William Franklin: Living in the Shadow of a Legend

By Brian Keogh

When one hears the name Franklin many different thoughts and emotions run through their minds. Whether it is Benjamin Franklin’s famous electrifying kite experiment or the many buildings and monuments which bear his name in Philadelphia, most people know at least something about this legendary American. However, few Americans know the story of William Franklin, Benjamin’s illegitimate son. While William Franklin’s life seems rather uneventful compared to his illustrious father, he was able to accomplish a number of different things during his lifetime. William worked as Deputy Postmaster, held a position in the Pennsylvania assembly, and even became Royal Governor of New Jersey.

William Franklin was born between late 1730 or early 1731 to Benjamin Franklin out of wedlock.¹ William’s mother was never successfully identified, however, some historians have speculated that she was a maid in Benjamin Franklin’s household.² For example, in his book entitled Road to Revolution: Benjamin Franklin in England, 1765-1775, Cecil B. Currey explains that, "No one has ever successfully cleared up the mystery of the identity of these women, although an anonymous writer affirmed in 1764 that the son’s mother was one Barbara, a maid in the Franklin household who had recently died and been buried in an unmarked grave."³

The 1730’s and 40’s were a time of great expansion in Philadelphia. During this time period in Philadelphia the famous Pennsylvania State House was constructed. As Edwin B. Bronner author of "Village into Town 1701-1746" put it, "The new charter that William Penn conferred upon Philadelphia in 1701 raised Penn’s greene Country Towne to the status of a city."⁴ William Franklin spent the majority of his childhood during the 1740’s living above his father’s print shop on Market Street in Philadelphia. He was raised by both his father, Benjamin Franklin, as well as his stepmother, Deborah Read Franklin, whom Benjamin married on September 1, 1730.⁵ William’s illegitimacy not only affected his credibility within the Philadelphia community, but it also severely hampered his relationship, with Deborah Franklin. Cecil Currey further discusses this strained relationship saying, "There existed between Deborah and William ‘a coldness bordering on hostility.’ On occasion, Deborah’s smoldering animosity gave way to vituperative attacks as she proclaimed ‘in the foulest terms…ever heard from a gentlewoman’ that William was the greatest Villain upon Earth."⁶ William’s hostility towards Deborah grew even worse when she gave birth to Francis Franklin, William’s stepbrother. Unfortunately, Francis Franklin died of smallpox one month after his fourth birthday.⁷ Nevertheless, William Franklin saw both his stepmother and Francis as threats to his relationship with his father. For the rest of his childhood and into his early adulthood William constantly competed for his father’s attention, and mimicked his every move.

Just as his father had been unhappy living in Boston, so was William disgruntled with his life in Philadelphia. Fed up with his overbearing stepmother and dead-end future, William looked to the sea for something different and adventurous. In September of 1746, William set out on an expedition to Canada as a soldier in King George’s War. When William returned to Philadelphia in May of 1747 he had earned the rank of captain for his diligence and effectiveness as a soldier.⁸ Unfortunately, Benjamin Franklin was not as enthusiastic about his son’s adventures in the army. Consequently, even though William Franklin returned to Philadelphia in 1748, he did not move back in with his father. William remained in Philadelphia until 1751, when Benjamin sent his son to Massachusetts for a stay with his sister Jane. Sheila L. Skemp, author of William Franklin, Son of a Patriot, Servant of a King, talks about William’s experience in Boston saying, "In Boston, the boy made a ‘favorable impression,’ was welcomed into the Franklin family, and met a number of city’s notables as well. At long last he had some link with his New England roots and a sense of continuity with his past."⁹

