John Franklin:
From Rhode Island to Walsingham
by Benjamin W. Franklin
by Benjamin W. Franklin
John Franklin, a Long Point Settler who had already lived a full and adventurous life before arriving at Walsingham Township, Norfolk County, made only one appearance during his lifetime in the official records of the Long Point Settlement when he served as a juror at the Court of the Quarter Sessions in 1806. John Franklin enjoyed the life of a tradesman and farming apparently held little interest for him. This was at a time when most Upper Canada records emphasized land ownership. However, through documents filed during the 1850's by his son Augustus Franklin, his daughter-in-law Rachel Franklin, and his grandson Daniel Franklin, more has been learned of the man who brought his family to Norfolk. His story begins in pre-revolutionary Rhode Island.
JOHN FRANKLIN (son of George and Mary (Remington) Franklin), born at Jamestown, Rhode Island on 21 Apr 1760. He married on 21 Jun 1782, Lydia Tayer (daughter of Benjamin and Jane Tayer), born at Newport, Rhode Island on 24 Nov 1761. John died at Walsingham Township, Norfolk County, Upper Canada after his petition of 16 Nov 1827 but before his patent for land of 22 Feb 1828 was received. Lydia died at Walsingham on 31 May 1837.
John Franklin was born on April 21, 1760,[1] the fourth son and fifth child of George and Mary (Remington) Franklin. There has been considerable confusion about John's name in Canadian sources. Montross: A Family History refers to him as John William Franklin.[2] E. A. Owen's Pioneer Sketches of Long Point Settlement refers to him as Captain William Franklin.[3] The record of his birth in the town records of Jamestown records just "John Franklin". He is also named as John in his father's will.
John's father, George Franklin, operated two ferries on Narragansett Bay running out of Jamestown where the family lived and owned a tannery at Jamestown, as well. George died on December 27, 1767 when John was just a child of seven years. The father's will dated October 30, 1764 left his sons John and George the South Ferry, a ferry place, house and wharf and a parcel on the north side of the main road with a house and tanyard to be evenly divided between them once they reached maturity. The management of all of these enterprises, including the north ferry left to older son Abel, fell on George's widow, Mary. In an accounting to the Town Council about a year later, the Council found George's personal property inadequate to pay his debts, but noted that Mary had paid them, in some cases giving her own note in payment.[4]
As soon as he was old enough, John's mother put him to work in the tanyard and on the ferries. When the American Revolution began, John had not yet reached sixteen years old and he lived with his mother during the hostilities. Rhode Island had the dubious honour of being an early target of the war, prized by both sides for its strategic location and well-developed agricultural base. The British moved into the southern part of the colony and began patrolling Narragansett Bay. They intercepted the Franklins’ ferries, taking any livestock they carried. To prevent the taking of more, the General Assembly of Rhode Island ordered that all animals be removed from the islands on the bay and enlisted 250 Minute Men to do the job. The men travelled from South Kingston to Jamestown on the Franklins' ferry and billeted with Mary, her South Ferry conscripted to carry the livestock.[5]
On December 10, 1775 the British troops landed at Jamestown. After pillaging, they burned every house along the main road. Three of those had been houses named in George Franklin's will. The Franklin ferry wharves suffered various degrees of damage and destruction. The fate of the tanyard is uncertain but it did not appear on the list of those burned. After this, many left Jamestown for the mainland and many more followed after the British occupied Newport. The Franklins' South Ferry was out of operation by now but the North Ferry continued for a time, serving as the main means of transportation for those leaving the island. When Mary joined the exodus from Jamestown is uncertain, but she probably took her family to South Kingston where she had relatives. The Rhode Island Military Census taken in 1777 shows John Franklin at South Kingston and, when it operated, likely ran the North Ferry for his mother.
After the British left Rhode Island in October 1779, immediate restoration of the Narragansett Bay ferries became considered a necessity. The General Assembly ordered repairs to the docks, for which the owners were expected to pay. In July 1780, the Assembly ordered that a boat be furnished to Mary Franklin so she could get back into operation. This done, Mary gave her note for the new ferry. She requested, and probably received, a boat suitable to carry stone so she could finish repairing her docks.
In March 1781 American General George Washington went to Newport, Rhode Island for a conference with French General Jean Baptiste Rochambeau. To get there, Washington crossed from South Kingston to Jamestown, probably by way of the Franklins' south ferry.
