DREW TUFTS. Among the publications that have contributed to the development of the resources of Marion County, enhanced its material, moral and social interests and exerted a powerful influence in behalf of the cause of justice, prominent mention belongs to The Democrat, the organ of the Democratic party in Centralia, and one of the leading papers published in this part of the state.
Mr. Tufts, the editor, is a young gentleman of great ability, and is admirably qualified, both by nature and training, for the successful prosecution of his chosen work. In addition to the duties of this position, he is also filling the oflice of private secretary to Lieut. Gov. Joseph B. Gill.
Referring to the ancestry of the subject of this sketch, we find that the Tufts family is of Scotch descent and was represented in America during the Colonial days.
Our subject's father, Samuel P., was born near Boston, Mass., June 28, 1827, and was a son of Almanza Tufts, whom he accompanied to St. Louis, Mo., at the age of about eighteen years. Thence he removed to Wisconsin and was apprenticed to learn the trade of a carpenter. Upon the outbreak of the war with Mexico, he joined an Illinois regiment and served through the entire conflict, after which, retiring from the army, he proceeded to California and for some years engaged in gold mining. Returning to Illinois, Samuel P. Tufts located in Centralia in 1854, about the time of the completion of the Illinois Central Railroad to that place. He engaged here in building and general carpenter work until the opening of the Rebellion, when he enlisted in the service of the Union and marched to the front as Lieutenant of his company under the command of General Oglesby. At the close of the war he was appointed Assistant Assessor of Internal Revenue.
His connection with The Democrat dates from the year 1869. The office was burned down in 1870 and in the following year the property was purchased by him, after which he continued editor and proprietor of the paper for more than a decade. In 1883, receiving an appointment in the House Postofiice at Washington, D. C., he turned the management of the paper over to his son. He made his home in the Capitol City until 1886, when he resigned and shortly afterward accepted the position of Postmaster at Centralin, continuing to serve in that capacity until 1889. Later he embarked in the general produce business at this place. In July, 1893, he again received the appointment as Postmaster at Centralia and is now filling that position with the same marked fidelity to duty and energy of disposition that has characterized his incumbency of other offices.
In the family of Samuel P. Tufts there were seven children, four of whom are now living, viz.:
all living in Centralia.
The eldest, Gay L., was born in Centralia April 16, 1860, and was reared and educated in this city. In 1893 he became associated with The Democrat, with which he is still connected.
The subject of this sketch was born in the city where he now lives, January 27, 1864, and received his education in the common and high schools of Centralia, graduating from the latter in 1882. He entered the oflice of The Democrat as assistant editor and has been associated with the paper ever since. A member of the Southern Illinois Press Association, he is now serving as its Secretary, and is also Vice-President of the Illinois Press Association.
Socially he is identified with the Helmet Lodge No. 26, K. P., at Centralia, and has passed through all the chairs, being a Past Chancellor-at this writing.
In 1893 Mr. Tufts was chosen private secretary to Hon. Joseph B. Gill and still serves in that capacity. He is a member of the senatorial committee of the Forty-second District and has served as delegate to various state, congressional and county conventions, dating back as far as 1886. In the Democratic National Convention of 1892 he was alternate delegate. At various times he has been connected with the management of the county campaigns, which he has managed with great skill and adroitness, being considered one of the most successful workers in his party.
The Democrat was founded in 1871 by Samuel P. Tufts and was at that time a seven-column weekly paper. On the 30th of May, 1893, was issued the first number of the Daily, which is a six-column falio and is published every evening. The circulation is large, the advertising patronage liberal, and the paper is conceded to be the leading Democratic publication in this section of Illinois.
Source: "Portrait and Biographical Record Clinton, Washington, Marion and Jefferson Counties, Illinois"
Chapman Publishing Co, Chicago, 1894
Pages 451 - 452
Submitted by Sandy (Whalen) Bauer