The LuLac Edition #5, 593, March 7th, 2026

 

MARY KATHERINE

GODDARD

AND

HER GUTSY

SIGNATURE

Mary Katharine Goddard  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.

After moving to America, The Goddard family (Sarah Updike Goddard, William Goddard and Mary Goddard) set up a printing press and were the first to publish a newspaper in Providence, Rhode Island, called The Providence Gazette.

Mary's brother William was the publisher and printer of a revolutionary publication, the Maryland Journal; however, William then left Rhode Island to start a newspaper in Philadelphia. Mary Goddard took over control of the journal in 1774, while her brother was traveling to promote his Constitutional Post, and she continued to publish it throughout the American Revolutionary War until 1784, when her brother forced her to give up the newspaper.

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, on the side of the colonial revolutionaries, via her printing. Goddard reprinted Thomas Paine's Common Sense in her publication, and she wrote and printed editorials speaking out against British brutality. Additionally, Goddard released publications about the Battle of Bunker Hill and Congress's call to arms.

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

During the Revolution, Goddard opposed the Stamp Act vehemently because it would increase the cost of printing.

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 treasonous 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. 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 Katharine Goddard.” About 2 years earlier, she had started printing her name on the bottom of her newspaper. However, those she signed with “Published by M.K. Goddard" instead of her full name.

Goddard was a successful postmaster for 14 years, from 1775 to 1789. In 1789, however, she was fired by Postmaster General Samuel Osgood despite general protest from the Baltimore community. Osgood claimed that the position required "more traveling ... than a woman could undertake" and appointed a political ally of his to replace her. On November 12, 1789, over 230 citizens of Baltimore, including more than 200 leading businessmen, presented a petition demanding her reinstatement, which was unsuccessful.

After that she opened a bookstore and was a mainstay in the community until her death in 1816. As for the flunky who took her job because of political patronage, no one remembers who the hell he was. But history never forgot Mary Katherine Goddard. (wikipedia, LuLac, WVIA FM)