William Temple Franklin | |
|---|---|
 William Temple Franklin, painted byMather Brown in1782 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1760-02-22)February 22, 1760 London, England |
| Died | May 25, 1823(1823-05-25) (aged 63) Paris, France |
| Resting place | Père Lachaise Cemetery |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 5 |
| Parent(s) | William Franklin Mary Johnson D'Evelin (stepmother) |
| Occupation | Diplomat, real estate speculator, editor |
William Temple Franklin, known asTemple Franklin, (February 22, 1760 – May 25, 1823) was an Americandiplomat andreal estate speculator who is best known for his involvement with the American diplomatic mission in France during theAmerican Revolutionary War. Beginning at the age of 16, he served as secretary to his grandfatherBenjamin Franklin, who negotiated and agreed to theFranco-American Alliance.
The younger Franklin was also secretary for the American delegation that negotiated United States independence at theTreaty of Paris in 1783. He returned toPhiladelphia with his grandfather afterward. Finding his prospects limited in the United States, he later returned to Europe, where he lived mostly in France.
William Temple Franklin, called Temple, was born in 1760,[1] the extramarital (and only) son ofWilliam Franklin, who fathered him while a law student in London. His mother is unknown, and the infant was placed in foster care. His father William was the extramarital but acknowledged son ofBenjamin Franklin, one of theFounding Fathers of the United States, and raised in his household. While there is some speculation that William Temple Franklin's middle name was derived from the fact that he was conceived while his father was studying at theMiddle Temple, that seems highly unlikely and uncharacteristically idiosyncratic. Temple was, in fact, born more than a year after his father completed his legal studies and was called to the bar.[2] The more likely answer, in keeping with both 18th-century naming conventions and the political and social connections of both William and Benjamin Franklin, is that Temple was named forRichard Grenville-Temple, 2nd Earl Temple, an ally of the Franklins and a senior member of the British governing ministry when Temple was born.[citation needed]
Later in 1762, William married Elizabeth Downes in London, the daughter of a wealthyBarbados planter.[3] After passing the bar, he returned to North America, but he continued to pay for the upkeep and later education of Temple.[1]
In 1763, with the aid of his father, Benjamin Franklin, William Franklin was appointed as the lastcolonial governor ofNew Jersey and went to North America. He left Temple in foster care. William's position as a Loyalist later put him at odds with his father, and they broke permanently over it. William Franklin was imprisoned during the Revolution and was forced into exile in Britain.
Benjamin Franklin learned of his grandson Temple (his only grandson through the male line) on an extended mission in London, when the boy was about four. He became fond of the young boy but at first did not tell him of his full identity.[1] He eventually took over custody, returned with the youth to the United Colonies in 1775, and acknowledged their blood relation. Now a widower, Franklin raised the boy in his household.[4]
Temple, as he was generally known, accompanied his grandfather Benjamin Franklin to France in late 1776. From the age of 16, he worked as secretary to the American diplomatic mission during theAmerican Revolution. Benjamin hoped the trip would round out Temple's education.[5] Along with his cousinBenjamin Franklin Bache, Temple was educated further inFrance andSwitzerland.
