BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
Printer, Mason, Scientist, Diplomat, Philosopher
Inaugural paper by the Master
W.Bro P.J. Smith
October 25, 1984
Reprinted with approval from the
Preceding of United Masters Lodge No. 167 G.R.N.Z.
Lodge of Masonic Research, Auckldnd, New Zealdnd

Introduction

It is my opinion that there would be very few men who would have
contributed as much to mankind within their own lifetime as
Benjamin Franklin, and who even after nearly two hundred years
are still held in reverence that is quite remarkable.

To me Benjamin Franklin is a complete man.  Most of us would
judge ourselves to be successful if we could succeed in just one
field, but Benjamin Franklin succeeded in four.

He ran a successful business, he was successful as a government
administrator and diplomat, he added to the world's scientific
knowledge by his experiments and he achieved high rank as a
freemason.  His experiments show an intelligent man with a great
fund of knowledge. We also see a man who possessed humour, tact
and who must have been blessed with great determinations and
energy. But above all else there must have been, as part of that
great personality, self discipline.

I only hope that the account of his life that I am putting
forward for your considerdtion can be deemed to be numbered as a
worthy tribute to a fine and noble mason.

Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston on 17 January 1706.  His
father, Josiah Franklin, was descended from a family which had
lived for more than three hundred years at Ecton,
Northamptonshire and  which, in 1685, emigrated to New Engldnd in
search of religious freedom. Of a family of fifteen children
little is known, with the exception of Benjamin and his elder
brother, James.

Between the ages of eight and ten, young Benjamin attended the 
Boston Grammar School and that was all the fomal education he
received. However, his characteristic of self determination had
begun to emerge and he pursued an industrious course of self
education with the aid of such books his father possessed, and
what he was able to buy from his meagre earnings.

Franklin - The Businessman and Statesman and Scientist

At 10 years of age he was taken from school to work with his
father who was a tallow chandler and soap boiler, and he
continued in his unpleasant occupation for three years. 
Throughout this period, he made use of his spare time by
continuing his studies of arithmetic, geometry and particularly
Xenophon's Memorabilia, or "Recollections of Socrates". From
Socrates, he tells us, he "learned to drop his abrupt
contradiction and positive argumentation, and to put on the
humble inquirer and doubter" - a faculty which was later to stand
him in good stead for his future career which was now about to
unfold.

The end of the third year brought escape from soap boiling and
with it, activities infinitely more suited to Benjamin's
tendencies. His brother James had set up as a printer and
bookseller, and to him his younger brother became apprenticed. 
James was also the proprieter and editor of a newspaper The New
England Courant. Benjamin soon began to submit contributions,
anonymously at first, and later became a regular contributor,
supplying articles and ballads. His efforts as a poet did not
seem to please his father who dismissed his poems as "merely
wretched doggerel".  The young Benjamin was quite taken aback by
his severe criticism, and it may have been largely instrumental
in sowing the seeds of that humility which later became to other
one of his most endearing virtues.

The New England Courant, because of its somewhat outspoken
editorial policies, fell from favour with the authorities.  James
handed control of the newspaper to Benjamin who at the age of
seventeen became its publisher and editor. James eventually
returned and this marked a change in their relationship with each
other resulting in Benjamin leaving for New York.  Unable to
locate work there, he journeyed to Philadelphia obtaining
employment as a journeyman printer and in his own words "gaining
money by industry and frugality, living very agreeably,
forgetting Boston as much as he could".

In 1725 the governor of the province of Pennsylvania, impressed
by young Benjamin's skills, made an offer to assist him to set up
in business as a printer in the town. Relying upon the governor's
promise of an influential introduction and letters of credit,
Benjamin Franklin set sail for England to obtain the necessary
equipment. Alas, however, it soon transpired that his patron's
undertakings were worthless - apparently he had given similar
offers to others without any intention of fulfilment. However,
Franklin soon obtained employment in London, first at Palmer's
the famous printing house in Bartholemew's Close, and later in
Watt's near Lincoln's Inn Fields.

