Charleston Women-Winter 2020

www.CharlestonWomen.com | www.ReadCW.com | www.CharlestonBrides.com CW T hroughout history, South Carolina has been home to many strong, intelligent and downright incredible women. When you think about the trailblazers who have called our state home, names like Eliza Lucas Pinckney, Septima Pointsette Clark and Nikki Haley may come to mind. But they are only the tip of the iceberg — the list of local women who have shaped our great state is long. Elizabeth Timothy is one of them, and her role as the first female publisher and editor in the United States tells a story of perseverance and inspiration, even to this day. Elizabeth Villin was born on June 30, 1702 in Amsterdam. As a young woman, she received formal schooling in the Netherlands, which included basic accounting principles. In 1724, at age 22, she married Lewis Timothy, and eight years later, the couple emigrated to Philadelphia with their four young children, ages 1 through 6. As descendants of French Huguenots, it’s likely they left Holland to escape the persecution of Protestants that took place following the nullification of the Edict of Nantes. Upon arriving in Philadelphia, Lewis Timothy, who was fluent in Dutch, German, French and English, took out an ad in the Pennsylvania Gazette announcing his services as a French tutor. But the owner of the Gazette had other plans for him. Benjamin Franklin had been planning to publish a German paper in Philadelphia, and he persuaded him to become editor. While the paper only ran for a few issues, the experience led Lewis Timothy to become a journeyman printer at the Pennsylvania Gazette. Franklin often encouraged printers at the Pennsylvania Gazette to expand the operation by relocating to other colonies to publish new local papers. After the first three individuals to attempt a paper in South Carolina died of yellow fever, Timothy was primed to take their place. The two men entered into a six-year business agreement BY LINDSAY C. BISHOP A Story of Perseverance Elizabeth Timothy, First Female Publisher and Charleston Resident P h o t o c o u r t e s y o f W i k i m e d i a C o m m o n s : M e t r o p o l i t a n M u s e u m o f A r t .