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A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 
 
 WILLIAM FRANKLIN, 
 
 GOVERNOR FROM 1763 TO 1776, 
 
 ■ 
 
 s 
 
 WILLIAM A. WHITEHEAD. 
 
 Read before the New Jersey Historical Society, 
 
 September 27 Ih, 1848. 
 
 18 
 
 \ 
 
Ft 37 
 
 ■Fc 
 
 C 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 
 
 Gentlemen — Although I have consented to occupy a part of your 
 time at this meeting, yet I feel that I should ask your indulgence for 
 the imperfections which may be observed in what I am about to read. 
 For being only a portion of a manuscript of miscellaneous gleanings in 
 the forgotten past,* prepared with no view of being laid before the 
 Society, it is in some respects of a different character from what it 
 would have been had it been designed for a distinct paper. It may 
 however afford some information not generally known respecting the 
 individual of whom it treats, and serve to refresh the memory of those 
 already to some extent acquainted with his life and character. 
 
 Dr. Franklin, identified with so much that is interesting in the history 
 of America had one son. That son, William Franklin, was Gov- 
 ernor of New Jersey at the period when, through the blessing of 
 Providence upon earnest self devoting efforts, our country was happily 
 enabled to throw off the oppressive burdens which the short sighted 
 policy of England's rulers would have fastened upon her, and assumed 
 * among the nations of the earth the separate and equal station to 
 which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitled her.' 
 
 William Franklin was born in the Province of Pennsylvania in 1731 
 — but of his youth little is known. He early 1 showed a marked predi- 
 lection for books, which his father of course encouraged; but with 
 advancing years the quiet walks of an academic life appear to have lost 
 their charm? in some measure, and a disposition was manifested by 
 him to seek employment in the stirring pursuits of a military career. 
 Disappointed in an attempt made to connect himself clandestinely 
 with a privateer fitting out at Philadelphia, he was subsequently grati- 
 fied by the receipt of a commission in the Pennsylvania forces, and 
 served in one or more campaigns on the northern frontier before he was 
 of age, rising from a subordinate station to the rank of Captain. This 
 
 * ;< Contributions to the Local History of Pertli Amboy, and surrounding countty." 
 
expedition is alluded to by his father as being, in one respect, of no 
 service to him. " Will" — says the Doctor, writing in 1750 — "is qow 
 nineteen years of age, a tall proper youth, and much of a beau. He 
 acquired a habit of idleness in the expedition, but begins of late to 
 apply himself to business, and I hope will become an industrious man. 
 He imagined his father Lad got enough for him, but I have assured him 
 that I intend to spend what little I have myself, if it please God that 1 
 live long enough ; and as he by no means wants acuteness, he can see 
 by !Py going on, that I mean to be as goud as my word." 
 
 On his return to Philadelphia young Franklin seems to have become 
 in a great degree the companion and assistant of his father in his various 
 scientific and professional pursuits, and subsequently entered himself 
 into official life. From 1754 to 175G he acted as Comptroller of the 
 General Post Office, then under the management of Dr. Franklin, and 
 in January 1755 — then holding in addition the Clerkship of the Pro- 
 vincial Assembly — he accompanied the troops that were sent under 
 the command of the Doctor to build forts on the frontiers of Pennsyl- 
 vania ; and in June 1757, his father having been appointed Colonial 
 Agent at London, he sailed with him for Europe. 
 
 William Strahan, his father's friend, a man of talents and discrimina- 
 tion thus alludes to him in a letter written shortly after his arrival in 
 England — 
 
 " Your son'' — he is writing to Mrs. Frauklin — " I really think one 
 of the prettiest young gentlemen I e\er knew from America, lie 
 seems to me to have a solidity of judgment, not very often to be met 
 with in one of his years. This, with the daily opportunity he has of 
 improving himself in the company of his father, who is at the same 
 time his friend, his brother, his intimate aud easy companion, affords an 
 agreeable prospect, that }our husband's virtues and usefulness to his 
 country may be prolonged beyond the date of his own life." 
 
 Young Franklin entered upon the study of the law in the middle 
 Temple and was called to the bar in 1'758. lie travelled with his 
 father through England, Scotland, Flanders and Holland, and appears 
 to have profited, as regards both mental and personal attainments, by 
 tli'- advantages which a visit to those countries under such favorable 
 circumstances naturally afforded* Courted as was the society of his 
 
 Gather by men of the highest literary and scientific acquirements, he 
 
 could not but imbibe in such a circle a tasle for similar pursuits, and 
 We Consequently liud that when the I Diversity of Oxford in 176S? con- 
 ferred iij the father, for his great proficiency in the natural science-, 
 
 the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws, the son was thought worthy 
 
of that of Master of Arts for having distinguished himself in the same 
 branches of knowledge.* 
 
 It was in this year (August 1762) he was appointed through the 
 influence of Lo.d Jhite, and without any solicitation on the part of his 
 father,f Governor of New Jersey; previously undergoing, it is said, a 
 close examination by Lord Halifax, Minister of American Affairs ;\ — 
 deemed advisable perhaps on account of his colonial birth and youth, 
 he at that time being only thirty years of age. 
 
 There were some persons who regarded this promotion of Mr. Frank- 
 lin as an event deeply to be deprecated, and intimations are met with 
 to the effect that it was only through the secrecy observed by those 
 concerned in obtaining the commission that remonstrance was not 
 made and steps taken to counteract what was pronounced a dishonor 
 and disgrace to the country.^ But I have failed to discover an}' 
 deficiency in tjbe abilities of Governor Franklin when compared with 
 his predecessors, or any peculiarity in his political or private character 
 that justifies the severity of these strictures. On the contrary the cir- 
 cumstances, above narrated, under which the appointment was made, 
 are highly creditable to him — evincing as they do a confidence in his 
 capacity for the office, and in his fidelity to the government, which was 
 not wont to be reposed in those of colonial birth, unless some cogent 
 reasons of policy prompted thereto, or strong claims to the preferment 
 were presented ; — and it is certain that the endeavors made to prejudice 
 the people of JSew Jersej' against their new Governor did not prevent 
 his gathering around him as members of his Council gentlemen of the 
 highest respectability and standing in the Province. It is not probable 
 that such would have been the case had his talents and character been 
 calculated only to entail misfortune on the people over whom he was 
 placed.|| 
 
 About the time of his appointment Governor Franklin married Miss 
 Elizabeth Downs — of whom recollections are, or were, cherished by 
 
 * The New York Mercury of July 12th, 17G2, thus announces this occurrence: 
 
 " Oxford, April 30ih. Dr. Franklin, eminent for his many extraordinary improvements 
 in electrical experiment, was presented by this University to the honorary degree of 
 Doctor in Civil Law. At. the same time his son, who has also distinguished himself in 
 the same branch of natural knowledge, was presented to the honorary degree of Master 
 of Arts." — See Sparks' Franklin and Princeton Review, July 1847. 
 
 t Life of Franklin by his Grandson. Vol. I. p. 309. (Edit. 1833.) 
 t Public Characters of Great Britain. Vol. IV. 
 
