Benjamin Cromwell Franklin (April 25, 1805 – December 25, 1873) was the first judicial officeholder in the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from Mex ...

. Franklin was born in Georgia, and educated at Franklin College at the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

in Athens, before being admitted to the bar in 1827. In 1835, he travelled to Texas, and supported a declaration of war against Mexico. On April 7, 1836, he was appointed a captain in the Texas army. In March 1836, the Republic of Texas captured a U.S.-owned brig, ''Pocket''. Upon realising that this action could alienate the United States, the Texan government took steps to investigate the matter, and President David G. Burnet appointed Franklin district judge of Brazoria to investigate the matter. Franklin resigned his judgeship in 1839, moving to Galveston to practice law. Franklin was elected to represent Galveston in the House of Representatives in the

Third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...

, Fifth, and Eighth Texas Legislatures. Franklin was also elected to serve in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

of the

Fourteenth Texas Legislature The Fourteenth Texas Legislature met from January 13, 1874 to March 15, 1875 in two regular sessions. All members of the House of Representatives and about half of the members of the Senate were elected in 1873. Sessions *14th First regular sessio ...

, but died 25 December 1873, 2½ weeks before the start of the regular session Although it is not officially recorded, Franklin County is generally believed to have been named in his honor.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Franklin, Benjamin Cromwell 1805 births 1873 deaths Texas state senators Members of the Texas House of Representatives People from Georgia (U.S. state) University of Georgia alumni 19th-century American politicians