The Pacific Ensign

The Pacific Ensign (previously, Bulletin and Pharos) was the official organ of the California Woman's Christian Temperance Union. Previously known as the Bulletin (1885-88) and Pharos (1888-91), it was published by the Ensign Publishing Company on McAlister Street in San Francisco,^[1] from 1891 till 1906.^[2]

masthead (1891)

masthead (January 1904)

masthead (April 1904)

At the time, California published five or more well supported temperance papers, three of which were owned by the W.C.T.U.. Of these, the Pacific Ensign was the State organ and the others were county-based.^[3] The Pacific Ensign served as a record and distributor of the work of the California W.C.T.U.^[4] The 8-page weekly was published on Thursdays; it measured 10 by 14 inches (250 mm × 360 mm).^[5]

Notable people

Dorcas James Spencer served as business manager of the Ensign Publishing Company.^[6] Editors included Emily Pitts Stevens, who edited all three namesakes of the State organ,^[7] as well as Nellie Blessing Eyster,^[8] Ada Henry Van Pelt,^[9] and Clare O. Southard.^[10]

References

1. Walsh, Charles Harper (1908). A Guide to the Current Periodicals and Serials of the United States and Cananda, 1909. G. Wahr. p. 261. Retrieved 7 October 2023. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
2. Cherny, Robert W.; Irwin, Mary Ann; Wilson, Ann Marie (1 May 2011). California Women and Politics: From the Gold Rush to the Great Depression. University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0-8032-3503-8. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
3. Woman's Christian Temperance Union (1891). Minutes of the National Woman's Christian Temperance Union at The... Annual Meeting in ... with Addresses, Reports, and Constitutions. p. 87. Retrieved 8 October 2023. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
4. Woman's Christian Temperance Union of California (1892). Minutes of the Annual Convention ... with Reports. p. 73. Retrieved 7 October 2023. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
5. N. W. Ayer & Son's American Newspaper Annual. N.W. Ayer and Son. 1892. p. 57. Retrieved 7 October 2023. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
6. "Ensign Publishing Company". The Pacific Ensign. 1 (21). May 1891. Retrieved 7 October 2023. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
7. Willard, Frances Elizabeth; Livermore, Mary Ashton Rice (1893). A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life (Public domain ed.). Moulton. p. 686. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
8. Leonard, John William; Marquis, Albert Nelson (1906). Who's who in America. Marquis Who's Who. p. 467. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
9. Brewer, Nathan (8 November 2022). "Your Engineering Heritage: Ada Henry Van Pelt and the Electric Water Purifier". IEEE-USA InSight. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
10. "Editor". The Pacific Ensign. 14: 4. 1904. Retrieved 8 October 2023. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

External links

• The Pacific Ensign, Volume 1, Issue 21
• The Pacific Ensign, Volume 14