 $ See a Letter of John Penn's in Duer's Life of Lord Sterling— pp. 70, 71. 
 II Dr. Franklin in a letter to a friend dated Dec. 7th, 17C2, savs — "I thank you for 
 your kind congratulations on my son's promotion and marriage. If he makes a good 
 
6 
 
 aged persons who knew her, as of an exceedingly amiable woman 
 possessing many virtues and of wry engaging manners. With her 
 lie arrived in the Delaware River in February 1763, and, after some 
 detention from the ice, reached Philadelphia on the 19th, whence he 
 started for New Jersey on the 23d. He slept at New Brunswick on 
 the 24th, and arrived at Perth Amboy the following day. 
 
 He was escorted to the seat of government by numbers of the 
 gentry, in sleighs, and by the Middlesex troop of horse ; and was there 
 received by Governor Hardy and the members of his Council. The 
 weather was intensely cold, but that prevented not the administration 
 of the oath of office and the proclamation of his commission in public, 
 according to the usual forms; — a contemporary chronicler asserting 
 that all was conducted "with as much decency and good decorum as 
 the severity of the season could possibly admit of."* 
 
 A day or two afterward the Governor proceeded to Burlington to 
 publish his commission there, according to the custom of the 
 province.f 
 
 Philadelphia having been the place of his previous residence, it was 
 natural the Governor should find stronger attractions in West than in 
 East Jersey, from the contiguity of former friends in the Province of 
 Pennsylvania ; he consequently, after some hesitation, secured lodgings 
 at Burlington, and finally took up his permanent residence there until 
 October 1774, when he removed to Perth Amboy, and became the 
 occupant of the Proprietors' House, of late years enlarged and im- 
 proved, the residence of Mr. Matthias Brueni 
 
 The Corporation of Burlington gave him a public entertainment 
 before his removal to Amboy, and the following day presented their 
 farewell address expressing their regard for him, thanking him for his 
 kind deportment and courtesy shown during his stay, and regretting 
 
 governor and husband (as I hope lie will, for I know he has ^ood principles and a good 
 disposition) ihese events will, both of ihi-m, give me continual pleasure." — [Sparks' 
 Franklin, VII. p. 212] There can be but little doubt that the feeling manifested on 
 the appointment of Governor Franklin was owing principally to 1L0 illegitimacy of his 
 birth. 
 
 * New York Gazette. 
 
 1 The usual addresses were presented. Those particularly noticed were from the 
 Corporations of New UmiHwick and Penh Amboy — the President and Trustees of the 
 College, and a deputation of Presbyterian Ministers. Tin- ( Ju\ trnor, of course, 'would 
 omit no opportunity of promoting 1Mb general interests of religion or of countenancing 
 those of the particular profession of the gentlemen' — or, at least, said ho. The Cor- 
 poration of Elizabethtowo gave a public entertainment to him und his lady at the 
 Point, in June. — Sparks' Franklin, VII. 251. 
 
his departure. Neither the address nor the Governor's reply state why 
 he left Burlington. 
 
 Almost immediately after his entrance upon his duties in New Jer- 
 sey, the vexatious measures of the British ministry began to excite 
 throughout the Colonies that abhorrence which eventually led to their 
 separation from the mother country ; and Governor Franklin — 
 although favorably disposed towards the Colonies so long as no 
 direct opposition to the authority of Parliament was manifested — 
 advocated and enforced the views of the ministry with a devotion and. 
 energy worthy a better cause. 
 
 It is well known that Dr. Franklin, however strongly impressed he 
 may have been with the incorrectness of the doctrines advanced by 
 the British Parliament in relation to the Colonies, was far from advo- 
 cating immediate independence. In his views he was not singular. 
 There were few, if any, prior to 1775 who regarded such a remedy 
 as necessary ; and Franklin presumed that the yearly increasing im- 
 portance of America to the various mercantile and manufacturing 
 interests of Great Britain would at last work out for her that relief 
 which was so earnestly desired. But, when convinced that nothing 
 was to be hoped for from the delay, he became an ardent and uncom- 
 promising supporter of the Colonial cause. 
 
 Under date of October 6th, 1773, he thus states his own position 
 and that of his sons' Referring to some letters of his which Gov- 
 ernor Hutchinson of Massachusetts had represented to be advsiatory 
 of immediate independence, he says : " I shall be able at any time to 
 justify every thing I have written, the purport being uniformly this, 
 that they should carefully avoid all tumults and every violent measure 
 and content themselves with verbally keeping up their claim, and 
 holding forth their rights whenever occasion requires. * * * * 
 From a long and thorough consideration of the subject I am indeed 
 of opinion that the Parliament has no right to make any law whatever 
 binding on the Colonies. That the King, and not the King, Lords 
 and Commons collectively, is their sovereign ; and that tho King, 
 with their respective parliaments, is their only legislator. I know 
 your sentiments [he was writing to the Governor] differ from mine on 
 these subjects. You are a thorough government man, which I do not 
 wonder at, nor do I aim at converting you, I only wish you to act 
 uprightly and steadily, avoiding that deplicity which in Hutchinson, 
 adds contempt to indignation. If you can promote the prosperity of 
 your people, and leave them happier than you found them, whatever 
 your political principles are, your memory will be honored." 
 
