The printing and publishing careers of the three Goddards are so intertwined that they are best considered as a family unit. Although the attention of historians has been paid primarily to the achievements of William Goddard, recognition is also due his mother, Sarah, and his sister, Mary Katherine. Each woman achieved distinction as a printer-publisher in her own right and made it possible for William to carry on his business ventures.

Sarah and Mary Katherine Goddard represented a relatively large class of colonial Americans: women engaged in male occupations either to support themselves or to assist husbands or male relatives. Beset by a perpetual labor shortage, the colonies offered opportunities for women to run taverns, own ships, and act as blacksmiths, hunters, lawyers, shoemakers, butchers, and ferrymen. Printing and publishing were particularly attractive to women since they were carried on in shops generally attached to printers' homes. In...