Mary Katherine Goddard was born in Connecticut on June 16, 1738, and grew up in New London, where her father, Giles Goddard, was a doctor and postmaster. Her mother, Sarah Goddard, was well educated as the daughter of a wealthy Rhode Island landowner. Her mother gave Mary a first-rate education which was unusual at the time. Goddard also studied Latin, French, math, and science in the New London public schools.
Mary worked as a publisher for her brother William’s many newspaper businesses. She often was running them herself because her brother traveled a lot and was sometimes in trouble with the law. In Baltimore in 1774 she took control of his newspaper called: Maryland Journal. Starting in the first half of 1775, the Maryland Journal named Mary Goddard as editor and publisher. In August of 1775, William made her the postmaster of Baltimore, part of the new continental postal system. The position probably made her the first female postmaster in America. While William Goddard continued to travel to develop the postal system, Mary helped start new post offices in Maryland.
As publisher of the Maryland Journal, Mary wrote in favor of the American Revolution. In June of 1774, she published a long report of the British closing of Boston Harbor, England’s reaction to the Boston Tea Party of 1773. In April of 1775, she urged women to make flax and wool and save money by not buying things from Europe and so help America become more independent from them. Once war broke out, her newspaper articles we in favor of the colonists. "The British behaved with savage barbarity," she wrote in her edition of June 7, 1775. She published Thomas Paine's pro-revolutionary essay "Common Sense". Under her leadership, the Maryland Journal became "one of the most vigorous voice of the rebellious colonies".
To make more money during the war, she published extra editions about major news events, such as the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775 and the Continental Congress's call to arms. She bartered with customers, allowing them to pay with goods such as beef, pork, butter, lard, flour, or beeswax instead of cash. She also started a paper mill and sometimes printed the newspaper on smaller sheets of paper. Meanwhile, her printing company produced books, pamphlets, and broadsides.
In mid-1776, Goddard struck a blow for press freedom by taking a critic to court: George Somerville, a British loyalist who had come to her office, was angered by a story and threatened her. The Baltimore County Committee condemned Somerville's actions, saying that he was threatening the freedom of the press.
Goddard's most famous printing job was published on January 18, 1777: the first copy of the Declaration of Independence that included the names of its signers. She got the job from the Continental Congress, which had moved from Philadelphia to Baltimore to avoid the British army. She recognized the historical importance of the document, and signed it with her full name instead of her initials, as she did for most other projects. She paid post riders to distribute the document across the new United States. Goddard herself often worked without pay because the Continental Congress had little money and she sometimes paid post riders from her own accounts.
From July 1779 to May 1783, Goddard's Maryland Journal was Baltimore's only newspaper, and by 1784, it had one of the largest circulations of any newspaper in the United States.
Mary Goddard never married, which was unusual for women in her day. She died in Baltimore on August 12, 1816. In her will, she freed a slave, Belinda Starling, who had aided her during the last years of her life. She also left all her property to Starling. Today she is recognized as one of the most important newspaper publishers in America's revolutionary era.
Bibliography:
"Mary Katherine Goddard." Encyclopedia of World Biography, vol. 37, Gale, 2017. Biography In Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1631010619/BIC?u=va_s_007_0162&sid=BIC&xid=66cf4ef2. Accessed 30 Jan. 2019.
Mary worked as a publisher for her brother William’s many newspaper businesses. She often was running them herself because her brother traveled a lot and was sometimes in trouble with the law. In Baltimore in 1774 she took control of his newspaper called: Maryland Journal. Starting in the first half of 1775, the Maryland Journal named Mary Goddard as editor and publisher. In August of 1775, William made her the postmaster of Baltimore, part of the new continental postal system. The position probably made her the first female postmaster in America. While William Goddard continued to travel to develop the postal system, Mary helped start new post offices in Maryland.
As publisher of the Maryland Journal, Mary wrote in favor of the American Revolution. In June of 1774, she published a long report of the British closing of Boston Harbor, England’s reaction to the Boston Tea Party of 1773. In April of 1775, she urged women to make flax and wool and save money by not buying things from Europe and so help America become more independent from them. Once war broke out, her newspaper articles we in favor of the colonists. "The British behaved with savage barbarity," she wrote in her edition of June 7, 1775. She published Thomas Paine's pro-revolutionary essay "Common Sense". Under her leadership, the Maryland Journal became "one of the most vigorous voice of the rebellious colonies".
To make more money during the war, she published extra editions about major news events, such as the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775 and the Continental Congress's call to arms. She bartered with customers, allowing them to pay with goods such as beef, pork, butter, lard, flour, or beeswax instead of cash. She also started a paper mill and sometimes printed the newspaper on smaller sheets of paper. Meanwhile, her printing company produced books, pamphlets, and broadsides.
In mid-1776, Goddard struck a blow for press freedom by taking a critic to court: George Somerville, a British loyalist who had come to her office, was angered by a story and threatened her. The Baltimore County Committee condemned Somerville's actions, saying that he was threatening the freedom of the press.
Goddard's most famous printing job was published on January 18, 1777: the first copy of the Declaration of Independence that included the names of its signers. She got the job from the Continental Congress, which had moved from Philadelphia to Baltimore to avoid the British army. She recognized the historical importance of the document, and signed it with her full name instead of her initials, as she did for most other projects. She paid post riders to distribute the document across the new United States. Goddard herself often worked without pay because the Continental Congress had little money and she sometimes paid post riders from her own accounts.
From July 1779 to May 1783, Goddard's Maryland Journal was Baltimore's only newspaper, and by 1784, it had one of the largest circulations of any newspaper in the United States.
Mary Goddard never married, which was unusual for women in her day. She died in Baltimore on August 12, 1816. In her will, she freed a slave, Belinda Starling, who had aided her during the last years of her life. She also left all her property to Starling. Today she is recognized as one of the most important newspaper publishers in America's revolutionary era.
Bibliography:
"Mary Katherine Goddard." Encyclopedia of World Biography, vol. 37, Gale, 2017. Biography In Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1631010619/BIC?u=va_s_007_0162&sid=BIC&xid=66cf4ef2. Accessed 30 Jan. 2019.