Benjamin Franklin: An American Life

At the age of 51, Franklin arrived in London with his 26-year-old son William. In the five years they spent there, William fathered an illegitimate son, Temple, and demonstrated Tory and aristocratic sympathies. In the summer of 1762, William married a Tory and looked forward to returning to the colonies as Royal Governor of New Jersey. Franklin did not attend the wedding, as he was traveling at the time. However, he had cut short another trip to attend the coronation of King George III. Isaacson notes that Franklin’s relationship with his family was somewhat cold. In London, Franklin lodged with Margaret Stevenson and her daughter Polly. The two became a surrogate family for him and he developed a close relationship with both Margaret and Polly. There is no hint of an affair, and Franklin remained fond of Deborah, who declined to travel to London.

While Franklin typically found ways to achieve compromise, he did not do so in his mission in London. The proprietors were willing to make minor concessions on the issue of taxation, but they would not yield on the powers of the Assembly. Franklin offended the Penns in his written presentation of the case and followed that up with a “venomous meeting” (186).