A bachelor in his twenties was frowned upon and Franklin at age 24 was set to find a wife. This was the flux that Franklins editors note referred to. As to Frankys general health, the best evidence is in Franklins 1733 piece in the Gazette celebrating a scolding wife. Essential Writers, Artists, and Scientists, History of Scientists, Inventors, and Inventions Quiz, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Benjamin-Franklin, Social Studies for Kids - Biography of Benjamin Franklin, UShistory.org - The Electric Ben Franklin, Philanthropy Roundtable - Benjamin Franklin, Strange Science - Biography of Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Franklin - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), Benjamin Franklin - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). Thus, as Franklin later wrote, the former couples mutual Affection was revived, and they were joined in a common-law marriage on September 1, 1730. But still I advise you to marry directly; being sincerely Your affectionate Friend. Benjamin Franklin was born in a small house on Milk Street in Boston, Massachusetts on January 6, 1706, the son of Josiah Franklin and Abiah Folger. In June 1728, he launched a printing house with a partner, Hugh Meredith. One might not look at Benjamin Franklin and think sex icon, but standards for popular fan craze in Ben's day were not centered on physical . Perhaps out of compassion, few of Franklins contemporaries questioned his explanation for not inoculating Franky or asked why he had gone so quiet on the procedure in the months before his son died. Over 35 years of marriage, Benjamin Franklin had indirectly praised Deborahs work ethic and common sense through wife characters in his Pennsylvania Gazette and Poor Richards Almanac. Fifteen-year-old Deborah, standing at the door of her familys house on Market Street, laughed at the awkward ridiculous Appearance of the bedraggled 17-year-old stranger trudging down the street with a loaf of bread under each arm and his pockets bulging with socks and shirts. Franklin exchanged some promises about marriage with Deborah Read and, with a young friend, James Ralph, as his companion, sailed for London in November 1724, just over a year after arriving in Philadelphia. . After insisting that he was leaving home more cheerfully for his confidence in Deborahs ability to manage his affairs and Sarahs education, he added: And yet I cannot forbear once more recommending her to you with a Fathers tenderest Concern.. Frank Benjamin Grouard (also known as Frank Gruard and Benjamin Franklin Grouard) (September 20, 1850 - August 15, 1905) was a Scout and interpreter for General George Crook during the American Indian War of 1876. Marriage is the proper Remedy. For the better part of a decade he lived with the Sioux tribe before returning to society. How Many People Signed the U.S. Constitution? In the winter of 1731, a smallpox epidemic befell Philadelphia. Benjamin Franklin, also called Ben Franklin, pseudonym Richard Saunders, (born January 17 [January 6, Old Style], 1706, Boston, Massachusetts [U.S.]died April 17, 1790, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.), American printer and publisher, author, inventor and scientist, and diplomat. Separate, she wants his Force of Body and Strength of Reason; he, her Softness, Sensibility and acute Discernment. Philadelphia: Printed and Sold by B. Franklin, M,DCC,XLVI. Oh my! In the Autobiography he wrote that he should have beenashamd at seeing Miss Read, had not her Friendspersuaded her to marry another. If he wasnt ashamed, what was he? . Gone are a me days o fun. The couple had two children. , I first read this letter decades ago, when I was still a young man, & found it delightfully funny but with more than a few kernels of wisdom now, when some might consider me to be the odd Half of a Pair of Scissars, I cant completely agree with Franklin in regard to marriage making one compleat, but much of the advice in the letter makes sense certainly from the point of view of a cultured 18th century man & every re-reading makes me laugh at Franklins very modern sense of humor! So what should we make of Benjamin Franklin? It depends chiefly on two words, industry and frugality: that is, waste neither time nor money, but make the best use of both. Wherein a Practicable Plan is laid down for Obtaining and Securing Conjugal Felicity. Deborah Read, who he had courted before going to England, had married Roger Potter during his absence. Benjamin Franklin. Those goolden days when I were yong, In April and July he assured her he would sail shortly. . And when, in February 1731, Philadelphians began coming down with smallpox, Franklins backing became even more urgent. Poor Richard's Almanack, p.41, Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. "The Completed Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin". In 1721 James Franklin founded a weekly newspaper, the New-England Courant, to which readers were invited to contribute. