BENJAMIN FRANKLIN’S STORY
(1706 -1757)

YFORD, at the Archdiocese of Saint Asaph, 1771.

DEAR SON:

I always enjoy hearing anecdotes about my fathers.

You may recall how I inquired about my other relatives

during your time in England with me

and the journey I took to that end.

I suppose you also want to understand the events in my life,

because there are many things

I have not told you

and look forward to enjoying a week of leisure after

withdrawing from the main activities and ruler,

I sit here and write them down for you.

Those are the reasons we have in addition to other inducements.

Rise from the poverty

and darkness that we were born and brought up,

achieve riches and some fame in the world,

go through a life rich in luck that we have used

as a means To accomplish God’s grace,

posterity may want to know about my life,

and you can find details that are appropriate

for your situation to imitate.

My luck,

when I think about it,

has led me many times to say that,

if I had a choice,

I wouldn’t refuse to repeat the same life from the beginning,

I just ask to obtained authorship

to correct some errors in the first edition of the book of life.

If that’s the case,

we might be able to correct a few mistakes,

change some bad accidents

and events for the better,

for BENJAMIN FRANKLIN’S STORY. (1706 -1757)

YFORD, at the Archdiocese of Saint Asaph, 1771.

DEAR SON:

I always enjoy hearing anecdotes about my fathers.

You may recall how I inquired about my other relatives

during your time in England with me and the journey

I took to that end.

I suppose you also want to understand the events in my life,

because there are many things

I have not told you

and look forward to enjoying a week of leisure

after withdrawing from the main activities ruler,

I sit here and write them down for you.

Those are the reasons we have in addition to other inducements.

Rise from the poverty and darkness that

we were born and brought up,

achieve riches and some fame in the world,

go through a life rich in luck that

we have used as a means

To accomplish God’s grace,

posterity may want to know about my life,

and you can find details that are appropriate

for your situation to imitate.

My luck,

when I think about it,

has led me many times to say that,

if I had a choice,

I wouldn’t refuse to repeat the same life from the beginning,

I just ask to obtained authorship

to correct some errors in the first edition of the book of life.

If we can,

we can correct some mistakes,

change some bad accidents

and events for the better for others.

But even if I don’t have the copyright,

I still accept the offer to relive my life.

Since that recurrence is unlikely,

the next and closest thing to living this life again seems

to be only one:

reminiscing about life and making it as lasting

as possible by rewriting them.

Since, everyone has the right to choose whether

or not to read this autobiography,

here we will also tolerate the very natural bias of the elderly

when it comes to themselves

and their actions in the past;

and we will tolerate

without getting bored with the fact

that other people who,

in their old age see themselves as having a duty to discipline us.

And finally

(we have to admit this because if we deny it,

no one will believe it),

we’ll probably indulge our vanity a lot here.

In fact, we rarely hear or see the introduction lines,

“Not for my own sake,

I’ll tell you,”

followed by frivolous things.

Most people hate vanity in others,

but when we think about it fairly for five or ten minutes,

we find that vanity is often good for those who possess it

and also for those within its influence that person.

Thus, in many cases,

it is not entirely unreasonable for a person to thank God for his

or her vanity among other life’s blessings.

And now when it comes to thanking God,

with all my humbleness,

I wish to be grateful for the happiness

we have had in the past life to the Most High,

who has led us to the paths that we have followed.

Pick out

and let them succeed.

Belief in this prompts us to hope,

even if it is presupposed that such good things will not come

to us in eternal happiness

or help us to cope with death,

which we will have to go through like any other.

Others have:

color, our future destiny only He can understand.

With infinite power,

He Himself can even give us trouble.

The notes that my uncle

(who shared the same curiosity about collecting family anecdotes)

once placed in my hands has given me detailed

knowledge regarding my ancestors.

From these records

I know that my family lived in the village

of Ecton in Northamptonshire for 300 years,

and how much longer my uncle himself does not know.

(Perhaps from ancient times,

when the name Franklin,

which formerly referred to a social hierarchy,

was changed to a family name

when everyone chose for his

or her own family name.)

We have 30 acres of land and a smithy business.

This work continued until my uncle,

the eldest son was always chosen to pass it on.

A tradition that fathers

and uncles continue to pass on to their first son.

When searching for registrations at Ecton,

we found only a civil registry of births,

marriages and family burials dating from 1555,

with no previous records recorded.

According to the records found,

I know that I am the fifth youngest grandson of the youngest son.

