William Franklin (22 February 1730 – 17 November 1813) was an American-born attorney, soldier, politician, and colonial administrator. He was the acknowledged extra-marital son of Benjamin Franklin. William Franklin was the last colonial Governor of New Jersey (1763–1776), and a steadfast British Empire Loyalist throughout the American Revolutionary War. In contrast, his father Benjamin was, in later life, one of the most prominent of the Patriot leaders of the American Revolution and a Founding Father of the United States.

Following imprisonment by Patriots in 1776 to 1778, William became the chief leader of the Loyalists. From his base in New York City, he organized military units to fight on the British side. In 1782, he went into exile in Britain. He lived in London until his death.

Early life

William Franklin was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, then a colony in British America. He was the extra-marital son of Benjamin Franklin, a leading figure in the city. His mother's identity is unknown. Neither family approved of the match, but when William went to London to study law about 1759, he left with the understanding that Elizabeth would wait for him.

thumb|[[William Temple Franklin, painted by John Trumbull (1790–1791)]]

William studied law at the Middle Temple, chiefly under Richard Jackson "The Omniscient". While in London, William fathered an illegitimate son, William Temple Franklin, who was born 22 February 1760. His mother has never been identified, and Temple was placed in foster care. William took responsibility for his granddaughter Ellen. Temple moved to Paris, where he lived the remainder of his life and never saw his father again. After Mary died in 1811, William continued to live with Ellen, age 13 at the time, and when he died in 1813 he left most of his small estate to her.

Colonial governor

William Franklin completed his law education in England, and was admitted to the bar. William and Benjamin Franklin became partners and confidants, working together to pursue land grants in what was then called the Northwest (now Midwest). Before they left England, Benjamin lobbied hard to procure his son an appointment, especially working with the Prime Minister Lord Bute.

William was inducted into the original American Philosophical Society, founded by Benjamin Franklin, around 1758.

In 1763, William Franklin was appointed as the Royal Governor of New Jersey. He had asked Lord Bute for the position. Bute made the decision secretly to grant the request, not even informing Benjamin Franklin; he intended the position as a reward for Benjamin's role and a move to weaken the Penn faction. He replaced Josiah Hardy, a merchant and colonial administrator who sided with the New Jersey legislature against the government in London. Randall states:

American War of Independence

thumb|[[Proprietary House in Perth Amboy, where Franklin lived as governor]]

Owing to his father's role as a Founding Father and William's loyalty to Britain, the relationship between father and son became strained past the breaking point. When Benjamin decided to take up the Patriot cause, he tried to convince William to join him, but the son refused. After Benjamin Franklin was systematically ridiculed and humiliated by Solicitor-General Alexander Wedderburn before the Privy Council on 29 January 1774, he expected his son to resign in protest. Instead, William advised his father to take his medicine and retire from office.

His Loyalist position was a reflection of his respect for benevolent authority which he felt was embodied by the British Crown, a view consistent with his father's earlier Anglophilia. Further, unlike his father William was a devout member of the Church of England, which reinforced his loyalty to the Crown. Financially, he needed the salary and perquisites. On 13 January 1775, with revolution seeming imminent, Franklin delivered his "Two Roads" speech to the New Jersey legislature, urging the New Jersey Legislature to take the road toward prosperity by remaining loyal to the Crown rather than a road to civil war and anarchy. The legislature instead unanimously issued a resolution in support of the Patriots in Boston.

Capture and imprisonment, 1776–1778

William Franklin remained as governor of New Jersey, and secretly reported Patriot activities to London. He continued as governor until January 1776, when colonial militiamen placed him under house arrest, which lasted until the middle of June. After the Declaration of Independence, Franklin was formally taken into custody by order of the Provincial Congress of New Jersey, an entity which he refused to recognize, regarding it as an "illegal assembly". He was incarcerated in Connecticut for two years, in Wallingford and Middletown. He surreptitiously engaged Americans in supporting the Loyalist cause. Discovered, he was held in solitary confinement at Litchfield, Connecticut for eight months. When finally released in a prisoner exchange in 1778, he moved to New York City, which was under British occupation. He set up Loyalist military units to fight the Patriots, such as "Bacon's Refugees". In 1779, he had learned through his friend Jonathan Odell and British Major John André that American General Benedict Arnold was planning on secretly defecting to the British. At the time, some alleged that Franklin had sanctioned the killing of Huddy. This claim was theoretically substantiated by a note left on Huddy's body, which read, "Up goes Huddy for Philip White."

