Benjamin Franklin fathered two legitimate sons and one illegitimate son, also one daughter. One of his sons became a noted Tory and traitor.
Benjamin Franklin fathered four children, at least four that history records. Of his sons, there were three. Two of them were legitimate by his wife Deborah. One legitimate son died at the age of four. The second legitimate son, William, lived into his eighty-second year. The third son, whom Franklin acknowledged, was illegitimate. However, this son was raised by Franklin's wife. Benjamin Franklin also had one daughter, Sarah.
William Franklin
William Franklin, legitimate son of Benjamin Franklin, was born in 1731. He was with his father when Franklin, in 1752, flew his famous kite in his experiment with electricity.
William became the last royal governor of New Jersey prior to the American Revolution. However, even though he was involved in American politics when the Revolutionary War with England broke out, he sided with the British.
Because of his loyalty to England, William Franklin was arrested and tried as a traitor. He was imprisoned until 1782, at which time he was deported to England. He remained in England for the rest of his life.
Two years after being deported, William made overtures to his father, Benjamin Franklin, for reconciliation between them. In answer, the elder Franklin related to his Tory son how much William's former actions had hurt him. He stressed that he felt deserted in his old age by his son but agreed to attempt to put the past behind them.
William Franklin died in 1813.
Sarah Franklin
Sarah Franklin, born in 1744, like her father Benjamin Franklin was loyal to the American cause during the Revolution. She became well known for her assistants to the rebel soldiers during this war.
Sarah married Richard Bache, a merchant. Bache became her father's successor as postmaster general. Sarah nursed her father in his old age and, in time, gave Benjamin Franklin seven grandchildren. His favorite of these grandchildren was Benjamin Franklin Bache who was nicknamed "Lightning Rod, Jr." He later became a noted journalist.
Recommended Reading of other famous Revolutionary War figures:
Did Washington actually, as a boy, chop down his father's cherry tree or is this a part of American legend and lore?
Jefferson, Father of a President.
Peter Jefferson, father of President Thomas Jefferson, was a third-generation colonial in the New World.
Source:
Wallechinsky, David. Irving Wallace. The People's Almanac. Doubleday & Company, Inc. Garden City, New York, 1975.
