A street in the North Ward was opened in 1880 and named Walton, to remember an important printer and editor who was active in Sherbrooke for almost half a century. Joseph Soper Walton was born in 1801 in Hanover, New Hampshire. He was the son of Mary Parkere and of George Walton. In 1816, he entered as an apprentice in the printing shop of his brother F. P. Walton in Montpellier. Between 1825 and 1831, he settled in Stanstead (where he worked with Asa Gaylord, bookseller and binder) and then in Sherbrooke. In 1833, likely in Vermont, he married Esther Westmore Southmayd (ca 1804—Sherbrooke -1855). They had at least 5 children: Charles Henry (1834-1877), a future printer in Florida; Edward Wright (1836); Ellen Maria (1838-1855); Andrew Robertson (1841) and Mary Elizabeth (1845-1917). In 1834, Walton started a printing shop in Sherbrooke and established with Asa Gaylord The Farmers’ Advocate and Townships Gazette, a conservative paper. Due to financial problems, it was sold in 1837 by lawyer Robert Armour Jr to Montreal interests. It became The Sherbrooke Gazette and Eastern Townships Advertiser. In 1839, with other businessmen in the area, Walton bought the Sherbrooke Gazette, which also ran into financial problems. Because of his experience, Walton was chosen to run the paper. He changed the name to the Farmers’ and Mechanics’ Journal and St. Francis Gazette. In 1840, the weekly became The Sherbrooke Gazette and Eastern Townships Advertiser, the main English newspapers in Sherbrooke. Walton was the editor and owner until 1869 or 1870, when he retired. In the 1871 Year Book of Canada, we see that he even published dress patterns. In 1907, The Sherbrooke Gazette and the Examiner both became The Sherbrooke Daily Record. See full story in the Tuesday, April 24th edition of The Record.
Joseph Soper Walton (1802-1875): Printer, Editor and Forerunner of The Record
By newsroom
