Philadelphia has a long and storied history in the printing and publishing worlds.  Here was founded one of the nation's earliest papers mills as well as its first prominent newspaper, the Pennsylvania Gazette.  Ranking high among America's early publishers was Mathew Carey (1760-1839).

Mathew Carey was born in Dublin, Ireland; and he immigrated to America in 1784 with nine years of experience as a printer and publisher already under his belt. When the Marquis de Lafayette, who had met Carey a few years earlier in Paris, learned of his arrival in America, he sent Carey a check for $400 with which to establish his own business. Naturally, Carey chose publishing and bookselling. He formed Mathew Carey & Company in 1785, which went on to become one of the city's and the nation's most successful publishers.  His original company changed names and hands over the decades and in the early 1900s became known as Lea & Febiger, a well-known publisher of medical works throughout much of the twentieth century. 

During the course of his own career, Carey published over forty medical works; however, he also published broadsides, novels, atlases, bibles, and political titles, including some of his own writings such as Vindiciae Hibernicae (1819), New Olive Branch (1820), and Essays of Political Economy (1822).  Carey devoted his life to political economics after he left the publishing business in the early 1820s.

Recently, HSP was introduced to a new blog that speaks to Carey's involvement in politics: Secession And Mathew Carey.  By way of introduction, here is the text from the blog's "About Us" section:

Mathew Carey (1760-1839) used the pseudonym of “Caius,” a character from King Lear who was loyal but blunt. When Mathew Carey feared New England would secede from the Union, he read everything he could find on the history of civil wars. In that spirit, “Caius” offers a historical perspective for political discussion.

For years, Mathew Carey languished in obscurity. Now, partisan politics are increasingly rancorous. Threats of secession are making headlines. Mathew Carey’s works have new relevance.

This blog offers intriguing glimpses into Carey's political life as well as the history of New England after the Revolutionary War. It's an interesting and pertinent source for Mathew Carey researchers, for folks who are interested in the history of this nation's growing pains during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, or for those who want to delve into the workings of United States–British relations of the 1800s. 

For further information on Mathew Carey and his works, HSP has several relevant collections, including the Edwards Carey Gardiner collection (#227A) and the Lea & Febiger records (#227B).  Plenty of additional resources, both published and unpublished, can be found in our online catalog Discover.

Answer: Ann Henry

The first woman in Pennsylvania to hold a public office was Ann Henry, who served as Lancaster County treasurer. She took over this position when her husband—who had been treasurer—died in December 1786.

Ann, the daughter of Abraham and Ursula Wood, was born in 1734 in Burlington, New Jersey. She married William Henry, originally from Chester County, in the 1750s. In an amusing family tale of their meeting, William was said to have placed a broom down in a hallway. Out of sight, William watched as his sister stepped over the broom, her friend moved it over with her foot, and Ann picked it up and put it in place. It was then that William decided Ann was the girl to marry.

William originally apprenticed as a gunsmith, and later ran a hardware business. He pursued many business ventures and helped supply Indian traders. He developed an interest in science and engineering and was an early experimenter with steam engines and the steamboat. He also had an active military career, and during the Revolutionary War was a strong proponent for independence. He held several offices during the war and worked as treasurer of Lancaster County from about 1777 until his death in 1786.

Ann, mother of 13 children, was a diligent housewife and mother, and she watched over her family’s and William’s affairs while he was away during the Revolutionary War. Her familiarity with household business and William’s work made her an ideal candidate to take over the office of Lancaster Country treasurer.

The Henry family papers (#280) at HSP contain a variety of letters, documents, and accounts relating to William Henry's political interests in Lancaster County and his activities during the Revolution. There are also papers relating to his family, as well as volumes on the history and vocabularies of American Indians.

Image: “William Henry, Member of the Continental Congress,” print (undated)

For six weeks in the fall of 1777, the British fired upon Fort Mifflin along the Delaware River in an attempt to drive out American troops. This was one of the largest bombardments of the war and a pivotal moment in the American Revolution.

Construction of Fort Mifflin on what was referred to as Mud Island began in 1771. Funding and political issues caused delays, and the fort was not completed until 1775 by the Continental forces.  It was named in honor of Major General Thomas Mifflin of the Continental Army, who later became Pennsylvania’s first governor.

Beginning in late September 1777, British forces under General William Howe began amassing forces on the mainland and islands near the fort. Fort Mifflin was under the command of Lt. Col. Samuel Smith, a native of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, who had previously served with distinction at the famed Battle of the Brandywine.

In early October, the fort’s garrison of approximately 300 American troops engaged the British. British naval forces unleashed a heavy cannonade of artillery, largely from the five batteries located on Province Island some 400 to 500 yards away. Fighting continued for five weeks with neither side achieving a decisive advantage. During the siege, Gen. George Washington was in Whitemarsh Township, Montgomery County, with few troops or supplies to spare to aid the beleaguered fort. 

