III.

Philadelphia and London

Because of repeated quarrels with his brother James, Franklin left Boston at the age of 17 and made his way to Philadelphia, where he arrived in October 1723. There he soon found work as a printer and made numerous friends. Among them was Sir William Keith, the governor of Pennsylvania, who offered to back Franklin in a printing business of his own. Keith encouraged Franklin to go to London to complete his training as a printer and to purchase the printing equipment he would need. Young Franklin took this advice, arriving in London in December 1724. Discovering that Keith had not sent the letters of credit he had promised, Franklin found himself, at age 18, without means in a strange city. With characteristic resourcefulness, he obtained employment at two of the foremost printing houses in London: first at Palmer’s and later at Watt’s. He spent a year and a half in London.

In October 1726 Franklin returned to Philadelphia and went back to work as a printer’s assistant. Two years later he set himself up in the printing business with borrowed money. In September 1729 he bought the Pennsylvania Gazette, a dull, poorly edited weekly newspaper. By his witty style and careful selection of news, Franklin made it both entertaining and informative. In 1730 he married Deborah Read, a Philadelphia woman whom he had known before his trip to England. They had two children: a son, Francis, who died of smallpox in childhood, and a daughter, Sarah, whom they called Sally.