Dr. William Bache (1773-1820)

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 …

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From One Statue to Another

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, …

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Temple’s Handwriting

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 …

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Bowling Green, KY

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.

Lewis Tappan

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 …

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Bumping Into Benjamin Franklin on The West Wing

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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