 Front page above the fold of an issue of the Virginia Argus and Hampshire Advertiser published on October 7, 1852. | |
| Type | Weekly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner(s) | Owners serving as both editors and publishers: A. S. Trowbridge (1850–1852) A. S. Trowbridge and Drinkard (1852–1853) A. S. Trowbridge (1853–1857) Samuel R. Smith and John G. Combs (1857–1858) James Parsons (1858–1859) William Miller Parsons (1859–1861) Job N. Cookus and Alexander W. Monroe (1861) |
| Founder(s) | A. S. Trowbridge |
| Founded | July 1850 |
| Political alignment | Democratic |
| Language | English |
| Ceased publication | August 1861 |
| Headquarters | Romney, Virginia (now West Virginia), United States |
| Circulation | 800 |
| OCLC number | 11111337 |
The Virginia Argus and Hampshire Advertiser, often referred to simply as the Virginia Argus, was a weekly newspaper published between July 1850 and August 1861 in Romney, Virginia (now West Virginia). The paper's circulation of 800 copies was the second-highest in Hampshire County, after the South Branch Intelligencer's. The Virginia Argus ceased publication following its closure by the Union Army during the American Civil War, after which it was not revived.
The Virginia Argus documented the pursuit of fugitive slave Jacob Green by the Parsons family of Romney in 1856, and the ensuing dispute between the Parsons family and Charles James Faulkner over legal fees in 1857. At the time of the dispute, Faulkner was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia's 8th congressional district; he later served as the United States Minister to France, and again as a member of the United States House of Representatives from West Virginia's 2nd congressional district.
Among the newspaper's proprietors was Alexander W. Monroe, a prominent Romney lawyer who had previously served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates (1850–1851). Monroe and co-owner Job N. Cookus left the newspaper to serve in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Following the war, Monroe represented Hampshire County in the West Virginia House of Delegates (1875–1877 and 1879–1883). During the 1875–1877 legislative session, he was the Speaker of the West Virginia House of Delegates.