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Francis Folger Franklin

January 06, 2023

Francis Folger Franklin (October 20, 1732 – November 21, 1736)[a] was the son of Founding Father of the United States Benjamin Franklin and Deborah Read.

Francis Folger Franklin
Posthumous portrait of Francis, possibly by Samuel Johnson, a neighbor of B. Franklin ,[1] c. 1736–37.[2]
Born(1732-10-20)October 20, 1732
Philadelphia, Province of Pennsylvania, British America
DiedNovember 21, 1736(1736-11-21) (aged 4)
Philadelphia, Province of Pennsylvania, British America
Cause of deathSmallpox
Resting placeChrist Church Burial Ground
Parent(s)Benjamin Franklin
Deborah Read
RelativesSarah Franklin Bache (sister)
William Franklin (paternal half-brother)

In 1736, four-year-old Francis contracted the smallpox virus and died shortly thereafter.

Benjamin Franklin, who had been inoculated earlier in his own life, had intended for his son to be inoculated as well. However, due to an illness affecting Francis at the time planned for his inoculation, the procedure was postponed.

His death devastated both his parents, who doted upon Francis, and after this incident, Franklin became "the most eloquent advocate of smallpox inoculation."[4]

Life

 
Abiah Folger Franklin, Francis' grandmother and namesake.

Francis Folger Franklin was born on October 20, 1732,[b] in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (then a colony in British America). He was the oldest legitimate child of Benjamin Franklin, then the publisher of the Pennsylvania Gazette, and Deborah Read. Franklin also had an illegitimate son, William (born c. 1730–31),[5] whose mother may have been a maid in the household,[6] perhaps a woman named Barbara,[7] or even Deborah Read herself. It has been suggested that William was Franklin's son by Deborah, but was acknowledged as illegitimate because he had been conceived before the marriage of his parents.[8] Some accounts argue that William's birth was legitimized sometime after Francis' death, possibly due to the lack of an heir.[9]

The baby's middle name, Folger, was the maiden name of Franklin's mother, Abiah. Franklin was proud of his maternal family (one of the first settlers of New England)[10] and thus, in an era when a middle name was unusual for ordinary people to receive, Francis was baptized as Francis Folger.[11] Francis' baptism took place on September 16, 1733, while Franklin was away, at the Anglican Christ Church in Philadelphia, which Deborah attended.[12][13][14]

Francis, affectionately called "Franky" by his parents,[15] was described as a "precocious, curious and special" child by Franklin,[16] "a golden child, his smiles brighter, his babblings more telling and his tricks more magical than all the other infants in the colonies combined" by historian of medicine Howard Markel[4] and as "a most engaging child, of singular beauty and wonderful knowingness" by biographer James Parton.[17] Given that Franklin considered Francis to be a "healthy child who thrived from the start,"[18] and "very clever," he advertised for a tutor for his two sons in December 1734.[19][17] By all accounts, Francis was doted on by his parents; his portrait was painted while he was still a baby.[20] By 1734, Franklin's business as a writer, publisher and founder of the Library Company of Philadelphia was going well enough that he was able to build a house for his family of four, at 318 Market Street.[21][c]

Death and aftermath

 
An illustration showing the effects of smallpox inoculation.

Franklin and his brother, James, criticized smallpox inoculation, which was performed by drawing a string, previously in contact with the pustules of a smallpox victim, through a small incision on the person being inoculated. At the time, inoculation offered a mortality chance of 2%, while smallpox contracted naturally was fatal to 15% of the infected.[23] Later, while James still opposed inoculation, Franklin came to support it,[24] believing it was a "safe and beneficial practice."[19] In 1736, however, Francis contracted smallpox and died on November 21 of that year, without having been inoculated. Both Franklin and Deborah were devastated,[25] and their devastation was compounded because they were unsure they could have another child.[26] Franklin had written his paper, "On the Death of Infants", while Francis was still alive, and was inspired by his youngest son when writing about the beauty of babies.[16] Francis was buried on the same day he died,[14] his tombstone reading "The delight of all who knew him."[27]

