Hezekiah Usher (1616 – 14 May 1676) was an English bookseller in Boston, Colony of Massachusetts Bay. He was the first known bookseller in colonial America. He also published the first book in the Thirteen Colonies.
Hezekiah Usher | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1616 England |
| Died | 14 May 1676 (aged 59–60) |
| Nationality | English |
| Occupation | Bookseller |
Early life and career
Usher was born in England in 1616,[1] likely having grown up in Bednall Green.[2][3] He emigrated to Cambridge, Massachusetts Bay Colony, where he was living (at the corner of Dunster and Winthrop streets)[4] and running a bookshop by 1639.[5][6] He became the first known bookseller in colonial America.[4] He also printed the first book in the Thirteen Colonies: 1640's Bay Psalm Book.[7]
In the mid-17th century, he was a selectman in Boston.[5] He had moved to the city, from across the Charles River, around 1645. He was living on "the north side of King Street, and opposite the Market Place, which was later the site of the Town House, and afterward the Old State House." The bookshop occupied the ground floor of his home.[4]
Personal life
Usher married three times: to Frances, Elizabeth Symmes[8] and Mary Alford.[1] With Frances, he had three sons and two daughters. The sons included Hezekiah Jr. (born in 1639), and John (born in 1648).[5][2] He had two children with his second wife,[2] who died shortly after their marriage in 1652.[9]
He was a member of Boston's Old South Meetinghouse.[2]
Death
Usher died on 14 May 1676,[4][10] aged 59 or 60; Hezekiah Jr. followed three years later.[5] Hezekiah Sr. was interred in what became the Francis Tomb in Boston's King's Chapel Burying Ground.[2][10] His widow, third wife Mary, remarried Samuel Nowell of Charlestown.[3]