On June 21, 1782 John Franklin married Lydia Tayer, daughter of Benjamin and Jane Tayer. She was born at Newport, Rhode Island on November 24, 1761. In his tanyard and from his father-in-law, John learned the trade of cordwainer or leather worker and was later known as such when he eventually settled in Upper Canada. The couple's first four children were born at Jamestown- Abigail (Sarah) on January 6, 1784, Rebecca on February 2, 1786, Benjamin on February 1, 1788 and George on May 11, 1792.[6]
On February 17, 1794 John Franklin, ferryman with Lydia, his wife, George Franklin with Phebe, his wife, and Mary Franklin, mother of John and George, sold the South Ferry to John Almy for $2900 Spanish silver dollars. The sale included five acres, a dwelling house, wharf, pier and boat. The tanyard and North Ferry went in an earlier sale. Soon after the South Ferry sale, John and his family left Rhode Island.
On his subsequent travels, John Franklin carried with him an account book in which receipts for payments were entered. George Franklin started the Journal in 1766. It was then continued by his widow, Mary, and later brought to Upper Canada by John. This book is still in the possession of his descendants. It appears in this source that he settled first at Canaan, New York where he purchased land from Jethro Dibble.
The 1800 Census of Columbia County, New York shows John Franklin as the head of a household at Caanan. The family includes one female child aged 16-26 which would be Abigail, one female aged 10-16 which would be Rebecca, one male child aged 10-16 which would be Benjamin, four male children aged under 10 which would be George, Augustus, William and Horatio Nelson Franklin. The one problem is the female child aged under 10 of whom we have no record, unless she was the child of family tradition who, being sickly, had been left behind when the family moved to Canada. This child was said to have later come as far as Buffalo before dying. The family tradition states that this was a son John, Jr. but the story is vague.
In the summer of 1801 John arrived in the Niagara district of Upper Canada where he and Lydia each filed petitions for a grant of land. John's application bore the date of August 20, 1801 and Lydia's had the same date.[7] In his, John states that he had arrived in the province the previous month. A certificate beneath states that he came with a wife and seven children and, “movable property to a considerable value.” This movable property probably included the tools of his trade as a cordwainer. Lydia's petition stated that she was the daughter of Benjamin Tayer, a loyalist at present in the states. Neither application was granted by the Land Board, Lydia's on the grounds that her father's name did not appear on the United Empire Loyalist List.
Soon after their petitions, John and his wife settled with their family in The Long Point Settlement in the southern part of Walsingham Township between Port Rowan and the Hazen Settlement. Their oldest daughter, Sarah married there to Henry Smith in late 1805 or early 1806. John served on the Grand Jury at the Court of the General Quarter Sessions for the London District at Charlotteville on March 11, 1806.[8] About this time, his son Benjamin married Lydia Hazen whose family lived in that neighbourhood.
The north half of Lot 14, Concession 1, Walsingham Township is commonly known as the Franklin Homestead. Owen records that "... Franklin finally settled on Lot 14. Montross: A Family History says the same, although incorrect as to the concession. This is the farm that passed down through the family until recent times. In the early days, considerable acreages were owned by absentee owners who leased them out to settlers to clear and develop. Lot 14 passed through the hands of Niagara land jobbers John McKay and Richard Hatt until it was finally seized by the Sheriff of the London District, in a legal action, and sold to John's son William in 1827. The Franklin (now Fairview) Cemetery is located in the northwest corner of this lot.
E. A. Owen's history gives Franklin's trade as that of a shoemaker. Montross: A Family History states him to be a saddler and shoemaker. In a pioneer community, he likely did whatever needed to be done with leather. Descendant Sadie Franklin later said he was known to be very good at his trade.
At the start of the second decade of the nineteenth century, Colonel Thomas Talbot opened a new settlement to the west of Walsingham. Talbot invited settlers who did not yet own land in the province to take up a farm in his settlement. Once some of the land had been cleared and a cabin erected, they would receive the Colonel's recommendation and then the grant of the land from the Executive Council of Upper Canada. Franklin, apparently a lessee at Walsingham to this time, availed himself of this new opportunity.