When he heard of Huddy's death, General George Washington demanded Clinton court-martial Lippincott. At Lippincott's court-martial, his defence successfully argued that as an irregular, he was technically a civilian, and as such was subject to civilian law instead of military law. Chief Justice William Smith ruled that he did not have jurisdiction to try Lippincott since the incident occurred in an area outside effective British control. In response, Washington threatened to summarily execute Captain Charles Asgill, a British officer who had been captured at Yorktown.

Due to the intervention of King Louis XVI of France, who interceded with his American allies to prevent Asgill's execution, Asgill was eventually released by the Continental Congress, where it was agreed he should return to England on parole. Despite the speed with which it was terminated, the Asgill Affair temporarily stalled peace talks between American and British authorities, extending uncertainty over the United States' prospects. Ironically, Benjamin Franklin was a senior negotiator for the Americans in Paris when the Asgill Affair occurred.

Exile and death

The siege of Yorktown in October 1781 dimmed British hopes for victory, and in 1782, Franklin departed for Britain, never to return. Once in London, he became a leading spokesman for the Loyalist community. Because of the continued strength of British forces in North America, in spite of the defeat at Yorktown, many expected Britain to continue fighting the war. The British victory against the French at the Battle of the Saintes and the successful defence of Gibraltar also raised their hopes. In summer 1782, a new British government came to power, who still hoped to achieve a reconciliation with the Americans. In 1783, Franklin visited Scotland and was asked to be a founding member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. The British government gave him £1,800 from the Commissioners of Loyalist Claims. That was the value of his furniture; there was no payment for his lands. He also received a brigadier's half-pay pension of £800 per year.

Franklin sent a letter to his father, dated 22 July 1784, in an attempt at reconciliation. His father never accepted his Loyalist position, but he responded in a letter dated 16 August 1784, in which he states "[We] will endeavor, as you propose mutually to forget what has happened relating to it, as well we can." In his 1788 will, Benjamin left William virtually none of his wealth, except some nearly worthless territory in Nova Scotia and some property already in William's possession. He stated in the will that the way William "acted against me in the late war, which is of public notoriety, will account for my leaving him no more of an estate he endeavoured to deprive me of." The song, sung from Benjamin Franklin's perspective, references his son William's imprisonment with the lyrics:

: One pain that lingers, the hitch in my stride

: Is my son back at home who I could not guide

: Who sits all alone in a prison cell on the wrong side

: Stands against our young nation.

Josh Lucas voices William in Ken Burns's documentary about Benjamin Franklin.

William Franklin is also referenced occasionally in the Apple TV+ series Franklin by several characters, including by his son, William Temple Franklin, as well as Benjamin Franklin himself.

Franklin is portrayed by Daniel Betts in 2024 drama film Here.

See also

  • Burlington Company
  • Proprietary House

Notes

References

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Bibliography

  • Epstein, Daniel Mark (2017). The Loyal Son: The War in Ben Franklin's House. Description & preview. Ballantine. Kirkus Review & Publishers Weekly Review
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  • Gerlach, Larry R. William Franklin: New Jersey's Last Royal Governor (1976), a scholarly biography
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  • Randall, Willard Sterne. "Franklin, William"; American National Biography Online 2000.
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  • Schlenther, Boyd Stanley. "Franklin, William (1730/31–1813)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 Boyd Stanley accessed 1 Oct 2017 doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/62971
  • Skemp, Sheila L. "Benjamin Franklin, Patriot, and William Franklin, Loyalist." Pennsylvania History 65.1 (1998): 35–45.
  • Skemp, Sheila L. "William Franklin: His Father's Son." Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 109.2 (1985): 145–178.

Additional reading

  • The Proprietary House (final home of the Royal Governor)