Benjamin franklin descendants family tree

Soon after returning to London from his July visit to Ecton and Banbury, Franklin made an elaborate genealogical chart in which he brought together both the information he had gathered on this trip and his own previous knowledge.

He drew circles to represent individuals and inserted in each (sometimes spilling over the edges) such vital data as he had accumulated. He then connected the circles by double lines to show the descent of each person, going back as far as the earliest known ancestor, his great-great-grandfather, Thomas Franklyne.

Benjamin franklin children

The chart is on a sheet of about 15 by 20 inches.9 On the back is the endorsement “Memor. of the Family.” A much reduced facsimile, showing its appearance, is printed facing this page; it is followed by a reproduction in type, necessarily somewhat conventionalized, but arranged as nearly as possible as is the original.

The manuscript is torn and several ent