While William Franklin was busy enjoying his stay in Boston, his father was busy attending to his governmental duties as a member of the Pennsylvania assembly. After serving as a clerk in the assembly for a number of years, Benjamin Franklin gave the position to his son. While this position gave William no opportunity to voice his own opinions on the government, it did give the younger Franklin the opportunity to develop important contacts in the political world. This clerkship helped William attain other positions within the Pennsylvania government as well. When his father became Postmaster General of the United States, he appointed William to be the new Postmaster of Philadelphia. As his father began rise up as an influential politician in the United States, he made sure that William came up alongside him.¹⁰ Sheila Skemp further emphasizes William’s dependence on his father, saying, "As Ben climbed the political ladder, he brought William along with him, using his own fortunes to gain public employment and a measure of economic independence for his son."¹¹ From all his years in the Pennsylvania government William learned that Philadelphia had many problems which could not be easily solved by the government. Cecil Currey commented on the state of the city during this time period, saying, "The ‘holy experiment’ begun in Pennsylvania by its founder, William Penn, was, for all intents and purposes, over."¹² However, William’s experience in the Pennsylvania government provided an excellent background for his later position as Governor of New Jersey.

In 1757, William Franklin accompanied his father on a trip to England during which Benjamin Franklin spoke with members of Parliament about "a three-way dispute among the Quaker-dominated Assembly, the proprietary Penn family and the frontier settlers."¹³ After remaining in London for a number of years Benjamin decided to return home to Philadelphia in the fall of 1761.¹⁴ However, William would not accompany his father back to the New World. The younger Franklin had become quite involved in the English political system and was appointed Royal Governor of New Jersey in 1762.¹⁵ After being appointed as Governor, William set off for the New World to fulfill his duties in New Jersey. Included in Benjamin Franklin’s own autobiography is a list of William accomplishments as Governor, which included, "Promoting agriculture and roads, deftly managing Indian relations, and more difficult assembly relations, warning the Ministry about taxation without representation, and even proposing a government-sponsored Continental Congress."¹⁶ William’s position as Royal Governor of New Jersey made him become more and more loyal to the crown. As a result his relationship with his father began to worsen. Unfortunately, the Revolutionary War did not help relations between William and Benjamin become any better. Benjamin Franklin helped draft the Declaration of Independence and was very sympathetic towards the American cause, while William remained loyal to the English crown. As Sheila L. Skemp explains, "In his father’s eyes, William had committed not one act of disloyalty when he chose to support the English side during the American Revolution. He had committed two. He had abandoned the American colonies, his own country. And he had rejected the ‘Natural Duties’ a son owed to a loving and devoted father."¹⁷

After the Revolutionary War ended, William saw his father only once to tie up some financial items in Philadelphia.¹⁸ After the meeting with Benjamin, William sailed back to London where he lived primarily on a pension after the War. Despite William’s attempts to write his father many years after the Revolutionary War, Benjamin never wrote back to his son.¹⁹ The elder Franklin was so angry with his son that he even excluded William from his will. Sheila Skemp explains the extent of Benjamin’s anger saying, "In June 1789, less than one year before his death, an aging Benjamin Franklin made addition to his will, effectively disinheriting his only living son."²⁰ William Franklin lived the remainder of his life after the War in England, where he eventually died in exile in 1813.²¹

Site Tour

The first site on my tour of Philadelphia through the life of William Franklin is the Pennsylvania State House in which William served as a clerk for the assembly. The State House would later become what is now known as Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was created and signed. The State House in Philadelphia was constructed beginning in 1732 on Chestnut Street, and was remodeled from 1750-1753 so that the building could house the Liberty Bell.²² According to Edwin Bronner, The State House was "simply furnished, and so for the most part did the other Philadelphia buildings of the Queen Anne and early Georgian styles."²³ The State House was one of the most easily recognizable buildings in the city, with its tall steeple and tower. Besides being the home of the Pennsylvania Assembly, the State House also hosted many parties including one such banquet in 1766, celebrating the repeal of the Stamp Act.²⁴ Even Congress moved its headquarters from York to the State House in 1782. In 1787, the American Philosophical Society was granted a plot of land next to the State House for development. On this piece of property in 1787 the society constructed a rectangular, symmetrical building, that was in perfect harmony with the State House. Today, the State House is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city. While it does not house the Liberty Bell in its Tower, the Bell does reside in a building right outside Independence Hall. The whole area surrounding the old State House on Chestnut Street is home to some Philadelphia’s oldest, and most historical sites.