On May 24, 1812 John Franklin of Bayham Township made out an Upper Canada Land Petition stating that he was desirous of becoming a settler on the Talbot Road and prepared to pay the fees and perform the settlement duties. This application bore the recommendation of Thomas Talbot and received the approval of the Executive Council subject to the performance of the settlement duties.[9] Franklin's location turned out to be Lot Number 115 North of Talbot Road East in Bayham Township, Elgin County. John may have lived there briefly, but documents presented later to the Heir and Devisees Commission stated that he gave the property to his son, George Franklin, who took up residence on the grant.
Towards the end of his life, John Franklin of Walsingham, Shoemaker, filed an Upper Canada Land Petition dated November 16, 1827. This stated that he had been located by Colonel Talbot on a two hundred acre lot in Bayham Township on which he had performed the required settlement duties. The attached report of the Surveyor General's Office described this location as Lot Number 115, North of Talbot Road East and the request was recommended, the patent dated February 22, 1828.[10] However, Franklin died without a will before receiving and registering his patent and therein arose a problem of claim for his heirs in after years.
The family Bible of Augustus Franklin records that John Franklin died on Dec 11, 1826, but this appears to be in error given the above petition dated in 1827 which included a certificate that John personally appeared and swore an oath of allegiance. In a later document his daughter-in-law Rachel (Hazen) Franklin gave the year of John's passing as 1828. The Augustus Franklin Bible records that Lydia Franklin died on 31 May 1837. No gravestone or burial place has been found for either although they may have been buried in the cemetery on the farm or perhaps the old Clear Creek pioneer cemetery nearby.
The Heir and Devisees Commission of Upper Canada was established in 1798 to adjudicate claims of inheritance in cases where a deceased resident died without leaving a will and where grounds of contest existed to cloud the transfer of the estate to his or her family. Such was the case involving John Franklin and his title to Lot 115 North of Talbot Road East in Bayham Township, Elgin County. This will serve as an illustration of the wealth of information available in the records of the Commission on film at the National Archives of Canada and the Archives of Ontario. All cases before the Commission have been indexed by the petitioners' names.
John Franklin did not leave a will and, to make matters worse, he died before receiving his patent on Lot 115. Herein lay the beginnings of a legal headache over his heirs’ rights to the lot, culminating in a flurry of documents long after John's passing. John's oldest surviving son and heir-at-law, George Franklin, apparently received his father's patent but neglected to legalize his own right to inherit the title during his lifetime. George sold the north part of the lot to others and even that transaction was not legally registered. For years the records of the County Registrar showed a blank page indicating that the lot had never been granted. When George Franklin died, his heirs and assignees had to go before the Heir and Devisees Commission to prove their title.
To finally gain title, Franklin family members presented many documents to the Heir and Devisees Commission illuminating the lives of John and George Franklin, the most revealing a chronological outline of events written by George Franklin's brother, Augustus, dated June 30, 1853. Augustus stated that he was one of the sons of John Franklin, the original grantee of the Crown for Lot Number 115 North of Talbot Road East in Bayham and that John Franklin died at Walsingham on or about December 11, 1826 (sic) intestate. Augustus' brother, George Franklin, was the oldest surviving son and heir of John Franklin and he entered into the possession of the land. The oldest son was Benjamin Franklin who died at Buffalo, New York during or about 1819, a bachelor, George Franklin sold the north half of the lot to Joseph Willson, late of Pelham Township and his son-in-law, Andrew Moore.
A key document included was the will of George Franklin, of Bayham, yeoman, dated January 25, 1853. In this he left Lot 114 (sic: should have read 115) on Talbot Road North to his son Daniel Augustus Franklin, subject to the care of his wife Rachel. Legacies of twelve pounds ten shillings were left to his eight daughters, Lydia wife of George Clark, Sarah Ann wife of Ziba Matthews, Rebecca wife of Hiram Truman, Jane wife of Andrew McCleish, Abigal wife of Jacob Jones, Julia Franklin, Permelia Franklin, and Emeline Franklin. The executors were Andrew Moore, Esq. and David Hatch.
