| Show THE finst FIRST AMERICAN in strolling through the graveyard grare yard of trinal trinity V church new york my roy eye was arreal arrested arre sled ed b by a grav stone on tho north ide of the church t the memory of william bradford who it is mantione ment ione 1 evas was born at leicestershire Leicester shire old 01 enz ens and arid in 1669 and came over tol to america in 1682 before the city of was la d out lle lie ile he was a printer to this government the inscription continio si 11 for upwards of fifty yeats years and died may nay 23 1752 92 years yearb this thia monument was much injured during the building of the present dij gli church u I 1 eddice ed fice and I 1 m it another or two ily oty will entirely disappear yet the memorial of Bradfo lda ids ida resting place ought not thus 0 o be obliterated ile he first established a i inting ting press in the vast region south ot of B ston aton ile he c cun im over with penn on the 11 welcome me 1 in 1682 and began his career at philadelphia in or near to which city he fixed hla hia first printing office as early at least as 1686 and a paper mill on the near germantown very a on afterward the first paper mill ever e acted in the united states an aal I 1 da is appears by a printed us yet preserved he was wib the first erson person who prop sed bed in america to print the holy bible this was A D 1688 in pennsylvania he mingled largely and aud actively in the stir hinr events which ag aci asi colonial life in that little pious province and main maln with success his printing press against the efforts of the proprietary cgovern government ment to break it down he cam to new york in 1692 at th invitation of governor fietcher etcher FJ and was wag printer to the crown as his epitaph records for the space of halo half a century in abis office he amassed honestly great wealth iveal tb which he left to mim wim numerous erous descending descend ms ins who have been b n amone the roost most distinguished fanelie fa nilie of new york new jersey and pennsylvania the ogdena the van courtlandt count Court lands creightonn Creigh tong tons and others of less public reputation but high priva private e worth tio the hon william bradford attorney general under the as Ks great grandson s |
