The Franklin Fifteen: An Introduction (Part 4, 1911-Current)
October 04, 2019
Two years after the lynching death of Will James, the Franklin family welcomed another child to their family. Helen Franklin was born on 31 October 1911.[1] Two years later George Emmett Franklin joined the family on 13 January 1913. [2] Shortly after George's birth, in April of 1913, heavy rain began to fall in Cairo, Illinois. Rain for many communities heavy rainfall is a blessing, but for Cairo it could quickly become dangerous. Cairo's position between the Mississippi and Ohio rivers makes it an excellent transportation hub, however, flooding is consistently a worry during the wet season. Parts of Cairo have been protected by concrete levees for nearly two centuries. However, even that is not enough during some particularly wet seasons. In the beginning of April 1913 heavy rain caused the water levels surrounding Cairo to rise dramatically. The old record of 54.05 feet was raised to 54.6 feet, and individuals began to pile sand bags against the levee. Flooding in Cairo would not only cause damage, but potentially cause destruction of the entire city. The situation became so dire that women and children were forced to flee the city. Annie would have been among them with her little ones, including a four month old, in tow. [3]
By Sunday, April 13th, the rain had stopped and the water levels in the Ohio river fell to 54.3 feet. The danger was over, and one can assume that the individuals who had fled the city began to return. [4] Annie would have been pregnant with her fourteenth child, my great-grandmother, when officials finished construction on a new levee near eighteenth street. This levee still stands today and is fourteen feet wide near the base, three feet wide near the top, 27.9 feet tall, and 220 feet long. [5] The picture to the right shows the continued construction of the levee in 1914. Shortly after the new and improved levee was in place my great-grandmother, Edith Irene Franklin, came into the world on 14 August 1914.[6] She was followed by a little brother named Oscar Lee Franklin who was born on 1 September 1918. [7]
The Franklin family was now complete and no more children would arrive. At this point William and Annie's children ranged in age from twenty-eight to zero. The picture to the left demonstrates just how humble their circumstances were but still they look happy. The girl on the rocking toy is most likely my great grandmother based on the age of the photo. The family was now so large that the Annie could no longer afford to stay home with her children. Like her husband, she began work in a box factory. [8] The sleeping arrangements in their small home were also very cramped as one of their children recalled that six kids slept in one bed. Annie also had her smaller children, such as Lucille, help her carry buckets of hominy to sell to hotels in Cairo. Threat of flood would occasionally beset the family as once Lucille remembered being forced to flee up the hill with the cow and the chickens as they thought the levee was going to break.
Tragedy struck the family for the first time in years when Annie herself passed away on 25 March 1924 in Cairo.[9] According to her death certificate she became ill with pneumonia on 10 March 1924 and passed fifteen days later. Her eldest living daughter, Rosa, owned a funeral home and that is where her body was prepared for burial. Lucille Franklin remembered that they buried their mother in a white satin burial shroud. Today the funeral home goes by another name but the image to the right is what it currently looks like. Annie's death affected the family dramatically. Lucille Franklin was the only one of her siblings to attend high school, however, she had to drop out at the age of fifteen to help care for her younger siblings. These younger children would have ranged in age from thirteen to six. My great-grandmother, Edith Irene, would have been only ten years old. Annie left her husband, twelve children, and three grand children behind at the time of her death. All of her children were at her bedside when she passed into the next life.
After Annie's death William became what one granddaughter called, "a mean old drunk." Several newspaper articles could be found in the Cairo paper showing that William had been fined for being drunk in public. These articles showed up only after Annie's death which leads one to believe that grief after her death often left him in a drunken stupor. The picture to the left is of William with my great-grandmother. William died after a short illness on 13 January 1947 in Cairo, Illinois.[10] William would leave behind all twelve of his surviving children, fourteen grandchildren, and three great grandchildren. Miraculously all 12 of his children, and most of their families, made it to the funeral. The picture below is one that the descendants of Lucille Franklin have affectionately called "Legs" for years.
Standing left to right: Pearl, George, Oscar, Rosa, Fred, William Jr., and Edith Irene. Sitting left to right: Lucille, Minnie, Marie, Bertha, and Helen.
The family also made the decision to take an extended family photo.
These individuals are the spouses and children of the the Franklin children.
As of 2018 all of the Franklin children have since passed but this is why this blog is here, to keep their memory alive. The descendants of this family have since spread throughout the United States. No member of the family has remained in Cairo as all have fled the dying city. Many descendants still remain in the east, in states such as Missouri. The descendants of Edith Irene Franklin have made their way to the west and now live in areas such as Arizona and Utah. If you are descended from this family and would like to contribute to their ever growing story please comment down below.
- Social Security Administration, "United States Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014" database Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com accessed 18 September 2019), entry for Helen L. Arington, 1980, SS 400-32-519
- Social Security Administration, "United States Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014" database Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com accessed 18 September 2019), entry for George Franklin, SS 402-10-9118
- "Rain Adds to Cairo's Misery," The Weekly Pantagraph (Bloomington, Illinois), 4 April 1913, p. 1, column 1
- "Cairo Business Houses Will Open," The Decatur Herald, 12 April 1913, p. 1, column 3.
- The Daily Herald (Chicago, Illinois), 8 May 1914, p. 8, column 1
- Social Security Administration, "United States Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014" database Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com accessed 18 September 2019), entry for Irene Tinker SS 498-07-1052
- Social Security Administration, "United States Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014" database Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com accessed 18 September 2019), entry for Oscar L. Franklin, SS 305-05-0471
- 1920 United States Census, Alexander County, Illinois, population schedule, Cairo, p. 170, sheet 13A, ED 15, family 284, dwelling 291, William Franklin Family, Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com: accessed 4 October 2019), NARA microfilm T625, roll 297.
- Copy of death certificate in possession of Sara Wise.
- Obituary in possession of Sara Wise.
2 comments
This family's story is so impactful. To see how local issues and personal circumstances formed a story of such heartache and accomplishment. To raise a large family, even after loosing so many children, took a lot of hard work. And for a father to be left alone with young ones by the death of his life partner, it is not hard to imagine what that could do to even the best of men. I'm glad to hear that after William's death, his children still gathered to honor him despite his human shortcomings.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your post! That was so touching and this family went through so much, it is hard to imagine. I thought that was crazy that six kids slept in one bed in their house and how they lost both their parents. Their life was hard and it reminds me to be more grateful for what I have and to learn from your ancestors!
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