Abon vivant, Temple received his highest public appointment as Secretary to the American delegation at theTreaty of Paris in 1782 to 1783 largely through the influence of his grandfather. He never again attained a significant political post in the United States. Benjamin Franklin unsuccessfully lobbiedCongress in the hope that Temple would be given a diplomatic post and believed that in time, his grandson would succeed him as Ambassador to France.[6] His appeal was rejected for a variety of reasons, including political opposition to Benjamin Franklin and suspicions about Temple's relations with hisLoyalist father, who had gone into exile in London.Thomas Jefferson commiserated with Temple over his failure to secure a post but wrote a letter toJames Monroe that raised questions about the young man's temperament and abilities.[7]
During the negotiations for the Treaty of Paris, Temple asked one of the British peace commissioners if something could be done for his father. He noted his father's steadfast defense of theStamp Act and hoped that the British government might award him a diplomatic post.[8] During 1784, Temple went toLondon and reconciled with his father, lengthened his stay several times, and returned toParis at the end of the year.[9] In January 1785, Temple received the firstairmail in history when a letter from his father was brought across theEnglish Channel by ahydrogen balloon, flown byJean-Pierre Blanchard andJohn Jeffries.[3]
When Benjamin Franklin relinquished his post and sailed home to the United States in 1785, Temple accompanied him. Temple was elected to theAmerican Philosophical Society in 1786.[10] Franklin sent the younger man to see government officials in Philadelphia, to try to recover expenses owed for his time in Paris, but his request was not granted. With his hopes of a diplomatic career at an end, Benjamin Franklin advised Temple to try to develop as a major landowner since many areas of the country were being settled in the rapid postwar development. By that stage, Temple was disillusioned. He said that the United States was driven byfactions and that if a foreign power were to attempt to conquer the country, it would certainly be successful.[11]
After the elder Franklin died in 1790, Temple lived for a while with his father William inEngland. In London, he acted as an agent of the AmericanRobert Morris of Philadelphia, a signer of theDeclaration of Independence, a financier of theAmerican Revolution, and the wealthiest man in the United States. (SeeHolland Land Company,The Holland Purchase, andThe Morris Reserve.) In 1792, Franklin sold 12,000,000 acres (49,000 km2; 19,000 sq mi) of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase east of the Genesee River inNew York state toThe Pulteney Association, made up of three British investors. There was widespread land speculation in New York after the Revolution, as most of theIroquois nations, as allies of the British, had been forced to cede their lands to the United States by the postwar treaty. Millions of acres became available for sale to investors, speculators, and settlers.
Thetown andvillage of Franklinville, inCattaraugus County (one of the counties formed from land in the Holland Purchase), is named after William Temple Franklin.[12]
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During his first period in France, Temple had anillegitimate son,Théodore, with his mistress, Blanchette Caillot, a married woman. The boy died before reaching age five. After his return toEngland and living with his father, Temple Franklin had an illegitimate daughter,Ellen (May 15, 1798London – 1875Nice,France), with Ellen Johnson D’Evelin, the sister-in-law of his father’s second wife, Mary (who had been a widow with children). William Franklin took responsibility for his granddaughter Ellen. Temple moved to Paris, where he lived the remainder of his life and never saw his father again. Temple’s daughter, Ellen, eventually married Capel Hanbury and had a daughter named Maria Hanbury, who was unmarried and had no children.
In addition to Théodore and Ellen, Temple Franklin had other children. He fathered a son,James William Franklin Sr., born on December 15, 1789, inRoaring River,North Carolina, who later married Nancy Amburgey and settled inVirginia, where he died in 1860. Temple also had a daughter,Lucy Franklin, born in 1790, who married William Amburgey; they raised a family inLetcher County,Kentucky. Another daughter,Sarah Ann Franklin, born on July 6, 1788, inPort Tobacco,Maryland, was believed to be the child of Temple and Abigail Brawner; she married Joseph Perrill Cooper, and they had several children.
After his move to France, Franklin continued to act as a real estate speculator, gaining and losing a fortune.
By his will of 1788, Benjamin Franklin had bequeathed Temple his papers and correspondence and appointed him as his literary heir. Temple edited and published editions of Franklin's writings, including hisAutobiography, published in London and Philadelphia, 1816–1819. He published six volumes of papers from 1817 to 1819.[13] His close friend,George Fox, inherited many of the senior Franklin's papers and later donated them to the American Philosophical Society.[14] Temple Franklin's collected papers are held by theAmerican Philosophical Society in Philadelphia.[15]
While he was living in France during this period, Temple had a long relationship with Englishwoman Hannah Collyer (1771–1846). They married a month before his 1823 death in Paris.[1] Temple is buried atPère Lachaise Cemetery. Hannah died on December 12, 1846, at age 75, and is buried next to Temple.
Noah Jupe portrays William Temple Franklin as a teenager in the 2024Apple TV+Franklin (miniseries).
The Village of Franklinville was named after William Temple Franklin; grandson of Founding Father Benjamin Franklin. It was founded around 1806 and incorporated in 1874.
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