John B. FRANKLIN ²

  Research Notes:

John has the weakest evidentiary link to William and Nancy. Although the youngest of the second generation of Wayne County Franklins, he is the last to appear in the records. Not until 1819, when he is already about 33 years old, does he make his appearance. Since William and Nancy came to Wayne County in 1801, when John would have been about age 15, why is there no earlier record of him? Might he have participated in the War of 1812? Could he be the son of the Madison/Garrard County John discussed in the Research note for William Franklin?

Once John did come (back?) to Wayne County, as one might expect he took up residence near his presumed brother closest in age, i.e., Elisha. Elisha was also the most prosperous of the brothers and was probably in a position to hire John as a farm laborer. It's possible John was even enumerated in Elisha's household in the 1820 census (see discussion of 1820 census Event for Elisha). John probably worked for Elisha until 1833, when he acquired his own farm. When John moved from the Upper District to the Lower District about 1850, he settled in the neighborhood where James and his family lived.

An intriguing bit of information that might bear on John's parentage emerged after he moved to the Lower District. Since John, son of James, also lived in the Lower District, the tax collector had to distinguish between the two in some way. Initially, he referred to John son of James as John Sr. Once he also referred to John presumed son of William as John Jr. It was not uncommon for the tax collector to use Sr. and Jr. to distinguish persons of the same name, even unrelated persons, on the basis of age. But, in this instance the John who was younger by 14 years was tagged Sr. I have speculated that perhaps the tax collector was referring not to age but to length of residency in the district when he assigned the tags. But what if in response to an inquiry, John presumed son of William said he was John Jr.? That would bring John of Madison/Garrard County, Kentucky back into play. Something to think about. It may be, however, that John presumed son of William was younger looking than John son of James, for one year the tax collector seems to have referred to him as "pretty" in distinguishing between the two. (No, he did not add "ugly" after the name of John son of James.)

  Death Notes:

From "Deaths of Wayne County, Kentucky, 1852-1860," by June Baldwin Bork:

"Franklin, John -- died 24 December 1859 of "Neuralgia;" age 73 years; married; a farmer; born in Wayne [cf. 1850 census]; resided in Wayne; parents, not known."

  Noted events in his life were:

1. Tax List: 1819-1839, Wayne County, Kentucky. ^{4 5}

1819, 1st (Upper) Precinct: Franklin, John; 1 white male 21+.

1820: No entry (also not in 1820 census).

1821: Franklin, John; 1 white male 21+; 1 horse/mare; $50 total value.

1822, 1st (Upper) District: John Franklin; 1 white male 21+; 1 horse/mare.

1823: Frankling, John; 1 white male 21+; 1 horse/mare; $50 total value.

1824, 1st (Upper) District: Franklin, John; 1 white male 21+; 1 horse/mare; $50 total value.

1825, 2nd (Upper) District: Franklin, John; 1 white male 21+; 1 horse/mare; $25 total value. [Beginning in 1825, there were two John Franklins in the tax records, the other being the son of James Franklin. They are easy to distinguish because until 1850 they were almost always in separate tax districts: John, son of William, was in the Upper District and John, son of James, was in the Lower District. After 1850, they were both in the Lower District, but still easily distinguished based upon their respective land holdings and number of children.]

1826, Capt Joel Bonds Company: Franklin, John; 1 white male 21+; 1 horse/mare; $50 total value.

1827: No entry.

1828: Franklin, John; 1 white male 21+; 1 horse/mare; $50 total value.

1829: Franklin, John; 1 white male 21+; 2 children age 4-15; 1 horse/mare; $25 total value.

1830: Franklin, John; 1 white male 21+. The 1830 delinquent list shows John Franklin to be insolvent. [Note John does not appear in the 1830 census.]

1831-1832: Tax Lists missing.

1833: Franklin, John; 50 acres, C. R. (Cumberland River); 1 white male 21+; 1 horse/mare; $225 total value. [Deed not found.]

1834: Franklin, John; 50 acres, F(?). C. (Fall Creek?), entered prior to R Ard; 1 white male 21+; 2 horses/mares; $100 total value.

1835: Franklin, John; 55 acres, F. C., entered prior to R Arp; 1 voter; 1 white male 21+; $100 total value.

1836: Franklin, John; 75 acres, C. R., entered prior to R Arp; 1 white male 21+; 1 horse/mare; $100 total value.

1837: Franklin, John; 1 white male 21+; 75 acres, C. R., $100; 1 horse/mare, $25; $125 total value.

1838: Franklin, John; 1 voter, 1 white poll; 2 male children 5-18, 2 female children 5-18; 40 acres, C. R., $100; 1 horse/mare, $75; $175 total value.

1839: Franklin, John; 1 white male 21+, 1 county levy; 3 male children 5-18, 3 female children 5-18; 40 acres, H. C. (Harmon's Creek?), $100; 2 horses/mares, $70; $170 total value.

2. Deed: 1835, Wayne County, Kentucky. ⁶

Dated 5 Jun 1835, Recorded 25 Jun 1835, Bk F:431
Reuben Ard and Elizabeth his wife to John Franklin, 75 acres for $200. Per other Ard deeds, this acreage appears to have been located on Fall Creek on the south side of the Cumberland River.

3. Census: 1840, Wayne County, Kentucky. ⁷

John Franklin: 11200001-110101

Although this is the first census record for John, he had lived in Wayne County since 1819. Query why he was not included in the 1820 and 1830 censuses. See discussion of 1820 census for Elisha Franklin.

4. Tax List: 1840-1849, Wayne County, Kentucky. ^{5 8}

1840: John Franklin; 40 acres, Cumd River, $100; 1 white male 21+; 2 horses/mares, $50; $150 total value.

