Franklin was a great manscientist, publisher, political theorist, diplomat. 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. But rather than focusing on the devastation caused by the disease, Franklins coverage dealt primarily with the success of smallpox inoculation. Silence Dogood. Sherry Riter a.k.a. Oh my! Marriage: 1 September 1730. He deposited this material in a vial and brought it to the home of the person to be inoculated. John and Abigail Adams had a storybook union that spanned half a century. The Gazette of April 17, 1746, announced this pamphlet as Just Published. Charles R. Hildeburn assigned it to Franklin on the authority of a note, which he quoted as By Benjamin Franklin. His sons were William Franklin and Francis Folger Franklin, and his daughter was Sarah Franklin Bache. 5) Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterward. 2. Whether Franklin himself was inoculatedor survived a case of naturally acquired smallpox at some point is unknowntheres no evidence on record. 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? But its likely that Deborah exaggerated the letters romantic aspects because she wanted to believe her husband loved her and would return to her. History seems to show that he was a success in almost every endeavor he entered into almost. I certainly agree with you about misused or misspelled words. In February 1774, Benjamin wrote that he hoped to return home in May. When Franky was finally baptized, his father just happened to be on an extended trip to New England. I wonder if he spelled them right for 1748 or if he was like my Mom and daughter! 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. THANK GOODNESS!!!!! 1.A Century of Printing: The Issues of the Press of Pennsylvania (Phila., 1885), no. Marriage is the most natural state of man, and. Records Commission (NHPRC) is part of the National Then he had his own romantic calamity: He learned that a young woman of his acquaintance was pregnant with his child. God made it this way, in his words he said woman is not without the man or man with out the woman. 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 . Franky was still Deborahs only child (the Franklins daughter, Sarah, would not be born for seven more years) and the legitimizing force in her common-law marriage. Benjamin Franklin, Walter Isaacson (2003). - Benjamin Franklin | One Day Quotes. Did it render the boy too sick to be inoculated? LOL. Happiness Marriage Anniversary Man. Franklin agreed to take custody of the babya gesture as admirable as it was uncommonbut that decision made his need for a wife urgent and finding one problematic. He flat out denied such rumors, claiming he was an honest husband, even if he was not a loving one. I love brainy people. Avoid, both before and after marriage, all thoughts of managing your husband, he advised wives. He made important contributions to science, especially in the understanding of electricity, and is remembered for the wit, wisdom, and elegance of his writing. That didn't end well, as Potter absconded to the West Indies to escape paying some debts. He immigrated to New York City, New York, United States in 1943. 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. Occasionally, however, they developed full-blown smallpox or other complications and died. Cookie Settings, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Left: Art Collection / Alamy Stock Photo; Right: Public Domain, or survived a case of naturally acquired smallpox at some point is unknowntheres no evidence on record. The debauching a Virgin may be her Ruin, and make her for Life unhappy. To maintain their Influence over Men, they supply the Diminution of Beauty by an Augmentation of Utility. Author of. The Redhead Riter is Witty, Intelligent & Addictive. An outbreak in the city that year led to the first widespread inoculation trial in Western medicineand bitter controversy. He found her a good and faithful helpmate. 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. Either intentionally or accidentally, as a side effect of her stroke, she sometimes confused the two, referring to Franklins grandson as your son and our child.. Protect and keep contributing to your investment." -Karen Gordon I had a very food filled life. Rogers squandered Deborahs dowry and racked up big debts before disappearing. 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. Im glad you seemed to enjoy it as much as me! Franklin and Madame Helvetius were both in advanced age, and it would be highly unlikely that she could have produced children even if they sustained an intimate relationship. Smithsonian magazine participates in affiliate link advertising programs. Way University Professor and Professor of History, Brown University. Biographers and historians tend to shy away from his married life, perhaps because it defies idealization. 