William Parks (publisher)

[8] Update: In research conducted in September 1990 in the Internal Revenue Registers of the Public Records Office, Kew London, Harold Bledsoe Gill, Jr. found that William Parks was apprenticed in 1710 to Stephen Bryan of Worcester City for a period of seven years.

This was five days after Daniel Defoe starting publishing the London newspaper Daily Post of which Parks copied directly several paragraphs of it without acknowledgement.

[10] Parks eventually immigrated to colonial America in 1726, starting a print shop in Annapolis, Maryland.

[17] Neighboring Virginia had been the first state settled in the American colonies, but there was no government consent to having a printing-office at the time.

[11] Parks established a print shop in Colonial Williamsburg near the Capitol building on the main street known as the Duke of Gloucester.

[4] It is a two-story building and served as Virginia's post office and Williamsburg's bookshop, stationery store, and book bindery.

[23] The history of Parks's Williamsburg paper mill began with his journey to Philadelphia in the fall of 1742 to seek opinions from Benjamin Franklin and discuss how to go about such a project.

Franklin then advertised in the Pennsylvania Gazette for a contractor who knew about building a paper mill, and for associated craftsmen.

[27] At times Parks employed as many as nine assistants for his paper mill and nearby Williamsburg print shop.

[30] Parks advertised in the Gazette for additional rags for his paper making on July 26, 1744,[31] and appealed to its readers to collect rags for paper-making with a poem he published therein: Nice Delia's Smock, which neat and whole,No man durst finger for his soul;Turn'd to Gazette, now all the town,May take it up, or smooth it down.Whilst Delia may with it dispense,And no Affront to Innocence.

A. Leo Lemay has speculated that the reason Franklin was so interested in seeing Parks getting started in the paper making business is that he wanted to promote American industry.

According to this theory, Franklin saw that Parks had already opened a print shop in England, Annapolis, and Williamsburg and wished him to get involved in making paper, since he was a good businessman and his endeavors would benefit commerce in the long run.

Williamsburg historian Rutherfoord Goodwin speculated that it may have been taken over by William Hunter, the deputy postmaster-general under Benjamin Franklin[34] who had served as Parks's main assistant.

Hunter also revived The Virginia Gazette in February, 1751 as the new proprietor who had bought the paper from Franklin, but generally did not employ its use much.

Parks was the printer who was asked by Carroll to record and print the legal proceedings involved and, feeling duty bound, traveled from Williamsburg to Annapolis in 1732 to do so.

Besides both having the same wife'e name, both had the same trade with consecutive periods of activity which were similar in nature related to being a printer and newspaper publisher.

[43] On March 23, 1750, Parks traveled on the passenger ship Nelson going to England to collect additional supplies for his printing press in Virginia.

[3][44][45] Before embarking on his voyage Parks placed his junior partner, William Hunter, in charge of printing operations.

[46] Parks had made out a last will and testament on March 13, 1750 (about two weeks before his death) which was witnessed and signed by four persons not related.

Parks left his sister Jane Spitsburg "fifty pounds current money of Virginia".