George Franklin's widow, Rebecca Franklin made an affidavit on June 5, 1854 stating that John Franklin of Walsingham held title to Lot 115 North of Talbot Road in Bayham. She wrote that John Franklin died “some time in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty eight.” It is noted that this year disagrees with the deposition of Augustus Franklin which placed John's death in 1826, an impossibility given John's 1827 land petition. Rebecca's affidavit continues that three years before John Franklin's death, he put his son George Franklin in possession of the lot and George lived there for some time before his father's death. When John died without a will, George became automatically his heir-at-law as the oldest son. Rachel testified that George had been in possession of the south half of the lot for many years before his death. The north half he sold to Joseph Willson. George Franklin's oldest surviving son, Daniel Augustus Franklin, had now become the legal heir of this lot.
George's son, Daniel A. Franklin signed a deposition on April 5, 1854 asserting his claim to Lot 115 to be well founded and that he had no awareness of any other claims. A further affidavit of Elijah Hazen of Walsingham Township dated April 5, 1854, stated that John Franklin lived in Walsingham during his lifetime and purchased Lot 115 several years before the patent and put his son George in possession of the lot. George then lived on the lot and cultivated it for several years prior to the death of John Franklin. He remarked that the patent to the lot had not been issued by the Executive Council until after John Franklin's death. Hazen confirmed that George Franklin sold the north half of the lot to Joseph Willson, that George Franklin died in January 1853, and that Daniel Augustus Franklin was his oldest son. Also in this Commission file is John Franklin's Crown Deed for Lot 115 dated February 28, 1828.
In a separate case before the Heir and Devisees Commission, the assignee of the north half of the lot, Whitson C. Moore and Ann Willson had to present many documents in support of their claim to the north half of Lot 115, among them the deed of July 10, 1834 transfering title from George Franklin to Joseph Willson and Andrew Moore. Next presented was a memorial of a quit claim dated March 7, 1842 from Andrew Moore of Bayham to Joseph Willson of Pelham, dated March 7, 1842, the consideration being £1,050. When Joseph Willson died, the rights to the lot went into his estate. Whitson C. Moore and Ann Willson signed affidavits dated respectively June 27, 1863 and July 1, 1863 that they were the Executors and so entitled to include the north half of Lot 115 in the estate.
The Heir and Devisees Commission file also includes a deposition from Thomas Hector, the Commissioner of Crown Lands dated January 2, 1863. This noted a surveyor's description of Lot Number 115 had been issued on February 16th, 1828 in the name of John Franklin, a settler under Colonel Talbot. This description was declared void and a new description issued to Daniel Augustus Franklin for the south half of the lot on April 28, 1855. Another document dated January 3, 1863 signed by Wm Kent, the Deputy Provincial Registrar confirmed the grant by patent to John Franklin and that the south half had been granted to Daniel Augustus Franklin, heir at law and devisee of George Franklin, the oldest son and heir of John Franklin.
Daniel Augustus Franklin's application to the petition gained the approval of the Commission and he received a Crown Grant dated April 28, 1855 for the south half of Lot 115. Whitson Canby Moore received his grant of the north half on October 23, 1863. Daniel Franklin and Whitson Moore then had theirs and all of the earlier transactions duly recorded in the Abstracts of Deeds Register of the township. The 1834 deed from George Franklin to Joseph Willson and Andrew Moore was recorded followed by the 1842 quitclaim of Andrew Moore. The transfers by probate of the wills of George Franklin and Joseph Willson were placed on the next line transfering title to Daniel Augustus Franklin, Ann Willson and Whitson C. Moore. Then there were 1853 transactions with George N. Procunier. Needless to say the two families were careful to register all their transactions in future.
[1] Original Town Records of Jamestown, Rhode Island researched by Benjamin W. Franklin
[2] John Wilson Taylor and Eva Mills Taylor, p.p. (Staunton, VA, 1958), p. 146
[3] Egbert Americus Owen. Pioneer Sketches of Long Point Settlement (William Briggs: Toronto, 1898), page 287
[4] Original Town Records of Jamestown, Rhode Island
[5] A. A. & C.V. Chapin, History of Rhode Island Ferries, 1925
[6] Original Town Records of Jamestown, Rhode Island
[7] Upper Canada Land Petitions "F" Bundle 5 Document 50 includes both Petitions
[8] Alexander Fraser, “Minutes of the Court of General Quarter Sessions of the Peace for the London District,” in Department of Public Records and Archives of Ontario Report, 1933 (Crown Printer: Toronto, 1934), page 85
[9] Upper Canada Land Petition “F” Bundle 10 Doc. No. 58
[10] Upper Canada Land Petition “F” Bundle 15 Doc. No. 28