My grandfather Thomas,

born in 1598, lived in Ecton

until he was too old to continue working

and moved in with his son John,

a dyer in Banbury,

Oxfordshire,

whose father I apply for an apprenticeship.

He died and was buried there.

We visit his grave in 1758. His eldest son,

Thomas, lived in a house in Ecton

and passed the inheritance of the house

and land to his only daughter,

with whom with her husband,

a Wellingborough fisherman,

sold the property to Mr Isted,

the current owner of the manor.

My grandfather had four sons: Thomas, John,

Benjamin and Josiah.

I will tell you the stories

I know about them in letters,

and if I don’t forget this,

you will find many other details.

Mr. Thomas was taught the profession of blacksmith by his father,

but by nature was intelligent

and (like all my brothers) was encouraged to study

with a famous monk in the village.

Mr. Thomas opened his own copywriting business,

becoming one of the most important people in the county,

a key figure in the activities of the county community

or the town of Northampton and the village,

where the There are many imprints on him.

Thomas was also greatly noticed

and helped by Lord Halifax.

He died of old age on January 6, 1702,

just four years before I was born.

I remember that the record of information about his life

and name from the elders of Ecton gave us an extraordinary feeling,

similar to what you know about my life.

“Since he died the same day he was born,

he could be his reincarnation.”

I can say that.

Mr. John was taught the craft of weaving,

which I think is woolen weaving.

Mr. Benjamin was taught silk weaving

and apprenticed in London.

He is an intelligent man.

I remember him very clearly

because when I was a child,

he came to visit

and lived with my father in Boston for several years.

He lived a very long life.

His grandson,

Samuel Franklin, now lives in Boston.

He left behind two volumes of fourth-stanza poetry that

he composed,

including small works written for friends and relatives,

and the part he sent us was only a draft.

That draft was stenographically written the way he taught me,

but since I’ve never practiced it,

I’ve forgotten it.

I was named after this relative

because of the very special feelings

between my father and grandfather.

He was a very religious man,

attended all the lectures of the best teachers,

transcribed the lectures and kept many copies.

He was also a politician,

perhaps very politically,

in his situation.

Recently, we found in London a collection of thematic books

he had written on public affairs between 1641 and 1717.

Many volumes are missing

when reviewing the page numbers,

but there are still enough 8 sets for stanza two

and 24 sets for stanza four and eight.

A used book dealer

who knew me after many times buying books from him

found them and brought them.

It seems that he left behind the books

when he went to America 50 years ago.

The margins of the books are still full of his notes.

My nameless family was marked

by the beginning of the change life

and continued to be Protestants during Queen Mary’s reign,

my family was sometimes put in jeopardy

by being too zealous for the cause,

with the Roman Church.

We have an English Bible,

and to hide and protect it,

our family tied the open book

with duct tape under a low stool.

When my great-grandfather read the Bible to the whole family,

he turned the chair upside down

and flipped the pages under the tape.

A child in the family will stand

guard the door to alert when it detects that a certain hand,

some kind of officer of the religious court,

is approaching.

In that case,

he would turn the chair upside down

and the prayer book would be hidden again.

This is an anecdote I heard from my uncle Benjamin.

Our family continued to follow the Anglican Church

until the end of the reign of Charles II,

when a few pastors accused of organizing illegal religious meetings in Northamptonshire,

Benjamin and Josiah joined the others in this man

and continued to follow Anglicanism for the rest of his life.

The rest of the family continued to follow the Episcopal Church.

Josiah, my father,

married at a very young age,

moved with his wife

and three children to New England around 1682.

Illegal religious gatherings were prohibited by law and frequently harassed.

That caused many of his acquaintances to move to this land.

My father was persuaded by them

and moved with these friends to New England,

where they could enjoy their religious joy in freedom.

He gave birth to 4 more children with his first wife

and then 10 more children with his second wife,

a total of 17 people.

I remember I saw 13 brothers

and sisters sitting at a table with him,

all grown up and married.

It is the youngest son,

near the youngest in the family and was born in Boston,

New England.

My mother was a second wife,

whose name was Abiah Folger,

daughter of Peter Folger,

one of the earliest settlers of New England,

who was honored to be mentioned by Cotton Mather,

if I remember correctly,

as an “Englishman” pious,

educated” in a book on that country’s church history titled Magnalia Christi Americana.

I have heard that he sometimes writes short works but

only a printed work that one saw many years ago.

