Hezekiah Usher

Hezekiah Usher (1615 – May 14, 1676) of Boston was the first known bookseller in British America. The first books printed in the thirteen colonies were published and sold by Usher.

Family - From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hezekiah_Usher

Usher's first wife was Frances (died February 25, 1652).[1]

Their children were

• Hezekiah, born in Cambridge June 6, 1639; m. 1679 Bridget (daughter of John Lisle, Esquire, one of Cromwell's Lords) (widow of Dr. Leonard Hoar, president of Harvard College).[19] Hezekiah Jr. was accused of witchcraft in 1692 but not officially charged.[20]
• Rebecca, born in Cambridge Nov 1640, married Abraham Brown, May 1, 1660.
• John, born in Cambridge September 11, 1643, died December, 1645.
• Elizabeth, born in Boston February 1, 1645; married Samuel Shimpton of the Bethnal Green Shrimpton family line.
• John, born in Boston April 17, 1648.
• Mehitable, born in Boston March 21, 1649
• Sarah, born in Boston Sept 11, 1650; married Jonathan Tyng.
• Rebecca, born in Boston 1651; married Abraham Brown 1 May 1660 .

Usher's second wife was Elizabeth Symmes (daughter of Rev. Zechariah Symmes[21]); married September 2, 1652.[1]. Their children were:

• Hannah, born December 29, 1653; died July 24, 1654.
• Zechariah, born December 26, 1654, died August 23, 1656.[2]

Usher's third wife was Mary Alford Butler (daughter of William Alford, and widow of Peter Butler). They had no children. She survived him and married Samuel Nowell of Charlestown, Massachusetts.[2

Researcher Pamela Rhett Molzan states: "Hezekiah USHER (b. Abt. 1615 in Bednall Green, England; d. 3/14/1675/76 in Boston, MA) emigrated to the Boston area in the 1630s where he was a merchant. He was also a founder of Old South Church in Boston, MA. Hezekiah and his wife, Frances __?__ had at least five children - one of whom (John USHER, Royal Lt. Gov. of NH) was my 8th great-grandfather." Is this the same as the above Hezekiah? I thought this Hezekiah's son John followed in his father's footsteps and went into the printing business? Any help appreciated!

Hezekiah was the first printer in the Colony of Massachusetts. "The First Hundred Years of Printing in British North America: Printers and Collectors" by William S. Reese. (This paper, in a slightly different form, was read at the annual meeting of the American Antiquarian Society on October 18, 1989, and was published separately, Worcester: American Antiquarian Society, 1990). Up to 1740, Boston was the largest city in British America and the leading city in printing and the book trade. Notably, Boston had developed a significant book trade before any printers worked there. Unlike any other colony, the market in Boston developed as a replica of the London trade, with booksellers acting both as general vendors of books and as publishers, assuming the risk of publication in the expectation of profit.As early as 1647 Hezekiah Usher acted as publisher to an almanac printed at Cambridge. http://www.reeseco.com/papers/first100.htm

BOSTON SYNOD, 1662. Propositions Concerning the Subject of Baptism and Consociation of Churches, Collected and Confirmed Out of the Word of God, by a Synod of Elders and Messengers of the Churches in Massachusetts-Colony in New-England. Cambridge: Printed by S.G. for Hezekiah Usher at Boston in New-England. 1662. "The issue of infant baptism and church membership was a deeply divisive problem for early Massachusetts. Discussion of the question provoked the first real exchange of views through the medium of the printed word in British America. This statement of the Boston Synod was largely written by Jonathan Mitchel, and it put forth the compromise known as the "Half-Way Covenant." Increase Mather and John Davenport objected to the decision of the Synod to ease the traditional, rigorous requirements and stated their intention to print their arguments. They were immediately forestalled from doing so by an order of the General Court, which imposed the first official restriction on freedom of the press in Massachusetts by requiring manuscripts to be approved by licensers before publication; the first two licensers were Mitchel and Daniel Gookin. This restriction was lifted eight months later and was followed by Davenport and Mather's Another Essay for the Investigation of the Truth (Cambridge, 1663) and pamphlets by Mitchel, Richard Mather, Charles Chauncy, Thomas Shepard, and John Allin. Evans 68; Winship, Cambridge Press, pp. 245-60. http://www.reeseco.com/papers/fruits.htm

Site of in-depth Usher genealogy: (don't know how to do a short URL - if anyone does please feel free to amend this one!) - http://74.6.238.252/search/srpcache?ei=UTF-8&p=Lt.+Gov.+John+Usher&...

Find A Grave Memorial # 7140829.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hezekiah_Usher