Joseph Magill
Joseph
Magill, brother of the above [see James Magill] and Editor-in-Chief of
the Times, was born in the County of Fermanagh, Ireland,
November 22, 1852, being the youngest of a family of seven
children. In 1867, he came to the United States, going immediately
to Cincinnati, and there joined his brothers with whom he made his
home, four years, when in 187 1, he came to Shelbyville and engaged as a clerk in the shoe store of
John Shelk, with whom he
remained something over one year. While there he conceived a
desire to adopt the profession of Journalism. With that in view
he set to work, commencing at the foot of the ladder as a typo in
the office of the Shelby Republican. At intervals, until 1876, he
was engaged at the trade of his adoption on important work on
the following papers: Cleveland Herald, J[?] Albany Ledger-
Standard, Louisville Ledger, Cinainnati Commercial and
Chicago Times. In 1876, he took charge of the Literary Department of
the Southern Rural Gentleman, at Grenada, Miss. Owing to ill
health he was compelled to retire from that position in the latter
part of that year. He then returned to Shelbyville, remaining a
short time when he went to the West Indies via New York. In
1877, he returned to the United States. With the exception of
three years when he was engaged in the Dramatic profession, he
has made Journalism his life profession. After his return from the
West Indies he took the position of City Editor of the Evansville
Tribune. In 1879, he took the same position on the Courier
of
that city, with which he was connected in that capacity for three
years; 1883 and 1884, he was City Editor of the Journal at that
place; the latter part of 1884, he severed his connection with that
paper and secured employment with R. G. Dunn's Mercantile
Agency, stationed at Minneapolis and Omaha, but as that did not
prove agreeable to him he took a position as Reporter on the
Chicago J[?]'s and A[?] about two years, when he came to Shelbyville in 1886, and has since been in charge of the
Times. December 31, 1886, his marriage with Miss Anna Deprez
was solemnized. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias.
History of Shelby County, Indiana, Brant & Fuller, 1887,
"Shelbyville Sketches," page 506
Contributed by Phyllis Miller Fleming
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