Update on Temple, 2025

The Wikipedia page for William Temple Franklin, grandson of Benjamin, now has this unsourced paragraph: In addition to Théodore and Ellen, Temple Franklin had other children.  He fathered a son, James William Franklin Sr., born on December 15, 1789, in Roaring River, North Carolina, who later married Nancy Amburgey and settled in Virginia, where he died in 1860.  Temple …

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A Postal Semiquincentennial

NAPEX 2025 was held June 6-8 in McLean, Virginia. This event combines the national conventions for several philatelic societies as well as the Virginia Postal History Society. This year, one of three special themes, highlighted on the cover of its program, was “Celebrating the Semiquincentennial of Benjamin Franklin as First U.S. Postmaster General, 1775.” As …

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Read With a Pen Window

I’m happy to announce and document the installation of another stained glass panel in honor of Franklin, Read With A Pen, installed May 26, 2025.– Martin Mangold, May 30, 2025 In May of 1760, Franklin was asked by his landlady’s daughter, Mary (“Polly”) Stevenson (1739-1795), how to become a philosopher. Polly was away from Craven …

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Gazette Collection Update

Many thanks to Michael Geiger of San Diego for pointing out that the Franklin Gazette, Volume 16 #1, from Spring 2006, was posted here without page seven. This has been remedied on the Gazettes page, showing the completion of Philippe Alasseur’s article, “Franklin Abroad: The Americans at Passy and the Chalut Family Circle,” translated by …

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Welcoming Ben & Me

Eric Weiner’s new book (Ben & Me) comes out this month, and Politics and Prose is hosting some opening ceremonies on June 12th. I enjoy Eric’s work, and find this book to be a wonderful introduction to Franklin and a thoughtful exploration of his life, locations and lessons by a very companionable writer. Reflections on …

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Franklin’s Printing Network

At long last, I have read Benjamin Franklin’s Printing Network: Disseminating Virtue in Early America by Ralph Frasca (University of Missouri Press, 2006). The author covers his topic well: the various people Franklin worked with in the course of repeated attempts to start subordinate businesses around North America. The importance of bookkeeping, especially keeping track …

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Locating Franklin’s Print Shops

One nice result of the celebrations of October 6, 2023 in Philadelphia was that Roy Goodman put me in touch with Richard Armandi, a long-time Franklinian who is particularly interested in the original locations of Franklin’s printing businesses. The suggestion from Franklin Court is that all of Franklin’s business was housed on that property, which …

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