Upon this letter the Doctor's grandson bases a refutation of the belief 
 generally entertained that he endeavored to persuade the Governor to 
 withdraw from the royal cause ;* but an aged gentleman, who knew 
 the facts, assured me some years since, that, when confirmed in his 
 own course, and after his return to America in 1775, the Doctor visited 
 his son at Perth Amboy, and strove zealously to draw him over to the 
 side of the colonies ; — that their conversations were sometimes attended 
 with exhibitions of warmth not very favorable to continued harmonious 
 intercourse, but each failed to convince the other of the impropriety of 
 the course he was pursuing; and it is not probable the Doctor would 
 have expressed his displeasure subsequently in such decided terms had 
 not the Governor slighted his council. His son certainly followed his 
 advice in " avoiding duplicity," for he did not hesitate to give manifest 
 tokens of his determination to rise or fall with the royal cause. 
 
 One cannot help contrasting this visit of Doctor Franklin to Amboy 
 and its attending circumstances with the one he had made half a century 
 before. Then, a poor and unknown lad, seeking a place where he taight 
 earn his daily bread by laborious exertion, he had passed within the 
 limits of the ancient city a night of feverishness and unrest, after a dav 
 of abstinence and exposure ; and left it to prosecute on foot his journey 
 of fifty miles to Burlington— drenched in rain and subjected to injurious 
 suspicions-! Now, the man of science and the statesman, whose fame 
 had extended to both hemispheres, came from a sojourn in foreign lands 
 and from intercourse with the wise and great of the earth, to confer with 
 his son — become a representative of royal t} T — in the very place from 
 which he had made so miserable an exit. 
 
 Although the conspicuous part performed in the revolutionary drama 
 by Governor Franklin constitutes the most important feature of his 
 administration, yet he was too long in the executive chair not to contract 
 a greater attachmentto the Province than his Hitting predecessors had 
 done, and to become acquainted with the wants and aware of ihe evils 
 under which its population labored. He appears in consequence to 
 have exerted himself in a laudable manner to promote its prosperitv. — 
 At different times he brought to the notice of the Assembly, and 
 encouraged legislation relating to, the improvement of roads, the foster- 
 ing of agriculture; !>v the bestowment of bounties, the rj < ■lioratioii of die 
 laws prescribing imprisonment lor debt ; and, it is thought, proved 1 
 himself an active and ellicient Governor, although in other respects 
 
 ♦ Lite of Franklin, Vol. 1. p. 910. 
 I Franklin'* Writings Vol. 1. S31. 
 
than in approving the course of the British Ministry he failed to seeuro 
 the approbation of the people ; yet Lis known adherence to piinciples 
 which were deemed inimical to popular lights was probably the foun- 
 dation of most, if not all, the opposition shown to him. 
 
 It would however trench too much upon the province of history to 
 narrate here the circumstances which called forth this opposition; it 
 will suffice to remark, as illustrative of the character of the man apart 
 from his public station — the principal aim of this sketch — that at these 
 pe.iods Governor Franklin while he evinced a determination to persevere 
 in the course dictated by his sense of duty, does not seem to have acted 
 in a way to attach any discredit to himself, other than that which 
 accrues to the politician from acting contrary to the views of his oppo- 
 nents. At times, indeed, he sacrificed his own official popularity to the 
 claims of personal friendship, and when assured of the correctness of 
 hisopiui »ns, allowed no apprehensions of personal safety or of prejudice 
 to his interests to interfere with their adaptation in practice to the pro- 
 motion of the public welfare as understood by him. 
 
 During the entire period from the passage of the Stamp Act in 1763, 
 until the receipt of Lord North's Declaratory project, the Governor, 
 so far as his communications have come under my notice, observed a 
 commendable prudence in his' i itercourse with the representatives 
 of the people and with the people themselves; saying nothing winch, * 
 conside.ing his relations to the Crown, they coulJ not excuse or" 
 extenuate ; and we find consequently that a due degree of respect 
 continued to be shown to him and his autho.ify. Even at as late a 
 period as February 1775, the representatives of the peo; le were warm 
 in their expression of attachment to the government of Great Britain. 
 " We do solemnly, and with great truth assure your Majesty, that we 
 have no thoughts injurious to the allegiance which, as subjects, we owe 
 to you as our sovereign; that we abhor the idea of setting ourselves 
 up in a state of independency, and that we know of no such design in 
 others." — And again in November of that year the Assembly passed 
 resolutions adverse to independence and di recti ig the delegates of the 
 Province in t!i3 Continent d Congress to oppose any proportion of the 
 kind. But they were called to act upon the measure proposed by Lord 
 North, at a time when they had too recently seen the blood of friends 
 and countrymen shed at Lexington, for them to regard it with the for- 
 bearance they had previously exhibited, and from this point the inter- 
 course with the Governor became less cordial. 
 19 
 
10 
 
 It was at this period that dissension also for the first time appears to 
 have entered the Council. Previ >usly, so far as the sentiments of the 
 mrmSers of that l»oiv have become public, they had, in the (nam, 
 coinci led with the Governor i 1 bis views. But i.i September of this 
 year he felt called upon to suspend Lord Sti ling, who was one of the 
 mi'ailn'rs, i.i consequence of his acceptance of a military commisiton 
 under the Provi ici il Congress, an I shortly after, the counnuuie-atioas 
 which passed between the Council ami the Governor began to eviaee in 
 no small degree the growi ig estrangement which soon put an end to all 
 harmonious action and lefl the Governor, unsupported, to stem the 
 adverse tide of popular prejudice. Wi iting about this pei iod to the Earl 
 of Dartmouth the Governor feelingly remarks, " My situation is indeed 
 somewhat particular and not a Little difficult, having no more than ono 
 or two among the piiucipal officersofgi vernment, to whom I, even now, 
 speak confidentially on public affairs.'* 
 