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. But still I advise you to marry directly; being sincerely Your affectionate Friend. Ben Franklin was my first idol, when I was a young lad, & he remains one of my very favorite people wise, inventive, & ohh so witty! And when Franklin sailed for London in 1757 he made no secret of his ambivalence about leaving his 14-year-old daughter with Deborah. Benjamin accepted the form and function of married lifeeven writing about it (skeptically) in his newspaperbut kept his wife at arms length. His father, Josiah, was a soap and candle maker from England who immigrated to Boston. Thats a great point! They are these: 1. Franklins enthusiasm for smallpox inoculation dated to 1721, when he was a printers apprentice to James in Boston. The wife of Thomas Godfrey, a mathematician who lived in part of Franklins house with his family and Junto member, tried to make a match between Franklin and a relatives daughter. Here are a few surprising facts about Ben's spirited wife. (Who that woman was and why he couldnt or wouldnt marry her remain mysteries to this day.) Well today I am going to share something a little different. 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. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author and printer, satirist, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat. Usually, inoculated patients became slightly ill, broke out in a few, smallish pox, and recovered quickly, immune to the disease for the rest of their lives. 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. Some say the longer daylight hours promote safety and help the economy. Though the boy was largely raised by his caustic mother, Deborah, Franklin nonetheless looked out for him. More substantive evidence suggests the delay was due to Franklins oft-expressed antipathy to organized religion. Thus they continue amiable. For one so young to assume the persona of a middle-aged woman was a remarkable feat, and Franklin took exquisite Pleasure in the fact that his brother and others became convinced that only a learned and ingenious wit could have written these essays. Happiness is produced not so much by great pieces of good fortune that seldom happen, as by little advantages that occur every day. 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. In June 1728, he launched a printing house with a partner, Hugh Meredith. Keiths motives may have been more political than paternal, but with that, the couple interchangd some Promises, in Franklins telling, and he set out for London. 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. He chronicles Franklin's tumultuous relationship with his illegitimate son and grandson, his practical marriage, and his flirtations with the ladies of Paris. This time Franklin would be gone for ten years, teasing his imminent return almost every spring or summer and then canceling at nearly the last minute and without explanation. January 17, 1706, in Boston, Massachusetts; son of Josiah Franklin (tallow chandler and soap boiler who immigrated from England in 1683 to escape religious persecution) and . 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. In 1776 he insisted that the 7-year-old accompany him on his diplomatic mission to France. The name of the mother remains a mystery. Despite what late night infomercials claim, the . Deborah was a skilled bookkeeper to whom Ben . Created by Meks. 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. The inoculation issue was over, but Franklin let his anger boil over in other ways, and this is one example. 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. , 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! You can bear your own faults, and why not a fault in your wife? 2.Ford, Franklin Bibliog., no. Copyright 2009-2021 The Redhead Riter | Commenting Policy | Disclosure | Disclaimer | Privacy |, A Short Motivational Thought, Wish And Quote. 1. He. The couple's marriage was a mixed bag. In other words, Franklin's faith was an enigma. Benjamin Franklin was bedridden during the final year of his life, escaping severe pain only by the use of opium, and he died on April 17, 1790, at age 84. Those days from the present differ! Deborah could tell herself that a man who would write such a letter would not repeat his previous sojourn in England, which had begun in 1757 with a promise to be home soon and dragged on for five years, during which rumors filtered back to Philadelphia that he was enjoying the company of other women. But Franklin himself hinted that something else delayed his action and perhaps cost Franky his life. Every day we present the best quotes! He was appointed the first postmaster of Philadelphia and was heavily involved in social and political affairs that would eventually lead to the establishment of the United States. Your Reasons against entering into it at present, appear to me not well-founded. A few months later she pressed him: I hope you will not stay longer than this fall.. Given Franklins notorious frugality, the commission was an extraordinary indulgencemost tradesmen didnt have portraits made of themselves, let alone their children. Benjamin and Deborah Franklin spent all but two of their final 17 years apart. DIED AT AGE 84 Years 3 Months 0 Days DEATHDATE April 17, 1790 DEATHPLACE Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America CAUSE OF DEATH Pleurisy NATIONALITY