. 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". Much has been made of Franklin being a womanizer, especially in Europe. Philadelphia: Printed and Sold by B. Franklin, M,DCC,XLVI. One dark spot in his life was his marriage. I would have loved to see Franklin, Mark Twain, & George Carlin trade witticisms! 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. And yet she remained legally married to him; a woman could self-divorce, as Deborah had done in returning to her mothers home, but she could not remarry with church sanction. The having made a young Girl miserable may give you frequent bitter Reflections; none of which can attend the making an old Woman happy. Ha, ha..I think lots of older women are not so good in this day & age..bah humbug to waiting on a man & confounding ones self to be pleasing to him.. 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. Occasionally, however, they developed full-blown smallpox or other complications and died. Now you may argue with God but not me. And as in the dark all Cats are grey, the Pleasure of corporal Enjoyment with an old Woman is at least equal, and frequently superior, every Knack being by Practice capable of Improvement. As to Frankys general health, the best evidence is in Franklins 1733 piece in the Gazette celebrating a scolding wife. Did I say a? 1743: Proposes a plan for an Academy, which is adopted 1749 and develops into the University of Pennsylvania. Benjamin Franklin was a printer, publisher, author, inventor, scientist, and diplomat. (Posthumous painting. For the better part of a decade he lived with the Sioux tribe before returning to society. Author of. But the rest, spot on, Ben, baby. Growdon, Esq, had been inoculated without incident. Though the boy was largely raised by his caustic mother, Deborah, Franklin nonetheless looked out for him. Franklin apparently proposed marriage, but she declined in deference to her deceased husband. Marriage is the most natural state of man, and. Benjamin Franklin, perhaps the most recognized American polymath, also participated in the music domain during his lifetime and, in addition to the knowledge of several instruments and commentaries on music theory, left a legacy as an instrument maker and a composer. Marriage & Family Life Mary married Peter Folger in 1644. After six months, he and the young woman were in love. The first was Francis Folger Franklin born October 1732. William Franklin was born Feb. 22, 1762, followed by the birth of Francis on Oct. 20, 1732 and . Not until his ship was well out at sea did he realize that Governor Keith had not delivered the letters of credit and introduction he had promised. 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. His 1742 ballad in praise of her, as Lemay points out, touched upon every aspect of her domestic skills except motherhoodeven though she had mothered William Franklin since infancy and, shortly after Frankys death, had taken in young James Franklin Jr., the son of Bens deceased brother. Benjamin Franklin Some people die at 25 and aren't buried until 75. In an age that privileged the firstborn son, Franklin was, as he tartly noted in his Autobiography, the youngest Son of the youngest Son for five Generations back. He learned to read very early and had one year in grammar school and another under a private teacher, but his formal education ended at age 10. He considered becoming an itinerant teacher of swimming, but, when Thomas Denham, a Quaker merchant, offered him a clerkship in his store in Philadelphia with a prospect of fat commissions in the West Indian trade, he decided to return home. At some point in the year after Franky died, Benjamin commissioned a portrait of the boy. Benjamin Franklin He wrote that Franklin fully intended to inoculate the boy, but that Frankys sickness dragged on and smallpox took him before his recovery. Indeed, Lemay went even further in providing cover for Franklin, describing Franky as a sickly infant and a sickly child. This, too, has become accepted wisdom. "Marriage is the most natural state of man, and . Invents the open, or "Franklin," stove. Many biographers and historians have followed suit, accepting at face value that Franky was simply too sick for inoculation. That scenarioparents unable to agree on inoculation for their childwas precisely the one Ben Franklin fixed on two decades after his sons death, when he wrote about impediments to the procedures public acceptance. If originally she had believed Franky would bring her closer to Benjamin, now she just hoped the boy would help her keep hold of him. My brain is forever warped! Around the time they married Franklin took custody of an illegitimate child, William. 2023 Smithsonian Magazine Poor Richard's Almanack, p.39, Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. Benjamin Franklin (2013). 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. 