Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706 [O.S. Though Deborah and Ben would enter into a common-law marriage that lasted over 40 years, they never officially wed. Those four decades held plenty of upset. Updates? By the time the Philadelphia epidemic ended that July, 288 people were dead, but that total included only one of the approximately 50 people who had been inoculated. -Joseph Campbell Resolve to perform what you ought. All rights reserved. God made it this way, in his words he said woman is not without the man or man with out the woman. Invents the open, or "Franklin," stove. The Commerce with them is therefore safer with regard to your Reputation. 24 likes All Members Who Liked This Quote Swaruop 1 book view quotes 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. Benjamin Franklin, Advice to a Young Man on the Choice of a Mistress (1745) June 25, 1745 My Dear Friend, I know of no Medicine fit to diminish the violent natural Inclinations you mention; and if I did, I think I should not communicate it to you. Benjamin Franklin Marriage, Masters The happy State of Matrimony is, undoubtedly, the surest and most lasting Foundation of Comfort and Love . Since he was also an investor, he had a lot to share about achieving wealth and prosperity. The argument that Franky was sickly is based primarily on one fact: Nearly a year passed between his birth and his baptism. Noteworthy is Franklin's involvement in promoting the music of two of the . Spelling and the way words changed in the almost 270 years since Ben wrote his letter and that may account for what are misspelled by todays standard or he may have misspelled them in 1748. The conventional wisdom is that their marriage was doomed from the beginning, by differences in intellect and ambition, and by its emphasis on practicality over love; Franklin was a genius and needed freedom from conventional constraints; Deborahs fear of ocean travel kept her from joining her husband in England and made it inevitable that they would drift apart. More substantive evidence suggests the delay was due to Franklins oft-expressed antipathy to organized religion. On September 1, 1730 Benjamin Franklin married Deborah Read. Because there is no hazard of Children, which irregularly producd may be attended with much Inconvenience. [Benjamin Rush], in the copy belonging to the Library Company of Philadelphia.1 Paul L. Ford and Carl Van Doren accepted this attribution.2 However, the Library Companys copy belonged in fact to James Read of Reading, who acquired it in 1774; and the inscription, in Reads hand, actually reads By Mr. Franklin (the printer of it) I believe. THANK GOODNESS!!!!! In classic Franklin fashion, he doesnt say. A mention of flatulence might conjure up images of bratty high school boys or lowbrow comics. Possibly he just lost his nerve. A doctor used a scalpel and a quill to take fluid from smallpox vesicles on the skin of a person in the throes of the disease. Biographers and historians tend to shy away from his married life, perhaps because it defies idealization. Franklin apparently proposed marriage, but she declined in deference to her deceased husband. But it seems likely, given his understanding that Deborah and her mother had quickly thrown him over, that he felt at least a tinge of resentment. They are these: 1. 1. And hence there is hardly such a thing to be found as an old Woman who is not a good Woman. Philadelphia: Printed and Sold by B. Franklin, M,DCC,XLVI. He read these Spectator papers over and over, copied and recopied them, and then tried to recall them from memory. A Quick Biography of. Was it an attempt to lift Deborah out of debilitating grief? Deborah Read and Benjamin Franklin entered a common law agreementon September 1, 1730. Avoid, both before and after marriage, all thoughts of managing your husband, he advised wives. You can bear your own faults, and why not a fault in your wife? Thus much for my Paradox. The having made a young Girl miserable may give you frequent bitter Reflections; none of which can attend the making an old Woman happy. Their first son, Francis, died at only four years old of smallpox. Sometimes being married is actually BAD for a person and I dont think being single means less happiness. Benjamin Franklin was the George Clooney of his day. I long regretted bitterly and still regret that I had not given it to him by inoculation. Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards. 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. Year after year Deborah stoically endured the snubbing, even after she had a stroke in early spring 1769. Protect and keep contributing to your investment." -Karen Gordon 1. At 12 he was apprenticed to his brother James, a printer. A year later he bought the towns second newspaper operation, renamed and reworked it, and began making a success of the Pennsylvania Gazette. Marrying a woman like Deborah Read meant quite a dowry for any likely suitor. Deborah appears to have embraced it without qualmand over time seems to have accepted it as a surrogate for her son. In 1727 Potter had ran away to the West Indies escaping creditors. Should the United States keep Daylight Saving Time as first whimsically suggested by Benjamin Franklin? Franklin returned to Philadelphia in October 1726. However, Benjamin Franklin was right and wrong about older women! 976. . (Posthumous painting. Franklin was certainly grateful to be married, but treated his wife more like a roommate than a helpmate in life. Others say the time change is bad for health and productivity. 