American PROFESSION Politician ( American Politician) Sometimes being married is actually BAD for a person and I dont think being single means less happiness. In 1727 Potter had ran away to the West Indies escaping creditors. Where there's marriage without love, there will be love without marriage. This article is a selection from the September issue of Smithsonian magazine. your mother is so funny even if I disagree with some of her statements. Reflections on Courtship and Marriage: in Two Letters to a Friend. Franklin started courting the girl and expected a large dowry for their marriage. But the rest, spot on, Ben, baby. (Posthumous painting. Follow your bliss. Benjamin's great-great-grandfather was Thomas Franklin who was born in 1540 in Ecton, England, and worked as a blacksmith. For the better part of a decade he lived with the Sioux tribe before returning to society. But staying away for a decade, dissembling year after year about his return, and then refusing to come home even when he knew his wife was declining and might soon die, suggests something beyond bored indifference. He was the grandfather of journalist, printer, and publisher Benjamin Franklin Bache, Texas military figure Richard Bache, Jr., and diplomat William Temple Franklin. At some point in the year after Franky died, Benjamin commissioned a portrait of the boy. In 1758, near the start of Franklins first extended stay in London, she sent the portrait or a copy of it to him, perhaps hoping it would bind him to her in the same way she imagined its subject once had. Benjamin loved the child and his new role as a dad, but that did not mean he opened up to be more of a loving husband to Deborah. In 1721 James Franklin founded a weekly newspaper, the New-England Courant, to which readers were invited to contribute. Omissions? Wherein a Practicable Plan is laid down for Obtaining and Securing Conjugal Felicity. They did consummate their marriage and have a child. Deborah left him and moved back in with her mother. . A Benjamin Franklin Reader, p.53, Simon and Schuster, There is a mistake in the text of this quote, Occupation: Founding Father of the United States. But he was married for 44 years. Her husband was thrilled. Marriage more than 15 Yrs (to Deborah Reed 1730-1774) Family : Relationship : Number of Marriages (one) Family : Parenting : Kids 1-3 (two sons, one daughter) 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. Stephen Coss He had planned to use the dowry to pay the remaining debt for the printing house which added to 100 pounds. Survivors were often blind, physically or mentally disabled and horribly disfigured. Deborah Franklin wanted a real marriage. 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 Franklin apparently proposed marriage, but she declined in deference to her deceased husband. Those things are trueup to a point. Franklin entered a common law marriage - a social contract which, after years of co-habitation, resulted in a . What was Benjamin Franklins early life like? 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. Paraphrasing her husband, she wrote: A Quier of paper that my careless wife forgot to set down and now the careless thing dont know the prices so I must trust you., Benjamin also conspicuously overlooked, or even denigrated, Deborahs fitness as a mother. A recurring theme was Benjamins belief that Deborah was irresponsible. When Benjamin Franklin Ware was born on 21 October 1924, in Kansas City, Jackson, Missouri, United States, his father, Ernest Franklin Ware, was 19 and his mother, Opal Tressie Neal, was 15. 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. 6. A bachelor in his twenties was frowned upon and Franklin at age 24 was set to find a wife. For the last 10 years of their 44-year marriage Read stayed in Philadelphia while Franklin spent all his time in Europe. Benjamin Franklin pioneered the spirit of self-help in America. 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. 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. However, lets face it, there are a lot of older women who never evolve and remain stuck in their own fears. When eighteen-year-old Benjamin Franklin ran away to Philadelphia, he boarded with the Read family and began his printing apprenticeship. 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. That February Franklin, newly arrived in London, had predicted that he would be home in a few Months. But now he had been gone for 11, with no word on when he would come back. A ship under sail and a big-bellied Woman, / Are the handsomest two things that can be seen common, Benjamin would write in June 1735. 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. If you want to be loved, love and be loveable. You call this a Paradox, and demand my Reasons. 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. Invents the open, or "Franklin," stove. Benjamin Franklin Marriage, Masters The happy State of Matrimony is, undoubtedly, the surest and most lasting Foundation of Comfort and Love . A wife produced not so much by great pieces of good fortune that seldom,! 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