2.Ford, Franklin Bibliog., no. Note: The annotations to this document, and any other 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. the state in which you will find solid happiness. I wonder if he spelled them right for 1748 or if he was like my Mom and daughter! It is the man who should feel grateful that an older woman might deem him interesting enough, stimulating enough and attractive enough that she would choose to spend whatever precious time she has left on the earth with him! public. Marry above thy match and you will get a master. Well today I am going to share something a little different. In this essay, Franklin took on the role of "Father Abraham" and dispensed knowledge to his readers by quoting heavily from that wise old sage, "Poor Richard." Franklin's adages in The Way to Wealth teach us that success is just the consistent application of hard work and thrift. As for the letter, it seems to me he had a lot of experience to be able to go on with so much knowledge. Survivors were often blind, physically or mentally disabled and horribly disfigured. Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards. Where there's marriage without love, there will be love without marriage. In October 1765, Deborah Franklin sent a gushing letter to her husband, who was in London on business for the Pennsylvania legislature. His father thought him too young for such a venture, so Keith offered to foot the bill himself and arranged Franklins passage to England so that he could choose his type and make connections with London stationers and booksellers. In 1776 he insisted that the 7-year-old accompany him on his diplomatic mission to France. Two weeks after that report, the Gazette reprinted a detailed description of the procedure from the authoritative Chamberss Cyclopaedia. Nearing his mid-20s, Franklin sought to marry, not for love, but rather for society's sake (via Benjamin Franklin Historical Society). | READ MORE. Mr. and Mrs. Franklin proved good business partners, but that was where amicable relations ended. Along the way, Franklin came to see marriage as more of an act of business (via Smithsonian Magazine). In public, Franklin himself took the blame for not inoculating Franky. Josiah Franklin was born at Ecton, Northamptonshire, England, on December 23, 1657, the son of Thomas Franklin, a blacksmith and farmer, and his wife, Jane White. 2. He had planned to use the dowry to pay the remaining debt for the printing house which added to 100 pounds. 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. The Practice of Inoculation for the Small-Pox, begins to grow among us, he wrote the next month, adding that the first Patient of Note, a man named J. Perform without fail what you resolve. Our work has been featured by the New York Times, TIME magazine, History Channel, Discovery Channel, Smithsonian, Mental Floss, NPR, and more. LOL I hope you have a great day! Benjamin must have suspected that when Sarah Read, Deborahs widowed mother, learned that he had neither a press nor guaranteed work, she would seek another suitor for her daughter. In 1730 he and Meredith were named Pennsylvanias official printers. Perhaps it was. Silence Dogood. Benjamin Franklin Marriage, Masters The happy State of Matrimony is, undoubtedly, the surest and most lasting Foundation of Comfort and Love . They seem to do very well in business and . In a June 1770 letter, an elated Deborah wrote to her husband that William Franklin believed Benny Bache is like Frankey Folger. From ancient Sumeria, it's 4,000 years old, and it was found on a cuneiform tablet, and it's a fart joke! Benjamin Franklin Quotes. At Keiths suggestion, Franklin returned to Boston to try to raise the necessary capital. And in turn, Benjamin wouldn't be liable for the debts of Rogers as Deborah's common-law "husband." . On September 1, 1730, he began a common-law marriage with Deborah Read, a carpenter's daughter. Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706, in colonial Boston. How did a man who understood better than most the relative safety and efficacy of inoculation choose wrong? Benjamin Franklin. The Franklins had eight grandchildren: Benjamin, William, Betsy, Louis, Deborah, Richard, Sarah and William Temple (son of Benjamin's illegitimate son William). Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Avoid, both before and after marriage, all thoughts of managing your husband, he advised wives. His father, Josiah Franklin (1657-1745), a native of England, was a candle and soap maker who married twice and had 17 children . Finding a bakery, he asked for three pennies worth of bread and got three great Puffy Rolls. Carrying one under each arm and munching on the third, he walked up Market Street past the door of the Read family, where stood Deborah, his future wife. Because as they have more Knowledge of the World and their Minds are better stord with Observations, their Conversation is more improving and more lastingly agreable. ..the Benjamin Schenck Mansion is supposedly one of the most haunted places in all of Indiana. Benjamin Franklin had two sons and one daughter. Sabin wrote me he had ascertained that Franklin was the author. 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