The Union Literary Banner

The Union Literary Banner was published by the Union Literary Society and edited by John T. (ca. 1831- ) and Rachel C. Lindley (1837- ), between 1865 and 1870, in Indiana. They were both likely born around the Honey Creek, Henry County, Ind. area, where John was registered as a farmer in both the 1870 and 1880 census. It includes poems, moral and religious reflections, and articles on courtship, memory, labor, and character. One of the poems, titled "The Three Sisters," was written by Martha Coffin from Dublin, Ind., born around 1851 to B.F. Coffin and E.J. Halan. She would have been around 15 years old at the time of the newspaper. She married Leonard Wild on August 20, 1885 in Hamilton, Steuben County and DeKalb County, Ind. The paper was likely part of a school project at the Union Literary Insitute. The Institute was founded primarily by abolitionist Quakers and free African Americans in 1846 and was the first school to offer education without regard to race or gender before the Civil War. It was supported by local donations and was part of the Underground Railroad. The school also had a printed newspaper called "The Student's Repository" published in 1863. The school closed in 1880 due to declining enrollment.