The second site on my tour is the Post Office, where William worked alongside his father, as Deputy Postmaster. The Post Office roots extend way back to February of 1692, when William and Mary denoted a large sum of money to establish some type of mail service with the majesties’ colonies. However, the Post Office was never actually established until 1693, when the Governor of Pennsylvania ordered that Andrew Hamilton erect a post office in Philadelphia. As a result of this order the Post Office was finally established later that year. Between 1745 and 1752 the Post Office was moved numerous times, mostly jumping from location to location along Market Street.

It was not until 1753, however, that Benjamin Franklin became Postmaster General. Soon after his appointment as Postmaster, Benjamin made William, Deputy Postmaster. During William’s time as Deputy Postmaster the Post Office was moved to a location on Third Street, near Church-Alley. Other major accomplishments of the Franklin reign in the Post Office included mail service twice a week between New York and Philadelphia, as well as mail service between New England and Philadelphia once a week year round.²⁵ The U.S. Postal Service Museum is located on 314 Market Street and includes many exhibits detailing the history of the mail system in the United States.

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The third site on my tour is Lightening Bolt statue at 5^th Street Vine. The statue is significant to William Franklin’s life because he was present when his father conducted the legendary experiment. Benjamin Franklin’s kite experiment not only validated the fact that lightning possessed electricity, but also that electricity, "existed within nature and was not just some amusing phenomenon of laboratories."²⁷ The 101 foot statue was designed by Isamu Noguchi, and portrays a bolt of lightning hitting a kite with a key at its base. Ironically, this is not the exact location where Benjamin Franklin actually conducted his revolutionary experiment. As a result of the location of the statue, across four lanes of highway, many visitors find the historical rather difficult to visit.²⁸ Still, the historical significance of the site, combined with beauty of the sculpture, make the statue a very popular attraction for tourists visiting Philadelphia.

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The fourth site on my tour of Philadelphia is Franklin Court, where William Franklin lived the majority of his childhood. Although the house was razed in 1812, the location of the house was inside Franklin Court. The house was 3 stories high, covered 33 square feet, and included about 10 rooms.³⁰ The house not only served as the home of the Franklin’s, but it also was the place where Benjamin Franklin attempted some of his first experiments with electricity. The location of the house is marked today by a historical building that contains a variety of different exhibits on Benjamin Franklin. Below the building is an underground museum that contains many of the inventions and objects of Benjamin Franklin. Among the inventions which are located in this museum are the Franklin stove, and the Franklin Glass Harmonica. Franklin Court is located on the intersection of Market, Chestnut, 3^rd, and 4^th street.

The last site on my tour is Burlington County, New Jersey, where William Franklin lived when he was Royal Governor of New Jersey. Burlington County was originally settled in 1677 by Quakers from Pennsylvania. Before the Quaker settlement, it was inhabited mostly by native Indians from the Shawnee, Delaware, and Cherokee tribes. Burlington County lies just over the Delaware River from Philadelphia in nearby New Jersey. During the New Jersey’s colonial days, Burlington served as the capital of Western New Jersey. During the Revolution Burlington County was a major station for both troops and supplies.³¹ As a result of this William Franklin was forced to leave his home in Burlington County, and head for the safety of Perth Amboy, New Jersey’s eastern capital at the time. Ironically, when William Franklin was appointed Royal Governor of New Jersey he chose Burlington County over Perth Amboy. Franklin preferred Burlington over Perth Amboy not because of its natural charm or beauty, but mainly because of its close proximity to Philadelphia. As Sheila Skemp explains in her book on William Franklin, "Perhaps most importantly, Burlington was less than twenty miles from Philadelphia where the Franklins could go for recreation and companionship. There, too William and his father could exchange political confidences and hold the strategy sessions they had so enjoyed in London."³²

End of Tour