That work was written in 1675

as verses about times and people,

for readers interested in issues of Government at that time.

The work is more liberal-conscious and represents Baptists,

denominationals,

and followers of other faiths who are suffering

from the war with the Indians,

for the sufferings that country suffered from God’s severe punishment for offending

Him and urging an end to those harsh laws.

To me,

the whole work was written with frankness,

decency,

and courageous freedom.

We forget the first two lines

and remember the six concluding lines of the poem,

the content of which speaks to his well-intentioned criticism,

and thus he is known as the author of that work.

“Being a libel (he said);

I really hate that;

From the town of Sherburne to here where I live

I put my name here;

Without offending your true friend,

I’m Peter Folgier.”

My brothers were all sent to learn many different professions.

I was sent to high school at the age of eight

because my father wanted one of his children

to dedicate himself to the church.

My eagerness to learn to read very early

(probably very soon

because I can’t remember the time

when I didn’t know how to read)

and your suggestions

that I would become a good scholar encouraged him to follow this end.

My uncle Benjamin also approved of that decision

and offered to give me all the shorthand copies of the sermons,

which I thought were prepared in case

I wanted to follow his example in the future.

However, I only attended high school for less than a year,

even though during the time I attended,

I rose to the top of my class from the average position

and was transferred to the upper class so that

I could move on to high school 3rd grade later that year.

But in that time,

because my father changed his mind

because he realized that

the expenses for education were too great that

his large family could not be well supported,

and also partly because the people who graduated School had a very hard life

– that’s why I heard him tell his friends.

He dropped me out of high school and sent me to a writing

and arithmetic school run by a famous name,

George Browell,

who was generally quite successful in his profession

for many ways very peaceful

and full of encouragement.

Under him,

I soon acquired quite good writing skills

but failed in Arithmetic and could not progress.

At the age of 10,

I returned home to help my father in the candle business and soap making.

This business was not a profession he was handed down,

but he took it on when he moved to New England

because the dyeing job was not enough to support his family.

Accordingly,

we are tasked with cutting the wicks,

filling the dipping and cooking molds,

keeping the shop and other errands, and so on.

I don’t like this job but prefer to go to the sea

but my father is against this hobby.

However,

living near the sea,

we quickly discover it,

learning to swim well from a very early age

and how to control the boats.

When sailing or sailing with other boys,

you are often given command,

especially when difficulties arise.

In other situations,

I am also the leader of the boys,

but also sometimes lead them into trouble

and I will give you an example of this,

although this is a wrong move,

it shows see it as our tendency

to love public activities in the future.

There is a salt marsh surrounding part of the lake,

where we used to stand to fish for minnows.

We step on it so much that it really becomes a swamp.

I propose to build a jetty to stand on

and show my “comrades” where a large pile of rocks

that are intended to be used to build houses near the marsh

It is well suited to our purposes.

According to the plan,

in the afternoon when the builders leave,

we gather our friends to play and work hard like ants,

sometimes 2 or 3 people carry a rock,

we carry them all away,

and build yourself a small jetty.

The next morning,

the builders were surprised to find the pile of stones missing

and then find them in our little jetty.

People started looking for the culprit that moved the rocks.

We were discovered and scolded.

Many of us were reprimanded by our parents,

and although I tried to explain the usefulness of the work,

my father explained to me that nothing was useful

without being honest.

I think you need to know something about the man

and his character.

He was a man of good shape,

average but well-proportioned and very strong.

He is very intelligent,

draws very well,

has some musical skills and

He spoke very easily,

so hearing him play the violin and sing hymns,

which he sometimes did after a day’s work,

was extremely comforting.

He was also a good mechanic

and at times very adept at using other profession’s tools,

but his greatest talent was in his ability to gain insight

and make firm judgments on the important issues

for him personally as well as public affairs.

In the next period of his life,

he practically never got the chance to show

that talent in a formal job due to having

to focus on business

and taking care of his large family.

But we remember very well that many local leaders visited him

for advice on public affairs in the town

or in the church where he lived,

and they showed great respect for the rulings and his advice.

Others also come to him for advice on their problems

when there are difficulties

and he also often acts as a mediator

between the two sides when there is a dispute.

He regularly invites a few friends over to his house

to discuss clever or useful topics

that can develop his children’s thinking.

