William Franklin's Loyalism Estranged Benjamin

During the American Revolutionary War, William Franklin, son of American Founding Father Benjamin Franklin, remained fiercely loyal to British King George III. William served as New Jersey's final colonial governor from 1763 until Patriot authorities arrested him in 1776, and after his release in 1778, he became the chief American Loyalist leader in British-occupied New York City. His refusal to join the Patriot cause permanently shattered his relationship with his father, and they met for the last time in 1785 but never reconciled before Benjamin's death. Benjamin's 1788 will left William almost nothing and explicitly cited his son's wartime conduct.

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