Hugh Meredith (c. 1697 - c. 1749) was a farmer and printer in the American colonies, who briefly had a partnership with

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

as publishers of the ''

Pennsylvania Gazette ''The Pennsylvania Gazette'' was one of the United States' most prominent newspapers from 1728 until 1800. In the several years leading up to the American Revolution the paper served as a voice for colonial opposition to British colonial rule, ...

''. Meredith was of Welsh descent and born outside Philadelphia, where he was a farmer. At the age of 30, he took an apprenticeship to learn printing. Franklin and Meredith worked under

Samuel Keimer Samuel Keimer (1689–1742) was originally an English printer and emigrant who came to America and became an Early American printer. He was the original founder of ''The Pennsylvania Gazette.'' On October 2, 1729, Benjamin Franklin bought thi ...

, and Meredith was an original member of the

Junto Junto may refer to: * Whig Junto (c. 1700), English political leaders' group, that began to dominate the ministry from 1693 and held onto power intermittently until 1717 when members of the group fell out * Junto (club) The Junto, also known as ...

club founded by Franklin. Around 1728 the two formed a partnership, with Meredith's father providing half of the needed money for the venture. They bought Keimer's ''Universal Instructor in all Arts and Sciences: and Pennsylvania Gazette'' in 1729. By the next year, Franklin acted to buy out Meredith's interest. By May 1732 Franklin had acquired complete ownership of the ''Gazette''. In the summer of 1730 Meredith moved to the Welsh Tract settlement in the Cape Fear region of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

, claiming on departure that he planned to "follow my old employment", which evidently meant farming as the colony had no printers until 1749. As part of their division of the business, Meredith asked for a new saddle. In 1731, Franklin published two letters from Meredith in the ''Gazette'', which described conditions in the North Carolina Welsh settlements. It is likely that Meredith later returned to Pennsylvania, as Franklin lent him some money in 1739.

References

External links

To Benjamin Franklin from Hugh Meredith: Dissolution of Partnership, 14 July 1730

An Account of the Cape Fear Country, 1731
(1922 book, a reprint of Meredith's letters to the ''Gazette'') {{DEFAULTSORT:Meredith, Hugh 1697 births 1749 deaths Businesspeople from Philadelphia American printers American people of Welsh descent People of colonial Pennsylvania Apprentices of Benjamin Franklin