With the weather turning colder, General Howe needed a decisive blow. Beginning on the 10th of November, the British batteries hammered Fort Mifflin with 18-, 24-, and 32-pounders demolishing the barracks, blockhouse, and artillery pieces.  American casualties were high, and Lt. Col. Smith was knocked senseless at one point by falling debris from a chimney. Writing from the fort on November 11, Smith still was hopeful that he would be able to hold out for another five days.

However, an American deserter carried intelligence to the British regarding the sad state of the fort’s reserves, and that news strengthened British resolve. With daylight on the 15th, the sounding of a bugle announced the incessant bombardment from both land and sea batteries of a barrage of missiles upon the fort. The sound was so loud that it reportedly shook buildings in Philadelphia and South Jersey.

In the first hour, it is estimated that more than a thousand cannon balls were fired, which practically leveled the fort. On the evening of the 15th, with the American flag flying overhead, the survivors of the battle escaped across the river to Red Bank, New Jersey. When British forces entered the next morning, they found Fort Mifflin abandoned and destroyed.

Although an American defeat, the battle of Fort Mifflin demonstrated the tenacity and patriotism of the American forces. Delaying the British for six weeks allowed Washington and his tattered army to reach and encamp at Valley Forge. Without the actions of the troops in the fort, it is quite possible that British forces would have attacked Washington’s army, and the outcome of the Revolution could have been very different. This battle earned Fort Mifflin the moniker, “The Fort that Saved America.”   

In 1795, Fort Mifflin was rebuilt and remained an active military base until 1954. It functioned as a prisoner-of-war camp during the Civil War and was part of Naval Ammunition Depot during World War I & II. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1915. Fort Mifflin still stands today on the Delaware River, at the mouth of the Schuylkill, as a testament to the will and determination of the American spirit.
  

This November marks the 180^th birthday of popular novelist Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888), author of such works as Flower Fables (1854), Hospital Sketches (1863), and Little Women (1868).  Most people associate Alcott with her life and work in Massachusetts, but did you know she had a Philadelphia connection?

Louisa was born in Germantown on November 29, 1832 at 5425 Germantown Avenue.  Her parents were from Massachusetts, Amos Bronson Alcott was an educator and Abigail May was a social worker. The couple moved to Philadelphia at some point after they were married in 1830. Amos was called to teach in Germantown with the help of Reuben Haines, then owner of the Wyck House.  Amos served as the head of a school on Eighth Street near Locust Street; and he later ran a school in Germantown.  Accounts vary as to when exactly the family moved back to Massachusetts; but once they did move, they lived in Concord and a short-lived experimental communal village known as Fruitlands before moving to Boston.  Amos continued his work in local schools and became friends with the likes of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Amos and Abigail successfully raised a family for four daughters: Anna (born 1831), Louisa, Elizabeth (born 1835), and Abigail (born 1840).

American authors Emerson and Thoreau, as well as Nathaniel Hawthorne and Margaret Fuller, played roles in Louisa education in Massachusetts, though she we primarily educated by her father at home.  As a child she was a voracious reader. She began writing her own stories as a teenager, but she did not find immediate success in the field.  Her sisters had found work to help support the family, and Louisa did the same with the occasional sewing job or work as a governess.

Still, she did not give up on writing entirely. She had some short stories and poetry published early on, and became a more well-known author with her first book, Flower Fables, published in the 1850s.  She found company with other authors and performing artists in Concord and Boston, which helped her remain in the area's cultural and literary loop.  She took a brief break from writing in 1862 when she moved to Washington, D.C. to serve as a nurse during the Civil War.  While there, unfortunately, Louisa contracted typhoid fever.  She was treated with a drug containing mercury and suffered from the effects of mercury poisoning for the rest of her life.

She picked up writing again after her service and found monetary success publishing sensational stories, such as Pauline's Passion and Punishment (1863), under the pseudonym "A. M. Barnard." But it was her best known work Little Women (1868) that brought Louisa fully out of obscurity. Little Women did not take shape until about a year after one of her publishers asked Louisa to write a book for girls.  The novel -- based largely on Louisa’s own life with three sisters -- was an instant hit and Louisa May Alcott was officially a household name. Little Women spawned several sequels, and Louisa went on to produce novels for children and adults.

In the 1870s, Louisa became active in the women’s suffrage and temperance movements.  She never married but came into custody of her sister Anna's baby, Louisa or "LuLu" as she was called," after Anna's untimely death in 1879. Her mother had died a couple years earlier, so Louisa spent most of her later years with her father.  He died in March 1888 just a few days before Louisa. The family never again returned to Philadelphia, but a historical marker denotes the place of Louisa's birth in Germantown.