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ALS signed “B. Franklin,” one page, 5.5 x 6.5, June 15, 1748. Addressed from Philadelphia, a handwritten letter to merchant Nathaniel Sparhawk of Kittery, Massachusetts (now Maine), acknowledging receipt of money from Mr. [John] Baynton for Mr. Warren and noting receipt of a letter from “Mr. Pepperrell.” In full: “I receiv’d yours p[er] Mr Baynton with the Money as therein specified; and have since deliver’d it to Mr Warren (who is now here) with Mr Pepperill’s Letter; of which please advise Mr Pepp’ll.” In very good to fine condition, with light soiling and toning, trimmed edges, and professional linen-backing.
Written three years after the British capture of Louisbourg during King George’s War, the note may relate to lingering financial or provisioning matters associated with the campaign. Some scholars have suggested that the individuals referenced are Admiral Peter Warren and Sir William Pepperrell, who respectively commanded British naval and New England land forces in the successful 1745 siege of the French fortress at Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island. However, the identifications remain uncertain: Franklin refers only to “Mr. Warren” and “Mr. Pepperill,” despite Warren’s naval rank and Pepperrell’s baronetcy by this date. The Papers of Benjamin Franklin identifies the recipient as merchant Nathaniel Sparhawk (1715–1776), son-in-law of Sir William Pepperrell, and tentatively suggests that “Mr. Pepperrell” may instead refer to Andrew Pepperrell, Sir William’s son and business partner. In Louisbourg: Key to a Continent (1965), historian Fairfax Downey characterized the letter as a record of Franklin “forwarding Pennsylvania’s Louisbourg contribution.”
Written in the year Franklin retired from active printing to devote himself to public affairs and scientific inquiry, the letter reflects his already well-established role in colonial financial and administrative networks in the aftermath of King George's War. Later that same year, Franklin was selected as a member of Philadelphia's Common Council, the first of a series of formal appointments that would define his public career over the following decades.
Nathaniel Sparhawk was a prominent merchant and civic figure of Kittery who married Elizabeth Pepperrell, daughter of Sir William Pepperrell, in 1742. Pepperrell built the thirteen-room Sparhawk Hall as a wedding gift for the couple, and Sparhawk later served as chief judge of the Court of Common Pleas, colonel of the York County militia, and a member of the Massachusetts Council. He is also the subject of a celebrated 1764 portrait by John Singleton Copley.
Accompanied by a period typed provenance statement from former owner J. W. P. Frost: “Autograph letter of Benjamin Franklin, June 1748, to Col. Nathaniel Sparhawk, son-in-law of Lt. Gen. Sir William Pepperrell, Baronet; regarding funds to be sent to Louisbourg on behalf of the Province of Pennsylvania, of which Franklin acted as Treasurer. Letter mentions Admiral Sir Peter Warren (first Governor of Louisbourg under English command), who is in Pennsylvania as agent for the campaign. Only known letter to exist between Franklin and Pepperrell.
“This was purchased by me for $100.00 from the Helen Pearson estate, who inherited it from her grandfather, Tobias Ham Miller. Miller had it attached to the first printing press in New Hampshire, brought here by Fowle in 1757, and bought by Fowle from James Franklin, brother to Benjamin. This was the press that Franklin rec’d his apprenticeship on, and the letter was obtained by Miller from the Sparhawk or Pepperrell Mansion while he was minister of the Congregational Church at Kittery Point around 1838. The press went to the Columbian Exposition after removing the framed letter from the side and was never returned to the Miller family.”
According to the Frost statement, Tobias Ham Miller (1801–1870) had preserved the letter in an oak frame affixed to the side of the first printing press in New Hampshire, acquired by printer Daniel Fowle and associated by family tradition with the Franklin printing family. While serving as minister of the Congregational Church at Kittery Point circa 1838, Miller reportedly obtained the letter from the Pepperrell mansion.
Provenance: Tobias Ham Miller (1801–1870); by descent to Helen Pearson; acquired from her estate by Joseph W. P. Frost; Frost Family Collection, New Hampshire; acquired at Hindman, November 8, 2022.
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