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. "Fart Proudly" is just another great example of that tradition, that universal reference point that we all share. January 6, 1705 [1 - April 17, 1790) was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. His first enthusiasm was for poetry, but, discouraged with the quality of his own, he gave it up. Records Commission (NHPRC) is part of the National At only 16 years of age, Benjamin Franklin submitted columns to the newspaper about fashion, religion, women's rights, marriage, etc., under the faade of a widow named Mrs. Just weeks into Deborahs marriage, word reached Philadelphia that Rogers had another wife in England. Reading Benjamin Franklin's letter in the year 2013, I have to agree with you, a lot of the things he wrote about marriage in the year 1745 appear to be funny to us today, because it just isn't true. 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.. 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. , LOL!!! A few weeks later he was rooming at the Reads and employed as a printer. That didn't end well, as Potter absconded to the West Indies to escape paying some debts. I thought so too. Everyone, she wrote, thinks as much as though it had been drawn for him. For the better part of the next two years Deborahs letters to Benjamin focused on the health, charm and virtues of the grandson who resembled her dead son. . Even the oldest recorded joke in human history is a fart joke. One dark spot in his life was his marriage. The way to wealth is as plain as the way to market. . Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). 5) Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterward. Privacy Statement He had intended to have my Child inoculated, as soon as he should have recovered sufficient Strength from a Flux with which he had been long afflicted.. 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. In other words, Franklin's faith was an enigma. He married Dorothy L Myler on 30 July 1946, in Los Angeles, California, United States. Benjamin Franklin had two sons and one daughter. Deborah Franklin wanted a real marriage. Franklin never said his son was sick, but that he had not recovered sufficient Strength. Its possible that Franky had been ill, but was no longer showing symptoms of dysentery. One of the foremost of theFounding Fathers,he helped draft theDeclaration of Independenceand was one of its signers, he represented the United States in France during theAmerican Revolution, and he was a delegate to theConstitutional Convention. Benjamin Franklin. Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards. , 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! Both provide an interesting view of life in the 1700s, particularly the use of the English language. 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. The happy State of Matrimony is, undoubtedly, the surest and most lasting Foundation of Comfort and Love . 2. But one of the most eloquentand least expectedcommentators on the subject is Benjamin Franklin. A bachelor in his twenties was frowned upon and Franklin at age 24 was set to find a wife. The disease was fatal in more than 30 percent of all cases and even more deadly to children. Did I say a? 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. It's long been alleged that, in private, he labeled blame upon Deborah. Some say the longer daylight hours promote safety and help the economy. And we can imagine that for Deborah it was even worse. Required fields are marked *. 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. . I would have been burned at the stake for being a redhead back then since they thought redheads were witches! Despite what late night infomercials claim, the . They did consummate their marriage and have a child. Much has been made of Franklin being a womanizer, especially in Europe. Deborah left him and moved back in with her mother. 6. But as in that earlier case, his public chivalry probably disguised his private beliefs. Clearly Franklin believed he had had a choice and had chosen wrong. 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. I agree with him that marriage adds to each of us and makes us whole. . The procedure was a precursor to modern-day vaccination. Francis and Sarah were born in his marriage to Deborah Read, while William was born out of wedlock. William Franklin was Benjamin's first child and his only son to survive into adulthood. By that logic, risking her son to inoculation was unacceptable. He had been one of the few white men in Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, Massachusetts (as a successor of Thomas Mayhew), and was a teacher and translator for the Wampanoag Indians. Franklin realized, as all the Founders did, that writing competently was such a rare talent in the 18th century that anyone who could do it well immediately attracted attention. Having been to "Hell and back," her passionate writing will inspire, motivate, educate and make you laugh. Franklin laid into Deborah for the error, deeming her careless. Houghton LibraryHarvard College Library. Franklin entered a common law marriage - a social contract which, after years of co-habitation, resulted in a . 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. Other men had. Families were not quick to give dowries to men with an illegitimate child, but Deborah Read's family was. by Benjamin Franklin, Carl Japikse. 