Perhaps it was this unhappy experience of placing too much
reliance upon the "integrity of his employers" which led him to
contemplate this.  "I now became convinced that truth, sincerity
and integrity between man and man were of utmost importance to
the felicity of life and I formed written resolution to practise
them while I lived".  It was in this fashion that his personal
philosophy of life was taking a masonic turn, and it was during
his stay in London that he became interested in the activities of
the Craft.


He remained in England for 18 months and then returned to
Philadelphia.  After a period of employment as a clerk he worked
for himself as a printer before commencing his own business in
1728 in partnership with another printer, named Meredith. Two
years later, he bought out his partner and became the sole owner
of the business.

The knowledge of Freemasonry he gained while in London must have
quickened the ambitious philosophic brain of the young printer
and whetted his desire to be numbered among the elect, an
ambition which could not be fulfilled as he was still under the
lawful masonic age, a tradesman, a virtual stranger in the
community, and as a soap boiler's son, he lacked both social and
financial standing.  He therefore put his knowledge to some use
by forming a secret society of his own called the "Leather Apron
Club" or the "Junto".  The club was modelled on lines which he
conceived to be those of Freemasonry.  Its aim was mutual
improvement, and it met weekly for essays and debates.  While its
requirements of sincerity and good citizenship were masonic in
principle, it seems to have differed fundamentally from the Craft
in that it did not "abstain from every topic of political
discussion".  The eventual outcome of the "Leather Apron Club"
was the formation in 1743 of the American Philosophical Society.

In 1729 he published and edited the Pennsylvania Gazette which
prospered under his leadership. He taught himself and became
fluent in many foreign languages.  His witty almanacs, brightly
written for a quarter of a century, averaged 10,000 copies
annudlly - an incredible achievement even by today's standards,
and these were produced 200 years ago, virtually by hand. Poor
Richard's Almanack would have been the best example of this kind
of work.

In 1730 he organized Philadelphia's first Fire Department, the
Union Fire Company. He was appointed Postmaster for the colony in
1737 and in 1749 with the assistance of twenty-three fellow
citizens founded an academy which later became the University of
Pennsylvania.

Benjamin Franklin continued to take the keenest interest in
masonic activities and in his newspaper reprinted every notice of
the Craft's activities he could obtain from London's newspapers
and in 1734 he reprinted Anderson's Constitutions of the
Free-masons which made history as the first masonic book printed
in America. Through the influential help of "Junto" he formed
what was to become the first of all North American subscription
libraries. He was instrumental in organizing a police force,
improving the paving in the streets and obtaining street lighting
as well.  In fact, it has been stated that "he gave of himself to
nearly every project to improve the welfare of his city".  As a
member of the General Assembly of Pennsylvania for almost
twenty-five years, he submitted a plan for the formation of the
union of the colonial states and the construction of forts for
the defense of the colony against the Indians.

In 1750 Franklin wrote to the British Royal Society expounding
his theory on electricity stating that electricity was comprised
of positive and negative charges and that there were reasons that
caused it to flow from one place to another. He claimed in his
letter that electricity would be attracted to a positive iron
road, and away from more dangerous, fragile or expensive
properties that might be in its path. He suggested that a church
steeple be used to prove his theory. The Royal Society was not
interested, so Franklin tried it for himself and since
Philadelphis did not have church spire ready in time he attached
a string to a kite and successfully drew electricity from a
thunder storm and received an electric shock as his reward. This
experiment has been painted and is here reproduced.

This achievement he later described in detail to the Royal
Society in London, and he was duly elected to the honour of a
Fellow of the Royal Society.

It was the great explosion of an arsenal at Brescia, Northern
Italy in 1769 that made the lightning rod a political issue.  An
estimated 175,000 pounds of gunpowder exploded, destroying 190
houses in a radius of 639 feet from the explosion causing the
Brescia authorities to seek help from the Royal Society to
prevent further disasters.  A committee was set up, of which
Franklin was a member.  The issue developed over whether the rods
should be pointed at the top as Franklin suggested, or round. 
The British settled for the round variety on the grounds that
Franklin was a revolutionary.

