Elizabeth Glover

Elizabeth Glover (née Harris; 1602 – June 23, 1643 ) was an English woman and first American publisher. She established the first printing press in the Thirteen Colonies, located next to the nascent Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she printed Oath of a Freeman, An Almenack, and the Bay Psalm Book with the help of printer Stephen Daye. She married Henry Dunster, first president of Harvard University. After Glover's death, the printing press was gifted to Harvard.

Family and Early life Harris was born in 1601 to Nathaniel and Mary Harris. She was born into a family of notable ecclesiastical and academic prestige, and presumably this context shaped her role as the wife of Harvard's first president.

Her paternal grandfather, Richard Harris, was a fellow of New College, Oxford and Rector of Hardwicke. . Elizabeth's father, Nathaniel Harris, received the degree of B.L.L. from New College in 1593, and for most of Elizabeth's childhood was Rector of Bletchingley in Surrey. Nathaniel Harris was considered "prominent in university and ecclesiastical circles".

Marriage to Joseph Glover Elizabeth Harris married Reverend Joseph Glover (also written Joos, Joss, Jose, Josse, Jesse, and Joas a post he had held since May 1624. Their marriage took place about two years after the death of Joseph's first wife, Sarah Owfield. The "non-conformist" thinking eventually pushed the Glovers to leave Surrey in 1636. As Isaiah Thomas remarks in A History of Printing'':Among the first settlers of New England were not only pious but educated men. They emigrated from a country where the press had more license than in other parts of Europe, and they were acquainted with the usefulness of it. As soon as they had made those provisions that were necessary for their existence in this land, which was then a rude wilderness, their next objects were, the establishment of schools, and a printing press. Now, the Glovers would bring a press to the New England Colonies. A.B., being, by Gods providence, an inhabitant & ffreeman within the jurisdiccon of this comonweale, doe freely acknowledge my selfe to be subiect to the govermt thereof, & therefore doe heere sweare, by the greate & dreadfull name of the eurlyving God, that I wilbe true & faithfull to the same, & will accordingly yeilde assistance & support therevnto, with my pson & estate, as in equity I am bound, & will also truely indeavr to mainetaine & preserue all the libertyes & previlidges thereof, submitting my selfe to the wholesome lawes & orders made & established by the same; and furthr, that I will not plott nor practise any evill against it, nor consent to any that shall soe doe, but will timely discovery & reveale the same lawfull aucthority nowe here established, for the speedy preventing thereof.

Moreouer, I doe solemnly binde myselfe in the sight of God, that when I shalbe called to giue my voice touching any such matter of this state, wherein ffreemen are to deale I will giue my vote & suffrage, as I shall iudge in myne owne conscience may best conduce & tend to the publique weale of the body, without respect of psons, or favr of any man. Soe helpe mee God in the Lord Jesus Christ.

An Almenack According to Robert F. Roden, Captain William Pierce was "one of the most esteemed and accomplished navigators of his time, master of three of the five ships that brought the first settlers to New England, and an intimate of Bradford, Winslow, and Winthrop". Out of the 1,700 copies printed, only eleven copies are known to exist, and many are in poor condition.

Dunster's rebellious religious beliefs eventually caught up with him. His disagreements on scripture and religion forced him to part ways with Harvard. Centuries later, Harvard's 21st president, Charles William Eliot, said of Dunster:Two Hundred and forty-five years ago, Henry Dunster, the first president of Harvard College, was turned out of his office by the Congregationalists, who then ruled Massachusetts, because he had ceased to believe in infant baptism, finding adult baptism more scriptural and edifying. He was turned out on a cold, rough, thankless world after fourteen years of the most devoted service, under the most adverse conditions; but today Dunster is one of Harvard's saints and heroes, and for a hundred years Harvard has been devoted in every fiber of her body and every drop of her blood, to freedom of thought and speech. As Morison states: The College certainly owes a debt of gratitude to the widow Glover, whose love cheered the first president in his well-nigh impossible undertaking, and whose property enabled him and the College to carry on.After Elizabeth's death, Dunster continued his crisis of faith to the point that he showed open opposition to Reverend Jonathan Mitchell, Harvard graduate and minister. Their quarrels eventually led Dunster to leave his Harvard presidency. When Dunster died in 1659, Dunster and Mitchell's stories intertwine further, as some speculate that the grave attributed to Dunster actually contains Mitchell's remains, although there is no proof to support the claim.

Death Elizabeth died on June 23, 1643. Her burial place in Cambridge is place marked only by a decaying gravestone. Elizabeth was survived by her two children, three stepchildren, Dunster, and the printing business.

Upon her death, Elizabeth's property, including the press, became the subject of several lawsuits. Elizabeth's first husband, Joseph, stated in his final will and testament that all his property should go to Elizabeth, with the instruction that upon her death the property would go to his children.

When Elizabeth died, Dunster took ownership of all her possessions, including the press. John Glover, Elizabeth and Joseph’s son, filed a lawsuit against Dunster, his stepfather, to reclaim his inheritance. Dunster counter-sued for the expense it took to raise and educate his five stepchildren. He argued in his lawsuit that since he had paid for Elizabeth's funeral, repairs on their house, and other everyday expenses he shared with her and her children, he was not obliged to share the remaining fund with the children.

In the end, the court ruled in favor of Elizabeth's children. John Hruschka notes, "Dunster simply ignored the court ruling and retained most of the value of the estate and possession of the press." Before further legal action could be taken against Dunster, John died in London.