Rumors quickly surfaced that Francis had died after being inoculated,[23] and so, Franklin wrote in the Pennsylvania Gazette, on December 30, that "[he] intended to get [Francis] inoculated as soon as he should have recovered sufficient strength from a flux with which he had been long afflicted,"[24] and that the boy "received the distemper in the common way of infection."[25] However, the choice of having his son inoculated was a difficult one for Franklin, as Francis could die either way. Inoculation would become a real choice only if there was a high chance of smallpox being contracted naturally. In this case, the choice of having Francis inoculated was justified, even with its 2% mortality rate.[23]

After Francis' death, Franklin became involved in promoting inoculation in Philadelphia: he published many studies on its value, working with several physicians, including the famed William Heberden at the Pennsylvania Hospital, which he helped found. In 1774, he founded the "Society for Inoculating the Poor Gratis", in order to help the poor people of Philadelphia afford inoculation.[4] In his autobiography, Franklin writes:

"In 1736 I lost one of my sons, a fine boy of four years old, by the smallpox taken in the common way. I long regretted bitterly and still regret that I had not given it to him by inoculation. 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."[28]

Seven years after Francis' death, Deborah gave birth to Sarah, who was Franklin's only surviving, legitimate child.[29][30] In 1772, Franklin's sister Jane Franklin Mecom wrote him with news of his grandsons. Franklin replied that it "brings often afresh to my mind the idea of my son Franky, though now dead thirty-six years, whom I have seldom since seemed equaled in everything, and whom to this day I cannot think of without a sigh."[16]

References

Footnotes

  1. ^ Note that the British Empire, including colonial America, used the Julian calendar prior to September 14, 1752.[3] For more information, see Old Style and New Style dates.
  2. ^ Some biographers give Francis' date of birth simply as October 1734 (Skemp 1994, p. 185), while most offer October 20th as a birthdate (Conn & Franklin 2011, p. 173; Lemay 2013, p. xi; Bouffard 2007, p. 95; Anderson 2000, p. 111). However, the inscription on Francis' tombstone reads "Aged 4 years 1 month 4 days," meaning Francis was born on October 17th, instead of October 20th.
  3. ^ The original brick house was torn down in the 1800s, but the steel outline of house is replicated at the site, now known as Franklin Court.[22]

Notes

  1. ^ Lemay 2013, p. 24.
  2. ^ "Portrait of Francis Folger Franklin". benfranklin300.org. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
  3. ^ Engber, Daniel (January 18, 2006). "What's Benjamin Franklin's Birthday?". slate.com. Slate. Retrieved September 12, 2013.
  4. ^ a b c Markel, Howard (February 28, 2011). "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Vaccines". The New York Times. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
  5. ^ Lemay 2013, p. 4.
  6. ^ Skemp 1994, p. 4.
  7. ^ Currey 1968, p. 13.
  8. ^ Hart 1911, pp. 1–7.
  9. ^ Leavenworth, Jessie (December 1, 1996). "A Litchfield Jail For Ben Franklin's Son". Hartford Courant. Retrieved August 31, 2013.
  10. ^ Thayer 2012, p. 36.
  11. ^ Chaplin 2007, p. 14.
  12. ^ Lemay 1987, p. 1474.
  13. ^ Baker, Charles T. (2010). "Ancestors of Francis Folger Franklin". bakerancestry.org. Baker Family Ancestry. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
  14. ^ a b "State of the Colonies in 1733". hucosystems.com. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
  15. ^ . fi.edu. The Franklin Institute. Archived from the original on September 13, 2013. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
  16. ^ a b c Isaacson 2005, p. 97.
  17. ^ a b Parton 1867, p. 247.
  18. ^ Benge 2005, p. 82.
  19. ^ a b Gessler 2013, p. 39.
  20. ^ Isaacson 2003, p. 82.
  21. ^ Srodes 2013, p. 66.
  22. ^ Favreau, Meg. "Top 10 Historic Philadelphia Attractions". philadelphia.about.com. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
  23. ^ a b c Best, Katamba & Neuhauser 2007, p. 478.
  24. ^ a b Waldstreicher 2011, p. 35.
  25. ^ a b Marcovitz 2009, p. 10.
  26. ^ Finger 2011, p. 49.
  27. ^ Wright 1996, p. 282.
  28. ^ Franklin 1950, pp. 113–14.
  29. ^ Jordan 2004, p. 701.
  30. ^ Franklin 1977, p. 17.

