Mary Katharine Goddard

Mary Katharine Goddard was born in Southern New England in 1738.[3] She was the daughter of Dr. Giles Goddard and Sarah Updike Goddard. Her father was the postmaster of New London, Connecticut. Her brother, William Goddard (1740–1817), was a few years younger and had served an apprenticeship in the printing trade.

The Goddard family (Mrs. Goddard, William Goddard and Mary Goddard) had set up a printing press, and were the first to publish a newspaper in Providence, RI, called The Providence Gazette. However, William left Rhode Island to start a newspaper in Philadelphia. William also had been the publisher and printer of a revolutionary publication, the Maryland Journal. Mary Goddard took control of the journal in 1774 while her brother was traveling to promote his Constitutional Post; she continued to publish it throughout the American Revolutionary War until 1784, when her brother forced her to give up the newspaper amid an acrimonious quarrel.[4]

In 1775, Mary Katharine Goddard became postmaster of the Baltimore post office. She also ran a book store and published an almanac in offices located around 250 Market Street (now East Baltimore Street, near South Street). During the American Revolution, Goddard opposed the Stamp Act vehemently, recognizing it would increase the cost of printing.[5]

Goddard Broadside of the Declaration of Independence, with "Printed by Mary Katharine Goddard" at bottom

When on January 18, 1777, the Second Continental Congress moved that the Declaration of Independence be widely distributed, Goddard was one of the first to offer the use of her press. This was in spite of the risks of being associated with what was considered a treasonable document by the British. Her copy, the Goddard Broadside, was the second printed, and the first to contain the typeset names of the signatories, including John Hancock.[6]

Goddard was a successful postmaster for 14 years, from 1775 to 1789. In 1789, however, she was removed from the position by Postmaster General Samuel Osgood despite general protest from the Baltimore community. Osgood asserted that the position required "more traveling ... than a woman could undertake" and appointed a political ally of his to replace her.[7]

Goddard generally did not take part in public controversies, preferring to maintain editorial objectivity; therefore, few articles contain her personal opinions, and her defense was not mounted publicly. On November 12, 1789, over 230 citizens of Baltimore, including more than 200 leading businessmen, presented a petition demanding her reinstatement, which was unsuccessful.[8]

Goddard remained in Baltimore after her dismissal as Postmaster. She continued to run, until 1809 or 1810, a bookshop that had previously been an adjunct to her printing business, and sold books, stationery, and dry goods.[3] Goddard died August 12, 1816, still beloved by her community, and was buried in the graveyard of the St. Paul’s Parish.[9]

• List of women printers and publishers before 1800
• Pennsylvania Chronicle
• William Goddard (printer)

• Appleby, Joyce; Cheng, Eileen K; Goodwin, Joanne L (2015) [2002]. Encyclopedia of Women in American history. Vol. 1. London: Routledge. pp. 81, 111. ISBN 978-1-317-47161-5. OCLC 914166087.
• James, Edward; James, Janet Wilson; Boyer, Paul S (1971). Notable American women, 1607-1950: A Biographical Dictionary. Cambridge, Mass: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. pp. 55–57. ISBN 978-1-84972-271-1. OCLC 221275644 – via Internet Archive.
• Claghorn, Charles E. (1991). Women Patriots of the American Revolution: A Biographical Dictionary. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press. pp. 87–88. ISBN 978-0-8108-2421-8. OCLC 23655333 – via Internet Archive.
• Grundset, Eric; Diaz, Briana L; Gentry, Hollis L (2011). America's Women in the Revolutionary Era : A History through Bibliography. Washington, DC: National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. ISBN 978-1-892237-12-5. OCLC 741500716.
• Schwartz, Ella (2022) [2021]. Her Name was Mary Katharine: The Only Woman whose Name is on the Declaration of Independence. Phumiruk, Dow (illustrator). New York: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-0-316-29832-2. OCLC 1252736610. For juvenile audience
• Trickey, Erick (November 14, 2018). "Mary Katharine Goddard, the Woman who Signed the Declaration of Independence". History. Smithsonian Magazine.
• Weatherford, Doris (2004). A History of Women in the United States: State-by-State Reference. Danbury, CT: Grolier Academic Reference. ISBN 978-0-7172-5805-5. OCLC 52631499.
• Young, Christopher J. (Spring 2001). "Mary K. Goddard: A Classical Republican in a Revolutionary Age" (PDF). Maryland Historical Magazine. Baltimore: Maryland Historical Society. 96 (1): 5–27. ISSN 0025-4258. OCLC 468826279 – via Maryland Center for History and Culture.
• Young, Christopher J. (Summer 2001). "'That Eye Is Now Dim and Closed For Ever': The Purported Image of Mary K. Goddard" (PDF). Maryland Historical Magazine. Baltimore: Maryland Historical Society. 96 (2): 221–225. ISSN 0025-4258. OCLC 468826300 – via Maryland Center for History and Culture.
• Young, Christopher J. (Fall 2011). "The 'Goddard Broadside': Mary K. Goddard's Printing of the Declaration of Independence". Maryland Historical Society News. Baltimore: Maryland Historical Society: 26–27. OCLC 50636467.