 The despatch containing this passage was intercepted on the Gth 
 ofJanna v, L 776, by Lord Sti ling, and Led to the adoption of measures 
 by that officer to prevent the escape of Governor Franklin, although 
 there is no evidence that he had formed any such iitention. lie had 
 declared to the Assembly that, unless compelled by violence, lie should 
 not, leave the Province, and he stated in a latter addressed to the officer 
 haying command of the guard placed at Lis gate that ' such an assur- 
 ance on his part was ceitai .lv equal t*> any promise lie could make.' 
 . At the solicitation of the t Ihief Justi :e of the P:ovi ire, however he was 
 (fcijjojed i > give his parole; an I for some months continued, amid all 
 the excitement and i.icre.i u: dLhVdltias ►f.t'.w ti u ■, to pycupy hi3 
 house i.i Amboy, and to exercise nominally the duties of his station^ 
 But having issued a proclamation convening the Assembly oh t!ie "Jiltli 
 of June — havj ig received despatches from the Ministry which be was 
 nn.\i »us to lav before them — the Provincial Convention or Congress 00 
 the 1 Ith of. lune pronounced the proceedings a direel contempt of-the 
 order of the Conti n-iii.il Cong ess w hieh abrog ited all foreign juiisdic- 
 ti.,11, and, in a series of resolutions which they adopted, expressed an 
 oj i don thai the proclamation ought not t<> be obeyed, and that there- 
 alter no payments should be made to Gov. L\, on account of salary; 
 and three days thereafter he was arrested at Amboy by a detachment of 
 miiiiia under Colonel (afterward General) Heard, of VVoodbiidge, 
 
 * I'tiin-fiiiii 11 -\ iew . Jn'y I847< 
 
 t DuerV Life oi I or i G irliag, pp. 119, 1-1. Forca'a Doc. IIi»i. U.S.— Vol. IV. 
 Princeton Reviev, July 1847. 
 
11 
 
 accompanied by Major Dcare of Amboy, whose authority for so doing 
 
 tvas as follows : 
 
 "To Colonel Nathaniel IIi-atio — 
 
 The Pioviricial Congress of New Jersey reposing great confidence 
 in your zeal and prudence, have thought fit to entrust to your care the 
 execution of the enclosed Resolves. It is the desire of Congress that 
 this necessary business be conducted with all the delicacy and ten- 
 derness which the nature of the service can possibly admit of. 
 
 For this end, you will find among the papers the form of a written 
 parole, in which there is left a blank space for you to fill up, at the 
 house of Mr. Franklin, with the name of Piinceton, BordentoWn or his 
 own farm at RanCOCUS. When he shall have Mined the parole, the 
 Congress will rely upon his honor lor the faithful performance of Lis 
 engagements ; bat should he refuse to sign it, you are desired to put 
 him under strong guard, and keep him in close custody until farther 
 orders. Whatever expense may be necessary will be cheerfully de- 
 frayed by the Congress. We refer to your discretion what means to 
 use for that purpose, and you have full power and authoiity to take to 
 3*our aid whatever force you may require." 
 " By order of Congress, 
 
 SAMUEL TUCKER, President. 
 
 "In Provincial Congress, New Jersey, Burlington, June 15th, 177G." 
 
 Governor Franklin indignantly refused to fign the parole, and ho 
 was therefore [laced under guard. A repo;t of their proceedings 
 being made by the Provincial Convention to the Continental Congress, 
 that body on the lfith June passed tire following resolution — 
 
 " A letter bom the Convention of New Jersey of the 18th, enclo- 
 sing sundry papers, together with their proceedings in apprehending 
 William Franklin, Esq., Governor of that Colony, was laid before 
 Congress. Whereupon Resolved thai it be lecommended to the Con- 
 vention of New Jersey to proceed on the examination of Mr. Franklin, 
 and if, upon such examination, they shall be of oj Lion that he should 
 be confined, to repoit such oj iirion to Congress, and then the Congress 
 will direct the | lace of his confinement : they concurring in sentiment 
 with ihe Convention of New Jersey that it would be improper to con- 
 fine him i:i that Colony." 
 
 A guard of sixty men had remained around the GoVerhor's residence 
 until commui.i -ati >:i could he had with the Convention. That body 
 ordered him to he taken to Builington, where, on the receipt of the 
 above resolution, he was examined touching such points of his con- 
 
12 
 
 duct as were deemed prejudicial to the interests of America. His 
 royalty, firmness and self-possession remained unshaken under the 
 ordeal. Conceiving that the Convention had usurped the authority it 
 exercised, he denied the light of that body to interrogate him, and 
 refused to answer any questions propounded. He was therefore de- 
 clared an enemy to the country, and Lieut. Col. Bowes Reed was 
 directed to keep him safely guarded until the pleasure of the Conti- 
 nental Congress should be known. 
 
 As has been stated, the arrest of Governor Franklin was based 
 upon an alleged infraction or implied contempt of the resolution of 
 the Continental Congress adopted 15th May preceding ; but it is 
 probable the proclamation referred to was only adopted as an avail- 
 ble excuse for doing what had doubtless been for some time deter- 
 mined on. 
 
 It has been advanced as a reason for the interference at that precise 
 time, that the object of the Governor was to create confusion in the 
 administration of the public affairs by arraxing the Assembly against 
 the Convention. But it must be remembered that for more than a 
 year, during which these two bodies had existed, there had been no 
 conflicting action between them. More than one third of the mem- 
 bers of the Convention in 1775 were also members of the Assembly, 
 and there were many others of the latter body equally as well affected 
 to the colonial cause ; and although in the Convention of 177G, the 
 number of the members of the Assembly in the Convention was re- 
 duced to seven, yet the political character of the Assembly remained 
 unchanged, and I have failed to discover any documents that indicate 
 a probability that the Governor could have moulded that body to any 
 sinister views he may have entertained. 
 
