A Family Divided

Sunday, November 10, 2024
2:00 pm

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Honorable Kenneth C. Mackenzie, a lifelong resident of Morristown, graduate of Morristown High School, Princeton University and Rutgers Law School, as well as a retired judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey, recounts A Family Divided.

Benjamin Franklin and his only adult son, William, shared their lives together for forty-six years. Both were charming, industrious Philadelphia gentlemen. Both loved England, their English heritage, and King George II and III. Both were men of the Enlightenment, knowledgeable in mathematics, science, technology, and the law. Both held advanced degrees from Oxford. Both were dedicated husbands, fathers, and public servants. Both fathered a son before marriage and raised him as a legitimate heir. But they became suddenly, intractably, and irresolvably separated for the remainder of their lives by the issue of independence.

Join us in the Library’s Lower Level Meeting Room at 2:00 p.m.