Deborah Read
When Franklin was unable to find appropriate living accommodations near his job, Read's father allowed him to rent a room in the family home.Franklin subsequently became stranded in London after Sir William Keith failed to follow through on promises of financial support.[5][6] In Franklin's absence, Read was persuaded by her mother to marry John Rogers, a British man who has been identified variously as a carpenter or a potter.At that time, the law in the Province of Pennsylvania would not grant a divorce on the grounds of desertion; nor could Read claim to be a widow, as there was no proof that Rogers was dead.If Rogers returned after Read legally married Franklin, she faced a charge of bigamy which carried the penalty of thirty-nine lashes on the bare back and life imprisonment with hard labor.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.While Franklin stayed overseas for the next five years, Read remained in Philadelphia where, despite her limited education, she successfully ran her husband's businesses, maintained their home, cared for the couple's children and regularly attended Quaker Meeting.[18] In November 1769, Read wrote Franklin saying that her stroke, declining health and depressed mental state were a result of her "dissatisfied distress" due to his prolonged absence.
Benjamin WilsonBirminghamPhiladelphiaProvince of PennsylvaniaBritish AmericaChrist Church Burial GroundPennsylvaniaBenjamin FranklinFranciscommon-law wifeFounding Fathers of the United StatesQuakerMarket StreetBostonWilliam KeithChrist Church, PhiladelphiaBritish West Indiesbigamylasheshard laborcommon-law marriageFrancis Folger "Franky"smallpoxSarah "Sally"WilliamQuaker MeetingFranklin InstituteFind a GravePresident of Pennsylvania (1785–1788)Ambassador to France (1779–1785)Second Continental Congress (1775–1776)Join, or Die. (1754 political cartoon)Albany Plan of UnionAlbany CongressHutchinson letters affairCommittee of Secret CorrespondenceCommittee of Five"...to be self-evident"Declaration of IndependenceModel TreatyFranco-American allianceTreaty of Amity and CommerceTreaty of AllianceStaten Island Peace Conference1776 Pennsylvania ConstitutionLibertas AmericanaTreaty of Paris, 1783Delegate, 1787 Constitutional ConventionPostmaster GeneralFounding FathersFranklin's electrostatic machineBifocalsFranklin stoveLightning rodKite experimentPay it forwardAssociators111th Infantry RegimentJunto clubAmerican Philosophical SocietyLibrary Company of PhiladelphiaPennsylvania HospitalAcademy and College of PhiladelphiaUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia ContributionshipUnion Fire CompanyEarly American currencyContinental Currency dollar coinFugio centStreet lightingPresident, Pennsylvania Abolition SocietyMaster, Les Neuf SœursGravesiteThe Papers of Benjamin FranklinFounders OnlineSilence Dogood letters (1722)A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain (1725)The Busy-Body columns (1729)The Pennsylvania Gazette (1729–1790)Early American publishers and printersPoor Richard's Almanack (1732–1758)The Drinker's Dictionary (1737)"Advice to a Friend on Choosing a Mistress" (1745)"The Speech of Polly Baker" (1747)Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind, Peopling of Countries, etc. (1751)Experiments and Observations on Electricity (1751)The Way to Wealth (1758)Pennsylvania Chronicle (1767)A Letter to a Royal Academy (1781)"The Morals of Chess" (1786)The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (1771–1790, pub. 1791)Bagatelles and Satires (pub. 1845)Franklin's phonetic alphabetBibliographyFranklin CourtBenjamin Franklin HouseBenjamin Franklin Institute of TechnologyBenjamin Franklin ParkwayBenjamin Franklin National MemorialawardsBenjamin Franklin MedalRoyal Society of Arts medalDepicted in The Apotheosis of WashingtonMemorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of IndependenceTreaty of ParisBenjamin Franklin Drawing Electricity from the SkyRevolutionary War DoorBoston statueChicago statueColumbus, Ohio, statueUniversity of Pennsylvania statuePortland, Oregon, statueSan Francisco statueStanford University statueWashington D.C. statueRefunding CertificateFranklin half dollarOne-hundred-dollar billFranklin silver dollarWashington–Franklin stampsCities, counties, schools named for FranklinBenjamin Franklin CollegeFranklin FieldMount FranklinState of Franklin