The controversy over "knobs and points" became a political issue
and as the dispute between the Mother Country and the American
Colonies deepened the "points" were regarded as the colonial
party while the "knobs" were considered to be Royalists.  George
III had blunt conductors fixed upon his palace and tried to
secure the support of the President of the Royal Society, who
replied to the King, "Sire, I can't reverse the laws and
operation of Nature"; the King exclaimed "Then you are not fit to
be President of the Royal Society".  One of Franklin's supporters
wrote the following epigram

While you Great George for knowledge hunt,
And sharp conductor change for blunt,
The nation's out of joint;
Franklin a wiser source pursues,
And all your thunder useless views
By keeping to the point.

Franklin was sent to England in 1757 because of the urgency of
the political situation, to represent the grievances of the
colony with regard to taxation.  In 1766 he was called before the
House of Commons to explain the American colonies' opposition to
the Stamp Tax.  He remained in England until 1775 when war
between the two countries became inevitable. In 1766 he was one
of a committee of three diplomats to negotiate a treaty with
France.  He became a very popular figure during his stay in that
country, a stay which  was to last until 1785, where he acted as
his country's representative. In  1781 he was named to negotiate
the peace terms with Great Britain. He returned to Philadelphia
in September 1785 and for the next two years he was appointed
President of the State of Pennsylvania.

Franklin the Freemason and Diplomat

His masonic accomplishments are encyclopaedic. In February 1730
he was initiated at the St. Johns Lodge at Philadelphia. He was
Secretary of that Lodge from 1735-38.  In the recorded
terminology of the times and loose masonic government of the
place he was appointed, "Junior Grand Warden", June 1732 for the
province of Pennsylvania.

Two years later in June 1734, he was appointed "Provincial Grand
Master" for the province of Pennsylvania. During his term of
office as "Grand Master" he wrote to R.W. Bro. Henry Price of
Boston.  Mr. Price's deputation and power had been extended over
all America as "Grand Master" of His Majesty's Dominions in North
America. This letter is the oldest recorded masonic letter in
America, and its purpose was to inform Bro. Price "that some
false and rebel brethren who are foreigners, being about to set
up a distinct lodge in opposition to the old and true brethren
here, pretending to make Masons for a bowl of punch, and the
Craft is likely to come into dispute among us unless the true
Brethren are countenanced and distinguished by some special
authority".  Unfortunately the replies to this and other letters
have not been preserved.

1734 and 1935 saw the construction of the Independence Hall or
State House in the city of Philddelphia of which both the design
and construction were, according to tradition, executed by
brethren of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. This notable event
is recorded in Franklin's term of office as Grand Master.

In 1735 he nearly died of pleurisy, but fortunately his
determination and rugged constitution enabled him to make a
remarkable recovery.

In the Pennsylvania Gazette, June 9-16, 1737, there appeared the
following announcement: "We hear that on Monday night last, some
people, pretending to be freemasons, got together with a young
man, who was desirous of being made one, and in the ceremonies,
they threw some burning spirits upon him, either accidentally, or
to terrify him, which burnt him so that he was obliged to take to
his bed, and died this morning".  In the next issue June 16-23,
it is recorded that "The Coroner's inquiry on the body of the
young man mentioned in the last, found that his death was
occasioned by the burning spirits thrown upon him, but as far as
it appeared to them by the evidence they had, the throwing of
these spirits upon him was accidental".  It was said, however,
since the Inquest, further evidence had been given to the
Magistrate that it was a voluntary action.  The upshot of this
was that three of the principals engaged in this degrading
burlesque of Masonry were indicted for murder.  The trial was
held in the last week of Janudry 1738 and it may be of interest
to note that Dr. Evan Jones (whose apprentice was the victim) was
found guily of manslaughter and was sentenced and was burnt on
the hand as a penalty.

Another, called Remmington, an Attorney at Law, was also
convicted, but later pardoned, and Tackerbury, the last of the
trio who, it was charged, was an expelled or renegade mason, was
also convicted, but later pardoned.