 The Governor, however, in a long communication addressed to the 
 Council and Assembly, which was written on the day of his arrest, 
 reviews the plea of his opponents in the following warm and emphatic 
 language. — 
 
 • * * * " The fact alledged is false, and must appear glaringly so 
 to every man who has read the resolve alluded to, and is capable of 
 understanding it. The Continental Congress, after a preamble de- 
 claring their opinion "that the exercise of every kind of authoiity 
 under the Crown should l>e totally suppressed," do then resolve that it 
 be recommended to the respective Assemblies and Conventions of the 
 united Colonies tcfiere no governments sufficient to the exigencies oj 
 their ajjaxrs have been hithcr.'o established, to adopt such government 
 
as shall, in the opinion of the representatives of the people best con- 
 duce to the happiness and safety of their constituents in particular, 
 and America in general." How any persons can construe and rep- 
 resent my calling a meeting of the Assembly at the very time when 
 such an important matter was recommended l>\ the Continental ('in- 
 gress to the consideration of the Representatives of the people, to he 
 a " direct contempt and violation " of the above Resolve, is difficult 
 to conceive, supposing them possessed of common sense and common 
 honesty. The Assembly of Pennsylvania have met since that resolve, 
 and I believe are still .sitting, under an authoiity derived from the 
 Crown. They, no doubt, have had the resolve under their considera- 
 tion, nor can any good reason be given why the Assembly of New 
 Jersey should not likewise be permitted the opportunity of giving tin ir 
 sentiments (if they should think it necessary or expedient) on a matter 
 of such infinite importance to them and their constituents. If when 
 you met, you had thought it proper to adopt or comply with the 
 resolve, either in whole or in part, it is well known that I could not 
 have prevented it, whatever my inclination might have been. In other 
 colonies where a change of government has been made, one of the 
 reasons assigned in excuse for such measure has been, that the Gov- 
 ernor has either abdicated his government, appeared in arms against 
 the people, or neglected to call a meeting of their representatives. 
 But I do not recollect an instance where neither of these circumstances 
 existed, and government could be canied on in the usual way, in such 
 essential points as meetings of the Legislature, passing of Laws and 
 holding Couitsof Justice, that any mateiial alteration has been made 
 in such government by a convention ; nor that any convention has 
 before presumed to attempt a business of that impoitance where an 
 assembly existed and were not hindered from meeting. Most probably 
 had I not called the Assembly I should have been much blamed by 
 those very men for the emission (especially as matters of such conse- 
 quence were hi agitation) and accused of not exercising the preroga- 
 tive vested in me for the good of the people, as I ought to have done. 
 But however that may be, sure I am, that i^is the evident meaning of 
 the resolve of the Continental Congress that when assemblies can 
 meet they are to consider the propriety of the measure recommended, 
 and not Conventions. 
 
 ******* 
 
 In a postscript, added after his arrival at Burlington, June 22d, 177G, 
 he foi tifies his position with fuither references to the course of the 
 Delaware Assembly and Maryland Convention. He says : 
 
14 
 
 " Since writing the above, I have seen a Pennsylvania newspaper 
 of Jane 10th, in which it appears that Mr. McKean laid before the 
 Assembly of the three lower counties a certified copy of the resolu- 
 tion of Congress of the 15th May last, which being taken in conside- 
 ration by that house on the loth instant, the}' resolved, among other 
 tilings, that " the represent! ices of the people in this Assumhly met, 
 alonk can and ought at this time to establish such temporary 
 authoiity — meaning the authority they had before determined to be 
 expedient in the present exigency of affairs — ''until a new government 
 can be formed." This Assembly met, as well as that of Pennsylvania, 
 under an authority derived from the Crown, and so far from consider- 
 ing such a meeting as a contempt or violation of the resolve of the 
 Continental Congress, they resolved they were the only proper persons 
 to take that resolve into consideration, and to establish .such authority 
 as was deemed adequate to the occasion, The Assembly of New 
 Jersey might certainly with equal propriety have done the same, had 
 they been allowed to meet. 
 
 " It likewise appears by the newspapers that the Governor of Mary- 
 land on the 12th instant, had "issued a proclamation for dissolving the 
 General Assembly of that Province, and to order writs of election to 
 be issued to call a new Assembly retainable the 25th day of July next." 
 Put there is not the least surmise that the Provincial Convention of 
 that Province have taken any offence at such proclamation, or so 
 much as pretended to think the Governor had thereby acted in direct 
 contempt and violation of the resolve of the Continental Congress, 
 and was therefore such an enemy to the liberties of this country as 
 that he ought to be tried and imprisoned. Vet the Maryland Conven- 
 tion have shewn as much spirit and regard for the liberties of America 
 as any body of men on the continent. But they, it Beems, are for 
 peace, reconciliation and union with Great Britain on constitutional 
 terms, and have too much sense and virtue to declare a Governor an 
 enemy to the liberties of this country merely because he is an enemy 
 to the liberties which such designing men are disposed to take with 
 the old constitutional government." 
 
 The Governor commented also at considerable length upon what 
 he was pleased to term the evils of "independent republican tyranny*' 
 which he considered impending over the province, as well as upon the 
 injustice with which he had personally been treated. For whatever 
 of an offensive character this communication may contain, due allow- 
 ance can now be made. To one of his impetuous disposition and 
 
15 
 
 high ideas of prerogative, it must have been exceedingly galling to bo 
 | laced thus at the mercy of a self-constituted tribunal disposed to 
 exercise the authority it had assumed without regard to any other 
 power or jurisdiction whatever. May we not sympathize with the 
 man, and regret the necessity which called for the rigor manifested 
 towards him, without weakening our abhorrence of the principles 
 which as an officer of the crown he felt bound to support ! He had 
 discrimination enough to perceive that the "independency" which the 
 peoples' representatives had not hesitated so recently to deny to be 
 the end and aim of their struggle with the mother country, was, in 
 fact, the point to which they were fast tending ; had it been less ap- 
 parent to his mind his course would probably have been more in conso- 
 nance with the popular will, for so far as his opinions are known upon 
 the matters of difference between the colonies and the parliament, they 
 appear to have been such as to exonerate him — as he asserts in the 
 communication just noticed — from any imputation of cherishing a dis- 
 position inimical to the interests of America ; entertaining the convic- 
 tion that by negotiation all the desired relief and redress could be 
 secured. Doubtless the rapid development of the independent move- 
 ment hastened his seizure.* 
 
 The following extracts from the proceedings of the Continental 
 Congress, mark the course of that body towards the Governor: 
 
 "Monday, June 24th, 1776 — A letter of the 21st from the Con- 
 vention of New Jersey was laid before Congress and read, together 
 with sundry papers enclosed therein, containing the questions proposed 
 to William Franklin. Esq., — an account of his behavior on the occa- 
 
