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Collection Documents from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, 1774 to 1789

Mary Katherine Goddard

Drawn by William Strickland (1788-1854). Engraved by Hugh Anderson (fl. 1811-1853). Engraving, in The Cyclopedia, Abraham Rees, 1813. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-50454.

(1736-1816)

When Mary Katherine Goddard began managing her brother William's new Baltimore newspaper, the Maryland Journal, in February 1774, she already had a decade of experience in the printing trade. Although William Goddard's name was associated with the newspaper, it was Mary Katherine Goddard who actually operated it, as well as managing a dry goods, stationery, and book store. She soon established a reputation for journalistic excellence, publishing pamphlets, broadsides, and almanacs, in addition to the Journal. The energetic Goddard also encouraged local paper manufacturing, engaged in bookbinding, and was the first female post master.