This was a most unfortunate incident for Franklin and his enemies
tried to make much out of his alleged involvement in the affair. 
As a result of the acrimonious publicity, the episode eventually
came to the notice of his relatives in Massachusetts.  Letters
were written to him asking for an explanation and telling him of
his mother's state of great anxiety.  Franklin wrote to his
father and said "as to the freemasons, I know no way of giving my
mother a better account of them that she seems to have at
present, since it is not allowed that women should be admitted
into that secret society.  She has, I must confess on that
account, some reason to be displeased with it; but for anything
else I must entreat her to suspend her judgement until she it
better informed, unless she will believe me when I assure her
that they are in general a very harmless sort of people, and have
no principles or practices that are inconsistent with religion or
good manners".  This letter appears to have reassured his family
for in a further letter to his father, which begins - "Honoured
Father, It gave me great pleasure when she (ie. his mother)
declared in her letter to me that she approved of my letter and
was completely satisfied with me".

Possibly as an aftermath of that incident, Freemasonry in
Philadelphia had to endure considerable antagonism from some
sections of the population and from 1738-1740 there are only
recorded two reprints from London, relating to the burning of a
freemason in Rome and the other to the appointment of Lord
Raymond as Grand Master. During this time, Franklin was actively
engaged in matters of public business and accordingly he was
obliged to leave the day by day affairs of the newspaper to his
assistants. As they were not masons they would not necessarily
have searched for matters relating to the Crdft and also it may
have been considered to be inadvisable to report on masonic
matters.

In 1743 the Right Honourable John Ward, Grand Master of England,
nominated Thomas Oxnard as John Price's successor as District
Grand Master for North America.  Oxnard in 1749 appointed
Franklin once again to the office of Provincial Grand Master of
Philadelphia (a purely local, subordinate post).  Oxnard's term
of office was only for a short time and in 1749 he was succeeded
by a William Allen who in turn appointed Franklin as his Deputy -
a position he held for many years.

In 1752 Franklin was appointed to a committee for building the
Freemason Lodge in Philadelphia.  Throughout the intervening
years his attendance has been recorded at various communications
and other meetings. In 1755 he took a prominent part in the
Dedication of the Freemason Lodge Building in Philadelphia, the
first masonic building in America. In 1755 there is also recorded
a quaint account of a masonic St. John Day Procession of Christ's
Church - "When the procession came into the Market Street, both
in going to and coming from the Church, they were saluted by a
discharge of nine Cannon from a Brother's Vessel, handsomely
ornamental with colours, which anchored opposite the said street
for that purpose".  Playing a prominent part in these festivities
was Benjamin Franklin's son, William Franklin, the District Grand
Secretary.

Franklin the Statesman

In 1757 Benjamin Franklin once again assumed the mantle of a
diplomat and returned to England where he established his
household in London at No. 7 Craven Street, The Strand.  There he
set up his electrical apparatus, gave demonstrations to his
guests and entertained them with recitals on an instrument known
and the Armonica at which he as a proficient musician.

In the five years that Franklin lived in England, it may be
assumed that he would have kept a lively interest in masonic
affairs, but little is recorded. It is known that in 1759 he
acquired the degree of Doctor, which was conferred upon him by
the University of St. Andrews, Scotland. It is also recorded that
he visited the Lodge St. David at Edinburgh, Scotland.  On 17
November 1760, he was present at the Communication of the Grand
Lodge of England held at the Crown and Anchor Inn at London, and
was accompanied by his son, William.  He had the honour of dining
with the King of Denmark, and was a frequent entertainer and
diner at various clubs in London.

He returned to America in 1762, however in November 1764 he once
again returned to England where he remained, this time until
1775.  It was during this term of office as his country's
representative that the events occurred which led to the
inevitable conflict between the two countries. We need only say
that during that heart-rending struggle he must have sought and
found comforting reassurance in the Craft's uncompromising tenets
of justice, equality, and liberty of man - the tenets also of his
entire life and career.  Masonry played a highly important part
in the American rebellion, many of the Generals and Officers of
the Continental Army were masons as were a considerable number of
the British force.  No less that fifty-three of the fifty-six
signatories of the Declaration of Independence were members of
the Order.


In 1776 Benjamin Franklin went to France as Commissioner of the
Continental Congress for the purpose of obtaining aid for the
struggling American colonists, aid without which they could not
achieve their goal of independence.  Franklin's reputation as an
experienced diplomat and a witty charming visitor enabled him to
be totally successful in those vital negotiations even though his
pleas were opposed by some of the craftiest diplomats of Europe.

