Franklin and Ralph ended.
up going separate ways when Franklin hits on Ralph's girlfriend and is rejected.
Mr. Denham - A friendly Quaker whom Franklin meets on his way to England. They remain friends while in England, and it is Denham who eventually convinces Franklin to return to America after an 18-month stay. Franklin works for Denham for a short time in a g.
oods store upon his return.
Meredith - The man with whom Franklin begins a new printing house after leaving Keimer. Meredith, however, does not work very hard, and eventually leaves.
Part One, first section .
(Read: Section 1).
Summary .
The Autobiography opens with a salutation to Ben Franklin's son, William Franklin, who at the time was the royal governor of New Jersey. Franklin is writing in the summer of 1771 on vacation in a small town about 50 miles south of London. Franklin says that because his son may wish to know about his life, he is taking his one week vacation in the English countryside to record his past. Franklin says that he has enjoyed his life and would like to repeat it, although he would like to correct some small errors if the opportunity arose. But since Franklin cannot repeat life, he can instead recollect it. He thanks God for allowing him to live a good life. .
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Franklin recounts some of his family's ancestry. He has been the youngest son of a youngest son for five generations, although Franklin does have two younger sisters. He tells of his grandfather and uncles, and he includes some poetry from his well respected uncle Benjamin, the man after whom he was named. The Franklins have always been an active clan; they were involved very early on in the Reformation in Europe, for instance. Ben then discusses his parents. His father, Josiah Franklin, moved from England to America in 1682 with his wife and three children. He had four more children with that wife, and ten more children with Abiah, whom Josiah married after his first wife died.