Bibliography

  • Anderson, Douglas (2000). The Radical Enlightenments of Benjamin Franklin. Baltimore: JHU Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-6739-2.
  • Benge, Geoff & Janet (2005). Benjamin Franklin: Live Wire. Seattle: YWAM Publishing. ISBN 978-1-932096-14-9.
  • Best, Mark; Katamba, Achilles; Neuhauser, Duncan (December 2007). "Making the right decision: Benjamin Franklin's son dies of smallpox in 1736". Quality and Safety in Health Care. 16 (6): 478–480. doi:10.1136/qshc.2007.023465. PMC 2653186. PMID 18055894.
  • Bouffard, James Charles (2007). The Entrepreneurial Ben Franklin. Raleigh: Lulu.com. ISBN 978-0-615-18163-9.
  • Chaplin, Joyce (2007). The First Scientific American: Benjamin Franklin and the Pursuit of Genius. New York: Basic Books. ISBN 978-0-465-00956-5.
  • Conn, Peter; Franklin, Benjamin (2011) [1791]. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin: Penn Reading Project Edition. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-0011-9.
  • Currey, Cecil B. (1968). Road to revolution: Benjamin Franklin in England, 1765–1775. New York: Doubleday and Company.
  • Finger, Stanley (2011). Doctor Franklin's Medicine. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-0191-8.
  • Franklin, Benjamin (1950) [1791]. Autobiography. New York.
  • Franklin, Benjamin (1977). Guide to microfilm edition of Benjamin Franklin's account books. Michigan: Scholarly Resources. ISBN 978-0-8420-2126-5.
  • Gessler, J.E. (2013). Smallpox: A History. Jefferson: McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-6823-2.
  • Hart, Charles Henry (1911). Who was the mother of Franklin's son: an inquiry demonstrating that she was Deborah Read, wife of Benjamin Franklin. Philadelphia.
  • Isaacson, Walter (2003). Benjamin Franklin: An American Life. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7432-5807-4.
  • Isaacson, Walter (2005). A Benjamin Franklin Reader. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7432-7483-8.
  • Jordan, John W. (2004). Colonial And Revolutionary Families Of Pennsylvania. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing. ISBN 978-0-8063-5239-8.
  • Lemay, Joseph A. Leo (1987). Writings. Michigan: Literary Classics of the United States. ISBN 978-0-940450-29-5.
  • Lemay, Joseph A. Leo (2013). The Life of Benjamin Franklin, Volume 2: Printer and Publisher, 1730–1747. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-3855-6.
  • Marcovitz, Hal (2009). Benjamin Franklin: Scientist, Inventor, Printer and Statesman. New York: Infobase Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7910-9219-4.
  • Parton, James (1867). Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin, Volume 1. Harvard: Ticknor and Fields.
  • Skemp, Sheila L. (1994). Benjamin and William Franklin: Father and Son, Patriot and Loyalist. London: Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-312-08617-6.
  • Srodes, James (2013). Franklin: The Essential Founding Father. Washington: Regnery Publishing. ISBN 978-1-59698-222-2.
  • Thayer, William Makepeace (2012). From Boyhood to Manhood: Life of Benjamin Franklin. Tredition Classics. ISBN 978-3-8424-7190-0.
  • Waldstreicher, David (2011). A Companion to Benjamin Franklin. Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 978-1-4051-9996-4.
  • Wright, Esmond (1996). Benjamin Franklin: His Life as He Wrote it. Harvard: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-06655-7.