Franklin found a compatibility with the French people and became
affiliated to some of their lodges, notably the Loge des neuf
Soeurs in  which he witnessed on 7 February 1778 the initiation
ceremony of Voltaire, who was escorted by Franklin throughout the
ceremony.  Later that year Franklin officiated at the Lodge of
Sorrow held in connection with Voltaire's funeral ceremonies, an
event which is commemorated by a medallion preserved in the
Masonic Temple Library in Philadelphia.

In 1781 Franklin was appointed to be Commissioner to negotiate
Peace terms with England and he also made treaties with Sweden
and Prussia in the same year. In French Freemasonry, as in
America, Franklin made swift progress and in the year 1782 he was
elected "Venerable" (Worshipful Master) of the Loge des Neuf
Soeurs and became in the same year a member of the Loge St. Jean
de Jerusalem, and three years later was made "Venerable
d'Honneur" of that institution.  Shortly dfterwards he was
elected dn honorary member of the Loge des Bons Amis at Rouen.

Franklin's stay in France must have been a happy time for him as
he obviously enjoyed Freemasonry to the full, and also received
many  invitations to attend the salons and other society
functions in Paris.  He was often called upon to entertain the
ladies with his witty dissertations such as "The Petition of the
Left Hand", "The Handsome and Deformed", "Morals of Chess" and
his most famous, "The Dialogue between Franklin and the Gout". 
Franklin was now in his late seventies and his health was not
good.  He suffered from recurring bouts of pleurisy (which had
nearly taken his life some year back) and of course the Gout!

Franklin was a member of the Royale Loge des Commandeurs du
Temple, a L'Ouest de'Carcassonne and on 24 April 1785 he became
its "Venerable d'Honneur".  A medal in his honour was struck by
the Grand Lodge of Mecklenberg at Rostock in Germany.

Franklin the Philosopher

Franklin left France to return to Philadelphia in September 1785
at the age of 79 years, the journey across the Atlantic taking 45
days. His health benefited from the sea voyage.  His arrival was
greeted by all the ships in the port dressed for the occasion
with flags and he received a civic reception. In October 1785 he
was chosen to become the President of Pennsylvania, an office
that gave him considerable pleasure. It was a fitting achievement
to a long and distinguished career in the service of his fellow
men.

On 27 December 1786 the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania honoured
Franklin at a dedication church service and in the sermon he was
referred to as "an illustrious Brother whose distinguished merit
among Masons entitled him to their highest veneration".

The remaining years of this grand old man were spent in
comparative retirement. Dr. Manasseh Cutler, a clergyman and
botanist from Massachusetts, noted in his diary of July 1787 -
"We found him in his garden, sitting on a grass plot, under a
very large mulberry tree, with several other gentlemen and two or
three ladies.  When Mr. Geery introduced me, he rose from his
chair, took me by the hand, and expressed his joy at seeing me,
welcomed me to the city, and begged me to seat myself close to
him.  His voice was low, but his contenance open, frank and
pleasing.  The tea table was spread under a tree and Mrs. Bache,
who is the only daughter of the Doctor, and lives with him,
served it out to the company.  She had three of her children
about her.  They seemed to be excessively fond of their
grandfather.  After it was dark we went into the house and he
invited me into his library, which is the largest and far the
best private library in America. He showed us his long artificial
arm and hand for taking down and putting up books on high shelves
which are out of reach, and his great armchair with rockers, and
a large fan placed over it, with which he fans himself, keeps of
flies etc., while he sits reading, with only a small motion of
the foot.  Over his mantel he has a prodigious number of medals,
busts, and casts in wax and plaster of Paris, which are effigies
of the most noted characters in Europe".

Franklin's circle of friends in France did not leave him
unforgotten.  The Abbe Morellet, was his most frequent and
affectionate correspondent.  In one of his letters he writes "The
bull-dog that your grandson brought us  from England is becoming
insupportable, and over vicious; he has again bitten the Abbe de
la Roche and affords us a glimpse of a ferocity truly
disquieting".  In another letter he writes, "I shall never forget
the happiness I have enjoyed in knowing you and seeing you
intimately. I write to you from Autevil, seated in your armchair,
on which I have engraved Benjamin hic sedebat and having by my
side the little bureau, which you have bequedthed to me at
parting, with a drawer full of nails to gratify the love of
nailing and hammering, which I possess in comon with you".