 * On the 22c) June ihe Cnvernnr addressed a second letter to the Council ami As- 
 sembly narrating the treatment reiei\ed from Ms escort on his way to Burlington, and 
 the circumstances connected with his examination Kr<>m his account of the tran-ac- 
 tinns it would seem that unneces-aiy strictness was observed in excluding him from 
 the society of friends, and in the restraints placed upon his personal movements. He 
 concludes the letter thus—" Why ihey could not. if th-y were determined to usurp ihe 
 powers of government, softer m" to remain <|iiieily at my own home, as they do other 
 Crown officer* in the province, I have not heard They well know I have not either 
 levied or attempted to levy any troops nguinst them, that I could not, had I been so 
 inclined, have given any hindrance to their measures, and that I might hate been of 
 service mthe country in ca«e of a negotiation taking place. 1 can account for this con- 
 duct no otherwise than ihat they mean to (.hew, hy tearing one in my station fr m his 
 wife, and lamily, how all-sufficient tlieir present power is, and thereby to intimidate 
 every man in the province from giving any opposition to their iniquitous course. But 
 be the event what it may, I have, thank Cod. sp.rit enough to face the dancer. Fro 
 /lege and Palna was the motto I assumed when I first commenced my political life, 
 and I am resolved to retain it till death shall put an end to my mortal existence." 
 
1G 
 
 sion, and the resolution of the Convention, "declaring him a virulent 
 enemv to thi3 country, and a person that may prove dangerous, and 
 that the said William Franklin be confined in such place and manner 
 as the Continental Congress shall direct." Whereupon 
 
 Resolved, That William Franklin be sent under guard to Governor 
 Trumbull; who is desired to admit him to his parole; bat, if Mr. 
 Franklin refuse to give his parole, that Governor Trumbull be desired 
 to treat him agreeably to the resolutions of Congress respecting pri- 
 soners." 
 
 Governor Trumbull accepting the charge, he was taken to Con- 
 necticut forthwith, and quartered in the house of Capt. Ebenezer 
 Grant at East Windsor; his lady being left in the city of New York. 
 
 On the 23d November Congress " Resolved that General Washing- 
 ton be directed to propose to General Howe an exchange of Wm. 
 Franklin, Esq., late Governor of .New Jersey for Brig. Gen. Thomp- 
 son ;" but on the 3d December, he was requested to suspend the 
 execution of the order, should the negotiation with General Howe 
 not have been commenced ; and no farther mention of Governor 
 Franklin is made until Tuesday, Apiil22d, 17/7 ; it was then 
 
 "Resolved, That Governor Trumbull he informed that Congress has 
 received undoubted information that William Franklin, late Governor 
 of the State of New Jersey, and now a prisoner in Connecticut, lias 
 since his removal to that State sedulously employed himself in disper- 
 sing among the inhabitants the protections of Lord Howe and General 
 Howe, stiled the King's Commissioners for granting pardons, and 
 otherwise aided and abetted the enemies of the United States; and 
 that he be requested forthwith to order the said William Franklin, 
 Esq., into close confinement, prohibiting to him the use of pen, ink, 
 and paper, or the access of any person <>r persons but such as arc 
 properly licensed for that purpose by Governor Trumbull." 
 
 Lord Howe had specially invoked the aid of all the governors who 
 had been expelled from their provinces, in spreading his " protections" 
 among the people; and the foregoing resolution i- indicative of the 
 zeal with which Governor Franklin had obeyed the behest. It is 
 probable that he remembered, among others, his neighbors at Araboy, 
 one of the first of these documents that fell into the hands of General 
 Washington baring been directed to the inhabitants of that \ lace.* 
 
 • Buita I , p 36. 
 
n 
 
 On the 22d July following tho order of Congress for his close con- 
 finement, Governor Franklin applied to General Washington for a 
 release on parole. His letter the General forwarded to Congress, 
 accompanied by one from himself, which seems to convey a desire on 
 his part that the request might be granted on account of the low state 
 of Mrs. Franklin's health, which had sunk under the anxieties and 
 sufferings which the state of the country and separation from her 
 husband had entailed upon her. Congress however refused to grant 
 the favor solicited ; assigning as a reason that the intercepted letters 
 of Governor Franklin had been such as to make it evident it would 
 be inconsistent with the safety of the States to allow him any liberty 
 whatever that would afford him opportunities for conferring with tho 
 enemy.* 
 
 Husband and wife consequently met no more in life. Mrs. Frank- 
 lin died on the 28th of July, 1778, and the next evening, attended by 
 a number of the most respectable inhabitants of the city, her remains 
 were deposited within the chancel of St. Paul's Church. Her obit- 
 uary notice in the Mercury of August 4th, proclaims her " a loving 
 wife, an indulgent mistress, a steady friend, and affable to all" — char- 
 acteristics which, from all that has come down to us, would seem by 
 no means to embrace all of her estimable qualities. Ten years sub- 
 sequently the Governor caused a tablet to be erected to her memory, 
 which still occupies a place in the wall of the church, bearing the 
 following inscription beneath the Franklin arms : 
 
 " Beneath the altar of this Church are deposited the remains of 
 
 Mrs. Elizabeth Franklin, wife of His Excellency, 
 
 William Franklin, Esq., late Governor under 
 
 His Britannic Majesty, of the Province of New Jersey. 
 
 Compelled by the adverse circumstances of the times to part 
 
 from the husband she loved, and at length 
 
 deprived of the soothing hope of his speedy return, she sank under 
 
 accumulated distresses, and departed this life on the 
 
 28th day of July, 1778, in the 49th year of her age. 
 
 Sincerity and Sensibility, 
 
 Politeness and Affability, 
 
 Godliness and Charity, 
 
 were 
 
 with Sense refined and Person elegant, in her united. 
 
 * Wn»hington'i Writing*, vol. V., pp. 67. 
 20 
 
18 
 
 From «a grateful remembrance of her affectionate tenderness and 
 constant performance of all the duties of a Goon Wife, 
 
 This monument is erected, in the year 1789, 
 Bv him who knew her worth, and still laments her loss." 
 
