Mary Katharine Goddard

Mary Katharine Goddard (June 16, 1738 – August 12, 1816) was an early American publisher, and the postmaster of the Baltimore Post Office from 1775 to 1789. She was the older sister of William Goddard, also a publisher and printer. She was the second printer to print the Declaration of Independence. Her copy, the Goddard Broadside, was commissioned by Congress in 1777, and was the first to include the names of the signatories.^[1][2] In 1998, Goddard was inducted into the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame.^[3]

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. Goddard was taught reading and math by her mother.^[4] Her brother, William Goddard (1740–1817), was a few years younger and had served an apprenticeship in the printing trade.

The Goddard family (Sarah Updike 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.^[5]

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). Since taking over the Maryland Journal, Goddard was very active in the American Revolution in regards to printing and was a strong supporter of the Americans. During the American Revolution, Goddard opposed the Stamp Act vehemently, recognizing it would increase the cost of printing.^[6] Goddard would reprint Thomas Paine's Common Sense and would speak out against British brutality. Additionally, Goddard would issue further versions regarding the Battle of Bunker Hill and Congress' call to arms.^[7]

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] The names of secretary Charles Thomson and president John Hancock of the Continental Congress were the only two that were on earlier printed copies. Goddard also signed her name on the bottom of the document. It reads “Baltimore, in Maryland: Printed by Mary Katherine Goddard.”^[8] This however, was not the first time Goddard had printed her name. About 2 years earlier, she had started printing her name on the bottom of her newspaper. However, she signed with “Published by M.K. Goddard" instead of her full name.^[8]

Goddard was a major voice advocating for the patriot cause. She wrote editorials against British brutality and she reprinted Thomas Paine’s Common Sense in her publication. She published editions about Congress’ call to arms as well as the Battle of Bunker Hill. In her 23-years as a publisher, Goddard earned a place in history as one of the most prominent publishers during the nation’s revolutionary era.^[4]

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.^[9]

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.^[10]

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.^[11]

An excerpt from her will reads:

Know all men by these present that I Mary Catherine Goddard of the City & County of Baltimore, spinister, do by this my last will and testament give and grant to my female slave Belinda Starling aged about 26 years of age her freedom at my death and I also give and bequeath unto said Belinas Starling all the property of which I may die possessed all which I do to recompence the faithful performance of duites to me. Signed sealed and delivered in presence of the witnesses this 21 day of May 1816, Baltimore.

— [signed] Mary K Goddard.

^{[citation needed]}

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

• Yost, Edna (1961). Famous American pioneering women. New York: Dodd, Mead. OCLC 1244721479 – via Internet Archive.

• 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. ^{[volume needed][page needed]}
• Young, Christopher J. (Spring 2001). "Mary K. Goddard: A Classical Republican in a Revolutionary Age" (PDF). Maryland Historical Magazine. 96 (1). Baltimore: Maryland Historical Society: 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. 96 (2). Baltimore: Maryland Historical Society: 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.