Photograph of Cyrus Macy’s dry goods store at 133 Warren Street, Hudson, New York, c.1860-1870.  The Stoddard house, at 131 Warren Street, stands to the right of the store. Collection of Historic Hudson, Hudson, New York

The Stoddard family resided at 131 Warren Street, at the southeast corner of Third and Warren Streets.¹⁷  An 1873 map of the west part of the 3rd ward in Hudson shows that the Stoddard’s corner lot included a building fronting Warren Street and two smaller structures facing 3rd Street .

On October 18, 1840, Stoddard died at 77 years of age.  He remained active in business until a few days before his death.  One obituary described Stoddard as a small man with a delicate constitution, but added “He lived highly respected, and no man ever left a fairer reputation.”¹⁸

Stoddard ensured that his children were well educated and passed on to them a passion for literature.  In 1824 William Stoddard began publication of the Rural Repository, a semi-monthly newspaper that featured short stories, poems, biographies and historical anecdotes.¹⁹  In its day the Repository was regarded as one of the leading literary periodicals in the United States.  The office for the newspaper was located at 135 Warren Street for most of the period in which it was published.  William shared this address with his father, whose bookstore most likely occupied the first floor of the building while the Repository offices were located above.²⁰  He moved the office to 131 Warren Street shortly before 1851, the year the newspaper was discontinued.²¹  For more than twenty-five years the Repository had delighted, amused and educated its devoted readers in Hudson.

William was a job printer as well as publisher of a newspaper.  According to advertisements placed in the Repository, he printed handbills, business and address cards, pamphlets, checks and books to order.²²  He continued the printing business after publication of the newspaper ceased.  The printing office was always at the same location as the office for the Rural Repository.

Front page of the Rural Repository, July 10, 1824