Josiah Franklin

Josiah Franklin (December 23, 1657 - January 16, 1745) was an English-born businessman best known as the father of Benjamin Franklin. Josiah was born in the tiny town of Ecton, Northamptonshire, England on December 23, 1657. Josiah was the ninth and the last child of his parents, Thomas Franklin, blacksmith and farmer, and his wife Jane White Franklin. Thomas Franklin remarried and had other children. Josiah Franklin was an industrious young man who worked as a fabric dyer in Ecton. In Boston he was a member of Old South Church where he served as a tithingman, a prominent and highly respected member of the congregation.