Founding Fathers - The Most Famous Duo

The Franklins

A Promising Beginning

The most famous father-son duo of the American Revolution is the Franklins: famed scientist, publisher, philosopher, and diplomat Benjamin Franklin and his son, William Franklin. As with everything about Franklin, this tale is complex and twisted, evoking the tragedy of a war that was as much a civil conflict as a revolution. William lived in his father's shadow, who was arguably the most celebrated and renowned man of his age - a truly international celebrity. William played a pivotal role in some of Franklin's most famous exploits (the electricity experiment, for instance) but received little to no credit or recognition. Living under the shadow of a famous father had both advantages and disadvantages. The often frugal Ben Franklin paid for William to attend the prestigious Inns at Court, where he studied law. This launched him into a career that, had the British won the war, would have marked him as one of the Empire's premier men.

Founding Father Benjamin Franklin

The Bastard Prodigy

William was illegitimate and may have been the child of Ben’s long-suffering wife, Deborah Read, prior to their marriage. Benjamin acknowledged his son after he had been married to Deborah for seven years, the legally allotted time before bastards could be legitimized. The recognition of William’s parentage was kept secret at that time. After completing his studies at the Inns of Court, William returned to America in 1762 with Downes, a wealthy heiress to a sugar plantation fortune in Barbados. However, the elder Franklin was displeased with this choice, as he had another bride in mind for William. Disagreement over William’s marriage further strained an already troubled relationship. Before the rebellion escalated into a revolution, the two Franklins were partners in politics, publishing, grand real estate schemes in the Illinois country, and conflicts with Indians on the Pennsylvania frontier. However, William was very much the junior partner, dependent on his father for income even after his appointment as governor. William’s salary was often delayed for as much as three years.

Royal Governor of New Jersey William Franklin

The King's Servants?

While in England, William developed close relationships with government ministers, leading to his appointment as Royal Governor of New Jersey in 1762. This prestigious appointment came at an unfortunate time. Just as William assumed his new role, a newspaper hostile to the Franklin family revealed the younger Franklin’s illegitimacy. At the very moment William became one of the most significant political figures in colonial America, the scandal of his illegitimacy erupted on both sides of the Atlantic. Meanwhile, Ben Franklin began his journey from loyal conciliator to ardent rebel. His dealings with the British as the colonies' representative in London made him realize that Americans would always be viewed as second-class citizens. Called before the Council on a trumped-up charge, his treatment resulted in a definitive break, and Franklin became the elder statesman of the American Revolution from that time on.

Proprietary House - NJ Governor's Mansion

A Loyal Prisoner

But William continued to act as George III’s loyal subject. As Royal Governor and supporter of the British constitution, he urged conciliation on both sides. As the war escalated, William engaged in what was inaccurately labeled as treasonous correspondence with members of Parliament and the King’s ministers. His letters provided information on American troop movements and included pleas for reasonableness from the crown. William was arrested by order of the Continental Congress but refused to give his “parole” or word that he would cease his counter-revolutionary activities. Over a two-year period beginning in 1776, William was confined under increasingly horrific conditions. Ben refused to intercede for him. He finally left Litchfield, Connecticut, under terrible conditions. While most upper-class prisoners would stay at Moses Seymour's house, Franklin was thrown into the common jail, in a dungeon-like cell filled with excrement. 

Franklin was confined in a common prison like this

During his incarceration, William’s wife had become seriously ill. Her serious condition even prompted George Washington to plead for her husband’s freedom to save her life. However, William spent eight months in Litchfield jail before he was exchanged for a POW held by the British. The once robust and handsome Franklin emerged toothless, emaciated, and destitute; his health ruined and his hair gone. Washington’s fears about William’s wife were validated. Shortly before her husband’s release, Elizabeth Downes Franklin died at the age of 43. William believed his wife’s death was caused by their long separation and his ill-treatment while imprisoned.

Family Feud outlives Political Peace

After the war, the Franklins' relationship remained strained, and they never reconciled. Like so many Loyalists—perhaps around 100,000—William went into exile. In 1785, just before Benjamin’s final return to America, William sought reconciliation during a meeting in France. Benjamin, at 79, obese and suffering from debilitating gout and kidney stones, rejected his son. Franklin bequeathed the majority of his fortune to his grandson William Temple Franklin while demanding payment for loans his son had repaid years earlier. William suppressed his anger and transferred all of his extensive property in America, including his mansion in New Jersey. After his release in 1778, the ex-governor moved to London, where he rented a modest home. He passed away in 1813.

William Temple Franklin