Thomas E. Franklin (lawyer)

Summary

Thomas Emlen Franklin (April 20, 1810 – November 28, 1884) was an American lawyer from Pennsylvania who served two terms as state attorney general.

Thomas E. Franklin
26th Attorney General of Pennsylvania
In office
April 28, 1851 – January 21, 1852
GovernorWilliam F. Johnston
Preceded byCornelius Darragh
Succeeded byJames Campbell
29th Attorney General of Pennsylvania
In office
January 17, 1855 – January 19, 1858
GovernorJames Pollock
Preceded byFrancis Wade Hughes
Succeeded byJohn C. Knox
Personal details
BornApril 20, 1810
Philadelphia, US
DiedNovember 28, 1884 (aged 74)
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, US
SpouseSerena A. Mayer
Children11
Alma materYale College
ProfessionAttorney

Personal life and career edit

Franklin was born in Philadelphia, the son of Walter Franklin and Anne Emlen. His father at the time was serving as state attorney general, and upon his father's appointment to a judgeship in 1811, the family moved to Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Franklin graduated from Yale College in 1828 and was admitted to the bar in 1831, opening an office in Lancaster, where he resided for the rest of his life.

In 1837, he married Serena A. Mayer. They had 11 children. Two sons became lawyers, and two daughters married lawyers.[1]

Franklin was twice appointed attorney general for the state. He was a delegate to U. S. presidential nomination conventions three times (1844, Henry Clay; 1848, Zachary Taylor; 1864, Abraham Lincoln). He declined all offers to be further involved in politics.

In local business, he was a founding director for the Lancaster, Portsmouth, and Harrisburg Railroad Company (later part of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company), a director of the Farmers' National Bank, and president of the Lancaster Fire Insurance Company.

Franklin was active in Episcopalian Church affairs, and in his later years served as chancellor of the diocese for central Pennsylvania.

References edit

  1. ^ Franklin Ellis, Samuel Evans (1883). History of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania: With Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men. Everts & Peck. p. 235.

Further reading edit

  • Annual Report of the American Bar Association. Vol. 9. American Bar Association. 1886. pp. 539–43.
  • Franklin Ellis, Samuel Evans (1883). History of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania: With Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men. Everts & Peck. pp. 234–6.

External links edit

Legal offices
Preceded by Attorney General of Pennsylvania
1851–1852
Succeeded by
Preceded by Attorney General of Pennsylvania
1855–1858
Succeeded by