The portrait of John Osman (1819-1909) is from a biographical sketch of him that appeared in an Illinois publication.
John Osman was born in Lykens Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, on 18 June 1819. He had a twin sister, Elizabeth Osman, who didn’t marry, and died on 6 June 1866 in Lykens Township. She is buried at the Zion (Klinger’s) Church Cemetery, Erdman, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.
John married Mary Hise on 28 November 1848.
The following is compiled from several sources, including the biographical sketch previously mentioned:
As a youth, William Osman demonstrated an excellent writing ability and early-on, he made the decision to make writing his life’s work. At fourteen, he apprenticed to the printer Jacob Baab of Harrisburg. Baab was the publisher of Die Morgenroethe, which was the first German language newspaper in the county. He became skilled in typesetting, both in English and German. When 18, he attended Gettysburg College for a semester, and afterward, at the urging of his friends, Hise and Weaver from the Baab print shop, he went west with them to Chicago. The journey west began in 1840, and with a combination of stagecoach riding and walking followed by a packet boat up the Hudson River, they arrived at Albany. There they took the railroad to Syracuse and from Syracuse to Chicago, followed by a stagecoach to Ottawa, Illinois, where they arrived on 1 August 1840. At arrival, William only had ten cents to his name. He secured a position working for what became the Ottawa Free Trader, and by October 1841, he was the sole editor of the newspaper. In 1842, William’s brother Moses Osman arrived in Ottawa from Lykens Township, and he began working for the newspaper.
When the Mexican War began, William and Moses enlisted at the Ottawa courthouse. John Hise said he would keep the Free Trader in operation. While in the military the brothers found an old Franklin-type printing press, and with military permission, a regimental newspaper was begun. On 12 April 1847, the first edition of The Picket Guard was issued. It had news of the war, editorials, news from home, some humor and gossip, and letters to the editor. When the paper had reached its seventh issue, the regiment was ready to leave for home, so the brothers announced the end of The Picket Guard.
When they returned to Ottawa, the brothers ran the Free Trader until 1852 when William was elected as Clerk to the Illinois House of Representatives, whereupon the paper was sold. While in Springfield, William met many influential men including Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas. In 1854, William took a job with the Chicago Democrat, which later was called the Chicago Tribune. By 1855, he tired of big-city politics and returned to Ottawa where he bought back the Free Trader. In 1856, due to his association with Stephen Douglas, William Osman was nominated for postmaster, which he accepted and served in that position until 1890. Afterward, he returned to the Free Trader and operated it with his son.
On 18 January 1909, William Osman died.
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Corrections and additional information should be added as comments to this post.