Sarah Franklin Bache

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Sarah Franklin Bache (September 11, 1743-October 5, 1808) was the daughter of Benjamin Franklin and Deborah Read.

Known as "Sally" throughout her life, she was an ardent American patriot during the Revolutionary War through relief work and as her father's political hostess. She raised money for the Continental Army and is known for her involvement in the Ladies Association of Philadelphia. She took leadership of the group in 1780 and supervised the making of 2,200 shirts for the soldiers in the Continental Army, often meeting at The Cliffs, a country estate owned by Samuel R Fisher on the Schuylkill River, two miles north of Philadelphia.

Sally married Richard Bache on October 29, 1767, even though her family was worried about his financial position. The couple had eight children:[1]

  • Unknown Eldest Daughter ("died very young")[2]
  • Benjamin Franklin Bache (b. 1769, d. 1798 during the Philadelphia Yellow Fever outbreak) married Margaret Markoe
  • William Franklin Bache (b. ????, d. 1814) married Catherine Wistar
  • Betsy Franklin Bache (details unknown) married John Harwood
  • Louis Franklin Bache (details unknown)
  • Deborah Franklin Bache (details unknown) married William J. Duane
  • Richard Franklin Bache (details unknown) married the eldest daughter of Alexander J. Dallas
  • Sarah Franklin Bache (details unknown) married Thomas Sergeant.

Note: the children are given in this order, suggesting that the eldest is listed first, the youngest last.

Bache loved music and reading and was considered a skilled harpischordist. When her father died, he left most of his estate to her. Among the items bequeathed to her was a small portrait of Louis XVI surrounded by diamonds, which she sold to finance a trip to London. In 1794, she and her family moved to a farm outside of Philadelphia on the Delaware River.

Sarah Franklin Bache died in 1808 and is buried in Christ Church Burial Ground, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, by Benjamin Franklin, Appendix 1
  2. ^ Women of the American Revolution - Sarah Bache
  • Sarah Franklin Bache at Find A Grave
  • "The Sarah Franklin Bache Papers, 1768-1807", American Philosophical Society
  • "Bache and Wistar Family Correspondence 1777-1895", Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Library
  • The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, by Benjamin Franklin
  • Article in The Evening Bulletin, November 22, 1971, on the plans to convert the Cliffs to an historic farm.
  • Article in The Evening Bulletin, January 27, 1975, on the plans to restore 16 historic houses including the Cliffs.
  • Article in The Philadelphia Inquirer, February 23, 1986, on the burning of the Cliffs.