Walter Franklin (May 17, 1773 – February 7, 1836) was a Pennsylvania lawyer,
state Attorney General
The state attorney general in each of the 50 U.S. states, of the federal district, or of any of the territories is the chief legal advisor to the state government and the state's chief law enforcement officer. In some states, the attorney gener ...
, and
state judge.
Biography and career
Franklin was born in New York, in 1773, the son of Thomas Franklin, a prosperous merchant.
[ Thomas's brothers were also successful, especially his brother also named Walter. This Walter's Manhattan house (after his decease) would be George Washington's Presidential Mansion for the first year of his presidency. Two of Walter's daughters married the brothers DeWitt and George Clinton.] The family moved to Philadelphia in 1775, and during the War, Thomas was appointed commissary of prisoners.
Franklin was admitted to the bar in Philadelphia county in 1792, age 19.
He married Anne Emlen in 1802. Five of their children survived to adulthood.
He was appointed state Attorney General in 1809, and served until 1810, when Judge
John Joseph Henry
John Joseph Henry (November 4, 1758 – April 15, 1811) was an American private soldier, lawyer, and judge from Pennsylvania in the American Revolutionary War.
Biography
Henry, the son of William Henry of Lancaster and Ann Wood Henry, was bor ...
retired as president judge of the Second Judicial District, then consisting of York, Lancaster and Dauphin counties, and Franklin was appointed to take his place. (Since 1833, the District consisting of just Lancaster county.)
Franklin was impeached twice by the state House of Representatives, in 1818 and in 1825, for alleged judicial misconduct, but the Senate acquitted him both times.
Two of his sons, and three of his grandsons, would become members of the Lancaster bar. Of the sons,
Thomas E. Franklin
Thomas E. Franklin (born 1966) is an American photographer for '' The Bergen Record'', best known for his photograph ''Raising the Flag at Ground Zero'', which depicts firefighters raising the American flag at the World Trade Center after the S ...
would eventually serve two terms as state Attorney General.
Franklin died in office.
References
External links
information about Franklin and family
Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Franklin, Walter
1773 births
1836 deaths
Pennsylvania Attorneys General
Pennsylvania state court judges
Lawyers from Philadelphia
American people of English descent
19th-century American lawyers