Thomas Willis White (1788–1843) was an American printer and publisher who founded the Southern Literary Messenger.
Later he gained work as a composer in Norfolk, then moved to Philadelphia and Boston to learn the printing and publishing business.
The first issue was published in August 1834 and included laudatory comments from John Quincy Adams and James Fenimore Cooper, among others.
[4] It is understood that the first number of the "Messenger," will be sent forth by its Publisher, as a kind of pioneer, to spy out the land of literary promise, and to report whether the same be fruitful or barren, before he resolves upon future action.
Hundreds of similar publications thrive and prosper north of the Potomac, sustained as they are by the liberal hand of patronage.
Madison, who was recovering from an illness and still confined to his room at the time, did not reply personally, but his wife Dolley wrote a letter in response.
Its own merit however, and its obvious application to events of the time at which it was written, will attract a due share of attention."
"[6] In August 1835, after accepting several pieces from Poe, White hired him to write literary critiques and assist in editing the journal.
Their childhoods were infused with interactions with such famous Americans as Chief Justice John Marshall, Horace Greeley, Daniel Webster, Erastus Brooks, and Henry Clay, who were frequent visitors at the White home.