SMEAD, TIMOTHY (1811-3 Jan. 1890), one of Cleveland's pioneer printers, brought the first newspaper to what later became the city's west side. The son of a printer, he was born in Bennington, Vt., and raised in Bath, N.Y. Moving to Cleveland in 1835, he initially settled in the west side community then known as OHIO CITY, where he established the OHIO CITY ARGUS with Lyman W. Hall on 16 May 1836. After Hall's withdrawal, Smead replaced the Argus in 1838 with the Ohio Transcript and Farmers' Register. Having married Mary E. Herrick in 1836, he also started a monthly magazine called the MOTHERS' AND YOUNG LADIES' GUIDE under the editorship of his new mother-in-law, Mrs. MARIA M. HERRICK. Begun in June 1837, it was probably the first magazine published in Cleveland, east or west. Both the newspaper and magazine, however, as well as the abolitionist weekly Palladium of Liberty, which he had printed for the Liberty party, were suspended by 1841.
Smead then moved to Cleveland, where he formed a partnership with another antislavery printer, EDWIN W. COWLES. They printed both the Cleveland American and the DAILY TRUE DEMOCRAT, which was converted by Cowles into the CLEVELAND LEADER in 1855. Thereafter Smead concentrated on the printing business, although he also wrote poetry for private distribution to friends. Smead was credited by some with coinage of Cleveland's nickname of "FOREST CITY," but former Mayor WM. CASE is more commonly regarded as its originator. Blind during his last 8 years, Smead was survived by his wife and 4 children: Franklin, Sylvester, Maria, and Mary.