Information about the descendants of Benjamin Franklin and his forbears (this to include the Folgers of Nantucket, etc.).
In answer to the following query: I just finished the Walter Isaacson biography on Benjamin Franklin and I’m curious about his descendants. The mother of his son and the mother of his grandson are unknown and I’m wondering if DNA evidence could help. Has anyone considered exhuming Temple Franklin, his daughter Ellen, or his granddaughter …
The grandson of Benjamin Franklin visited Monticello and was sent a letter by James Monroe on June 11, 1799. It is up for auction in 2020. Albemarle, June 11, 1799, six months before commencing his second term as Governor of Virginia, to Dr. William Bache (1773-1820), the grandson of Benjamin Franklin who was then on …
Following up on Bumping into Franklin on the West Wing, I found a sweet connection to a dear friend. The seated statuette is a copy of the James Earle Fraser statue at the headquarters of the Franklin Life Insurance Company, Springfield, Illinois, dedicated in 1949. The Sangamon County Historical Society presents the statue on SangamonLink, …
There is a lovely manuscript letter written by William Temple Franklin coming up for auction (March 26, 2020, in Malaga, Spain). The image captures his fabulous handwriting. On December 30, 1778, WTF wrote to Monsieur Ruault, Librarian, stating `I beg you, Monsieur Ruault, to send to Passy, tomorrow, 2 copies of my Grandfather’s works. The …
Benjamin Franklin’s son William (known as “The Governor” in some circles, do distinguish him from his son, William Temple Franklin) was imprisoned in New York during the Revolutionary War, and returned to England through an exchange of prisoners. He remarried there (to widow Mary D’Evelin on August 14, 1788) and his days ended there. In …
The Western Kentucky University’s Kentucky Museum reports having “a 1765 Chippendale tea table donated by a descendant of Benjamin Franklin … currently on exhibit” — perhaps shown in this album from the Snell-Franklin Decorative Arts Exhibition — in this story.
My eye was caught by this statement in this news article today: Dun & Bradstreet dates back to 1841 when Lewis Tappan – the great grand nephew of Benjamin Franklin – set-up a business to provide credit information across the US via a network of reporters, just five years after the first commercial telegraphs were …
I am slowly binge-watching episodes of West Wing and notice in Season 6, Episode 20, “In God We Trust” that Franklin shows up in the decorations of people in both parties. It’s a nice compliment that the set designers imagine both these classy characters would want Franklin’s image nearby. The Senate office of Republican Senator …
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This page concerns William Temple Franklin, the son of William Franklin, and grandson of Benjamin Franklin. I follow the custom of calling him “Temple” to distinguish him from his father. Temple died in Paris on May 25, 1823. In 2014, guided by this excellent webpage by L. David Roper, I visited Temple’s grave and took …
This article contains this reference: Built in 1921, the house was named Franklin Hall by its third resident, Dr. C. Ray Franklin, a direct descendent of founding father Benjamin Franklin, according to current owner Jim Taylor, a retired business executive. Franklin and his wife, Ruth, bought the brick, slate-roofed manse in 1977 and sold it …
