John Gill (1732-1785) was a printer in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
,
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
, in the 18th century. With
Benjamin Edes
Benjamin Edes (October 15, 1732 – December 11, 1803) was an early American printer, publisher, newspaper journalist and a revolutionary advocate before and during the American Revolution. He is best known, along with John Gill, as the publishe ...
he issued the ''
Boston Gazette
The ''Boston Gazette'' (1719–1798) was a newspaper published in Boston, in the British North American colonies. It was a weekly newspaper established by William Brooker, who was just appointed Postmaster of Boston, with its first issue release ...
'' newspaper. He later published the ''Continental Journal,'' 1776-1785.
Biography
Gill was born in 1732 in
Charlestown,
Province of Massachusetts
The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in British America which became one of the thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III and Mary II, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of E ...
; siblings included
Moses Gill
Moses Gill (January 18, 1733 – May 20, 1800) was an American merchant and politician who served as the acting governor of Massachusetts from 1799 to 1800, when he died in office, the only acting governor to do so. A successful businessman, he ...
. He trained as a printer with
Samuel Kneeland. He also married one of Kneeland's daughters.
Gill was the brother of Hon. Moses Gill who after the revolution, was for several years Lieutenant-Governor of the commonwealth of Massachusetts. Gill died August 25, 1785, and leaving several children. His death was announced in his ''Continental Journal'', and contained the following tribute:
Edes & Gill printed the ''Boston Gazette'' from 1755 until 1775. During the
British occupation
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
of Boston, (1775-1776), "Gill remained in Boston during the siege; he did no business." "After the evacuation of Boston, his connection with Edes ended. They divided their stock, and settled their concerns. While Edes continued the publication of the ''Gazette'', Gill issued another paper, entitled ''The Continental Journal''. Having published this paper several years, he sold the right of it, in 1785, with his printing materials, to James D. Griffith."
[Isaiah Thomas]
The history of printing in America
with a biography of printers, and an account of newspapers : to which is prefixed a concise view of the discovery and progress of the art in other parts of the world : in two volumes, Volume 1. Isaiah Thomas, jun., 1874; p.139+
References
External links
* Boston 1775 blog
2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gill, John
American printers
American publishers (people)
People from colonial Boston
1732 births
1785 deaths
18th century in Boston
People of colonial Massachusetts