Almon M. Clapp

He moved to Buffalo, New York in 1828, and after finishing his education engaging in commerce for a few years, founded the Aurora Standard in 1835.

He served in the State Assembly in 1853 as a Whig, but by 1856 he was a leader at the Pittsburgh convention of the new Republican Party.

[2][3][4] He was the party's nominee for Secretary of State of New York in the 1857 election, losing to Gideon J. Tucker.

[3] In 1869 the United States Senate elected him to be Congressional Printer, and he sold the Express.

In 1877, he bought the National Republican newspaper in Washington, D.C., which was a pro-Republican paper, and owned it until 1880.