Studio8 - Uniting the Arts

Can anyone help me locate this?

Jacob Zanger was a journalist in the American colonies, pre-Revolutionary times. He was supposedly an ancestor of mine (Songer line).

His claim to fame was a defamatory satire published about the governor (?) of the colonies. The satire landed him in a lawsuit, which he won with the help of a famous barrister of those times.
The barrister was a brother of a signer of the Constitution, and it's said that the Bill of Rights amendment supporting freedom of speech and of the press originated from that lawsuit and the ideas it inspired.

There used to be a website I could go to that told all about him. Now I can't find it on Google or MSN or AOL.

Can anyone help me find it?

He existed, and his story is unique.

He was more fool than brave. And the more I think about it, the more I believe that the theories about our link to him are correct.

If you can find a website about him, I would be grateful.

Zenger and Zonger are variations on the same name do think it could have been Peter Zenger, publisher of New York Weekly Journal?

Nevertheless, press freedom apparently made some strides during this early period, thanks to a 1735 case involving John Peter Zenger, publisher of New York Weekly Journal. Charged with sedition after his paper had criticized colonial authorities, Zenger eventually won the case with the help of noted attorney Andrew Hamilton. Although the case set no legal precedent, Emery and Emery credit it with establishing a tone for freedom, noting that "after 1735 no other colonial court trial of a printer for seditious libel has come to light"

http://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/al ... 1783/news/

That's IT !!

I was looking for the name on the family genealogy, because I couldn't remember it. Zanger, Zwinger, Zwicker, Zenger .... who was it?

My dad doesn't believe in the Songer/Zenger connection, so he never put it in, and went back as far as Jacob Zanger only.

Thanks, stilltrucking.

You are welcome, I would be proud of that fool.


I think there is a connection, it seems there was a lot of variation in spelling, Zenger/Zonger/Songer

76. Peter Songer, born 1752; died 1822. He was the son of 152. Peter Zonger (Songer). He married 77. Maria Shroyer 1789 in Rockingham, Rockingham Co., VA.

http://www.buckeyebb.com/kelly/geneology.htm

Huh. I'll have to ask my father about this.

He doesn't believe in the connection, like I said. I'm looking at this genealogy and he's got

Jacob Zanger, born abt 1725, died 1812 m. Eva Catharina Angstadt, born 1729, died 1814.

One child, Abraham, born May 29, 1773, which would have made Eva 44 years old. That's a pretty old primigravida for 1773.

Then he's got Abraham marrying a Catherine Schroyer, and that side of our family tree goes on from there.

I know I had this discussion with him before, but it's been a while.

It came up because there's such a strong belief in freedom of speech in our family. Always has been.

Thanks for the link, stilltrucking. You see, here is another family with a Songer last name who believes they are related to him. I can't see any connection between these Songers and the Clay County Illinois Songers in my tree, yet the genealogist for the Illinois Songers believed he had made a strong case for their descendancy from Peter Zenger.