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Sometimes being married is actually BAD for a person and I dont think being single means less happiness. But if you will not take this Counsel, and persist in thinking a Commerce with the Sex inevitable, then I repeat my former Advice, that in all your Amours you should prefer old Women to young ones. Destructive 'Super Pigs' From Canada Threaten the Northern U.S. Did an Ancient Magnetic Field Reversal Cause Chaos for Life on Earth 42,000 Years Ago? He learned to read very early and had one year ingrammar schooland another under a private teacher, but his formal education ended at age 10. Franklin was certainly grateful to be married, but treated his wife more like a roommate than a helpmate in life. LOL I hope you have a great day! Those days from the present differ! lol. Benjamin Franklin We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately. When he met his grandson he, too, became infatuated with the boyso much so that he effectively claimed Benny for his own. On another occasion, Franklin wrote of her many good qualities but conspicuously left out any mention of her being a good mother, a slap in the face at the time. Because thro more Experience, they are more prudent and discreetin conducting an Intrigue to prevent Suspicion . In London Franklin quickly found employment in his trade and was able to lend money to Ralph, who was trying to establish himself as a writer. We feature smart, groundbreaking research and well-written narratives from expert writers. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Deborah Read, who he had courted before going to England, had married Roger Potter during his absence. During our investigation, Nancy reveals why we should explore the life of Benjamin Franklin through the women in his life; Deborah Read Franklin and her marriage to Benjamin Franklin; And, details about the marriage of Benjamin and Deborah Franklin, including the many years they spent apart from each other between 1757 and 1775. Failing to find work in New York City, Franklin at age 17 went on to Quaker-dominated Philadelphia, a much more open and religiously tolerant place than Puritan Boston. The grateful part, Im not so sure! Benjamin's great-great-grandfather was Thomas Franklin who was born in 1540 in Ecton, England, and worked as a blacksmith. Poor Richard's Almanack, p.39, Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. Benjamin Franklin (2013). In 1730, when Boston had another outbreak, he used his own newspaper to promote inoculation in Philadelphia because he suspected the disease would spread south. But Benjamin Franklin did not ignore his son. Benjamin Franklin pioneered the spirit of self-help in America. We tend to idealize our founding fathers. I agree with him that marriage adds to each of us and makes us whole. In February 1774, Benjamin wrote that he hoped to return home in May. In 1722 he wrote a series of 14 essays signed Silence Dogood in which he lampooned everything from funeral eulogies to the students of Harvard College. This was perhaps a nice justification for his self-indulgent behaviour in London and his ignoring of Deborah, to whom he had written only once. Inoculation had proven successful after the 1721 outbreak in Boston when 5,889 Bostonians had smallpox, and 844 died of it. , LOL!!! New indentures were drawn up but not made public. the state in which you will find solid happiness. Houghton LibraryHarvard College Library. Because in every Animal that walks upright, the Deficiency of the Fluids that fill the Muscles appears first in the highest Part: The Face first grows lank and wrinkled; then the Neck; then the Breast and Arms; the lower Parts continuing to the last as plump as ever: So that covering all above with a Basket, and regarding only what is below the Girdle, it is impossible of two Women to know an old from a young one. Smallpox was the most feared distemper in Colonial America. You can not pluck roses without fear of thorns, Nor enjoy a fair wife without danger of horns. Omissions? He was the grandfather of journalist, printer, and publisher Benjamin Franklin Bache, Texas military figure Richard Bache, Jr., and diplomat William Temple Franklin. Inasmuch as some People aredeterd from having that Operation performd on their Children, I do hereby sincerely declare, that he was not inoculated, but receivd the Distemper in the common Way of Infection, he wrote. Deborah left him and moved back in with her mother. Deborah Read and Benjamin Franklin entered a common law agreementon September 1, 1730. When Franky was finally baptized, his father just happened to be on an extended trip to New England. Franklin agreed to take in the child as his own. LOL! preserve, publish, and encourage the use of documentary sources, relating to the history of Marriage is the most natural state of man, and. By that logic, risking her son to inoculation was unacceptable. Families were not quick to give dowries to men with an illegitimate child, but Deborah Read's family was. Having been to "Hell and back," her passionate writing will inspire, motivate, educate and make you laugh. A Note to our Readers The two young men enjoyed the theatre and the other pleasures of the city, including women. You can bear your own faults, and why not a fault in your wife? . Benjamin Franklin had two sons and one daughter. A bachelor in his twenties was frowned upon and Franklin at age 24 was set to find a wife. ..the Benjamin Schenck Mansion is supposedly one of the most haunted places in all of Indiana. Benjamin and Deborah Franklin spent all but two of their final 17 years apart. But the facts are more complicated. But he emerged as one of the most outspoken inoculation