External links

January 06, 2023
francis, folger, franklin, october, 1732, november, 1736, founding, father, united, states, benjamin, franklin, deborah, read, posthumous, portrait, francis, possibly, samuel, johnson, neighbor, franklin, 1736, born, 1732, october, 1732philadelphia, province, . Francis Folger Franklin October 20 1732 November 21 1736 a was the son of Founding Father of the United States Benjamin Franklin and Deborah Read Francis Folger FranklinPosthumous portrait of Francis possibly by Samuel Johnson a neighbor of B Franklin 1 c 1736 37 2 Born 1732 10 20 October 20 1732Philadelphia Province of Pennsylvania British AmericaDiedNovember 21 1736 1736 11 21 aged 4 Philadelphia Province of Pennsylvania British AmericaCause of deathSmallpoxResting placeChrist Church Burial GroundParent s Benjamin FranklinDeborah ReadRelativesSarah Franklin Bache sister William Franklin paternal half brother In 1736 four year old Francis contracted the smallpox virus and died shortly thereafter Benjamin Franklin who had been inoculated earlier in his own life had intended for his son to be inoculated as well However due to an illness affecting Francis at the time planned for his inoculation the procedure was postponed His death devastated both his parents who doted upon Francis and after this incident Franklin became the most eloquent advocate of smallpox inoculation 4 Contents 1 Life 2 Death and aftermath 3 References 3 1 Footnotes 3 2 Notes 3 3 Bibliography 4 External linksLife Edit Abiah Folger Franklin Francis grandmother and namesake Francis Folger Franklin was born on October 20 1732 b in Philadelphia Pennsylvania then a colony in British America He was the oldest legitimate child of Benjamin Franklin then the publisher of the Pennsylvania Gazette and Deborah Read Franklin also had an illegitimate son William born c 1730 31 5 whose mother may have been a maid in the household 6 perhaps a woman named Barbara 7 or even Deborah Read herself It has been suggested that William was Franklin s son by Deborah but was acknowledged as illegitimate because he had been conceived before the marriage of his parents 8 Some accounts argue that William s birth was legitimized sometime after Francis death possibly due to the lack of an heir 9 The baby s middle name Folger was the maiden name of Franklin s mother Abiah Franklin was proud of his maternal family one of the first settlers of New England 10 and thus in an era when a middle name was unusual for ordinary people to receive Francis was baptized as Francis Folger 11 Francis baptism took place on September 16 1733 while Franklin was away at the Anglican Christ Church in Philadelphia which Deborah attended 12 13 14 Francis affectionately called Franky by his parents 15 was described as a precocious curious and special child by Franklin 16 a golden child his smiles brighter his babblings more telling and his tricks more magical than all the other infants in the colonies combined by historian of medicine Howard Markel 4 and as a most engaging child of singular beauty and wonderful knowingness by biographer James Parton 17 Given that Franklin considered Francis to be a healthy child who thrived from the start 18 and very clever he advertised for a tutor for his two sons in December 1734 19 17 By all accounts Francis was doted on by his parents his portrait was painted while he was still a baby 20 By 1734 Franklin s business as a writer publisher and founder of the Library Company of Philadelphia was going well enough that he was able to build a house for his family of four at 318 Market Street 21 c Death and aftermath Edit An illustration showing the effects of smallpox inoculation Franklin and his brother James criticized smallpox inoculation which was performed by drawing a string previously in contact with the pustules of a smallpox victim through a small incision on the person being inoculated At the time inoculation