Rebecca Franks (1760 – September 1823) was a prominent member of

loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

society in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

Life

Rebecca Franks was born in Pennsylvania about 1760, the daughter and youngest child of David Franks, a businessman, and the sister of Abigail (1745–1798), the wife of Andrew Hamilton (son of the noted attorney of the same name and proprietor of " The Woodlands"), and the niece of Phila Franks, who married Oliver De Lancey an American loyalist politician and a major general during the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. She was the granddaughter of

Abigail Franks Bilhah Abigail Levy Franks (c. 1696–1756) was an English–born Ashkenazi Jews, Jewish woman who lived most of her life in the Province of New York, British America. Born in London and raised in New York City, she married a London-born merchant ...

, who wrote about the social, political, and religious milieu of 18th-century New York in a series of letters to her son in England between the years 1733 and 1748. During the War of Independence, she, like her father, sided with

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

, and during the British occupation of Philadelphia in 1778 she took part in the " Mischianza," a celebrated, elaborate

fête In Britain and some of its former colonies, fêtes are traditional public festivals, held outdoors and organised to raise funds for a charity. They typically include entertainment and the sale of goods and refreshments. Village fêtes Village f� ...

given in honor of departing British General

Sir William Howe William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe, KB PC (10 August 172912 July 1814) was a British Army officer who rose to become Commander-in-Chief of British land forces in the Colonies during the American War of Independence. Howe was one of three brot ...

, and at which Major

John André John André (2 May 1750/1751''Gravesite–Memorial''
Westmi ...

presided. "The Times, a Poem by Camilio Querno, Poet Laureate of the Congress," a loyalist composition, has been attributed to her. Her literary ability, as well as her vivacity and wit, were well known; she carried on a correspondence with prominent men, and General Charles Lee of the

Continental army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

addressed to her a letter that attracted much attention, being published in the magazines of the day. In 1782 in New York, she married Lieutenant-Colonel (later General) Henry Johnson, of the

17th Regiment of Foot 17 (seventeen) is the natural number following 16 and preceding 18. It is a prime number. Seventeen is the sum of the first four prime numbers. In mathematics 17 is the seventh prime number, which makes seventeen the fourth super-prime, as s ...

, and moved to

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

, England. Johnson distinguished himself by an act of gallantry in one of the outbreaks of rebellion in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, and received the honor of a baronetcy, whereupon Rebecca became Lady Johnson. They had two sons, one of whom was killed at the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

. She remained in Bath until her death in September 1823.

References

Sources

Elizabeth F. Ellet, ''The Women of the American Revolution'', Third Edition. New York: Baker and Scribner, 1849.
*

, Edith Belle Gelles, ''The Letters of Abigaill Levy Franks, 1733–1748'' published 2004, Yale University Press, * ''George Washington's Expense Account'', by Gen.

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

and

Marvin Kitman Marvin Kitman (born November 24, 1929) is an American television critic, humorist, and author. He was a columnist for '' Newsday'' for 35 years and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 1982. He is the author of nine books ...

, Published 2001, Grove Press,

External links

Article at AmericanRevolution.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Franks, Rebecca 1760 births 1823 deaths Loyalists in the American Revolution from Pennsylvania Wives of baronets Women in the American Revolution People of colonial Pennsylvania American people of Jewish descent