Jacob Franklin

Born in 1850

Born in Illinois

 

Jennie (Schoenberg) Franklin

Born 1865

Born in Illinois

 

Mabel Franklin

Born 1888

Born in Colorado

 

Ruth Franklin

Born 1895

Born in Colorado

 

Moses Franklin

Born 1861

Born in Illinois

 

Max Franklin

Born 1854

Died 1886

 

The Franklins were a group of miners and businessmen who were active in Leadville from 1884 to 1904.  This family included Max Franklin, born in 1854,[1]  and two brothers, Jacob and Moses Franklin. Jacob and Moses Franklin were both from Illinois and were born in 1850[2]  and 1861 respectively.[3]   Max Franklin was not an immediate relative of Jacob and Moses, but he worked and lived with them both for a number of years and it is possible he was a cousin, although this is not confirmed by census records.

Max Franklin first appears in the Leadville City Directories in 1884.[4]   At this time he worked as a clerk at Jacob Franklin’s saloon at 126 E. 6th St.  In 1885 this business changed to a cigar shop.[5]  In 1886 Max and Moses are listed as miners in the city directory.[6]   That same year Max Franklin came to a tragic end when he passed away from pneumonia.[7]   Max was interred in the Hebrew Cemetery and his gravestone lists him as 32 at the time of his death.  1886 was also the last year Moses Franklin was mentioned in the city directory.  Moses had been living at 118 E. 6th with Max.[8]   Moses’ whereabouts after Max’s tragic end are unknown.

 

In 1887 Jacob Franklin was betrothed to Miss Jennie Schoenberg who was, “the youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. S. Schoenberg, and [was] one of the most popular and accomplished ladies in Leadville.”[9]  Jacob and Jennie had two daughters, Mabel and Ruth. Mabel was born in 1888 and Ruth in 1895.  In the 1900 census Jacob and his family are listed as living in Pueblo, Colorado.[10]   When their betrothal was announced the Herald Democrat wished them a happy marriage,[11]  but this would not come to pass.

Jacob had a violent temper and beat Jennie for a number of years.[12]   This continued until Jacob and Jennie’s marriage came to an end in 1902 when Jennie appeared in Leadville court asking to be “loosed from the bonds and chains of matrimony.”[13]  Jennie “charged in the complaint that [her] husband beat, struck and bruised her, and also at other times during the past six years.”[14]   This resulted in a trial by jury during which Jacob Franklin was found guilty of repeated cruelty towards his wife.[15]  Accordingly, the court granted Jennie’s request for a divorce.  The divorce initially left the two Franklin children with Jennie.  This changed in October, 1903, when the judge granted custody of Mabel and Ruth to Jacob Franklin “after the expiration of two years.”[16]   The welfare of the two Franklin children after they were returned to their father is unknown.

 

After the divorce it appears Jacob Franklin returned to Pueblo since that is where he is listed in the 1910 census.[17]   However, Miss Jennie Schoenberg continued to be listed in the Leadville city directories as living at 411 Pine Street in Leadville until 1904.[18]   Afterwards it is unknown what became of Miss Jennie Schoenberg.