offered a mortality chance of 2 while smallpox contracted naturally was fatal to 15 of the infected 23 Later while James still opposed inoculation Franklin came to support it 24 believing it was a safe and beneficial practice 19 In 1736 however Francis contracted smallpox and died on November 21 of that year without having been inoculated Both Franklin and Deborah were devastated 25 and their devastation was compounded because they were unsure they could have another child 26 Franklin had written his paper On the Death of Infants while Francis was still alive and was inspired by his youngest son when writing about the beauty of babies 16 Francis was buried on the same day he died 14 his tombstone reading The delight of all who knew him 27 Rumors quickly surfaced that Francis had died after being inoculated 23 and so Franklin wrote in the Pennsylvania Gazette on December 30 that he intended to get Francis inoculated as soon as he should have recovered sufficient strength from a flux with which he had been long afflicted 24 and that the boy received the distemper in the common way of infection 25 However the choice of having his son inoculated was a difficult one for Franklin as Francis could die either way Inoculation would become a real choice only if there was a high chance of smallpox being contracted naturally In this case the choice of having Francis inoculated was justified even with its 2 mortality rate 23 After Francis death Franklin became involved in promoting inoculation in Philadelphia he published many studies on its value working with several physicians including the famed William Heberden at the Pennsylvania Hospital which he helped found In 1774 he founded the Society for Inoculating the Poor Gratis in order to help the poor people of Philadelphia afford inoculation 4 In his autobiography Franklin writes In 1736 I lost one of my sons a fine boy of four years old by the smallpox taken in the common way I long regretted bitterly and still regret that I had not given it to him by inoculation 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 28 Seven years after Francis death Deborah gave birth to Sarah who was Franklin s only surviving legitimate child 29 30 In 1772 Franklin s sister Jane Franklin Mecom wrote him with news of his grandsons Franklin replied that it brings often afresh to my mind the idea of my son Franky though now dead thirty six years whom I have seldom since seemed equaled in everything and whom to this day I cannot think of without a sigh 16 References EditFootnotes Edit Note that the British Empire including colonial America used the Julian calendar prior to September 14 1752 3 For more information see Old Style and New Style dates Some biographers give Francis date of birth simply as October 1734 Skemp 1994 p 185 while most offer October 20th as a birthdate Conn amp Franklin 2011 p 173 Lemay 2013 p xi Bouffard 2007 p 95 Anderson 2000 p 111 However the inscription on Francis tombstone reads Aged 4 years 1 month 4 days meaning Francis was born on October 17th instead of October 20th The original brick house was torn down in the 1800s but the steel outline of house is replicated at the site now known as Franklin Court 22 Notes Edit Lemay 2013 p 24 Portrait of Francis Folger Franklin benfranklin300 org Retrieved September 3 2013 Engber Daniel January 18 2006 What s Benjamin Franklin s Birthday slate com Slate Retrieved September 12 2013 a b c Markel Howard February 28 2011 Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Vaccines The New York Times Retrieved September 3 2013 Lemay 2013 p 4 Skemp 1994 p 4 Currey 1968 p 13 Hart 1911 pp 1 7 Leavenworth Jessie December 1 1996 A Litchfield Jail For Ben Franklin s Son Hartford Courant Retrieved August 31 2013 Thayer 2012 p 36 Chaplin 2007 p 14 Lemay 1987 p 1474 Baker Charles T 2010 Ancestors of Francis Folger Franklin bakerancestry org Baker Family Ancestry Retrieved September 