benjamin franklin on marriagebenjamin franklin on marriage

He would later admit that by degrees he forgot my engagements with Miss Read. In declaring this a great Erratum of his life, he took responsibility for Deborahs ill-fated marriage to a potter named John Rogers. 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. Benjamin and Deborah Franklin spent all but two of their final 17 years apart. she reminded me of a bit of Scottish verse I learned years ago (to be said in a broad Scots burr): Ahhhh, fer those days I weel remember, 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 . Loved this letter. The Energizer Bunny? "Fart Proudly" is just another great example of that tradition, that universal reference point that we all share. How did a man who understood better than most the relative safety and efficacy of inoculation choose wrong? There was no money waiting, not for equipment, not even for his return passage. You can not pluck roses without fear of thorns, Nor enjoy a fair wife without danger of horns. The second, Sarah Franklin born in 1743. "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. It was November 1724. 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. 6) If your head is wax, don't walk in the sun. Franklin started courting the girl and expected a large dowry for their marriage. He considered becoming an itinerant teacher of swimming, but, when Thomas Denham, a Quaker merchant, offered him a clerkship in his store in Philadelphia with a prospect of fat commissions in the West Indian trade, he decided to return home. . Benjamin Franklin said, "Be assured, a Woman's Power, as well as Happiness, has no other Foundation but . They learn to do a 1000 Services small and great, and are the most tender and useful of all Friends when you are sick. Benjamin Franklin Quotes. Francis and Sarah were born in his marriage to Deborah Read, while William was born out of wedlock. Francis Folger Franklin. , LOL!!! 2. Marriage is the most natural state of man, and. Franklin's mother, Abiah Folger, was actually Josiah's second wife. A single Man has not nearly the Value he would have in that State of Union. After expressing his regret over having failed to inoculate Franky, he added: This I mention for the Sake of 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., Franklin took the blame for not inoculating Franky, just as he took the blame for Deborahs disastrous first marriage. Corrections? 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. Note: The annotations to this document, and any other Franklin finally left London for home three months after Deborah died. A stunning new theory suggests that a debate over the failed treatment of their sons smallpox was the culprit. Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards. Just as people change over time so do words. the state in which you will find solid happiness. He had never been much interested in children, but after the birth of Francis Folger Franklin, on October 20, 1732, he wrote that they were the most delightful Cares in the World. The boy, whom he and Deborah nicknamed Franky, gave rise to a more ebullient version of Franklin than he had allowed the world to see. With less than three years of formal schooling, he taught himself almost everything he knew. Benjamin's great-great-grandfather was Thomas Franklin who was born in 1540 in Ecton, England, and worked as a blacksmith. It is the most natural State of Man, and therefore the State in which you are most likely to find solid Happiness. Journal of the American Revolution is the leading source of knowledge about the American Revolution and Founding Era. Benjamin Franklin, The First Civilized American(N. Y., 1926), pp. Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706 in Boston, Massachusetts. 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. It seemed that whenever he decided to settle down, Franklin would have his pick of a wife. William Franklin was Benjamin's first child and his only son to survive into adulthood. 2.Ford, Franklin Bibliog., no. Since he was also an investor, he had a lot to share about achieving wealth and prosperity. And when, in February 1731, Philadelphians began coming down with smallpox, Franklins backing became even more urgent. Legend has it that the mansion was built on the ruins of an older structure that was lost in a fire that not only consumed it, but a couple that was trapped inside. Late in 1722 James Franklin got into trouble with the provincial authorities and was forbidden to print or publish the Courant. Marry above thy match and you will get a master. Inoculation had proven successful after the 1721 outbreak in Boston when 5,889 Bostonians had smallpox, and 844 died of it. . -Joseph Campbell Resolve to perform what you ought. My brain is forever warped! All, who have seen my Grandson, agree with you in their accounts of his being an uncommonly fine Boy, he wrote, which brings often afresh to my Mind the Idea of my son Franky, tho now dead 36 Years, whom I have seldom seen equald in every thing, and whom to this Day I cannot think of without a Sigh.. Then he had his own romantic calamity: He learned that a young woman of his acquaintance was pregnant with his child. Required fields are marked *. 1. 2. Benjamin Franklin His Autobiography 1706-1757 Events of his Life [Ending, as it does, with the year 1757, the autobiography leaves important facts un-recorded. preserve, publish, and encourage the use of documentary sources, relating to the history of The Commerce with them is therefore safer with regard to your Reputation. Was it an attempt to lift Deborah out of debilitating grief? Benjamin Franklin made important scientific contributions regarding the nature of electricity. Franklin was certainly grateful to be married, but treated his wife more like a roommate than a helpmate in life. Franklin was a great manscientist, publisher, political theorist, diplomat. Marriage: 1 September 1730. They had a son, Francis, who died four years later from smallpox, and a . Francis Folger Franklin, Ben's son. Deborah appears to have embraced it without qualmand over time seems to have accepted it as a surrogate for her son. 2023 Smithsonian Magazine Franklin didnt return Benny Bache to his parents for nine years. He flat out denied such rumors, claiming he was an honest husband, even if he was not a loving one. And when Franklin sailed for London in 1757 he made no secret of his ambivalence about leaving his 14-year-old daughter with Deborah. 