advocates in the Colonies. Whether he blamed Deborah, or blamed himself for listening to her, the hard feelings relating to the death of their beloved sonthe DELIGHT of all that knew him, according to the epitaph on his gravestoneappear to have ravaged their relationship. Six years into that marriage, her husband was advancing so quickly in the world that she might have begun to worry he might one day outgrow his plain, poorly educated wife. Author of, Alva O. A Brief History of the Salem Witch Trials. All rights reserved. Silence Dogood. Franklin swooped in and took Deborah as his common-law wife on September 1, 1730 common-law so that, if Mr. Potter returned, neither one would be in violation of bigamy laws. Poor Richard's Almanack, p.17, Barnes & Noble Publishing. Meanwhile, Pennsylvanias governor, William Keith, happened upon a letter Franklin had written and decided he was a young Man of promising Partsso promising that he offered to front the money for Franklin to set up his own printing house and promised to send plenty of work his way. But we cant understand him fully without considering why he treated his wife so shabbily at the end of her life. This letter was even funnier to me because Benjamin Franklin misspelled words that I restrained myself from correcting. Clearly Franklin believed he had had a choice and had chosen wrong. Whether the letter in question truly qualified as his first is unknown, since it has been lost. So Franky probably wasnt a particularly sickly child. 976. The Truth About Benjamin Franklin's Relationship With His Wife. I had a very food filled life. On September 1, 1730, he began a common-law marriage with Deborah Read, a carpenter's daughter. Recall Benjamin Franklin said, "Good wives usually make good husbands" and "The likeliest Way, either to obtain a good Husband, or to keep one so, is to be Good yourself". If God expected me to stay married just so that I could say I was married, then he would not be the God of love that I know Him to be. Known to historians as Benjamin Franklin's favorite sister, Jane was eleven when her restless brother ran away from Boston to begin his career in Philadelphia. When Benjamin Franklin was born on 6 January 1706, in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, his father, Josiah Franklin Sr., was 48 and his mother, Abiah Lee Folger, was 38. . Mulligan: Franklin, of course, never sent "Fart . Deborahs famous temper might be traced to her frustration with him, as well as the general unfairness of her situation. How I long to see you, she wrote to him in 1770, after 40 years of marriage and five years into his second trip to London. I long regretted bitterly and still regret that I had not given it to him by inoculation. One of the foremost of the Founding Fathers, Franklin helped draft the Declaration of Independence and was one of its signers, represented the United States in France during the American Revolution, and was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. Benjamin Franklin is known as one of the country's most influential figures. Franklin was not the gushy, romantic type, but, prior to his marriage, he had an affair with the wife of a friend and ended up getting her pregnant. Here are a few surprising facts about Ben's spirited wife. Protect and keep contributing to your investment." -Karen Gordon They seem to do very well in business and . Benjamin Franklin, also called Ben Franklin, pseudonym Richard Saunders, (born January 17 [January 6, Old Style], 1706, Boston, Massachusetts [U.S.]died April 17, 1790, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.), American printer and publisher, author, inventor and scientist, and diplomat. (Franklin immortalized his wifes fiery personality in various fictional counterparts, including Bridget Saunders, wife of Poor Richard. Benjamin Franklin was a printer, publisher, author, inventor, scientist, and diplomat. Many biographers and historians have followed suit, accepting at face value that Franky was simply too sick for inoculation. by Benjamin Franklin, Carl Japikse. But rather than focusing on the devastation caused by the disease, Franklins coverage dealt primarily with the success of smallpox inoculation. As a scientist, Franklin took great interest in inoculating against the disease. Reflections on Courtship and Marriage: in Two Letters to a Friend. Benjamin Franklin. If you purchase an item through these links, we receive a commission. In all, Josiah would father 17 children. They did consummate their marriage and have a child. Benjamin Franklin - Keep your eyes wide open before. God made it this way, in his words he said woman is not without the man or man with out the woman. Some say the longer daylight hours promote safety and help the economy. Young Franklin discovered a volume of The Spectatorfeaturing Joseph Addison and Sir Richard Steeles famous periodical essays, which had appeared in England in 171112and saw in it a means for improving his writing. Corrections? By the spring of 1724 he was enjoying the companionship of other young men with a taste for reading, and he was also being urged to set up in business for himself by the governor of Pennsylvania, Sir William Keith. Agreed to take in the Colonies Franklins 1733 piece in the Autobiography he wrote that he effectively Benny. 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