1841, District 1 (Upper): John Franklin; 40 acres, Cumberland River, $100; 1 white male 21+; 1 horse/mare $35; 1 mule, $15; 3 children 7-17; $150 total value.

1842, District 1 (Upper): John Franklin; 40 acres, Fall Cr, $110; 1 white male 21+; 3 horses/mares, $50; 4 children 7-17; $150 total value.

1843, District 2 (Upper): John Franklin; 1 white male 21+; 2 horses/mares, $35; 5 children 5-16; $35 total value.

1844, District 1 (Upper): John Franklin; 5 acres, Fall Creek, $5; 1 white male 21+; 4 horses/mares, $75; 3 children 5-16; $80 total value.

1845, District 1 (Upper): John Franklin; 3 acres, Fall Cr, $5; 1 white male 21+; 3 horses/mares, $55; 4 children 5-16; $60 total value.

1846, Upper District: John Franklin; 3 acres, Fall Creek, $5; 1 white male 21+; 5 horses/mares, $35; $40 total value.

1847: Tax List missing.

1848, District 1 (Upper): John Franklin; 1 white male 21+; 3 horses/mares, $70; 4 children 5-16; $70 total value.

1849, District 2 (Upper): John Franklin; 1 white male 21+; 2 horses, $30; $30 total value.
1845:

5. Deed: 1846, Wayne County, Kentucky. ⁹

Dated 22 Aug 1846, Recorded 31 Aug 1846, Bk I:302
John Franklin and Mary his wife to Benjamin H. Christian, 19 acres for $100. Acreage identified as part of land previously acquired from Reuben Ard.

This is the last deed found through 1851, the end of my deed research.

6. Census: 1850, Wayne County, Kentucky. ^{10 11}

Dwelling 187, Family 187
John Franklin, 63, M, Farmer, $150, VA
Nancy P. Franklin, 43, F, KY
Julia A. Franklin, 28, F, KY
Elenia Franklin, 26, F, KY
Polley A. Franklin, 18, F, KY
Benjamin Franklin, 17, M, KY
Henry Franklin, 15, M, KY
Amanda Franklin, 13, F, KY
Berry Franklin, 12, M, KY
Artamesa, 4, F, KY

Note the Bork transcription mistakenly lists the state of birth for all as VA.

7. Tax List: 1850-1859, Wayne County, Kentucky. ⁸

1850, District 2 (Lower): Franklin, John; 1 white male 21+; 3 horses, $63; 4 children 5-16; Equalization, $50; $113 total value. [Starting in 1850, John now lives in the Lower District where James' family lived. The only Franklins left in the Upper District are the heirs of Elisha. Oddly, James' son John is referred to this year as John Sr., even though the other John is his presumed uncle. I expect the Sr. tag was used to differentiate an established resident of the area from the newcomer.]

1851, District 2 (Lower): Franklin, John; 1 legal voter, 1 white male 21+; 3 children, 5-16; 3 horses/mares, $100; $100 total value.

1852, District 1 (Lower): Franklin, John; 140 acres, Harmons Cr., $300; 1 white male 21+; 2 horses/mares, $75; 6 cattle; 4 children 5-16; 31 hogs; Equalization, $20; $395 total value.

1853, Lower District: Franklin, John B; 140 acres, H. Cr., $300; 1 white male 21+; 1 horse/mare, $60; 4 children 6-18; 20 hogs; $360 total value. [Note use of middle initial to distinguish him from John, son of James.]

1854, District 2 (Lower): Franklin, John; 140 acres, H. Creek, $500; 1 white male 21+; 2 horses/mares, $75; 10 cattle, $20; 4 children 6-15; 30 hogs; $595 total value.

1855, District 1 (Lower): Franklin, John Jr.; 140 acres, H. Creek, $300; 1 white male 21+; 2 horses, $40; 12 cattle, $30; 5 children 6-18; 1 blind white person; 14 hogs; $370 total value. [John, son of James, was listed as John Sr. this year. Once again, the tax collector seems to be using Jr. and Sr. to indicate length of residency in the District.]

1856, Lower District: Franklin, John (Pretty); 140 acres, Harmons, $300; 1 white male 21+; 2 horses, $50; 6 cattle, $20; 3 children 6-18; 10 hogs; $370 total value. [It looks like the tax collector adopted a different approach to distinguishing between the two Johns.]

1857: No Listing

1858, Lower District: Franklin, John; 140 acres, H. C., $500; 1 white male 21+; 2 horses/mares, $60; 5 cattle; 3 children 6-18; 20 hogs; $560 total value.

1859, Lower District: Franklin, John; 140 acres, Harmons Creek, $500; 1 white male 21+; 1 horse, $50; 7 cattle; 4 children 6-18; 30 hogs; 150 corn; 25 wheat; $550 total value. [This is the last tax entry for James due to his death at the end of 1859.]

John married Nancy P. RUTHERFORD on 28 Dec 1820 in Wayne County, Kentucky.¹ (Nancy P. RUTHERFORD was born in 1804-1807 in Kentucky ^{10 11 12}.)

  Marriage Notes:

"Franklin, John and Polly Rutherford. Surety, Jacob Rutherford. Married 28 Dec 1820 by William Scott JP."

Since John was about age 34 when he married Polly (aka Mary/Nancy), it's reasonable to speculate this may not have been his first marriage. Indeed, if John was enumerated in the 1820 household of Elisha Franklin, as I suspect, there are others in this household who could be part of John's family. But, this theory is undermined by John's marriage to Polly at the end of 1820. It would have helped to have 1830 census information to see if there were any children born before the 1820 marriage, but unfortunately John was not enumerated in the 1830 census. ¹