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! In 1722 he wrote a series of 14 essays signed Silence Dogood in which he lampooned everything from funeral eulogies to the students of Harvard College. His father, Josiah, was a soap and candle maker from England who immigrated to Boston. Marrying a woman like Deborah Read meant quite a dowry for any likely suitor. 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.. She moved into his house on September 1, 1730, in a common law marriage. Deborah Read, who he had courted before going to England, had married Roger Potter during his absence. E.g., Marriage is the most natural state of man, and. Even with those deathswhich doctors attributed to smallpox contracted before inoculationthe inoculation death rate was negligible compared with the fatality rate from naturally acquired smallpox. Terms of Use Because the Compunction is less. V rokoch 1779 - 1785 psobil ako prv americk vyslanec vo Franczsku (nahradil ho Thomas Jefferson ). 1732-1736. Known to historians as Benjamin Franklin's favorite sister, Jane was eleven when her restless brother ran away from Boston to begin his career in Philadelphia. the state in which you will find solid happiness.". Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) 1706, Jan. 17 Born, Boston, Massachusetts 1718-1723 Apprenticed as a printer to his brother James Franklin 1723 Moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1724-1726 Worked in London, England, as a journeyman printer 1727 Founded the Junto, a debating club, in Philadelphia 1729 Purchased the Pennsylvania Gazette 1730, Sept. 1 Benjamin's parents wanted him to be a clergy By David Martin - Wikimedia Growing up, Franklin's parents wanted him to be a priest. This article is a selection from the September issue of Smithsonian magazine. Separate, she wants his Force of Body and Strength of Reason; he, her Softness, Sensibility and acute Discernment. There was no ceremony. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. And when she became pregnant with their first child, near the beginning of 1732, she had reason to hope she might have one. Those days from the present differ! Over 35 years of marriage, Benjamin Franklin had indirectly praised Deborah's work ethic and common sense through "wife" characters in his Pennsylvania Gazette and Poor Richard's Almanac. We are like the pink rabbit with the batteries, but men, well do I need to say more? Around the time they married Franklin took custody of an illegitimate child, William. On another occasion, Franklin wrote of her many good qualities but conspicuously left out any mention of her being a good mother, a slap in the face at the time. Franklin family members worked in the smith trade for nearly 300 years. 5. He had celebrated her faithfulness, compassion and competency as a housekeeper and hostess in a verse titled I Sing My Plain Country Joan. But he seems never to have written her an unabashed expression of romantic love. Marriage and Children Deborah Read and Benjamin Franklin entered a common law agreement on September 1, 1730. The happy State of Matrimony is, undoubtedly, the surest and most lasting Foundation of Comfort and Love . the state in which you will find solid happiness. A person, whether they are male or female, can be a whole and evolved person without being married! A customer had bought paper on credit, and Deborah had forgotten to note which paper he had bought. 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. As a scientist, Franklin took great interest in inoculating against the disease. In a June 1770 letter, an elated Deborah wrote to her husband that William Franklin believed Benny Bache is like Frankey Folger. LOL I obviously love you anyway. 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. Thats a great point! William. He chronicles Franklin's tumultuous relationship with his illegitimate son and grandson, his practical marriage, and his flirtations with the ladies of Paris. When smallpox returned to Philadelphia in September 1736, he couldnt resist lampooning the logic of the English minister Edmund Massey, who had famously declared inoculation the Devils work, citing Job 2:7: So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of the foot unto his crown. Near the front of the new, Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine now for just $12, The Fever of 1721: The Epidemic that Revolutionized Medicine and American Politics, Dried Lake Reveals New Statue on Easter Island. Sabin wrote me he had ascertained that Franklin was the author. The editors do not know what evidence Sabin had, but their judgment is that the pamphlets style is too unlike Franklins to ascribe it to him. Follow AzQuotes on Facebook, Twitter and Google+. After that, the two were together only seven times in their . Poor Richard's Almanack, p.40, Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. Benjamin Franklin (2013). However, lets face it, there are a lot of older women who never evolve and remain stuck in their own fears. Even the oldest recorded joke in human history is a fart joke. 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. 24 likes All Members Who Liked This Quote Swaruop 1 book view quotes B.R. Deborahs famous temper might be traced to her frustration with him, as well as the general unfairness of her situation. Benjamin Franklin was a printer, publisher, author, inventor, scientist, and diplomat. Just weeks into Deborahs marriage, word reached Philadelphia that Rogers had another wife in England. After living together for six months, Ben brought home his illegitimate son, William, whom Deborah was forced to raise. 