Thomas Lloyd (1756–1827), known as the "Father of American Shorthand," was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on August 14 to William and Hannah Biddle Lloyd. Lloyd studied at the College of St. Omer in

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

, where he first learned his method of

shorthand Shorthand is an abbreviated symbolic writing method that increases speed and brevity of writing as compared to Cursive, longhand, a more common method of writing a language. The process of writing in shorthand is called stenography, from the Gr ...

. This very method of shorthand earned him his nickname as he published the most complete and official record of the

First Continental Congress The First Continental Congress was a meeting of delegates of twelve of the Thirteen Colonies held from September 5 to October 26, 1774, at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia at the beginning of the American Revolution. The meeting was organized b ...

from the notes taken in his shorthand. Some of his other prominent accomplishments include working for the United States TreasurerTinling, 522. and reporting the first Inaugural Address given by

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

, which was then published in the ''Gazette of the United States''.Newspaper clipping, Father of U.S. Shorthand, Thomas Lloyd. http://digital.library.villanova.edu/Pennsylvaniana/Lloyd/Lloyd-00031.xml

Life

Soldier

Immigrating just prior to the outbreak of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, Lloyd joined the effort by volunteering for the Fifth Independent Company of the Maryland

Militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

with whom he fought in the Long Island campaign during 1776, and upon its disbandment, enlisted in the Fourth Company of the Fourth Regiment of Maryland. Wounded at the

Battle of Brandywine The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American Continental Army of General George Washington and the British Army of General Sir William Howe on September 11, 1777, as part of the Am ...

, Lloyd was discharged in February 1779.

Stenographer

Lloyd married Mary Carson in 1780 and moved to

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

where he generated a reputation as a skilled stenographer and

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

. His continued interest in politics lead him to attend the first session of the Federal Congress. His publication of the record for that session earned him a permanent position in all Congressional debates. His publication, the ''Congressional Register'', became widely known as the most accurate and official documentation of debates and was used frequently by individual Congressmen for quotes. As Lloyd's publishing career continued, his

partisan Partisan(s) or The Partisan(s) may refer to: Military * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line ** Francs-tireurs et partisans, communist-led French anti-fascist resistance against Nazi Germany during WWII ** Ital ...

work brought criticism from outside sources. Failing to publish his notes from the Maryland Convention and the

anti-Federalist The Anti-Federalists were a late-18th-century political movement that opposed the creation of a stronger U.S. federal government and which later opposed the ratification of the 1787 Constitution. The previous constitution, called the Articles ...

speeches from the Pennsylvania Convention, Lloyd earned a reputation as an ardent supporter of the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

, but also earned criticism from fellow

journalists A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and political figures alike who accused him of taking

bribes Bribery is the corrupt solicitation, payment, or acceptance of a private favor (a bribe) in exchange for official action. The purpose of a bribe is to influence the actions of the recipient, a person in charge of an official duty, to act contrar ...

. In 1789, Lloyd reported on the first session of the First

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

and was appointed official recorder for the second session. While Lloyd continued recording various political debates and Congressional sessions, his publication of the ''Register'' concluded in 1790.

In London

After the end of Lloyd's publications, he returned to London with his family in 1791. Hitting a string of bad luck, Lloyd was put in

Newgate prison Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey, just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, the pr ...

for debt and upon his release, returned to the United States in hopes of once again publishing his recordings. However, upon his return, Lloyd was not given back his position with Congress and found himself out of work.

Method Published

Mathew Carey Mathew Carey (January 28, 1760 – September 16, 1839) was an Irish-born American publisher and economist who lived and worked in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In Dublin, he had engaged in the cause of parliamentary reform, and in America, attract ...

, prominent

publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

and employee of the ''Pennsylvania Herald'' worked with Lloyd to learn his method of shorthand and in January 1793, published ''The System of Shorthand Practiced by Thomas Lloyd in Taking Down the Debates of Congress and Now (With His Permission) Published for General Use''.

Legacy

The last known publication by Lloyd was a work that compiled the full structure of his shorthand system that ended up being his legacy that was published in 1819. His book, ''Lloyd's Stenography'', was designed to be sold as a manual to those wishing to learn shorthand. Lloyd died on January 19, 1827, and was buried in the cemetery of St. Augustine Church which is located on Fourth, near Vine, in Philadelphia. He was survived by three daughters and Maria Daly Shea who was raised in his household and eventually became the heir of the Lloyd family papers.Griffin, Martin I. J. "Mrs. Maria Daly Shea." Philadelphia Catholic Standard and Times. April 10, 1911. Newspaper clipping. http://digital.library.villanova.edu/Pennsylvaniana/Lloyd/Lloyd-00095.xml. Lloyd Collection, Villanova University Digital Library.

Notes

References

Tinling, Marion. "Thomas Lloyd's Reports on the First Federal Congress." The William and Mary Quarterly Vol 18 : 4 (Oct 1961), pp. 519–545.

External links

St. Augustine Church website

Lloyd Collection at Villanova University

Lloyd Family Collection at Villanova University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lloyd, Thomas 1756 births 1827 deaths People from Philadelphia Maryland militiamen in the American Revolution British emigrants to the United States People from colonial Maryland People of Maryland in the American Revolution category:Stenographers Continental Congress