Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
Marshall Cohen—researcher and producer, CNN
Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
HAM, Moses M.
HAM, Moses M. (Shapleigh, York Co., ME, Mar. 23, 1833-Dubuque, IA, Dec. 25, 1902). Editor-in-chief, Dubuque Daily Herald. Ham, once an editor of the Detroit Free Press, brought to light much of the early history of Julien DUBUQUE after a priest led him to an obscure history of French explorers of the Mississippi Valley.
Ham settled in Dubuque in 1863 and became the editor of the Herald. He acquired a controlling interest in the paper and in 1864 joined with D. D. W. Carver as his business partner. In 1899 Ham, however, left the newspaper business and sold his interest in the newspaper. (1)
Ham, a staunch Democrat, served for sixteen years as a member of the National Democratic Committee and was elected to the Iowa Senate in 1877. In 1885 during President Cleveland’s administration, he was appointed Postmaster of Dubuque, a position he held four years. Ham was reappointed in 1893 during Cleveland’s next term. Once he was offered the first assistant postmastership of the United States but declined due to the demands of his newspaper publishing. (2)
Ham served as one of the regents of Iowa State University and was president of the public school board in Dubuque. (3)
Ham died without a will leaving an estate estimated at $29,000. Most of the estate involved $3,000 in stock in the KEY CITY GAS COMPANY, $2,500 in stock in the IOWA TRUST AND SAVINGS BANK, and the remainder in stock of the Telegraph-Herald. (4)
---
Source:
1. Portrait and Biographical Record of Dubuque, Jones and Clayton Counties, Iowa. Chicago: Chapman Publishing Company, 1894, p. 265
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. "Died Without Will," Dubuque Telegraph-Herald, January 3, 1903, p. 3
