Deborah Read (February 14, 1708 – December 24, 1774) was the spouse of Benjamin Franklin, a prominent inventor, printer, thinker, and revolutionary.
Franklin proposed to fifteen-year-old Read in 1724 when he was seventeen years old, but her mother would not consent to the marriage, citing Franklin's pending trip to England and financial instability. While Franklin was away in England, having been stranded there by Sir William Keith's failure to f...
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Deborah Read (February 14, 1708 – December 24, 1774) was the spouse of Benjamin Franklin, a prominent inventor, printer, thinker, and revolutionary.
Franklin proposed to fifteen-year-old Read in 1724 when he was seventeen years old, but her mother would not consent to the marriage, citing Franklin's pending trip to England and financial instability. While Franklin was away in England, having been stranded there by Sir William Keith's failure to follow through on promises of support, Read married John Rogers, who fled soon after. Because of this, Benjamin and Deborah were not free to marry formally. John Rogers disappeared into history, after spending Deborah's dowry, incurring much debt, and using the marriage to further his own schemes. When Franklin returned, he and Deborah began a common-law marriage in 1730. They had two children together: Francis Folger Franklin (October 20, 1732 - November 21, 1736), who died of smallpox at age four, and Sarah Franklin Bache, called Sally....
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