Sarah was an influential American printer and publisher during the colonial era. She was born at Cocumscussoc plantation which was one of the early trading posts and is near Wickford, Rhode Island. She was the daughter of Lodowick Updike and Abigail Newton Updike.
Sarah Updike married Dr. Giles Goddard on December 11, 1731. The couple had four children, but only two survived to adulthood: William Goddard (1740–1817): who became a notable printer, publisher, and patriot and Mary Katherine Goddard (1738–1816): She was a pioneering female printer and publisher, known for printing the first copy of the Declaration of Independence that included the signers’ names.
Sarah Goddard died on January 5, 1770, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was buried in the Christ Church Burial Ground in Philadelphia. Sarah Updike Goddard’s contributions to early American printing and publishing were significant, particularly in establishing the Providence Gazette and Country Journal, the first newspaper in Providence, Rhode Island. Her legacy is honored by her induction into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame.