3 2013 a b State of the Colonies in 1733 hucosystems com Retrieved September 3 2013 Francis Folger Franklin 1732 1736 fi edu The Franklin Institute Archived from the original on September 13 2013 Retrieved September 3 2013 a b c Isaacson 2005 p 97 a b Parton 1867 p 247 Benge 2005 p 82 a b Gessler 2013 p 39 Isaacson 2003 p 82 Srodes 2013 p 66 Favreau Meg Top 10 Historic Philadelphia Attractions philadelphia about com Retrieved September 3 2013 a b c Best Katamba amp Neuhauser 2007 p 478 a b Waldstreicher 2011 p 35 a b Marcovitz 2009 p 10 Finger 2011 p 49 Wright 1996 p 282 Franklin 1950 pp 113 14 Jordan 2004 p 701 Franklin 1977 p 17 Bibliography Edit Anderson Douglas 2000 The Radical Enlightenments of Benjamin Franklin Baltimore JHU Press ISBN 978 0 8018 6739 2 Benge Geoff amp Janet 2005 Benjamin Franklin Live Wire Seattle YWAM Publishing ISBN 978 1 932096 14 9 Best Mark Katamba Achilles Neuhauser Duncan December 2007 Making the right decision Benjamin Franklin s son dies of smallpox in 1736 Quality and Safety in Health Care 16 6 478 480 doi 10 1136 qshc 2007 023465 PMC 2653186 PMID 18055894 Bouffard James Charles 2007 The Entrepreneurial Ben Franklin Raleigh Lulu com ISBN 978 0 615 18163 9 Chaplin Joyce 2007 The First Scientific American Benjamin Franklin and the Pursuit of Genius New York Basic Books ISBN 978 0 465 00956 5 Conn Peter Franklin Benjamin 2011 1791 The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Penn Reading Project Edition Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania Press ISBN 978 0 8122 0011 9 Currey Cecil B 1968 Road to revolution Benjamin Franklin in England 1765 1775 New York Doubleday and Company Finger Stanley 2011 Doctor Franklin s Medicine Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania Press ISBN 978 0 8122 0191 8 Franklin Benjamin 1950 1791 Autobiography New York Franklin Benjamin 1977 Guide to microfilm edition of Benjamin Franklin s account books Michigan Scholarly Resources ISBN 978 0 8420 2126 5 Gessler J E 2013 Smallpox A History Jefferson McFarland ISBN 978 0 7864 6823 2 Hart Charles Henry 1911 Who was the mother of Franklin s son an inquiry demonstrating that she was Deborah Read wife of Benjamin Franklin Philadelphia Isaacson Walter 2003 Benjamin Franklin An American Life New York Simon and Schuster ISBN 978 0 7432 5807 4 Isaacson Walter 2005 A Benjamin Franklin Reader New York Simon and Schuster ISBN 978 0 7432 7483 8 Jordan John W 2004 Colonial And Revolutionary Families Of Pennsylvania Baltimore Genealogical Publishing ISBN 978 0 8063 5239 8 Lemay Joseph A Leo 1987 Writings Michigan Literary Classics of the United States ISBN 978 0 940450 29 5 Lemay Joseph A Leo 2013 The Life of Benjamin Franklin Volume 2 Printer and Publisher 1730 1747 Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania Press ISBN 978 0 8122 3855 6 Marcovitz Hal 2009 Benjamin Franklin Scientist Inventor Printer and Statesman New York Infobase Publishing ISBN 978 0 7910 9219 4 Parton James 1867 Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin Volume 1 Harvard Ticknor and Fields Skemp Sheila L 1994 Benjamin and William Franklin Father and Son Patriot and Loyalist London Macmillan ISBN 978 0 312 08617 6 Srodes James 2013 Franklin The Essential Founding Father Washington Regnery Publishing ISBN 978 1 59698 222 2 Thayer William Makepeace 2012 From Boyhood to Manhood Life of Benjamin Franklin Tredition Classics ISBN 978 3 8424 7190 0 Waldstreicher David 2011 A Companion to Benjamin Franklin Hoboken John Wiley and Sons ISBN 978 1 4051 9996 4 Wright Esmond 1996 Benjamin Franklin His Life as He Wrote it Harvard Harvard University Press ISBN 978 0 674 06655 7 External links EditFrancis Folger Franklin at Find a Grave Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Francis Folger Franklin amp oldid 1111146765, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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