Descriptive Summary
Franklin, Benjamin Cromwell
Franklin, Benjamin Cromwell
Papers
1805-1915
Materials are written in English.
63-154
3 ft., 11 in.
Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The
University of Texas at Austin
The papers of Benjamin Cromwell
Franklin, attorney, judge, legislator, and soldier concern Franklin's duties as a
soldier in the Texas Revolution (1836); the first judge in the Republic of Texas; a
member of Supreme Court of the Republic; and a representative in the third, fifth,
and eighth legislatures. The papers include correspondence, deeds, decrees, land
grants, promissory notes, legal papers, memoranda, land surveys, wills, clippings,
printed material, plats, and literary productions.
Biographical Sketch
Benjamin Cromwell Franklin (1805–1873) was a lawyer, legislator, and the first judge
in the Republic of Texas. He was educated at Franklin College, Athens, Georgia.
Franklin was admitted to the bar in 1827, and moved to Texas in 1835 to fight
against Indians and to go to war against Mexico.
Franklin fought in the Texas Revolution, 1836, as a private in Captain Robert J.
Calder's company. He also fulfilled a role as victory messenger, traveling to
Galveston Island to inform President Burnet of the victory at San Jacinto. As
compensation for his services, Franklin received a land grant for 320 acres and
became one of the first people to buy land at the site that would become Houston,
Texas. Later in 1836, President Sam Houston appointed Franklin judge of the Second
(or Brazoria) Judicial District, making Franklin a member of the Supreme Court of
the Republic.
In 1839 Franklin resigned and moved to Galveston to practice law. He went on to
represent Galveston County in the House of Representatives of the Third, Fifth, and
Eighth state legislatures. In 1870, Governor E. J. Davis asked him to serve as
commissioner, to revise the laws of Texas, but Franklin declined the offer. Franklin
died on December 25, 1873, after a long battle with rheumatism, and was buried in
Galveston. Although not certain, it is widely accepted that Franklin County, Texas,
was named for Benjamin Cromwell Franklin.
Source: Handbook of Texas
Online, s.v. Franklin, Benjamin
Cromwell, http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/FF/ffr2.html
(accessed May 20, 2010).
Scope and Contents
The papers of Benjamin Cromwell Franklin, 1805-1915, include correspondence, deeds,
decrees, land grants, promissory notes, legal papers, speeches, memoranda, land
surveys, wills, clippings, printed material, plats, and literary productions. The
papers concern his activities as a soldier in the Texas Revolution (1836); the first
judge in the Republic of Texas; a member of Supreme Court of the Republic; and a
representative in the third, fifth, and eighth legislatures. Additionally, the
papers relate to the development of Texas, transportation, the Gulf and Inter-State
Railway of Texas, and the Leftwich Grant. The papers also pertain to the Civil War,
Reconstruction, and the time prior to the Civil War, including United States Senate
speeches, 1860. Furthermore, the collection contains papers relating to Robert M.
Franklin, attorney and judge.
Access Restrictions
The collection is open for research.
Index Terms
Subjects (Persons)
Austin, Stephen F. (Stephen Fuller),
1793-1836
Burnet, David Gouverneur, 1789-1870
Clingman, T. L. (Thomas Lanier), 1812-1897
Collinsworth, James, 1806-1838
Dykers, Thomas M.
Franklin, Benjamin Cromwell,
1805-1873--Archives.
Franklin, Robert M.
Houston, Sam, 1793-1863
Lubbock, Francis Richard, 1815-1905
Rusk, Thomas J. (Thomas Jefferson),
1803-1857
Wilson, James Theodore Dudley, 1820-1902
Subjects (Organizations)
Texas. Legislature. House of
Representatives
Texas. Supreme Court.
Texas. Army.
Crescent Lumber Company
Gulf and Inter-State Railway
Company--Texas.
Subjects
Military--Texas
Politics--Texas
Judges--Texas
Reconstruction (U. S. history, 1865-1877)
Places
Athens (Ga.)
Macon (Ga.)
Austin (Tex.)
Brazoria (Tex.)
Galveston (Tex.)
Galveston County (Tex.)
Houston (Tex.)
Velasco (Tex.)
Texas--History--Republic,
1836-1846
Texas--History--Revolution,
1835-1836
United States--History--Civil War,
1861-1865
Preferred Citation
Benjamin Cromwell Franklin Papers, 1805-1915, Dolph Briscoe Center for American
History, The University of Texas at Austin.
Processing Information
Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s History Revealed: Bringing Collections to Light project, 2009-2011.
Separated MaterialCourt cases have been separated to the Library Unit.
Detailed Description of the Papers
Inventory
2D157
Papers, 1805-1833, undated
2D158
Letters:
2D158
1834-1840
2D159
1841-1844
2D160
1845-1848
2D161
1849-1853
2D162
1854-1859
2D163
1860-1888
2D164
1889-1901
2D165
1902-1915
2D165
Newspaper clippings
2D165
Printed material:
2D165
Speeches
2D165
Legal brief
2D165
Printed law
2D166
Printed papers
2D166
Correspondence, undated
2D166
Crescent Lumber Company, personal file,
1904
2D166
Scratch books
2D167
Papers, undated
2D167
List of title made under the contract with state of Coahuila and
Texas, including maps and index,
1824-1836
2D167
Map of Louisiana, 1835
2D167
Memorandum books
2D167
Crescent Lumber Company, daily time report,
1904
2D167
Envelopes
2D168
Memorandum books
2D168
Papers, undated