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At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Various to Samuel Osgood, Postmaster General of New York

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC09756.04 Author/Creator: Various Place Written: Baltimore, Maryland Type: Document signed Date: 12 November 1789 Pagination: 4 p.; 39.5 x 24.7 cm Order a Copy PDF Download(s): Download PDF

One petition addressed to Samuel Osgood dated November 12, 1789. A statement details that the signers felt obligated to petition on behalf of Goddard to have her reinstated as postmaster. 235 prominent citizens of Baltimore signed the petition.

Mary Katherine Goddard (1738-1816) was the postmaster of the Baltimore Post Office. She also worked as a publisher and was likely the first to print a copy of the Declaration of Independence, which revealed the signers' identity in January 1777. This is known as the Goddard Broadside.

Goddard, Mary Katherine, 1736-1816
Osgood, Samuel, 1748-1813

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