David Franks (September 23, 1720 – October 1794) was a

loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

in the war of the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

Life

David Franks was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, 23 September 1720, the youngest son of Jacob Franks (1687–1769) and Abigail Levy Franks, of a large and prominent Jewish family from England. As a young man, he moved to

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, where he became a successful merchant, engaging in land speculation, shipping, and fur trading in partnership with Nathan Levy under the firm name of Levy & Franks. This was the first Jewish business-house in Philadelphia. Franks was a member of the

Congregation Mikveh Israel Congregation Mikveh Israel (), is a Sephardic Orthodox Jewish synagogue located at 44 North Fourth Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The congregation traces its history from 1740. Mikveh Israel is a Spanish and Portu ...

and was elected a member of the provincial assembly in 1748. He and his wife Margaret Evans (1720–1780) of one of Philadelphia's Christian families were socially prominent in the city. During the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

, he was engaged by the government to supply the army with provisions. In 1755, upon the defeat of General Braddock, he helped to raise a fund of £5,000 for the further defense of the colony. In the 1760s, He signed the Non-Importation Resolution of 1765, but eventually his loyalist tendencies won over. During the revolution, he was the king's agent for Pennsylvania. Perceived as a threat to the security of the United States, he was jailed briefly in 1778 by order of Congress, and then imprisoned again in 1780. Franks participated in the importation and sale of African slaves. From 1771 to 1781, he owned and occupied Woodford, a mansion in Germantown, now a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

, to which he added a second story and a rear two-story addition. After living in England for a time, Franks returned to Philadelphia in 1783, where he worked as a merchant.

Death

By various accounts, Franks died in the

Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 During the 1793 yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia, 5,000 or more people were listed in the register of deaths between August 1st and November 9th. The vast majority of them died of yellow fever, making the epidemic in the city of 50,000 peop ...

in Philadelphia, where he was buried in

Christ Church Burial Ground Christ Church Burial Ground in Philadelphia is an important early-American cemetery. It is the final resting place of Benjamin Franklin and his wife, Deborah. Four other signers of the Declaration of Independence are buried here, Benjamin Rush ...

. Others claim he returned again to England and died at

Isleworth Isleworth ( ) is a suburban town in the London Borough of Hounslow, West London, England. It lies immediately east of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane, London, River Crane. Isleworth's original area of ...

in October 1794.

Family

Franks's wife died on September 20, 1780, and is interred at

. His nephew, Col. David Salisbury Franks, a revolutionary who served as aide to

Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold (#Brandt, Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American-born British military officer who served during the American Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of ...

, came under further suspicion because of his relationship with his loyalist uncle. In 1768, his eldest daughter Abigail married Andrew Hamilton (1745–1813), elder brother of William Hamilton, well-known proprietor of " The Woodlands." His youngest daughter,

Rebecca Rebecca () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical tradition, Rebecca's father was Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram, also called Aram-Naharaim. Rebecca's brother was Laban (Bi ...

, became the wife of then British colonel (later General) Henry Johnson, and was one of the prominent young Philadelphians who attended the

Mischianza The Mischianza (; Italian for "medley" or "mixture"), or Meschianza, was an elaborate fête given in honor of British General Sir William Howe in Philadelphia on May 18, 1778. Howe, the commander-in-chief of the British forces in America during t ...

Ball.

References

External links

Article at JewishEncyclopedia.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Franks, David 1720 births 1794 deaths Loyalists in the American Revolution from Pennsylvania 18th-century American Sephardic Jews 18th-century American Jews American slave owners People from colonial Pennsylvania People from the Province of New York Deaths from yellow fever Burials at Christ Church, Philadelphia