Leaving London, On to Philadelphia: Franklin Hopes for Success

Benjamin Franklin arrived in Philadelphia on the 11th of October, 1726. Franklin was now to work for the merchant Thomas Denham. He worked for Denham for one year, until trouble arose all because of one man: Governor William Keith. Keith never had any explanation as to why he sent him to London, and he never gave him the right funding. He had no where near enough money for proper living. This not only crushed Franklin's hopes, but showed him what to expect later in his career. At the time, Deborah Read had given up hope that he would come back from London, and married another man that turned out to be a polygamist. Read divorced him. Coming back from England, he returned to work for Denham. Thomas Denham became like a father to Franklin. This is extremely significant in history: Denham gave Franklin lots of money, much more than his salary allowed. This would start Franklin's career later on and would kick-start his inventions. Denham died when Franklin was 21, and in his will he forgave all of the debt Franklin had due to him, and even left him bits of money. In Philadelphia, Benjamin's career would flourish. Also, he would marry his wife, Deborah Read.