A History of Printing in Colonial Maryland

Strangely enough Green seems to have been less versatile as a publisher
than was his predecessor William Parks. In a great measure he confined his
activities to governmental and political business, and although the greatly
increased population of Maryland provided him a wider market than Parks
had been able to count on, yet the breadth of his literary interests seems
to have been less than that of the earlier publisher. An explanation of this
may lie in the circumstance that with the passage of years and the conse-
quent growth of population the governmental business unquestionably had
increased in volume; moreover, it is certain that the editorship and publi-
cation of the second Maryland Gazette, which Green established in the year
1745, consumed a great deal of the time and effort which might otherwise
have gone into the conduct of a general publishing business. Green's jour-
nal was a much more elaborate publication than the newspaper which Parks
had issued, and it is probable that he put into its maintenance so much
effort and so much capital that he had little of either left for the continu-
ance of the book trade so auspiciously begun by his predecessor.

THE Civic AND SOCIAL ACTIVITIES OF GREEN

Happily, it is not only as printer that Jonas Green engages our attention,
for in his civic and social character one perceives a distinction as worthy
of comment as are the qualities of intelligence which he devoted to the pub-
lic service in the practice of his craft. During a part of his residence in An-
napolis he was an alderman of the city, and more than once he was elected
to serve as vestryman of St. Anne's Parish. At the time of his death he was
registrar of the vestry, having held that office several times since his first
election to it in 1746. The vestry proceedings of St. Anne's are full of ref-
erences to his activity in the work of the parish. Did the vestry need some-
thing in Philadelphia, Mr. Green would see that it was sent for; were some
new pews to be put in, Mr. Green would arrange with the carpenter; were
there printing to be done or a prayer book to be bound, Mr. Green, of
course, would attend to that. Indeed both in the church and in the com-
munity at large Mr. Jonas Green was the cheerful and obliging servant of
his neighbors.

For many years postmaster of Annapolis,¹ acting sometimes as auctioneer
at the country vendues,² clerk of entries for the Annapolis races,³ secretary
of the local lodge of Masons,⁴ vestryman, alderman, journalist, prin ter, and

¹ See colophons to the Maryland Gazette, 1745 et seq.

² Chancery Depositions. I. R. No. 5, folio 730. Ms. in Land Office, Annapolis.

³ Advertisements in Maryland Gazette.

⁴ Verso of tide-page of Brogden, William, Freedom and Love. Annapolis 1750. See bibliographical appendix.

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