Ann Timothy

death_place = Charleston, South Carolina, US other_names = occupation = Newspaper publisher years_active = known_for = One of the few women newspaper printers in Colonial America spouse = Peter Timothy relatives = Elizabeth Timothy (mother-in-law) notable_works =

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 on December 8, 1745 in Charleston, South Carolina.

Career

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

In February 1780, the newspaper was suspended as the British approached the city for what became the Siege of Charleston from March 29, 1780 to May 12, 1780. Peter was subsequently captured and exiled to a prison in St. Augustine, Florida for ten months for failing to take the loyalty oath. He was unable to return to Charleston. Peter and Ann's surviving children at that point were Sarah, Robert (disabled), and Benjamin Franklin Timothy. (An apothecary operated from the same building beginning in the 1780s.) 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."