Дебора Рид Франклин: жизнь и брак с Бенджамином Франклином.

Spouse of Benjamin Franklin

Deborah Read Franklin ( 1708 – December 19, 1774) was the common law wife of Benjamin Franklin, polymath and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.

Little is known about Read's early life. She was born around 1708, most likely in Birmingham, England (some sources state she was born in Philadelphia) to John and Sarah Read, a well respected Quaker couple. John Read was a moderately prosperous building contractor and carpenter who died in 1724. Read had three siblings: two brothers, John and James, and a sister, Frances. The Read family immigrated to British America in 1711, settling in Philadelphia.

In October 1723, Read met then 17 year old Benjamin Franklin when he walked past the Read home on Market Street one morning. As he had no pockets, Franklin carried one roll under each arm and was eating the third. Read (whom Franklin called "Debby") was standing in the doorway of her home and was amused by the sight of Franklin's "most awkward ridiculous appearance." In Franklin's absence, Read was persuaded by her mother to marry John Rogers, a British man who has been identified variously as a carpenter or a potter. Read eventually agreed and married Rogers on August 5, 1725 at Christ Church, Philadelphia. Read refused to live with or recognize Rogers as her husband. Soon afterward, unconfirmed reports circulated that Rogers had made his way to the British West Indies, where he was killed in a fight. John Rogers' true fate has never been proven. Despite his previous intention to remain in London, Franklin returned to Philadelphia in October 1727. He and Read eventually resumed their relationship and decided to marry. While Read considered her marriage to her first husband to be over, she was not able to legally remarry. At that time, the law in the Province of Pennsylvania would not grant a divorce on the grounds of desertion; nor could Read claim to be a widow, as there was no proof that Rogers was dead. If Rogers returned after Read legally married Franklin, she faced a charge of bigamy which carried the penalty of thirty nine lashings on the bare back and life imprisonment with hard labor. To avoid any legal issues, Read and Franklin decided upon a common law marriage. On September 1, 1730, the couple held a ceremony for friends and family in which they announced they would live as husband and wife. They had two children together: Francis Folger "Franky" (born 1732), who died of smallpox in 1736 at the age of four, and Sarah "Sally" (born 1743). Read also helped to raise Franklin's illegitimate son William, whose mother's identity is still unknown.

By the late 1750s, Benjamin Franklin had established himself as a successful printer, publisher, and writer. He was appointed the first postmaster of Philadelphia and was heavily involved in social and political affairs that would eventually lead to the establishment of the United States. In 1757, Franklin embarked on the first of numerous trips to Europe. Read refused to accompany him due to a fear of ocean travel. While Franklin stayed overseas for the next five years, Read remained in Philadelphia where, despite her limited education, she successfully ran her husband's businesses, maintained their home, cared for the couple's children and regularly attended Quaker Meeting. Franklin returned to Philadelphia in November 1762. He tried to persuade Read to accompany him to Europe, but she again refused. Franklin returned to Europe in November 1764 where he would remain for the next ten years. Read would never see Franklin again. In November 1769, Read wrote Franklin saying that her stroke, declining health and depressed mental state were a result of her "dissatisfied distress" due to his prolonged absence. Franklin still did not return but continued to write to Read. Read's final surviving letter to Franklin is dated October 29, 1773. Thereafter, she stopped corresponding with her husband. Franklin continued to write to Read, inquiring as to why her letters had ceased, but still did not return home.