San Luis Obispo County Biographies

B. H. FRANKLIN

Submitted by Peggy Hooper

This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm

B. H. FRANKLIN, one of Cambria's most active business men, being a 
merchant. Postmaster and Justice of the Peace, and President of the Board of 
Education of the county. He is a son of Colonel William H. Franklin, now of San 
Jose, but a native of New Jersey. He served under General Scott, and was also a veteran 
of the great civil war, and for a time held the position of Provost Marshal of the city of 
Washington. He was advanced to the rank of Colonel in his regiment, and was several 
times wounded while in command of his men on the battle-field. His grandfather was 
Benjamin Franklin, a native of New Jersey, and his great-grandfather was the world- 
renowned Benjamin Franklin, the first Postmaster General of the United States. His 
mother was Morgiana R. (Huber) Franklin. Benjamin H. Franklin, our subject, was 
born in Philadelphia, September 1, 1856, and was the eldest in a family of nine children, 
only four of whom survive. He was reared and educated at San Jose, and is a graduate 
of the business college, high school and normal school. In 1876 he came direct from 
school to Cambria, where he taught school for two years. For a time he was engaged 
in real-estate and money lending, and purchased county warrants. He was appointed 
Postmaster in 1882, but was removed by the administration of President Cleveland and 
re-installed when Harrison was elected President. He has been a member of the Board 
of Education of the county nearly ever since coming to the county. For five years he 
clerked for the firm of Grant & Tull, and at the same time was telegraph operator and 
Postmaster. In 1885 he opened a variety store, which has consequently grown until he 
now has a large general stock, the largest in town. When the fire broke out he owned 100 
feet on Main street, the theatre building, and a building rented for a saloon and his store. 
The rate of insurance had been raised to nine and a half per cent., and while trying to get 
the price down the fire caught him without a dollar of insurance. The fire originated in a 
hotel, a block from him, and he succeeded in saving $2,000 worth of goods, the rest was a 
total loss, amounting to about $10,000. The next morning after the fire he opened his 
store in the parlor of a dwelling house, and in five days had a building, 26x40 feet, into 
which he moved and conducted the only mercantile business in town. He has since 
added to the building thirty feet, and is carrying a very large line of goods. As a 
justice of the peace he makes it a point to have all the cases that come to him settled, 
and this does the litigants a service, saving both them and the county costs. He is a 
member of the Odd Fellows lodge, and has passed through all the chairs; he is now 
secretary of the order. Mr. Franklin has a ranch of 500 acres on the Santa Rosa Creek, 
run for him on shares, seven miles from Cambria; it is nicely improved and has on it 
about 100 head of cattle; they milk about seventy cows. He has a nice residence in 
Cambria, and a business block in San Luis Obispo, on which he has three stores, rented. 
Mr. Franklin was married in 1876, to Miss Mabel Runyon, a native of Colfax, on the 
Sacramento River, near where Courtland now stands. She is the daughter of Alexander 
Runyon, a rancher horticulturist. They have four children, three sons and a daughter, all 
born in Cambria, viz.: Benjamin H., Raymond, Alexander and a baby unnamed. Mr. 
Franklin is a man of business sagacity and integrity. In addition to the other offices 
which he has held is trustee of the school board. He speaks English, Spanish and 
German. He furnishes a little music for the people in the Presbyterian church. It is 
questionable whether the renowned Benjamin Franklin had as much business on his hands 
as his great-grandson. The following story is told of Benjamin Franklin the first, not 
narrated in his history. It is said that when his father took him to church, he was annoyed 
to see his son gazing about and not apparently paying much attention to the sermon. 
He said to him when they came out, " Benjamin, you pained me by the poor attention 
you seemed to be giving to the sermon; I don't think you know what it was about." 
'�Oh, yes, father," replied Benjamin; " I can tell you the text, and a good deal that the 
minister said." And he began and gave a nice little outline of the sermon, and when 
he stopped he said, " And now, father, I can tell you how many rafters, posts and collar 
braces there are in the church." And so it can be said of the subject of this sketch, � 
that there is not much going on where he is that he does not take in. 

History of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura Counties, California  - by 
C.M. Gidney, Benjamin Brooks, Edwin M. Sheridan, Vol I, II.  -Lewis Publ. Co., 
Chicago, 1917.