Records include the petition from Ann Franklin to the General Assembly that she be allowed to print the Acts of the Colony and the General Treasurer receipts for services rendered by Ann Smith in her capacity as official printer to the colony.

Ann Smith Franklin (October 2, 1696 – April 16, 1763) was an American colonial newspaper printer and publisher. She inherited the business from her husband, James Franklin, brother of Benjamin Franklin. Ann was born in Boston to Samuel and Anna Smith. She married James Franklin in Boston on February 4, 1723. She published the Newport, Rhode Island Mercury, printed an almanac series, and printed Rhode Island paper currency. Ann was the country’s first female newspaper editor, the first woman to write an almanac, and the first woman inducted into the University of Rhode Island's Journalism Hall of Fame. - Excerpt from Wikipedia: Ann Smith Franklin