Name Matthias Bartgis | Died 1825 | |
Matthias Bartgis (1759 – 1825) was a pioneer German-American printer in Western Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania.
Matthias Bartgis was born June 3, 1759 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania to a German immigrant, Matthias Bartgis. He learned the art of printing from William Bradford in Philadelphia and initially established a print office in York, Pennsylvania. In 1778 he expanded his business to Frederick, Maryland and later to Winchester, Virginia as well. In 1788 Bartgis established a regular bi-weekly private mail system which stretched from York to Winchester to facilitate the delivery of his paper.
Until his retirement in 1820 Bartgis published various newspapers, pamphlets, forms, and books for the rapidly growing population of the Shenandoah, bringing printed culture to the area and including the large German minority.
His newspaper publications include: