Daye, Stephen
Daye, Stephen,
c.1594–1668, British settler in North America, considered by many to be the first printer in the English American colonies. He came to Massachusetts Bay with his family in 1638 under contract to the Rev. Jose GloverGlover, Jose, d. 1638, English nonconformist minister, generally considered the father of printing in the English colonies of North America. He visited New England c.1634 and on his return to England solicited support for what became Harvard College.
..... Click the link for more information. , who brought along a printing press. Glover died on the voyage and his widow helped the Dayes set up his press. Daye apparently supervised its establishment and it became the Cambridge Press, the first printing plant in the colonies. From it was issued The Freeman's Oath, a broadside published in 1639. It was followed by an almanac and by the Bay Psalm BookBay Psalm Book,
common hymnal of the Massachusetts Bay colony. Written by Richard Mather, John Eliot, and Thomas Weld, it was published in 1640 at Cambridge as The Whole Book of Psalms Faithfully Translated into English Metre.
..... Click the link for more information. (1640), the first book printed in the colonies. Stephen Daye was not a printer, but a locksmith, whereas his son, Matthew Daye, was a trained printer. Matthew may have done the actual printing for the company.