Ann Smith Franklin (October 2, 1696 – April 16, 1763) was an

American colonial American colonial architecture includes several building design styles associated with the colonial period of the United States, including First Period English (late-medieval), French Colonial, Spanish Colonial, Dutch Colonial, and Georgian. ...

newspaper printer and publisher. She inherited the business from her husband, James Franklin, brother of

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 int ...

. She published the ''Mintunt'', printed an

almanac An almanac (also spelled ''almanack'' and ''almanach'') is an annual publication listing a set of current information about one or multiple subjects. It includes information like weather forecasts, farmers' planting dates, tide tables, and othe ...

series. She was the country’s first female newspaper editor, the first woman to write an almanac, and the first woman inducted into the

University of Rhode Island The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of the state of Rhode Isla ...

Journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (p ...

Hall of Fame.

Personal life

Ann Smith Franklin was married to James Franklin, a printer and the brother of Founding Father Benjamin Franklin. They had five children including daughters Mary and Elizabeth, and son James Jr. (c.1730-1762). James Jr. attended Philadelphia Academy with his cousin William, Benjamin's son, before James Jr. was apprenticed in the printing trade to his uncle Benjamin. After a long illness, James died in Newport in 1735, leaving Ann a widow, aged 39, with three young children to support, one child having died earlier.

Career

In 1736, Ann petitioned the General Assembly of Rhode Island, seeking printing work in order to support her family. She was awarded the contract, becoming the General Assembly's official printer to the colony, a position she held until she died. In this official capacity, she printed the colony's charter granted by

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest surviving child o ...

. To supplement her income, she printed

sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. ...

s for ministers,

advertisement Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

s for

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

s, as well as popular

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...

s. Ann's most notable work was compiling and publishing five editions of the ''Rhode Island Almanack'', for the years 1737-1741. In 1741, she began selling her brother-in-law Benjamin's almanac, ''

Poor Richard's Almanack ''Poor Richard's Almanack'' (sometimes ''Almanac'') was a yearly almanac published by Benjamin Franklin, who adopted the pseudonym of "Poor Richard" or "Richard Saunders" for this purpose. The publication appeared continually from 1732 to 1758. ...

'', and in 1745, she printed 500 copies of the ''Acts and Laws of Rhode Island'' as a

folio The term "folio" (), has three interconnected but distinct meanings in the world of books and printing: first, it is a term for a common method of arranging sheets of paper into book form, folding the sheet only once, and a term for a book ma ...

edition, her largest commission. Though a second child died young, Mary, Elizabeth and James Jr. worked in the family business. The daughters performed typesetting while James Jr. ran the business, now called "Ann and James Franklin", with his mother. During this time, however, some of Ann's imprints continued to bear the name "Widow Franklin". In 1758, they published ''The Newport Mercury'', Rhode Island's first newspaper.

Later years

As Ann grew older, she turned over many business responsibilities to James Jr. After the deaths of her remaining children, Ann, then age 65, returned to the printing press. She took on the printer Samuel Hall, who had been her son-in-law, as her business partner in 1761, forming "Franklin & Hall". Under this imprint, they printed a

of Rhode Island schedules. Ann Smith Franklin died in 1763 and was buried in the Newport Common Burying Ground and Island Cemetery.

Posthumous awards

Hall of Fame,

Yankee Quill Award The Yankee Quill Award is a regional American journalism award that recognizes a lifetime contribution toward excellence in journalism in New England. The award is bestowed annually by the Academy of New England Journalists, and administered by the ...

, 2008 * Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame, 1998

Partial works

;Almanacs ;General Assembly of Rhode Island ;British ;Religious ;Franklin & Hall

References

External links

Ann Franklin Documents
from the Rhode Island State Archives {{DEFAULTSORT:Franklin, Ann Smith 1696 births 1763 deaths Colonial American women American printers American women journalists People of colonial Rhode Island People from colonial Boston History of women in the United States Franklin family Women printers 18th-century women writers 18th-century American businesspeople 18th-century American businesswomen Burials at Common Burying Ground and Island Cemetery