In this way,

he directs our attention to the good,

the righteous,

the wise in the way of life and often rarely

or never talks about the topics of “rice and money”,

whether good or bad,

timely or not,

easy or difficult to see,

preferred or less popular than other subjects of the same kind,

so that we are brought up in an environment

that is completely not geared to those issues,

no important and also don’t pay attention to what we’re going to eat,

so now if asked after just a few hours of eating

I don’t even remember what I used.

This habit is very useful to us when traveling,

while our friends are often unhappy

because they want to eat more delicate dishes,

in accordance with their preferences

and fussy eating habits in terms of smell,

and their taste.

My mother also looked wonderful:

she breastfed all 10 children.

I don’t know if my parents have any diseases,

but my father died at the age of 89

and my mother lived at the age of 85.

The two were buried together in Boston,

where a few years later I placed a marble on their grave with the words:

JOSIAH FRANKLIN

And

Wife of ABIAH

Buried here.

The two were deeply in love in a 55-year marriage relationship.

There are no estates and a highly profitable business,

Through labor and non-stop work,

Under God’s help,

The two have maintained a large family

In a cozy way,

And raised 13 children

And 7 grandchildren

so people.

From this proof, my friend,

Be brave and diligent to listen to his call,

And believe in the Most High.

He was a pious and wise man;

She was a reserved and virtuous person.

The youngest son of the two,

In memory of the deceased parents,

Order this marble here.

J. F. born 1655, died 1744,

89 years old surname

A. F. was born 1667,

died 1752,

enjoyed the last name 85 years old

While clamoring off topic,

I suddenly realized that I was old.

I used to write very methodically.

But a person cannot wear the same shirt indoors and out in society.

This is probably just an oversight.

Back to topic:

I continued to work with my father for 2 years

until the age of 12,

and since my brother John

who passed this profession left his father,

got married and built a life in Rhode Island,

it seems that I was destined to be the one to replace him

and become a candle maker.

However, since I still do not like this profession,

my father is afraid that

if he does not find me a profession I love,

I will leave home to go to the sea

as Josiah’s son did,

which greatly displeased him before.

Therefore, he sometimes took me out for a walk

and met woodworkers and masons

brasssmiths, etc.

while they are working.

He watches my attitude

and tries to guide me in one of those professions.

I had a lot of fun watching the craftsmen use their tools

and it was also very helpful to me

because through learning those experiences,

I was able to do some chores around the house.

when the repairman could not come

and build the small machines for my experiments,

when the idea of conducting the experiment was still fresh

and clear in my mind.

In the end,

my father guided me into the profession of cutlery.

Uncle Benjamin’s son,

Samuel, was given this profession in London

and was living in Boston at the time,

so I was sent to stay with him for a while.

However, the cost demands that

he set forth made his father unhappy and he took me home.

From an early age I loved reading books

and all the small money

I received was used to buy books.

Since I enjoyed reading Pilgrim’s Progress,

my first collection was the short works of John Bunyan.

We then sold the book to buy R.

Burton’s History Collections.

They were peddler’s pamphlets,

each containing about 40 or 50 volumes and very cheap.

My father’s little library consisted mainly

of religious theory titles that

I had almost all read

and have since frequently regretted that in the days

when I was hungry for that knowledge

I did not come across such books.

the book is more suitable

because now it is clear that

I am not fit to be a monk.

Plutarch Lives is the book I read the most,

and I still consider the time spent on it well worth it.

There is a another book

De Foe’s Essay on Projects,

and another book by Professor Mather titled Essay to do Good.

These books changed our thinking later on

and influenced important events in our later lives.

My long-time passion for reading made my father determined

to guide me into printing,

even though he already had a son (James) in this profession.

In 1717, my brother James returned from England

with a printing press and printed forms

to open his own business in Boston.

I like these things more than my father,

but I still have a longing for the sea.

To suppress this desire,

my father quickly sent me to my brother.

I didn’t agree at first,

but then I was convinced

and signed the contract

when I was only 12 years old.

I became an apprentice until the age of 21

and only started receiving wages as an employee in my final year.

In that short period of time

I got hold of the business

and became an effective hand for my brother.

At that time, we have the opportunity

to access more good books.

The friendship with the apprentices in the bookstore allows us

to borrow pamphlets from time to time,

and we quickly return them carefully and cleanly.

Fearing that the books we borrow will be questioned and reclaimed,

we often sit in our reading rooms most of the night

so that the books we borrow in the afternoon

It will be returned early the next morning.

And then some time later,

an outstanding businessman named Matthew Adams,

whose book collection was quite extensive