Elizabeth Timothy
| Elizabeth Timothy | |
|---|---|
| Born | 30 June 1702 Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Died | 3 April 1757 (aged 54), buried 4 April 1757 |
| Resting place | St. Philip's Anglican Church cemetery, Charleston County, South Carolina, US |
| Residence | Charleston, South Carolina |
| Occupation | printer |
| Known for | First American female publisher, first American female franchise holder |
| Spouse(s) | Louys Timothée or Lewis Timothy (b.1699) aka Louis Timothee |
| Children | Peter (b. 24 May 1725) Mary (b. 08 Dec 1726) Louis (b. 19 Jun 1729) Charles (b.14 Sep 1730) Catherine (b. 15 Jan 1735) Louisa (b. 6 Dec 1737) |
| Parent(s) | Claude Vilain Elizabet Graciot |
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Elizabeth Timothy or Elisabet Timothee (30 June 1702 – April 1757) was a prominent colonial American printer and newspaper publisher in the colony of South Carolina who worked for Benjamin Franklin. She was the first woman in America to become a newspaper publisher and also the first woman to hold a franchise in America.
Timothy (maiden name Elizabeth Villin or Elisabet Vilain) was born in Amsterdam on June 30, 1702. Her christening was on 6 July 1702, most likely at the Walloon Church in Amsterdam, as her religion was Waals Hervormd ("Walloon Reformed"). She received her formal schooling in the Netherlands, which included accounting. She married Lewis Timothy (French: "Louys Timothee" or "Louis Timothee") in July 1724; her marriage application says she was then 22 years old.
Timothy's history of becoming a newspaper publisher in America is interwoven with her husband's career. The Timothy family traveled with other French Huguenots from Rotterdam to Philadelphia on the ship Britannia of London in 1731. The ship's roster shows the Timothy family, including their four Dutch children ranging in age from one to six.
Timothy's husband arranged with Benjamin Franklin to revive the South Carolina Gazette weekly newspaper on a six-year franchise contract, dated 26 November 1733. He went to Charleston in the later part of 1733 by himself initially. He started publishing the newspaper on 2 February 1734. Timothy followed later from Philadelphia and went to Charleston in the spring of 1734. She came to Charleston with her six children, four of whom had been born in the Netherlands.
Timothy's husband died on 30 December 1738 of an "unhappy accident". The remaining term on the agreement with Franklin motivated Timothy to become his apprentice and partner. She carried on her late husband's work to fulfill the one year remaining on the Franklin franchise agreement. Timothy's elder son, Peter Timothy, "carried on" the newspaper business in name only. Peter was only fourteen years old when he took over his father's printing business, which he was entitled to receive per the Franklin-Timothy agreement of 1733. Since he was just a child in 1738 and too immature to run a business, it was managed by Timothy, Peter's mother. She published the weekly issue of the South-Carolina Gazette starting on January 4, 1739. The masthead said "Printed by Peter Timothy" but was controlled and managed by his mother. Timothy made an announcement in the first issue she edited that she was now publishing the newspaper. This then made her the first female editor and publisher of a newspaper in America.
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