Existing comment:
At Home In Philadelphia:
"A house without women & Fire-light, is like a body without soul or sprite."
-- Poor Richard's Almanack, 1733
Franklin and his common-law wife, Deborah, lived simply and frugally. Only after Franklin had established himself with a dependable income did they buy more extravagant possessions, often from Europe. Many of these objects are still owned by Franklin's descendants.
Franklin and Deborah's relationship was affectionate and loyal, if not particularly romantic. Deborah was involved in all aspects of the daily business, keeping the shop and its accounts. She raised William, Francis, and Sally in a crowded house typical of 18th-century artisans, sharing their space with Deborah's mother and the family servants and slaves.
Though William was Franklin's illegitimate son, Deborah brought him up as part of the family. Francis, their first child together, contracted smallpox as a toddler and died, which caused his parents deep and lasting grief. Their youngest daughter, Sally, was only 14 when Franklin was dispatched to London by the Pennsylvania Assembly, but she adored him and looked after him when he returned to Philadelphia as an old man. She would ultimately bear all but one of the Franklin's eight grandchildren. |