Bowen also provided a short history of the Boston News-Letter, the title of which he appended to his own paper's title:
"Boston has the credit of issuing the first newspaper in North America, which was commenced on Monday April 24, 1704, by John Campbell, Esq. under the title of the The Boston News-Letter. It had been published by Campbell near 18 years, when it was transferred to his printer, Bartholomw Green, who continued it until his death, Dec. 28, 1732, and was succeeded by his son-in law Mr. John Draper, January 4, 1733. Mr. Draper printed the News-Letter about thirty years, and died at 61, November 29, 1762, when it fell to his son Richard Draper. In May 1774, Mr. Draper took John Boyle as partner. The next month Draper died, (June 6, at 47) and his widow, Margaret Draper succeeded him as proprietor of the paper, and Boyle was for a short time her partner; but they dissolved before the commencement of the reolutionary war. After the war began John Howe became Mrs. D.'s partner and remained in business with her until the British troops left here in 1776; at which time the paper was discontinued, after being regularly published for nearly seventy-two years. It was the only paper printed in Boston during the siege. Thus briefly, we have given a history of the paper, the title of which we have revived."
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