Waterbury evening Democrat, 1887-1895

According to historical accounts, the Waterbury Democrat family of Democratic newspapers was founded in Waterbury, Connecticut, in 1881 by an Irish-born Cornelius Maloney. The first daily edition, the Waterbury Evening Democrat, appeared on December 5, 1887. This important publication reported chiefly on news and sports in Waterbury itself, but also included columns for the neighboring towns of Naugatuck, Oakville, and Watertown. It was later billed as the only Democratic paper in the industrializing Naugatuck Valley. Maloney hired Irish activist Stephen J. Meany as the first editor of the daily Waterbury Evening Democrat. An attorney and a poet, Meany actively promoted the Irish nationalist cause as well as advancing a populist, pro-labor viewpoint.