American journalism offers few such records of long-lived publications under continuous management as is shown in the career of George Griswold Stebbins of Little Falls, Herkimer county, New York. It is close to sixty years ago that Mr. Stebbins became associated with his brother, the late Jean R. Stebbins, as editor and publisher of the Little Falls Journal and Courier, and he is the responsible head of the paper today. He was born on September 11, 1842, at Marshall, Oneida county, New York, the son of William Burrell and Elvira S. (Griswold) Stebbins, both deceased. William B. Stebbins, the father, was born in Manheim, Herkimer county, on February 24, 1808, and died on November 4, 1881, at Little Falls. He was one of the leading physicians at Little Falls for many years before his death, and was a graduate of Fairfield Medical College, at Fairfield, New York, in 1834. His parents were John and Electa (Burrell) Stebbins, who lived in Little Falls. Mrs. Elvira S. (Griswold) Stebbins, the mother of George G. Stebbins, was the daughter of Colonel Amos and Martha (Munson) Griswold and was born on August 1, 1811, at Salisbury, New York, and died on January 16, 1889, in Little Falls. The ancestors of the Griswolds came from England and settled in Manheim, New York, but later moved to Salisbury, this state. Colonel Amos Griswold was a colonel in the state militia and was also the owner of a tannery and a large country store at Brockett's Bridge, New York, now known as Dolgeville. John Stebbins was born in Sheffield, England.
The early education of George Griswold Stebbins was obtained in the public schools and the Little Falls Academy, followed by a course in Falley Seminary at Fulton, New York. On the 6th of September, 1866, in partnership with his brother, Jean R. Stebbins, he formed the firm of J. R. & G. G. Stebbins for the publication of The Journal and Courier and also for the conduct of a commercial printing business. In 1883 Ivan T. Burney was admitted to the firm and the name was changed to Stebbins & Company. In 1888 Jean R. Stebbins, having been elected president of the Agricultural Insurance Company of Watertown, disposed of his interest in this firm to his partners and the firm name became Stebbins & Burney, with Mr. Stebbins as the senior member. On the 1st of January, 1911, the business was incorporated under the name of The Journal & Courier Company, with Mr. Stebbins as president, Ivan T. Burney as vice president and treasurer, and Gaspard L. Dussault as secretary and superintendent. Mr. Stebbins is a republican in politics, one of the ruling elders of the First Presbyterian church of Little Falls, New York, and takes an active part in the work of the church and the Young Men's Christian Association, being a member of the latter organization.
On the 15th of October, 1873, in Little Falls, Mr. Stebbins was married to Miss Sarah M. Ford, born at Colts Neck, New Jersey, daughter of Orrin A. and Susan Francisco Ford, the father being a graduate of Union College of Schenectady, who followed the profession of teaching for a number of years. Mr. Stebbins and his wife are the parents of five children: Walter W., who married Miss Jennie M. Dievendorf; Byron H., who married Miss Florence Hastings; Elvie G., now Mrs. Harry Houghton; Mary F. Stebbins; and Fred G., who married Miss Annabelle McDonald.