History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century/4/Richard H. Sylvester
RICHARD H. SYLVESTER was one of the pioneer journalists of Iowa. He was born in Charlestown, New Hampshire, and attended school at Exeter Academy, taking a course at Yale College and graduating at the Law School of Ann Arbor. In 1854 he came to Iowa and continued his law studies with Judge James Grant and John F. Dillon at Davenport. In 1855 he went to Iowa City and reported the proceedings of the General Assembly. Later he established the Iowa City State Reporter, a Democratic paper. He was chosen superintendent of schools in Johnson County and founded the Iowa State Press, after conducting it several years sold it to John P. Irish. During the Civil War he was a war correspondent of the New York World. In 1862 he was nominated by the Democratic party for Secretary of State but was not elected. He went south and was for some time editor of the Memphis Argus, and secretary of the Howard Association. He located in St. Louis where he was managing editor of the Daily Times. In 1880 he removed to Washington, D. C., where he was associated with Frank Hatton on the Washington Post as managing editor until he died in 1896. Mr. Sylvester was an able and graceful writer, spending nearly all of his mature life in journalism. His eulogy on Governor Kirkwood was one of the finest productions of the times. He was the originator of the Memorial Bridge project over the Potomac to commemorate the war and link the North with the South.