This quietly serene life that Franklin now led was ended by an
accident.  At the end of 1787 he fell down some steps leading to
the garden, and he sustained a severe shock, from the effects of
which, though he eventually rallied and lived for more than two
years, he did not fully recover.

Franklin served out his three years as President of Pennsylvania,
and on retirement the only thing he consented to, received by way
of compensation from the State, was a reimbursement of the
postage he had paid on official letters. It should also be noted
that Franklin had presented his claims for reimbursement of his
expenses for his service in France and at home, but there appears
to be no record in the journals of Congress. Unexpected events of
the day must have pushed this matter to one side, therefore it
would appear that Franklin has yet to be paid the wages that he
was justly entitled to receive.

During the year prior to his death, Benjamin Franklin's health
was deteriorating and yet he was "the same joyous, witty,
storytelling, benevolent Franklin his friends had even known him,
happy in the society of his philosophical brethren, and happiest
still when surrounded by his many grandchildren".  He passed to
the Grand Lodge above in the night of 17 April 1790, in the midst
of his family and friends at the dge of 84. Towards the end, when
someone advised him to change his position so that he might
breathe easier, he said 'A dying man can do nothing easy'.  These
were the last of his words that have been recorded.

It might have been expected thdt the American freemasons would
have participated in public testimonials and other expressions of
sorrow to mark the passing of such a distinguished brother, but
in these solemnities the Masons as an organization took no active
part.

They did not attend the funeral in a masonic character, nor did
they pass resolutions of respect, such as were passed by other
societies.  The fact was that Benjamin Franklin was not a
"Antient" mason.

It might similarly have been expected that there would have been
an overwhelming demonstration of sorrow from the members of the
Loge des Neuf Soeurs in Paris, but there had been gathering
clouds of disaster and menace and all organizations, masonic and
otherwise, were now under scrutiny and after 1789 the Lodge of
Nine Sisters followed the comon lot of nearly all the masonic
lodges, whose members were then too occupied by their civil and
public functions and too absorbed by the course of events to
continue any peaceful work within their Masonic temples.

Clubs and popular societies replaced ritual meetings.  In 1790,
the Lodge of Nine Sisters was replaced by a body called "The
National Society of the Nine Sisters".  Meetings were held on
Sundays, but these were of a general character and  guests were
invited, including ladies, amongst whom was the Comtesse de
Beauharnais, who was the aunt by marriage of Josephine the future
wife of the first Napoleon. Even this National Society did not
survive the tragic events of 1792.

It was at the National Assembly of France, after M. Mirabeau
delivered his funeral oration to the memory of a beloved
Franklin, that both Lafayette and Rochefoucauld both sprang to
their feet to second the proposal that was made, but there was no
need to, as it was carried by acclamation.  The Assembly decreed
that the oration should be printed and that the President of
France, M. Sieyes, should communicate to the Congress of the
United States of the resolution that had been carried in such a
startling and impressive manner.

Franklin's death was noted in Paris by the Academy of Sciences,
the Society of Printers of Paris and many other clubs and
societies.

Franklin, the ever practical man, has been described as the
theoretical but always the executive, and left an estate worth in
excess of $150,000, considered a large fortune in those days. He
was the prototype of the modern, successful, self-made American,
and yet with all his shrewd opportunism, he never lost sight of
the important duties we owe to our fellow man.  Invariably he
acted with him on the square and many were the despairing victims
of adversity who could have borne witness to his readiness to
render every kind office that justice or mercy might require.

To achieve what Benjamin Franklin achieved could only have been
accomplished by a self disciplined man. I would like to think
that this self discipline was enhanced by his association with
Freemasonry, for it has been said of Masonry that it is a
discipline.

