Benjamin Joseph Franklin

Benjamin Joseph Franklin, 1834? – 1898 
Arizona’s 12th Territorial Governor
 
Buried in Rosedale Cemetery, Block 36, Grave 7
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​(Photo from the Arizona State Archives website)

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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.

© 2012 by Donna Carr. Last revised 12/7/2012.

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