Sarah Franklin Bache

Sarah Franklin Bache ( ; September 11, 1743 – October 5, 1808), sometimes known as Sally Bache, was the daughter of Benjamin Franklin and Deborah Read. She was a leader in relief work during the American Revolutionary War and frequently served as her father's political hostess, like her mother before her death in 1774. Sarah was also an important leader for women in the pro-independence effort in Philadelphia. She was an active member of the community until her death in 1808. She was 65 years old. But Franklin was also deep into his experimentation with electricity by the time Sarah was a young child, and by her early teenage years, he had left for Europe.

Franklin would begin to consider men and women as more intellectually equal later in his life, but he did not take this approach to his own children and grandchildren. The education Sarah received was thus typical for women of her status during the 18th century. She was taught reading, writing, arithmetic, spinning, knitting, and embroidery.

Marriage and family Sarah married Richard Bache on October 29, 1767. At the time, Bache was a merchant in Philadelphia and New York City. Sarah's family was concerned about this match, particularly her half-brother William. He wrote a letter to their father that said if Sarah married Richard Bache the couple would always be dependent on him for financial assistance. Dr. Franklin replied that he trusted his wife's judgment of the situation and told his wife to be frugal with their money.

Benjamin Franklin Bache (1769–1798; died during the Philadelphia yellow fever epidemic). A publisher, he was jailed and awaiting trial under the Sedition Act at the time of his death. Married to Margaret Hartman Markoe. The couple had four children. William Franklin Bache (May 31, 1773 – 1814), married Catherine Wistar. Their son was Benjamin Franklin Bache. Sarah Franklin Bache (December 1, 1775 – August 17, 1776) Eliza Franklin Bache (September 10, 1777 – 1820) married John Harwood. Their son was Andrew A. Harwood. Louis Franklin Bache (October 7, 1779 – October 4, 1818), married Mary Ann Swift and had three children. He also had one child with his second wife, Esther Egee. Deborah Franklin Bache (October 1, 1781 – February 12, 1863) married William J. Duane, a lawyer who was appointed as the 11th United States Secretary of the Treasury. Richard Franklin Bache (March 11, 1784 – March 17, 1848), married Sophia Durrell Dallas, the eldest daughter of Arabella Maria Smith and Alexander J. Dallas. Bache, Jr. became a politician in Texas. Sarah Franklin Bache (September 12, 1788 – October 6, 1863), married Thomas Sergeant (1782–1860), who later was appointed as an associate justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and postmaster of Philadelphia. They were the grandparents of Margaret Mason Perry (of the Perry family of Rhode Island) who married John La Farge.

Revolutionary War years Sarah Franklin was an ardent Patriot during the American Revolutionary War. She did extensive relief work. While Benjamin Franklin was in France he received a letter from François Barbé-Marbois in which he wrote, “If there are in Europe any women who need a model of attachment to domestic duties and love for their country, Mrs. Franklin may be pointed out to them.” The autobiography hardly mentions Franklin's wife, Deborah Read, and fails to mention his daughter Sally at all. In 1794, she and her family moved to a farm outside Philadelphia, to the north along the Delaware River.

Sarah Franklin Bache died from cancer on October 5, 1808, at age 65 and is buried in Christ Church Burial Ground at Fifth and Arch Streets in Philadelphia, the same resting grounds as her parents.