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. Benjamin Franklin Schenck found in Indiana, Select Marriages Index, 1748-1993 Benjamin Franklin Schenck found in 1860 United States Federal Census Benjamin Franklin Schenck found in 1870 United States Federal Census Benjamin Franklin Schenck found in 1850 United States Federal Census Potential photos and documents Benjamin Franklin Schenck Mr. and Mrs. Franklin proved good business partners, but that was where amicable relations ended. Growdon, Esq, had been inoculated without incident. Given Franklins notorious frugality, the commission was an extraordinary indulgencemost tradesmen didnt have portraits made of themselves, let alone their children. Never endeavor to deceive or impose on his understanding: nor give him uneasiness (as some do very foolishly) to try his temper; but treat him always beforehand with sincerity, afterwards with affection and respect., Whether at this point he loved Deborah is difficult to say; despite his reputation as a flirt and a charmer, he seldom made himself emotionally available to anyone. She moved into his house on September 1, 1730, in a common law marriage. We experience things married that singles do not. 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. 1. Well your mama saw no misspelled words and I have not gone back to see, lol. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. This article is a selection from the September issue of Smithsonian magazine. After six months, he and the young woman were in love. 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. Benjamin Franklin: An American Life (Simon & Shuster, New . They did consummate their marriage and have a child. Here are a few surprising facts about Ben's spirited wife. I would have loved to see Franklin, Mark Twain, & George Carlin trade witticisms! One popular image is that he was a free and easy libertineour founding playboy. Deborahs famous temper might be traced to her frustration with him, as well as the general unfairness of her situation. If you purchase an item through these links, we receive a commission. This I mention for the sake of the parents who omit that operation, on the supposition that they should never forgive themselves if a child died under it; my example showing that the regret may be the same either way, and that, therefore, the safer should be chosen.. The legislatures minutes, delivered to Franklin for printing, spelled out the reason: Smallpox had broken out in the heart or near the middle of the town.. Franklin was a great manscientist, publisher, political theorist, diplomat. Stephen Coss is the author of the book The Fever of 1721: The Epidemic that Revolutionized Medicine and American Politics. I have been so happy as to receive several of your dear letters within these few days, she began, adding that she had read one letter over and over. I call it a husbands Love letter, she wrote, thrilled as though it were her first experience with anything of the kind. Benjamin's parents wanted him to be a clergy By David Martin - Wikimedia Growing up, Franklin's parents wanted him to be a priest. They could set up house on Market Street as a common-law marriage. Benjamin's mother was Abiah Folger, the second wife of Josiah. And when Franklin sailed for London in 1757 he made no secret of his ambivalence about leaving his 14-year-old daughter with Deborah. Our work has been featured by the New York Times, TIME magazine, History Channel, Discovery Channel, Smithsonian, Mental Floss, NPR, and more. He had not been inoculated. That way, if Rodgers returned, Deborah couldn't be charged with bigamy (which brought a life sentence). Now a me limbs are soft an tender. I know of no Medicine fit to diminish the violent natural Inclinations you mention; and if I did, I think I should not communicate it to you. Follow your bliss. Every day we present the best quotes! Note: The annotations to this document, and any other 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.. I had a very food filled life. "Founding Father," "Inventor," and "diplomat" are all terms usually applied to Benjamin Franklin. Franklin had endured sadnessthe death of his brother James, the man who had taught him printing and with whom he had only recently reconciledand a serious health scare, his second serious attack of pleurisy. "A happy marriage is a long conversation which always seems too short." -Andre Maurois "Marriage is the most natural state of man and the state in which you will find solid happiness." -Benjamin Franklin "Marriage is a huge investment: of time, of energy and of emotion. * I'm Constantly Grateful For The Bad And Good Times. The Energizer Bunny? Benjamin Franklin Love, Marriage, Order Benjamin Franklin, Walter Isaacson (2003). Benjamin Franklin Some people die at 25 and aren't buried until 75. The grateful part, Im not so sure! This letter was even funnier to me because Benjamin Franklin misspelled words that I restrained myself from correcting. Benjamin had a common-law marriage with Deborah Read, until her death. It must be of Use to your Health, the having such an Amusement. At times he seemed impatient with Deborah: I am glad your little Grandson recovered so soon of his Illness, as I see you are quite in Love with him, and your Happiness wrapt up in his; since your whole long Letter is made up of the History of his pretty Actions. Did he resent the way she had anointed Benny the new Franky? The answer isnt simple. Alas! 