47

from French Huguenot stock, on his mother's from Ger-
man. According to the terms of his father's will, he
was given a liberal education, and in common with his
two brothers, "put to whatever trade or occupation
they choose". William chose printing, was duly ap-
prenticed and trained. In 1794, when the Federal
authorities called upon the various states for troops
to put down the insurrection in Western Pennsylvania,
the young printer was found, to te a member of a Phila-
delphia regiment of militia⁶⁵. He founded the Phila-
delphia Minerva on February 7, 1795, with Archibald
Woodruff, and continued his connection with it through
April, 1796.⁶⁶ On October 11, 1795, he married
Catherine Anthony⁶⁷, and it was soon thereafter that
he moved to Baltimore.

The new printing establishment was not long de-
layed. An advertisement appeared in the Federal In-
telligencer:

New Printing-office..

To the public. The subscribers take the liber-
ty of informing the public, that they have es-
tablished a printing-office, upon an extensive
plan, in Gay-street, no. 27, opposite G. Pres-
bury's, esquire, in this place, where the various
demands in the line of their profession will be

65 Ingle, Edward op. cit. p. 13-14.

66 Brigham, C.S. Bibliography of American news-
papers, 1690-1820. Part XIII. Pennsylvania
(Philadelphia) p. 146.

67 Ingle, Edward, op. cit. p. 17