William E. Franklin was born April 14, 1842 at Roslyn, Long Island, New York. He later moved with his parents to the Ashmore Township of Coles County, Illinois. During the Civil War, he served for 3 1/2 years with the 8th Illinois Infantry Regiment, which fought in Union Army campaigns in Mississippi and Alabama, participating in the capture of Fort Blakely, Alabama in April 1865. In September 1865, Franklin married Phoebe Ann Mitchell of Coles County, with whom he had four children: John Ed, Archie, Ida, and Myrtle.
In 1884, the Franklins moved to Sumner County, Kansas, where they farmed in the South Haven Township. They moved to Verden, Oklahoma (Caddo County) in 1902. They were joined by their two sons and their daughter Myrtle, whose husband Charles Arthur Reece died at South Haven in 1903. Their daughter Ida Musgrove remained a resident of South Haven. Phoebe Franklin died on July 12, 1909 while visiting her daughter Ida and was buried at South Haven's Rosehill Cemetery. William Franklin died on March 30, 1930 at Verden, Oklahoma and was buried in Rosehill Cemetery at South Haven.
From the guide to the Franklin family collection, 1865-1947, (University of Kansas Kenneth Spencer Research Library Kansas Collection)
