14581The Taking of Teach the Pirate, 1719 (Franklin Papers)
Not found The second ballad which Franklin wrote and hawked through the streets of Boston was “a Sailor Song on the Taking of Teach or Blackbeard the Pirate.” This may have been written in March 1719, after the Boston News-Letter carried a full account of the last fight and death of Captain Edward Teach on November 22, 1718. In the middle of the nineteenth century the Boston physician George...
14582The Lighthouse Tragedy, 1718 (Franklin Papers)
Not found As a lad of twelve or thirteen Franklin “took a Fancy to Poetry, and made some little Pieces.” One of these was a ballad he remembered as “the Light House Tragedy ,” inspired by the drowning on November 3, 1718, of George Worthylake, keeper of the light on Beacon Island, with his wife and daughter. (In the autobiography he remembered it incorrectly as Worthylake and his two...
14583Verses from Benjamin Franklin (the Elder), 1713 (Franklin Papers)
MS Commonplace Book of Benjamin Franklin (the Elder): American Antiquarian Society To My Name 1713. Edward Cocker (1631–1675), author of several arithmetical works, of poems and distichs, and of a number of quaintly titled books on calligraphy. DNB. When he was 16, “asham’d of my Ignorance in Figures,” BF took Cocker’s Arithmetic and went through the whole book “with great Ease.” This...
14584Acrostic from Benjamin Franklin (the Elder), 15 July 1710 (Franklin Papers)
MS Commonplace Book of Benjamin Franklin (the Elder): American Antiquarian Society Sent To B.F. in N. E. 15 July 1710
14585Verses from Benjamin Franklin (the Elder), 7 July 1710 (Franklin Papers)
MS Commonplace Book of Benjamin Franklin (the Elder): American Antiquarian Society Benjamin Franklin’s uncle Benjamin Franklin (1650–1727), born at Ecton in Northamptonshire, was for many years a silk-dyer in London. After years of sickness and adversity, he settled at Boston in October 1715, He lived four years in Josiah Franklin’s household, then in November 1719 moved to the house of his...
14586Record of Birth, 6 January 1706 (Franklin Papers)
MS Record, Boston Births, V , 113: City Registry, Boston Benjamen Son of Josiah Frankling & Abiah his Wife born 6 Janry 1706 This entry is taken from an official compilation, made at some later time, from the original book of record. The clerk used the year dates of the New Style calendar (adopted by Great Britain in 1752), recording the year of BF ’s birth as a simple 1706 instead...
14587Record of Baptism, 6 January 1706 (Franklin Papers)
MS Baptismal Records of the Clerk of Old South Church in Boston [1705/6] Jan. 6. Benjamin, of Josiah & Abiah Franklin Printed in facsimile in Col. Soc. Mass., Pubs. , X (1907), facing p. 228.
14588Editorial Introduction (Franklin Papers)
These letters illustrate the complexities—perhaps increased by the writer’s nature—of trying to negotiate a transatlantic sale of land. Daniel Roberdeau wanted to dispose of his plantation in the Antilles; he believed that he had one potential buyer in London, and hoped that he might find several who would vie with each other. To save himself a journey to England he sent a power of attorney to...
14589The Hutchinson-Oliver Letters: Editorial Introduction (Franklin Papers)
Printed in The Representation of Governor Hutchinson and Others, Contained in Certain Letters Transmitted to England, and Afterwards Returned from Thence, and Laid before the General Assembly of the Massachusetts-Bay … (Boston, 1773). The letters from Hutchinson, Oliver, and others, when they were printed in Boston in June, 1773, had such an impact on Franklin’s career that we are publishing...
14590Editorial Note on Franklin’s Accounts, 1781 (Franklin Papers)
During the period of this volume, Franklin was involved in reviewing his accounts with Silas Deane and Chaumont; those discussions will be covered in the course of our annotation. No new lists of expenditures were initiated. The following previously identified accounts cover these months: VI and VII ( XXIII , 21); XII ( XXV , 3); XVII ( XXVI , 3); XIX and XXII ( XXVIII , 3–4); XXIII ( XXIX ,...
14591Editorial Note on Promissory Notes, 1781 (Franklin Papers)
The supply of promissory note forms that Franklin had printed in February, 1780, was depleted as of mid-April, 1781, when L’Air de Lamotte resumed writing notes by hand. On May 8, Lamotte wrote a set for “Jno” Kerlin, who signed for five louis (120 l.t. ). This is the only recorded payment to a prisoner for the month of May. By June 9, a new set of forms had been printed. Samuel Snow, Nicholas...
14592Editorial Note on Franklin’s Accounts (Franklin Papers)
The following accounts, identified in earlier volumes, continue to apply to the current period: VI and VII ( XXIII , 21); XVII ( XXVI , 3); XIX and XXII ( XXVIII , 3–4); XXV, XXVII ( XXXII , 3–4); XXX ( XXXVI , 3); XXXI ( XXXVIII , 3). We offer here a summary of entries that have not found a place elsewhere in our annotation but provide insights into Franklin’s private and public life. Account...
14593Editorial Note on Franklin’s Accounts (Franklin Papers)
The following accounts, identified in previous volumes, cover the period of this volume: VI and VII ( XXIII , 21); XVII ( XXXVI , 3); XIX and XXII ( XXVIII , 3–4); XXV, XXVII ( XXXII , 3–4); XXX ( XXXVI , 3). We offer here a summary of items that have not found a place elsewhere in our annotation but provide insights into Franklin’s private and public life. Account XVII (Franklin’s Private...
14594Editorial Note on Franklin’s Accounts (Franklin Papers)
The following previously identified accounts cover the period of this volume: VI and VII ( XXIII , 21); XVII ( XXVI , 3); XXV, XXVII ( XXXII , 3–4); XXX ( XXXVI , 3). We offer here a summary of entries that have not found a place elsewhere in annotation but provide insights into Franklin’s private and public life. Account XVII (Franklin’s Private Accounts with Ferdinand Grand, XXVI , 3)...
14595Editorial Note on Promissory Notes (Franklin Papers)
Six months after the last known promissory note was signed at Passy (February, 1784 , another American seaman, presumably a released captive, arrived at Franklin’s door and begged for assistance. Five more Americans and one German who had served in the American army would follow over the next few months. All received loans on behalf of the United States and signed triplicate forms promising to...
14596Editorial Note on Applicants for Emigration (Franklin Papers)
For the period of the present volume, letters survive from ten individuals who wished to emigrate to the United States themselves, and one who wrote on behalf of a friend. Answers to six applicants have been located: Franklin discouraged two of them altogether, encouraged one to go elsewhere, referred another to church authorities, and sent copies of “Information to Those Who Would Remove to...