15. Benjamin Franklin’s marriage was one of common law
When Benjamin Franklin decided to marry Deborah Read in 1730, he faced a pressing problem. Deborah was already married, having been wed several years earlier to Roger Potter. Potter had significant debts, and to escape them and potential prison he abandoned his wife in 1727, fleeing to the West Indies. He never returned, though the absence of knowledge regarding his fate meant that Deborah remained married. If she remarried, and Potter returned, Read and her second husband would be guilty of bigamy, a serious crime in colonial Philadelphia. To avert the possibility of such a charge, Franklin and Deborah Read entered into a mutually agreed common law marriage on September 1, 1730. Read brought no dowry. Franklin brought a son, born out of wedlock, whose mother’s identity has never been determined.
Some historians believe that Read was the mother of the boy, William Franklin. The couple had two other children together. The first, Francis, died of smallpox at the age of four. The second, a daughter named Sarah, lived to tend her father in his last days. William grew up to become Royal Governor of New Jersey and a prominent Loyalist during the American Revolution. Franklin spent most of his marriage on extended trips to England and France, unaccompanied by his wife. He developed (and lauded) a reputation as a lady’s man and rogue during his trips. Deborah Read died in 1774, while Franklin was in England, and he remained there until his mission was completed in 1775. The couple never formalized their marriage in either a civil or religious ceremony, remaining a common-law couple for 44 years. Roger Potter never returned to dispute them.