Before 1800

 Printer. Colonial American Businessman. Born in Witgenstein, Germany, he began a successful German-American printing shop in Germantown, Pennsylvania, in 1738. The most significant publication that came off the Sower presses occurred in 1743; it was the Holy Bible in the German language. It was the first Bible in America that was printed in a European language. In the book collecting world, it is known simply as “the Sauer Bible.” As Sower became more established, his publications started to become “more American.” As soon as it was available, he began printing on American paper, and his son Christopher Sower, the younger, made the first American-manufactured typeset. 

Publisher. Religious Figure. Born in Witgenstein, Germany, he was the son of Christopher Sower, the elder (also spelled Saur and Sauer), and came to America at the age of three. He became a student of Christopher Dock. As the younger Sower grew, his father continued to supervise the German printing in the firm, but he put his son in charge of the works printed in English. Sower was the first to cast typeface in the America. From 1772 on, Sower publications were printed on American-made paper with American-made type. Sower was a church elder, and a co-founder of Germantown Academy. He was required to take a loyalty oath to Pennsylvania, but declined on religious grounds. In 1778, as a result of his not taking a loyalty oath to the new government, his possessions were forfeit, and he lost all that he owned. Despite his loyalty to America, the young country was still having problems puzzling out how far individuality was to be respected. His son, David Sower, continued the family publishing tradition. 

Publisher. He was the son of Christopher Sower, the younger. He operated a printing business in Philadelphia, and then moved to Norristown, Pennsylvania where he established the The Norristown Gazette. The paper began publishing June 15, 1799, and ceased publication on June 6, 1800. On October 10, 1800, however, Sower began publishing The Norristown Herald and Weekly Advertiser. The paper continues to be published today as the Times-Herald. 

Cabinetmaker. He fled from France to America as a young soldier after Waterloo. French artisans saw Philadelphia as a place to make a mark. Bouvier took up cabinet-making, and soon had a thriving business. He made furnishings for Stephen Girard and Joseph Bonaparte, King of Sicily and Spain, who lived at 206 South 9th Street after his brother’s fall from power and before moving to New Jersey. While Bouvier did make money at cabinetry, he made his fortune in land speculation. He married Louise C. Vernou in 1828. One of his daughters, Emma would become the stepmother of Katharine Drexel (later Saint Katharine Drexel, SBS). Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was another famous descendant. 

Anglican Priest. Educator. Benjamin Franklin asked him to teach at a new school to be established in Philadelphia. Smith came to the city to teach natural philosophy and became the first provost (first president) of the College of Philadelphia, a position he held from 1754 to 1779. Because of a misconception of Smith as a loyalist, the Pennsylvania legislature established the new University of Pennsylvania in 1779. Smith served on the Philadelphia Committee of Correspondence in 1774 serving with such notables as John Dickinson, Samuel Miles, and Joseph Reed. He moved to Maryland and became the first president of Washington College.   Later, after the revolution ended, and Smith was no longer seen as a loyalist, the College of Philadelphia merged with the University of Pennsylvania, and Smith was the new school’s provost from 1802 to 1803. In 1757, Smith was the editor of The American Magazine and Monthly Chronicle for the British Colonies which was published by fellow Philadelphian William Bradford. 

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