Ann Timothy (ca. 1727–September 11, 1792) was a newspaper publisher from South Carolina. She worked alongside her husband until his death in 1782, and after she had published by herself for years, she became the official printer for the state of South Carolina.

Personal life

Ann Donovan was born circa 1727. She married

Peter Timothy Peter Timothy (1724–1782), originally named Peter Timothee, was an 18th-century Dutch-American printer and politician. He immigrated to the American colonies with his parents, French Huguenots, Lewis and Elizabeth Timothy. Lewis worked for Benja ...

on December 8, 1745 in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

. Peter was the son of

Elizabeth Timothy Elizabeth Timothy or Elisabet Timothee ( 1700 – April 1757) was a colonial American printer and newspaper publisher in the colony of South Carolina. Timothy was a French Huguenot Dutch immigrant that came to colonial America with her family ...

who operated the first permanent newspaper in South Carolina. Ann and Peter were believed to have had fifteen children, but seven of whom died as infants. Their children include Elizabeth–Ann and Frances–Claudia, who were on their own or married by 1780. The remaining children at that time were Anne, Sarah, Robert, Sarah, and Benjamin Franklin.

Career

Girls inspecting eighteenth century press

Timothy and her husband took over publishing the '' South Carolina Gazette'' from Peter's mother, Elizabeth Timothy. Peter wrote to

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

in 1772 that he was unable to continue publishing due to poor eyesight. He announced that he had pursued other lines of business, and also suggested that he would welcome "any Employment in His Majesty’s Service, that will not degrade me, which any Friend may think me fit for or can procure by his Interest." After a break from March 1772 to November 1773, Peter resumed running the printing business. There were intermittent periods where the newspaper was not printed, such as the destruction of the printing press due to fire. After the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, Peter printed

broadside Broadside or broadsides may refer to: Naval * Broadside (naval), terminology for the side of a ship, the battery of cannon on one side of a warship, or their near simultaneous fire on naval warfare Printing and literature * Broadside (comic ...

copies of the Declaration which were then hung in public places. To show his support, but also to identify himself as a revolutionary, Peter took the singular step by printers across the country to add “CHARLES-TOWN, Printed by PETER TIMOTHY” at the bottom of the document. In February 1780, the newspaper was suspended as the British approached the city for what became the

Siege of Charleston The siege of Charleston was a major engagement and major British victory in the American Revolutionary War, fought in the environs of Charles Town (today Charleston), the capital of South Carolina, between March 29 and May 12, 1780. The British ...

from March 29, 1780 to May 12, 1780. Peter was subsequently captured and exiled to a prison in

St. Augustine, Florida St. Augustine ( ; es, San Agustín ) is a city in the Southeastern United States and the county seat of St. Johns County on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Florida. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorers, it is the oldest continuously inhabit ...

for ten months for failing to take the loyalty oath. He was unable to return to Charleston. Peter set sail for

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...

within the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

in 1782, Two of his daughters and a grandchild met up with Peter in Philadelphia, intending to travel to

Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...

to visit one of his daughters. They perished during a storm off of the Delaware coast. Peter and Ann's surviving children at that point were Sarah, Robert (disabled), and Benjamin Franklin Timothy. Timothy resumed operating the newspaper on July 16, 1783, after the death of Peter, upon the removal of the British from the city, and after peace was restored. The newspaper operated out of the John Lining House at 106 Broad Street from 1783 to 1793. From 1785 to 1792, she was the official "Printer to the State. She worked until her death in 1792. Timothy was said in death notices to be very worthy and valuable. Her son, Benjamin Franklin Timothy, continued the family printing business with the September 20, 1792 edition.

Legacy

She was one of a few women publishers before and shortly after the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

. Since printing was often a multi-generational family business, there were some printing families with two or more generations of women printers, which was the case with Timothy and her mother-in-law,

. It was often a financial necessity for widowed women in the printing profession to carry on the business. There were at least six women who were the official printers for various colonial governments, as Timothy did for the state of South Carolina. According to a syndicated article, "Helped the Colonial Cause": "In nearly every case they advocated the colonial cause, and their editorials did much to arouse the spirit of patriotism in the men."

References

Notes Citations Further reading * * — Cash payments for publishing laws. * — Coordination with a number of printers * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Timothy, Ann Donovan 1720s births 1792 deaths People from South Carolina 18th-century American newspaper publishers (people) American printers Businesspeople from Charleston, South Carolina South Carolina colonial people 18th-century American businesswomen Colonial American women American women journalists History of women in the United States Women printers

Personal life

Career

Legacy

See also

References