Mary Katharine Goddard
Publisher of the Declaration of Independence
1738 – 1816 A.D.

As Americans celebrate the 250th anniversary of our country, we naturally honor the courage and vision of those individuals often called the “Founding Fathers”—the men whose ideas culminated in the creation of our nation. However, while men did occupy most of the important positions of government at the time, as well as in the commercial world, there were some prominent women. And one of these was Mary Katharine Goddard, the Baltimore printer/publisher/postmaster who issued the very first edition of the American Declaration of Independence with the names of the signatories on the bottom.

In the 18th century whenever a woman owned or managed a commercial business it usually was not derived from her own effort but from a connection with a spouse or a family and that was the case with Goddard. Her family was deeply involved in various colonial publishing and printing businesses and her brother William was also an important figure in the colonial government.

When Mary Katharine Goddard was born in June, 1738 in New England, her father was the postmaster of New London, Connecticut and her mother, Sarah Updike Goddard, was the cofounder/publisher of the first newspaper established in Providence, Rhode Island. Later she and her daughter and son William would also become publishers and printers as they established an early influential publishing entity prominent in the American colonies.

In most of the colonies, the person who published the local newspaper was an important member of the community, not just as a provider of local and even national news; but also because he was also the printer, publishing legal notices, public documents, and publicity broadsides. In addition, since the mail was about the only means of inter-community communication the community newspaper publisher/printer was often also the local postmaster. In short, such a person was a vital part of local information and communication.

Mary Katharine’s mother Sarah was the educated daughter of a prosperous landowner, so she knew the importance of schooling her children. As Mary Katharine attended local schools where she learned languages, science and other subjects, her complete education was rare for girls at the time. Then in 1755 when Mary Katharine’s father became too ill to work Sarah Goddard sent 15- year-old son William, to work as a printer’s apprentice to begin his work in the industry. Later the family established and operated the Providence [Rhode Island] Gazette.

With help from his mother and sister, William continued to establish and operate newspapers in various locations and then in 1768 the family began the Pennsylvania Chronicle in Philadelphia. But two years later there were changes. Sarah passed away in 1770 and after arguing with William who dropped out, Mary Katharine was left in charge of the newspaper. Then in 1774 William arranged for her to take over the Maryland Journal in Baltimore.

At that time, as Mary Katharine began to operate the newspaper in Baltimore, many colonials were beginning to become angry about the British government control and demonstrated it with various protests. In 1774 Mary Katharine began publishing news reports about these disturbances in Boston. Then early the next year she began to support local female-led “homespun” movements where colonial women determined to make and wear only American made cloth instead of British imports. In addition, her newspaper published sections of Thomas Payne’s popular pamphlet “Common Sense” and covered early battle reports critical of the British.

During this time William stepped out of the newspaper business temporarily, when that summer in July the Continental Congress adopted his postal system, and then appointed Benjamin Franklin as the new postmaster general. During the early days of the Revolutionary War, William Goddard took a major part in the establishment of the postal system for the American colonies and from this became the U.S. Post Office after the U.S. became a nation.

Later that fall in 1775, Mary Katharine became Baltimore’s postmaster which at the time seemed to make her the United States’ only female employee when the nation formed in 1776. In addition, at that time the Continental Congress turned to Mary Katharine to print copies of the newly issued Declaration of Independence, and she seemed to recognize her part in the historical moment. Prior to this she had signed her newspapers “M.K. Goddard” but on the published copies of the Declaration of Independence she printed her full name.

As the Revolutionary War began, hard economic conditions presented challenges to many businesses, Mary Katharine’s among them. There were often difficulties in obtaining the paper to publish the newspaper and other notices, so in 1778 William Goddard started a paper factory producing what was required. During this time, since he was involved with the post office business, Mary Katharine managed and published the Maryland Journal on her own. Then due to the challenges of the time she published a public notice of appeal for help in May, 1778. It read “Rags for the paper-mill near this town are much wanted and the highest price will be given for them by the printer”—she was offering cash for the clothing scraps. According to one source she was ready to make accommodations for her readers as she “…announced her willingness to barter with the subscribers, accepting payment in beeswax, flour, lard, butter, beef or pork.” With all this, she could proudly claim in a November 1779 issue that “… the Journal had as extensive a circulation as any newspaper in the United States.”

However as time passed William and Mary Katharine began to have personal difficulties in their newspaper businesses and in January, 1784 William ended his sister’s management of the Maryland Journal and he assumed personal control. However, Mary Katharine remained in the city as she began her own publishing business, issuing almanacs, a popular type of publication at the time. And oddly enough William’s Journal published a competing edition and that caused further difficulties which led to William printing attacks on not only his sister’s almanacs but on her character as well. William demonstrated his hostility when he published a statement that attacked Mary Katharine as a” hypocritical character” and condemned the “double-faced Almanack [sic]” that contained what he called “..a mean, vulgar and common-place Selection of Articles.”

Then 1785 Mary sold her interest in the Journal to a new owner and that ended her connection with her brother and the newspaper.

In October, 1789 Mary Katharine was replaced as postmaster of Baltimore, though there was some indication this was because the position required traveling to out of town post offices—journeys that would have been difficult for Mary Katharine as a woman.

However, Mary Katharine sought to return to the postmaster position and she had a great deal of support, as indicated by a petition from several hundred prominent Baltimore residents for her reinstatement. Goddard herself appealed to President Washington and the U.S. Senate about the issue. Using third person, she wrote to the Senate in 1790: “She hath been discharged without the smallest imputation of any Fault, These are but poor rewards indeed for fourteen Years faithful Service performed in the worst of times.” She described her position as “…established by her own Industry in the best years of her life, & whereon depended on all her future Prospects of subsistence.”

To Mary Katharine’s sorrow, Washington refused to become involved and the Senate never responded to her letter.

Though seemingly out of the publishing/printing business, for the next 20 years Goddard operated a retail outlet selling books and dry goods in Baltimore. She never married so when she died in August, 1816 at age 78 she left her property to her enslaved servant Belinda Tarling saying it was to “recompense the faithful performance of duties to me.”

A contemporary described her as a “…a woman of extraordinary judgment, energy, nerve and strong good sense.” Also, as she tried to survive in the commercial male atmosphere of the time she still left her mark in many ways. One writer put it this way: “None of Goddard’s letters survive, and she revealed little about herself in her journalism. Instead our best evidence of her personality is her work, steady yet animated by a passion for American liberty.”

References:

Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum

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Anne Adams is a retired church staffer. She lives in East Texas and has an historical column for a local newspaper. She has published in Christian and secular publications for more than 40 years.