Benjamin Joseph Franklin was born in Kentucky. By 1860, he was practicing law in Leavenworth, Kansas. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Franklin, a Southern sympathizer, moved to Missouri so that he could enlist in the Confederate Army. He served for the duration of the war, rising to the rank of captain.
Since Franklin had been an officer, he was forbidden to
practice law or hold public office after the war until he had taken an oath of
allegiance. From 1865 to 1868, he farmed in Columbia, Missouri. After taking the oath of allegiance in 1868,
he moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and opened a law office.
Franklin was married to Anne Barbour Johnston, stepdaughter
of Alfred William Morrison, previously the treasurer of the state of
Missouri. From 1871 to 1875, Franklin
was the prosecuting attorney for Jackson County. In 1875, he was elected to the United States
House of Representatives and served two terms before returning to his private
law practice.
In 1885, Franklin travelled to Washington, D. C., where he successfully
lobbied President Grover Cleveland for an appointment as U. S. Consul to
China. His family accompanied him to
Hankow, where they lived for the next five years
In 1890, the Franklins returned to California. By 1892, they were in Phoenix. Aware of efforts to have territorial governor
Hughes removed from office, Franklin decided to seek the office himself. He persuaded several prominent local men to
send letters on his behalf to President Cleveland. Cleveland responded by appointing him the
twelfth territorial governor of Arizona on 18 April 1896. Franklin’s son Alfred served as his personal
secretary.
During his term in office, Franklin pushed for statehood and
tax reform, feeling that many businesses and individuals were not paying their
fair share of taxes. Although as a
fiscal conservative he was averse to soliciting funds from Congress, he knew
that only the federal government could build the dams that Arizona so
desperately needed. In January 1897,
Franklin had suffered a heart attack but recovered through “sheer force of
will”.
After Republican William McKinley was elected President, he
replaced Franklin with a man of his own party, Myron Hawley McCord. On 22 July 1897, Franklin left office and
returned to his private law practice in the Fleming building, with Alfred as
his partner. Franklin is generally
regarded as having been personally honest and competent although not
particularly effective as a governor, given his short tenure.
After he left office, Franklin’s health declined further. When he did not wake from a nap on 19 May
1898, it was determined that he had died of a recurrence of his heart
trouble. He was buried in Rosedale
Cemetery following an Episcopalian funeral service.
-by Donna Carr
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