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m. 4 Sep 1762
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William Franklin (22 February 1730 – 17 November 1813) was an American-born attorney, soldier, politician, and colonial administrator. He was the acknowledged illegitimate son of Benjamin Franklin. William Franklin was the last colonial Governor of New Jersey (1763–1776), and a steadfast Loyalist throughout the American Revolutionary War. (In contrast, his father Benjamin was one of the most prominent of the Patriot leaders of the American Revolution and a Founding Father of the United States.) Following imprisonment by Patriots in 1776 to 1778, William became the chief leader of the Loyalists. From his base in New York City, he organized military units to fight on the British side. In 1782, he went into exile in Britain. He lived in London until his death. Generally considered the illegitimate son of Benjamin Franklin and an unknown mother, but was raised by Benjamin and his common-law wife Deborah Read, and there is some speculation that he really was their son and the circumstances of his birth were obscured.
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