Franklin by Davidson Butler Page B

Sally. At twenty-one, she was certain to be exposed to the same insults from her father’s political enemies that had dogged William. Benjamin wanted to take Sally to England, to put her beyond the reach of this, at least for the year he expected to be gone, but Deborah refused to let her go.
    Before the ship sailed, Franklin wrote Sally, assuring her of his love and urging her to ignore what enemies were saying. Even the pastor of the church Sally attended was anti-Franklin and uttered cruel remarks from the pulpit. Nevertheless, Franklin urged Sally to attend church. Finally, he encouraged her to acquire “those useful accomplishments, arithmetick and bookkeeping.” With the Philadelphia establishment against the Franklins, Sally had little chance to marry a wealthy heir. Franklin prepared her for life as a tradesman’s wife, to enable her to give her husband the help Deborah had given him.
    Franklin had no such worries about William. He was married and excelling as governor in New Jersey. William was based in the western capital of Burlington. He rented a house on the river with his new wife until, with a handsome pay raise from the Assembly, he was able to build his own waterfront mansion. His dining room was decorated with two oil portraits – one of King George III, the other of Benjamin Franklin. Living in Burlington put them closer to Philadelphia, but it had been some time since William had seen his father. William took Elizabeth dancing at Assembly balls and to horse races. The couple entertained friends and politicians at their home; Elizabeth hosted tea parties, dinners, and church benefits. Still, for Elizabeth, Burlington was no substitute for London. She did her best to adjust, even importing an English maid. But William “had much to do to keep up poor Mrs. Franklin’s spirits.” She became afflicted with more than just homesickness. She was asthmatic and suffered regular bouts of illness.
    William’s first few years as governor were calm and uneventful. He built on the self-confidence he had won in England and made new friends – even of potential enemies. Politically, he managed to strike a balance between the king’s demands and the needs and interests of his colonists. The absence of his father from his life seemed to have a positive effect.
    Franklin believed his mission in England would be successful. With the friends he had there, he was confident he could drive the Penns out of Pennsylvania and get the government’s approval of a new colony in the Ohio Valley. Together, he and his son would build a model society. Franklin had no idea he was sailing into a maelstrom that would destroy his relationship with William.

 
    While fighting on these fronts, Franklin managed to enjoy himself. He remained interested in family and friends, keeping in touch with his wife and daughter in America. Only after much hesitation did he agree to Sally’s marriage to Richard Bache , an emigrant from Yorkshire, in England. William had written of his disapproval to Franklin, calling his twenty-four-year-old sister’s fiancé “a mere fortune hunter who wants to better his circumstances [by] marrying into a family that will support him.” But Franklin left the decision to his wife, who vouched for their future son-in-law.
    Neither her father nor brother was present to give Sally away at her wedding. Franklin, Sally learned later from her mother, was in Paris, where he dined with the king and queen of France. Shortly afterward, a letter from England described in detail another wedding – that of Polly Stevenson, whom Franklin had thought of as a second daughter. What he had denied Sally he gave Polly; he walked Polly down the aisle at her wedding, and gave her away to a young doctor, William Hewson. Franklin stayed with the Stevensons on Craven Street.
    Bache returned to England to introduce himself to his father-in-law, and Franklin loaned him money to