 The firmness, energy, and indomitable perseverance with which 
 Governor Franklin, under all circumstances, held fast to his royaltv, 
 were calculated to make his imprisonment longer than would other- 
 wise have been the case, and we find Congress on the 20th August, 
 1778, by a deliberate vote, determining that it was inconsistent with 
 the interests of the United .States to consent to his exchange.* This 
 was in consequence of an application from J. McKinley, Esq., late 
 President of Delaware, to be exchanged for him, presented to Con- 
 gress ten days previous. Mr. McKinley renewed his application on 
 the 14th September, and alter several amendments had been offered 
 and rejected — one of them being a proposition to substitute Brig. 
 Gen. Thompson for Mr. McKinley — the exchange was agreed to, and 
 Governor Frankin returned to New York November 1st., 1778, 
 having been a prisoner two years and four months. 
 
 Governor Franklin remained in New York for nearly four years, 
 the companion of Rivington and other noted adherents of the royal 
 cause, and was at one time — how long is not known — the President 
 of the Associate Board of Royalists ; in that capacity authorizing or 
 sanctioning, it is said, much cruelty and oppression towards the. 
 Americans who were prisoners, but no specific acts have come to my 
 knowledge, affording grounds either for doubting or believing the 
 charge. This Board, it is thought, originated principally with another 
 Jerseyman, Daniel Coxe, who was one of Gov. Franklin's Council. 
 It consisted of deputies selected from the refugees of the different 
 colonies, and was first organized in 1770. Its objects were the exam- 
 ination of captured Americans, or suspected persons, and the planning 
 of measures for procuring intelligence, or otherwise aiding the royal 
 cause. Coxe was the first President, and was appointed to the chair, 
 o one of his fellow refugees has stated — "to deprive him of the 
 
 * The question was on granting consent to the exchange, and, an was usual, wti 
 taken hy the Slates, and l<>-t by a lie vote, as follows : 
 
 Ayes. N. H ; K I. ; Conn. ; N. V., Md.; Va. ; . . . . G 
 
 Nite$. >.('.; s. (' 2 
 
 Divided .Macs ; N. J.; fVnn. ; Geo. . . 4 
 
 - 6 
 
 The \oies of the individual member! ^ere&yes \0 ; noes 10. 
 
19 
 
 opportunity of speaking, as he had the gift* of saving little with many 
 words.'"'* 
 
 Governor Franklin finally sailed for England in August, 1782. 
 In consideration of the losses he had been subjected to, £1800 
 were granted him by the English Government, and lie was allowed in 
 addition a pension of £800 per annum; placing him, so far as his 
 annual income was affected, in a better condition probably than he 
 would have enjoyed had he remained in his government, although a 
 cotemporary writer states that both indemnity and pension were con- 
 sidered inadequate to remunerate him for all he had sacrificed.f 
 After leaving America he married again ; the lady being a native of 
 Ireland. He died November 17, 1813, aged 82. 
 
 Benjamin West, in his picture representing the " Reception of the 
 American Loyalists by Great Britain, in the year 1783," introduces 
 him as one of the prominent personages at the head of the group of 
 figures; and in the description of the picture he is mentioned as 
 having " preserved his fidelity and loyalty to his sovereign from the 
 commencement to the conclusion of the contest, notwithstanding 
 powerful incitements to the contrary."! 
 
 During the whole of the revolutionary struggle, there was no in- 
 tercourse between Dr. Franklin and his son ; and the mutual estrange- 
 ment continued, in a great degree, even after the cause was removed 
 by the restoration of peace and the acknowledgement of the inde- 
 pendence of America. The first advances towards a reconciliation 
 appear to have been made by the Governor, in a letter dated July 22d, 
 1784; which the Doctor answered from Passy on 16th August fol- 
 lowing. In his letter he says : " Nothing has ever hurt me so much, 
 and affected me with such keen sensations, as to find myself deserted 
 in my old age by my onby son, and not only deserted, but to find him 
 taking up arms against me in a cause wherein my good fame, fortune, 
 and life were all at stake." He intimates to him that neutrality at 
 least should have been observed on his part, but, as he desired it, is 
 willing to forget the past as much as possible. 
 
 The treatment of his son, however, ever continued to afflict him. 
 In a letter written on January 1st, 1788, to the Rev. Dr. Byles, of 
 Boston, he thus feelingly alludes to it, after adverting to the comfort 
 
 • Sabine'* Loyalists, 232. 
 
 t Public characters of Great Britain. Commission on Claims of Amer, Loyalists. 
 
 t Sabine's Loyalists. 
 
20 
 
 derived from the presence, of his daughter : " My son is estranged 
 from me by the part he took in the late war, and keeps aloof, residing 
 in England, whose cause he espoused, whereby the old proverb is ex- 
 emplified : 
 
 • My won is ray son till he pets him a wife, 
 Cut my daughter is ray daughter all the day» of her life-' " 
 
 In his will he left the Governor his Nova Scotia lands with such 
 books and papers as were in his possession, and released him from 
 the payment of all debts that his executors might find to be due from 
 him. The devise to him concluding with : " The part he acted 
 against me in the late war, which is of public notoriety, will account 
 for my leaving him no more of an estate he endeavored to deprive 
 me of."* 
 
 This estrangement of Doctor Franklin from his son is an instance 
 of the inevitable separation of families and friends which is one 
 among the many evils ever attendant on a civil war. Various as are 
 the characters, dispositions, tastes and habits of mankind, it can 
 never be reasonably anticipated that in those conflicts of opinion 
 which precede the disruption of empires or communities, the ties of 
 consanguinity or association are to prove sufficient for every emer- 
 gency and withstand the corroding influence of selfishness, prejudice 
 or error. 
 
 In the war to which we owe our independence a* a nation this evil 
 hi every degree of magnitude was painfully manifested; and probably 
 not ono of the colonic , in proportion to its population and extent, 
 suffered more from it than New Jersey. Having less of foreign com- 
 merce and of inland traffic than many of her sister colonies in which 
 In employ the industry ami enterprise of her youth, numbers of the 
 higher classes were accustomed to look for preferment in the admin- 
 istration of the Provincial Government, or to seek for honor and profit 
 in the naval and military service of the mother country ; and many 
 were sent to England by anxious parents to secure those advantages 
 of education which were not afforded by the literary institutions of 
 America. These circumstances necessarily involved associations 
 which led in many instances to marriages into families abroad, or into 
 such as were temporarily located in the province, while the introduc- 
 tion of the royal regiments, which took place some years before the 
 Revolution, caused similar unions between their officers and the 
 daughters of New Jersey. 
 
