Isaac Franklin (May 26, 1789 – April 27, 1846) was an American

slave trader The history of slavery spans many cultures, nationalities, and religions from ancient times to the present day. Likewise, its victims have come from many different ethnicities and religious groups. The social, economic, and legal positions of ...

and plantation owner. He was the co-founder of Franklin & Armfield, which became the largest slave trading firm in the United States. Based in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of downtown Washington, D.C. In 2020, the population was 159,467. ...

, it also had offices in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Franklin owned six plantations in

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regions of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-smal ...

and

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to ...

. His Fairvue plantation, in

Sumner County, Tennessee Sumner County is a county located on the central northern border of the U.S. state of Tennessee, in what is called Middle Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 196,281. Its county seat is Gallatin, and its largest city is Hen ...

, was formerly listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

. By 1841, Franklin left slave trading and devoted his energy to the plantations and other property interests. At the age of 50, he was married, for the first time, to Adelicia Hayes of Nashville. None of their four children survived to adulthood. In the late 19th century, his widow eventually sold the Louisiana plantations. In

West Feliciana Parish West Feliciana Parish (French: ''Paroisse de Feliciana Ouest''; Spanish: ''Parroquia de West Feliciana'') is a civil parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2010 census, the population was 15,625, and 15,310 at the 2020 census. ...

, his former

Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

and other plantations were bought by the state in 1901 and converted for use as

Louisiana State Penitentiary The Louisiana State Penitentiary (known as Angola, and nicknamed the "Alcatraz of the South", "The Angola Plantation" and "The Farm"Sutton, Keith "Catfish".Out There: Angola angling. ''ESPN Outdoors''. May 31, 2006. Retrieved on August 25, 2010. ...

, the largest maximum-security prison in the United States.

Early life

Isaac Franklin was born on May 26, 1789, at Pilot's Knob Plantation on Station Camp Creek in

. His father James Franklin (1755-1825 or 1828) and grandfather Charles (1735-1769) both came from

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. James served in the Revolutionary War and was later listed by militia leader James Robertson as one of the "Immortal Seventy" who were granted one square mile or each of land by the state of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...

for their service.Kenneth C. Thomson, Jr., "Isaac Franklin was a Well-Liked Slave Trader," in ''Gallatin Examiner'', Thurs. May 13, 1976. (North Carolina then claimed Tennessee as part of its territory to the west.) Isaac's mother was Mary Lauderdale. James Franklin prospered in Tennessee—as each of his sons reached adulthood, he presented them with a horse, a bridle, and a pocket knife. When Isaac was twenty-one years old, he received his share and, according to tradition, used the knife to carve a ship miniature. He sold this to a friend for one dollar. In fifteen years he had made a fortune in slave trading.

Career

Franklin took up slave trading in 1810. After serving in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It ...

, Franklin resumed the trade. Franklin-armfield-office

In 1828 Franklin formed a partnership with his nephew

John Armfield John Armfield (1797–1871) was an American slave trader. He was the co-founder of Franklin & Armfield, "the largest slave trading firm" in the United States. He was also the developer of Beersheba Springs, and a co-founder of Sewanee: The Uni ...

when Isaac's father James died and bequeathed land and slaves to him and his brother James. They set up Franklin & Armfield in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandr ...

, then part of the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

. Between 1828 and 1837, Franklin & Armfield became "the largest slave trading firm" in the United States. Franklin's main sales office was in

Natchez, Mississippi Natchez ( ) is the county seat of and only city in Adams County, Mississippi, United States. Natchez has a total population of 14,520 (as of the 2020 census). Located on the Mississippi River across from Vidalia in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, ...

; he also had offices in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

St. Francisville, and

Vidalia, Louisiana Vidalia is the largest city and the parish seat of Concordia Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 4,299 as of the 2010 census. Vidalia is located on the west bank of the Mississippi River. The city of Natchez, Mississippi, li ...

. Franklin and Armfield joked with each other in letters about the enslaved women they were raping. They each had a child with a woman they had enslaved, and sold their children. The firm owned six ships to take enslaved men, women, and children from Alexandria in the coastwise trade to the Deep South. The ships returned with cargoes of sugar, molasses, whiskey, and cotton. Fairvue, U

Franklin made his Tennessee plantation, "Fairvue," his home. Once Fairvue was finished, he turned toward

, where he purchased six plantations, named "Bellevue", "Killarney", "Lochlomond", "

Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

", "Loango" and "Panola"; much later, land of the combined plantations was used for

Angola State Penitentiary The Louisiana State Penitentiary (known as Angola, and nicknamed the "Alcatraz of the South", "The Angola Plantation" and "The Farm"Sutton, Keith "Catfish".Out There: Angola angling. ''ESPN Outdoors''. May 31, 2006. Retrieved on August 25, 2010. ...

. He also bought thousands of acres of land in Texas, as well as a turnpike, bank stock, and a third interest in the Nashville Race Course. After 1835, his activity as a slave trader reduced as he moved his efforts to his plantation interests. When he died in 1846, he owned of land in Louisiana and more than 600 enslaved people.

Personal life

In 1839, at the age of fifty, he married socialite Adelicia Hayes (1817–1887), the daughter of Oliver Bliss Hayes (1783-1858), a lawyer and a

Presbyterian minister Presbyterian (or presbyteral) polity is a method of church governance ("ecclesiastical polity") typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders. Each local church is governed by a body of elected elders usually called the session or ...

, and Sarah Clemmons Hightower (1795-1871). By the time of his marriage to Hayes, Franklin had fathered a child with an enslaved woman named Lucinda who he had been consistently raping for about five years. Soon after this wedding Franklin sold the enslaved woman and her child, whose fates are unknown. Franklin and his wife Adelicia had four children: Victoria, Adelicia, Emma, and Julius Caesar. All died in early childhood.James A. Hoobler, Sarah Hunter Marks, ''Nashville: From the Collection of Carl and Otto Giers'', Arcadia Publishing, 2000, p. 3

/ref> Upon his death in 1846, Franklin left his slave trading fortune, plantations, and slaves to his wife Adelicia. She later married again, and had Belmont Mansion (Tennessee), Belmont Mansion and its estate built in what was then country outside Nashville in 1853. All of his children with Hayes died without heirs, so his only descendants are those of women he raped.

Death and legacy

Isaac Franklin died on April 27, 1846, in

West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana West Feliciana Parish (French: ''Paroisse de Feliciana Ouest''; Spanish: ''Parroquia de West Feliciana'') is a civil parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2010 census, the population was 15,625, and 15,310 at the 2020 census. ...

. His corpse was preserved in alcohol and he was taken to Fairvue. By a will he made in 1841, Franklin made a bequest to endow a school or seminary at Fairvue. The will was the subject of protracted litigation by his nephew and former partner Armfield. His widow sold Fairvue to William Franklin and remarried the following year. She leased, and later in the 19th century sold, the Louisiana plantations to Samuel James, who leased convict labor (mostly black) from the state to work them. The state acquired the merged plantations under the name Angola in 1901; this land was used for the development of

Angola Prison The Louisiana State Penitentiary (known as Angola, and nicknamed the "Alcatraz of the South", "The Angola Plantation" and "The Farm"Sutton, Keith "Catfish".Out There: Angola angling. ''ESPN Outdoors''. May 31, 2006. Retrieved on August 25, 2010. ...

.Peter Kolchin, ''American Slavery'', New York: Penguin Books, 1995, p. 97

References

External links