Deborah Read - Later Life

Later Life

Benjamin Franklin did not leave London to visit Deborah even after she wrote to him in November 1769 saying her illness was due to “dissatisfied distress” because of his prolonged absence. She did not accompany him on his frequent trips to Europe due to a fear of ocean travel. In spite of their separations, they remained loyal and supportive partners on to another for half a century. In the late 1760s and early 1770s, Deborah suffered a series of strokes that slurred her speech and memory.