for the Albany Register, which was published by Henry C. Southwick and edited by his brother Solomon Southwick. In 1816, Weed moved to the Albany Argus, published by Jesse Buel, whose lucrative appointment as state printer required him to publish state reports, legislative manuals, and legal notices. The additional responsibility Buel delegated to Weed enabled Weed to more than double his salary, and also kindled an interest in politics, since Weed had to set type for or proofread state documents. Weed began attending sessions of the state legislature, and was an early supporter of DeWitt Clinton. In early 1817, Weed took advantage of a lull in state printing to travel to New York City, where he obtained employment with the Winkle and Wiley book publishing firm. He then moved to a position with the Political Register, which was published by William Cobbett after Cobbett fled England to avoid prosecution for sedition. After leaving Cobbett, Weed worked for several other publishers in New York City, including Jonathan Seymour, James Harper, and William A. Mercien. During his hours away from work, Weed attended the theater frequently and continued to observe political meetings. In mid-1817, Israel W. Clark, a Cooperstown newspaper editor, purchased the Albany Register from Henry C. Southwick and offered Weed the job of press foreman, so Weed returned to Albany. In addition to running the presses, Weed began to try his hand at composing editorials on the political topics of the day; under Clark's tutelage, he worked to improve his grammar, spelling, and writing style. Over time, he became adept at composing editorials and articles as he set them in type, rather than first preparing a manuscript, which gave him a competitive advantage by enabling him to publish them more quickly than could rival editors. In 1818, a group of pro-DeWitt Clinton Democratic-Republican political figures purchased the Norwich newspaper and publishing business of John F. Hubbard. This group, which included James Birdsall and Obadiah German, then sold the works to Weed, who moved to Norwich to publish the Agriculturist. Hubbard was later convinced to start a rival paper opposed to Clinton, the Norwich Journal. While living in Norwich, Weed also received a state appointment as commissioner to acknowledge the transfer of deeds and other sale documents, and the two to three dollars in fees he received each month enabled him to continue the Agriculturist during the earliest days of its