacobite to Conservative: Reaction and Orthodoxy in Britain. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521432665.
  25. ^ https://www.gwsmedia.com/articles/bristols-newspapers
  26. ^ https://museums.bristol.gov.uk/narratives.php?irn=3134
  27. ^ https://www.leighwoods.org/history/leigh-woods-people/joseph-leech
  28. ^ https://archive.org/details/early-bristol-newspapers/page/12/mode/2up
  29. ^ https://www.bristol.ac.uk/library/special-collections/
  30. ^ Maxted, Ian (2004). "Farley family (Per. 1698–1775), printers and publishers | Oxford Dictionary of National Biography". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/64308. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
  31. ^ https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/art-artists/name/felix-farley
  32. ^ https://archive.org/details/early-bristol-newspapers/page/24/mode/2up
  33. ^ https://museums.bristol.gov.uk/narratives.php?irn=3035
  34. ^ https://womensprinthistoryproject.com/blog/post/113
  35. ^ Bristol Public Libraries (1956). Early Bristol Newspapers. pp. 18–20.
  36. ^ https://womensprinthistoryproject.com/blog/post/113
  37. ^ Bristol Public Libraries (1956). Early Bristol Newspapers. pp. 18–20.