Bibliography

Ars Quatuor Coronatorum, Vol. 41 (1928).
Benjamin Franklin by Bro.  H.T.C. De Lafontdne, PGD.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, (14th ed. 1929)
These Men Were Masons, Hubert S. Banner.
10,000 Famous Freemasons, William R. Denslow
Revised Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry Mackey
Connections, James Burke
History of Freemasonry, Robert F. Gould
The Pocket History of Freemasonry, Pick and Knight.

Appendix

William Franklin (1729-1813), illegitimate son of Benjamin
Franklin. It is not recorded who his mother was, but according to
one source of information it could have been Deborah Redd whom
Franklin had courted since 1723 and later married on 1 September
1730.  When Franklin left for England in 1726 to purchase 
printing equipment at the urging of the Governor of Pennsylvania,
he was absent for a number of years.  Deborah Read thought he had 
deserted her and she married another man.  After a short time,
this man disappeared and  eventually Benjamin returned from
England and the couple became reconciled and lived together as
husband and wife.

Young William was brought up as any other son and member of the
household. In 1732 they had another boy (Francis Folger Franklin
who died in 1736 of smallpox), and a girl, Sarah born in 1744,
who Married Richard Bache in 1767, with whom Benjamin Franklin
lived in his declining years.

William Franklin did not achieve the same reputations as his
father, but he created a useful career for himself in the
military, law, colonial administration, and in Freemasonry.

He served in the Pennsylvania Militia during the French War of
1744-48 reaching the rank of Captain before reaching 21 years of
age and distinguished himself in the battle of Ticonderoga.  On
returning to Philadelphia, where his father had gained
considerable wealth and influence, William became Comptroller of
the General Post Office and later became a member of the General
Assembly.  He became a freemason in 1751 and it is uncertain
whether it was to his father's lodge - St. John No. 1, or the Tun
Tavern Lodge.  He was Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of
Pennsylvania in 1755 and accompanied his father to London in
1757, where he was admitted to the bar in 1758.  He was with his
father when he visited the Grand Lodge of England on 17 November
1758; his father was recorded as Provincial Grand Master and
himself as Grand Secretary.

In 1762 William was appointed Royal Governor of New Jersey, no
doubt his father's influence had some part in this, and he became
the first native born American to receive such an appointment. 
William Franklin was an ardent supporter of the British and no
amount of pledding from his father could persuade him to the
American cause. This eventually led to a parting of ways between
father and son.  William was interned by the Continental Army for
the duration of the War of Independence.  He was sent to England
after the war and he was granted a sum of money in compensation
for his losses as well as an annual pension.  Benjamin and
William became partially reconciled in 1784 and upon his father's
death, he was bequeathed some land in Nova Scotia, released him
from all debts that the executors might find due him, stating
"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
than he endeavoured to deprive me of".

Of William Franklin, nothing else is known other than the date of
his death on 17 November 1813.

A NOTE ON THE MARGIN

I ran across a suggestion by the Past Grand Secretary of
Ontario's Jurisdiction - M.W. Bro.  J.A. Irvine - who seemed to
be giving some extra thought to the matter of attendance.

He said "If you want to get the members out, put a notice of
motion in your sumons to triple fees and dues to the Lodge. 
Sure, it'll be defeated, but at least the members must come out
to defeat the motion!"

He followed that variation of Russian roulette with another
example: "A Master of a Lodge in Toronto became so disgusted 
because the Past Masters were not attending Lodge that he sent a
wire to each one of them advising them that there would be a 
meeting of the Past Masters and officers of the Lodge on a
certain night at which time he invited any of them to show cause 
why they should not surrender their Charter because of the
inactivity of the Past Masters.

"The results were very successful
(W.N. Love)


A MASONIC ANECDOTE

I attended a certain Masonic ceremony in a building that had not
been originally designed nor furnished as a proper Lodgeroom. In
adapting to the new surroundings, all three senior officers were
seated on chairs set up very high and to the rear of a raised
platform.

As it turned out, the meeting became rather dull, and the poor
Senior Warden fell soundly asleep on his high perch.  The
Worshipful Master suddenly snapped "Brother Senior Warden!"
Whereupon the Senior Warden awakened with a start ... sat bolt
upright ... and with such alacrity that both he and his chair
promptly disappeared from sight over the back of the platform (W. 
Bro.  W.N. Love)