 * Pranklin'i Wrilinf*, I. n>. *'M. ; X, pp,ltl,3M, 
 
21 
 
 Independent, therefore, of all pecuniary or other interested reasons 
 for hesitation, hoth young and old among the inhabitants of the Pro- 
 vince became thus, in various ways, involved in the important and sol- 
 emn enquiry how to reconcile their love of country or allegiance to their 
 king with considerations of personal or domestic happiness. Happy 
 were they whose situation admitted of a decision which did not jeop- 
 ardize either : but this in a large number of instances was impossible. 
 Mothers were doomed to see their children at open variance upon 
 whose heads their blessings had with equal fondness descended. 
 Fathers found themselves arrayed in opposition to their sons, and that 
 too, in a contest in which the lives of one and all were at stake. Wives 
 beheld in agony their husbands armed with weapons that were to be 
 used against their friends and countrymen, or perchance against their 
 own brethren ; and friends, between whom no personal dissension had 
 ever existed, ranged themselves under different banners to seal with 
 their blood their adherence to political principles which were made to 
 engulph every tender emotion of their hearts. 
 
 These are no random assertions. Family histories would bring to 
 light many cases of this painful characteristic of our revolutionary 
 struggle, and the case of Governor Franklin is but one of many that 
 are similar. 
 
 Governoi Franklin's love of books in early life, at a later period, 
 naturally led him to collect them, and before the revolution he had 
 amassed a large library, which, on his leaving Amboy, was packed in 
 cases and deposited by Mrs. Franklin within the British lines. The 
 warehouse in which they were placed happened to contain a quantity 
 of military stores that were subsequently burned, and the books 
 shared the same fate.* His writings that are met with, although they 
 exhibit no particular superiority of mind or elegance of composition — 
 and are, perhaps, less remarkable than we might expect from the ad- 
 vantages of education and association he had enjoyed — yet give 
 evidence of literary attainments which compare favorably with those 
 of most of the prominent men of that da}' in the colonies. He was 
 of a cheerful, facetious disposition ; could narrate well entertaining 
 stories to please his friends ; was engaging in his manners, and pos- 
 sessed good conversational powers. He lived in the recollection of 
 those who saw him in New Jersey, as a man of strong passions, fond 
 of convivial pleasures, well versed in the ways of the world, and, at 
 one period of his life not a stranger to the gallantries which so fre- 
 
 * PuMic Character*, IV. 
 
22 
 
 quently marred the character of the men of that age. He was above 
 the common size, remarkably handsome, strong and athletic, though 
 subject to gout toward the close of his life. 
 
 He had only one child, William Temple Franklin, who resided in 
 France, became the biographer of his grandfather, and died at Paris, 
 May 25th, 1823. 
 
 Such, imperfectly sketched, was the career of the last of our colo- 
 nial governors. More of interest might have been imparted to the 
 narrative, had it been prepared with reference to its being read before 
 the Society ; but the materials for a full and satisfactory biographv 
 of William Franklin are yet wanting. It is much to be regretted that 
 his papers, which were carried to France by his son, cannot be re- 
 gained. 
 
 It is remarkable how imperfectly known are all those who, during 
 the provincial existence of New Jersey, wielded the chief executive 
 authority. Of a few, from their ruling over New York and other 
 colonies, some information may be gleaned, but of them as (''overnor.s 
 of New Jersey we have very little that can be relied upon respecting 
 their characters, habits, attainments or adventures. Doubts rest even 
 upon the identity of some of them, and Governor Franklin himself 
 is frequently confounded with his son William Temple Franklin. 
 With the brevity almost of the Scripture annunciation — " So Tibni 
 died and Omri reigned," our historians Smith and Gordon present and 
 withdraw their local potentates like the passing figures of a magic 
 lantern, leaving it to the imagination in many cases to determine 
 whence they came or whither went, and enveloping in dim uncertainty 
 the brief exhibition afforded of their respective careers. 
 
 As members of this Society, therefore, no slight responsibility rests 
 upon us. We owe it to the state — to the whole country — to search 
 out "the hidden things of old" — to rescue from the merciless tooth of 
 time and the obliterating mould of neglect the forgotten annals of 
 New Jersey. All may be assured, that the task, however attended it 
 may be with toil and discouragement, is not without its pleasures, and 
 biographical researches, particularly, will be found full of interest and 
 usefulness. 
 
 " A kingdom is a nest of families," and the constituent parts of the 
 history of every community are the acts of the individuals who com- 
 pose it. In that fact lies the value — the charm — of all private histo- 
 ry : — not only the private history of public men, but also of those 
 whom their fellowa may term humble individuals ; — for it is not al- 
 
23 
 
 ways in tlic power of cotemporaries to discern the bearing, or tho 
 historical value of many an event that occurs — of, so called, trifling 
 circumstances — 
 
 " But trifle, lighter than straws, are levers in the. building up of character" — 
 
 developing traits and qualities which make their possessor known and 
 felt in the community. The most prominent actors are not always 
 the best judges of the merit which attaches to their own performance, 
 and in the great drama of Life, as in the mimic representations of tho 
 stage, much may depend upon him who plays a humble part. Each 
 has his duties, — each must share the responsibility. 
 
 In one of the legislative halls at Washington is a Time-piece whose 
 device ever struck me as impressing forcibly upon all their obligations 
 to the age in which the} 7 live. In the car of Time, on the periphery 
 of whose wheels the hours are marked, stands the Muse of History, 
 recording in a book the events which transpire before her as the 
 wheels of her chariot tell the revolving hours: — by her attitude and 
 expression reminding the assembled representatives of the nation, that 
 the history of each passing moment receives from them its impress, is 
 stamped indelibly, by their proceedings, with characteristics which 
 must redound to the welfare or the dishonor, of the republic. 
 
 We may all, in our respective spheres, heed the lesson. As citizens 
 of the state — as portions of the several communities in which we re- 
 side — as members of this Society, let us ponder the responsibilities 
 and duties which rest upon us, and in proportion to our faithfulness 
 shall be our reward. 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
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