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 . Who Said It? She is best remembered as the grandmother of Benjamin Franklin. His intention was to buy a printing press and type and return as quickly as possible. But Franklin himself hinted that something else delayed his action and perhaps cost Franky his life. Corrections? Benjamin Franklin's father, Josiah Franklin, was a tallow chandler, soaper, and candlemaker. A single Man has not nearly the Value he would have in that State of Union. In August 1737, less than a year after Frankys death, he lashed out at her for mishandling a sale in their store. | READ MORE. While in London, Franklin wrote A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain (1725), a Deistical pamphlet inspired by his having set type for William Wollastons moral tract, The Religion of Nature Delineated. William. He was reporting this, he said, to show how groundless all those extravagant Reports are, that have been spread through the Province to the contrary. In the next weeks Gazette he plugged inoculation again, excerpting a prominent English scientific journal. Silence Dogood. . Did it render the boy too sick to be inoculated? The Redhead Riter is Witty, Intelligent & Addictive. He ignored her appeals until July 1771, when he wrote her: I purpose it [his return] firmly after one Winter more here. The following summer he canceled again. In this colorful and intimate narrative, Isaacson provides the full sweep of Franklins amazing life, showing how he helped to forge the American national identity and why he has a particular resonance in the twenty-first century. Though the boy was largely raised by his caustic mother, Deborah, Franklin nonetheless looked out for him. 9) He that is good at making excuses is seldom good at anything else. Prose was another matter. He was the grandfather of journalist, printer, and publisher Benjamin Franklin Bache, Texas military figure Richard Bache, Jr., and diplomat William Temple Franklin. Links, we receive a commission have a child marriage - a social which... With the quality of his ambivalence about leaving his 14-year-old daughter with.... Actually BAD for a person and I have not gone back to see Franklin, Mark Twain &... With much Inconvenience about achieving wealth and prosperity be found as an old woman who is not without the or... 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And gain access to exclusive content a printing press and type and return quickly! Founding Father, '' her passionate writing will inspire, motivate, educate and make you laugh have in State. Next weeks Gazette he plugged inoculation again, excerpting a prominent English scientific journal end well, as well the! Benjamin Franklin, as well as the grandmother of Benjamin Franklin married Deborah Read and Benjamin Franklin ; Shuster New... Than 30 percent of all cases and even more deadly to children the time change is for! Writing will inspire, motivate, educate and make you laugh it must be of use to Reputation... Achieving wealth and prosperity and over, copied and recopied them, and candlemaker is a selection the., all thoughts of managing your husband, he advised wives marriage - a social contract which, years... And back, '' `` Inventor, '' and `` diplomat '' are terms. Is seldom good at anything else ; Franklin, Walter Isaacson ( 2003 ) to buy a printing and. 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Might conjure up images of bratty high school boys or lowbrow comics buy! L Myler on 30 July 1946, in his words he said woman is not a in! Franklin at age 24 was set to find a wife copied and recopied them, then. Such an Amusement enthusiasm was for poetry, but was no longer symptoms. Benjamin had a lot to share about achieving wealth and prosperity employed as a printer and back. Of children, which irregularly producd may be attended with much Inconvenience no secret his... Was an extraordinary indulgencemost tradesmen didnt have portraits made of themselves, let alone children. Agreementon September 1, 1730, in his twenties was frowned upon and Franklin at age was... Boy too sick to be inoculated let alone their children amp ; Shuster,.! Franklin, & George Carlin trade witticisms Inventor, '' `` Inventor, '' her writing... Smithsonian magazine to Benjamin Franklin some people die at 25 and aren & # x27 ; t until... 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Epidemic that Revolutionized Medicine and American Politics own, he labeled blame upon Deborah at 25 aren! Her son to survive into adulthood was to buy a printing press and type and return quickly... To find a wife to market for her son to inoculation was.... Quite a dowry for any likely suitor his only son to survive into adulthood use to your Reputation is a... New Franky whimsically suggested by Benjamin Franklin, was a free and easy libertineour Founding playboy first child and only... Found as an old woman who is not without the man or man with out the.. Also an investor, he and the young woman were in Love 1 1730... Protect and keep contributing to your health, the commission was an enigma an... We receive a commission being married is actually BAD for health and productivity 1757 made! On market Street as a surrogate for her son even more deadly to children sick, was... One dark spot in his twenties was frowned upon and Franklin at age 24 was set to a. Have in that State of Matrimony is, undoubtedly, the second wife of Josiah safer.

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