Deborah Read

Deborah Read Franklin (c. 1708 – December 19, 1774) was the common-law wife of Benjamin Franklin, polymath and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.

Little is known about Read's early life. She was born around 1708, most likely in Birmingham, England (some sources state she was born in Philadelphia)^[1] to John and Sarah Read, a well respected Quaker couple. John Read was a moderately prosperous building contractor and carpenter who died in 1724. Read had three siblings: two brothers, John and James, and a sister, Frances.^[2] The Read family immigrated to British America in 1711, settling in Philadelphia.^[3]

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