John Rankin Franklin (May 6, 1820 – January 11, 1878) was a

Congressional Representative A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...

for the U.S.

state of Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. He also served as a member of the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the Maryland General Assembly, legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House ...

in 1843 and as

Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates The speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates presides as speaker over the House of Delegates in the state of Maryland in the United States. List of speakers See also * List of Maryland General Assemblies Footnotes References Mar ...

in 1849.

Early life

John Rankin Franklin was born in

Worcester County, Maryland Worcester County is the easternmost county of the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 52,460. Its county seat is Snow Hill. The county is part of the Lower Eastern Shore region of the state. It is the only cou ...

, and graduated from Jefferson College in 1836. He then studied law and was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1841.

Career

Franklin opened a law practice in

Snow Hill, Maryland Snow Hill is a town in and the county seat of Worcester County, Maryland, United States. The population was 2,156 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Salisbury, Maryland-Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Snow Hill was founded ...

. He was a member of the

, representing Worcester County, in 1843, and served as president of the

Maryland State Board of Public Works Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east, as well as with the Atlantic Ocean to it ...

in 1851. He was elected as a Whig to the

Thirty-third Congress The 33rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1853, ...

, and served the 1st Congressional district of Maryland from March 4, 1853, until March 3, 1855. He again became a member of the Maryland House of Delegates and served as the

in 1849. Franklin was a judge of the first judicial circuit of Maryland from 1867 until his death.

Personal life

His daughter Sarah E. married George M. Upshur. Her son Franklin Upshur was an assistant state's attorney. Franklin died on January 11, 1878, in Snow Hill. He is buried in the churchyard of Makemie Memorial Presbyterian Church in Snow Hill.

References

1820 births 1878 deaths Speakers of the Maryland House of Delegates People from Snow Hill, Maryland Washington & Jefferson College alumni Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Maryland General Assembly {{Maryland-politician-stub