William W. Worsley Papers, 1794-1801, 1809-1825. These three volumes primarily contain incoming correspondence of Worsley, a Lexington newspaper editor and publisher. In chronological arrangement, papers, 1794-1813, are in 5 CC; 1814-1825 in 6 CC; and undated pieces in 7 CC. Worsley and Thomas Smith formed the firm of Worsley and Smith, which issued the Lexington Reporter from about 1808 through November, 1825, and also printed books, handbills, and broadsides. Worsley was also a militia officer and there is one letter (1810) about his special guard assignment in Lexington “to apprehend and secure all very suspicious blacks who may be found in the streets in doubtful situations.” Communications came to the publishing firm from citizens of many occupations and interests. Some letters concern subscriptions and finance, but more were intended for publication or editorial use. More than one-third were written during the War of 1812. Among the most informative are a series by Smith while he was serving in William Henry Harrison's Northwestern Army in 1812-1813. Numerous other pieces-including some filed with undated materials-deal with arrangements for supplies and for donations of clothing for Harrison's army. Among letters of other dates by Smith are political comments on Andrew Jackson and on Henry Clay's campaigns in 1816 and 1824 and discussion of the firm's publishing business. Several printed prospectuses and advertisements for publications by Worsley and Smith and by other contemporary publishers are scattered among the manuscripts.

Files of the Lexington Reporter exist for the years 1808-1817 and are available as a microfilm publication.