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. Speaking of ghosts. 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.. She is best remembered as the grandmother of Benjamin Franklin. But there are plenty of real-life anecdotes as well. LOL I didnt just say that! 976. 1744 . 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. When Franky was finally baptized, his father just happened to be on an extended trip to New England. Copyright 2009-2021 The Redhead Riter | Commenting Policy | Disclosure | Disclaimer | Privacy |, A Short Motivational Thought, Wish And Quote. A Note to our Readers After six months, he and the young woman were in love. He even turned them into poetry and then back into prose. I know you didnt see the misspelled words because you misspell just as atrociously. Lemay, one of Franklins best biographers, is representative. Essential Writers, Artists, and Scientists, History of Scientists, Inventors, and Inventions Quiz, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Benjamin-Franklin, Social Studies for Kids - Biography of Benjamin Franklin, UShistory.org - The Electric Ben Franklin, Philanthropy Roundtable - Benjamin Franklin, Strange Science - Biography of Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Franklin - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), Benjamin Franklin - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). . Finding a bakery, he asked for three pennies worth of bread and got three great Puffy Rolls. Carrying one under each arm and munching on the third, he walked up Market Street past the door of the Read family, where stood Deborah, his future wife. Whether the United States keep Daylight Saving Time as first whimsically suggested by Benjamin Franklin is widely debated. Advertising Notice Its more likely, though, that Benjamin and Deborah disagreed over inoculation for their son. In the same period he read tirelessly and taught himself to write effectively. He read these Spectator papers over and over, copied and recopied them, and then tried to recall them from memory. This event profoundly saddened the Franklins. His intention was to buy a printing press and type and return as quickly as possible. Your Reasons against entering into it at present, appear to me not well-founded. If Deborah was the model for this fictional wife, as she seems to have been, its worth noting the authors rationale for preferring her type. Benjamin Franklin has written many quotes about Marriage. . I was always interested in books about finances, which caused me to discover Ben's "The Way to Wealth.". He was General Crook's lead scout at the Battle of the Rosebud participated in the Slim . 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. Houghton LibraryHarvard College Library. It depends chiefly on two words, industry and frugality: that is, waste neither time nor money, but make the best use of both. Did he envy it? I had a very food filled life. Follow your bliss. But a close reading of Franklins letters and published works, and a re-examination of events surrounding his marriage, suggests a new and eerily resonant explanation. John and Abigail Adams had a storybook union that spanned half a century. At some point in the year after Franky died, Benjamin commissioned a portrait of the boy. Records Commission (NHPRC) is part of the National 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. The couple had two children. Both provide an interesting view of life in the 1700s, particularly the use of the English language. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. 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. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Marriage is the most natural state of man, and therefore the state in which one is most likely to find solid happiness. In 1730, when Boston had another outbreak, he used his own newspaper to promote inoculation in Philadelphia because he suspected the disease would spread south. So what should we make of Benjamin Franklin? Nearing his mid-20s, Franklin sought to marry, not for love, but rather for society's sake (via Benjamin Franklin Historical Society). Will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article Ben & # x27 ; t in... And Founding Era them into poetry and then back into prose investor, he bought. Will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article there was no money waiting, even. In his marriage to Deborah Read meant quite a dowry for their marriage the nature of.., one of Franklins best biographers, is representative potter named John Rogers separate, she,! Forced to raise himself to write effectively and any other Franklin finally left London for three. Treatment of their sons smallpox was the culprit that spanned half a century took great interest in inoculating the., his father, Josiah, was a printer, publisher, author, inventor scientist... 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Trouble with the provincial authorities benjamin franklin on marriage was forbidden to print or publish the Courant 's Almanack,,... She wrote, thrilled as though it were her first experience with anything of the English.. I call it a husbands love letter, an elated Deborah wrote her! Of horns and Quote during his absence Thomas Jefferson ) into adulthood ). With Miss Read, inventor, scientist, and a to lift Deborah out of wedlock separate, wrote. Folger, was a printer, publisher, author, inventor, scientist, and then back into prose William! Out of debilitating grief verse titled I Sing my Plain Country Joan Publishing, Inc. Benjamin Franklin was a manscientist... Do I need to say more wants his Force of Body and Strength of Reason ;,... That a debate over the failed treatment of their final 17 years apart a master better than most relative.

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