Abel Franklin, Sr.

"Abel was the first keeper of the Beavertail Light, and he owned the north and south Ferries on the west side of Conanicut Island." The first light was built in 1749, so this must be the one that Abel, at age 59, tended. The Beavertail Light, at the southern tip of Jamestown, marks the two main navigation channels into Narragansett Bay — an important location for a lighthouse, marking the entrance to the bay, and, the hazard of the rocks. This wooden structure burned to the ground four years after it was built. Its replacement was made of "rubble," (probably beach stones). A third one, of granite, was built in 1856. Abel's ferries ran between Conanicut (the larger of Jamestown's two islands) and the mainland (long before the Jamestown Bridge was built in 1940). The northern tip of Jamestown is opposite Wickford, in North Kingstown

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/29053109

Also have one source on Abel that says he was a cordwainer .. Shoe maker .. which was in their family tradition .

• http://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:Abel_Franklin_(1)_
  • Dartmouth, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States. Vital Records of Dartmouth, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850. (Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1929-1930), 1:89, Births. 'FRANKLIN, Abel, s. James, May 18, 1690.'
  • Congdon, James B. (transcriber). Births, Marriages and Deaths, from the Ancient Town of Dartmouth, Mass. New England Historical and Genealogical Register. (1867-1868), 22:67. 'Franklin, Abel, s. of James May 18, 1690'
  • Moriarty, G. Andrews. Some Notes on Eighteenth Century Block Island. New England Historical and Genealogical Register. (1951), 105:255. 'Abel Franklin ... was a prominent resident of Jamestown. ... He died testate in 1758, "aged 68 years".'
  • The Rhode Island Historical Cemeteries Transcription Project . 'FRANKLIN ABEL 1690c - 3 MAR 1758' in Friends' Cemetery, Jamestown, Rhode Island
  • Moriarty, G. Andrews. Some Notes on Eighteenth Century Block Island. New England Historical and Genealogical Register. (1951), 105:255. 'Her husband [Abel Franklin] is buried in Jamestown.'
• https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Franklin-87

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https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Franklin-87
---Abel Franklin (1690 - 1758)

Abel Franklin
Born 18 May 1690 in Dartmouth, Bristol, Plymouthmap
Son of James Franklin and [mother unknown]
Brother of James Franklin Jr and Lydia Franklin
Husband of Sarah (Remington) Franklin — married 1713 [location unknown]
DESCENDANTS descendants
Father of Stephen Franklin, Hannah (Franklin) Bill, Abel Franklin Jr., George Franklin, Sarah Franklin, John Franklin and Penelope (Franklin) Sherman
Died 3 Mar 1758 at age 67 in Jamestown, Newport County, Rhode Islandmap [uncertain]
PROBLEMS/QUESTIONSProfile managers: Lisa Franklin private message [send private message] and Massachusetts Project WikiTree private message [send private message]
Profile last modified 31 May 2022 | Created 28 Feb 2010
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Biography

Abel Franklin, son of James Franklin was born 18 May 1690, in Dartmouth, Plymouth Colony (now part of Massachusetts).[1][2]

He was a Freeman and Ferry Operator. During the 1700s, three generations of decendants of James Franklin, of Massachusetts, owned and operated ferrie. [3]

Abel died 03 Mar 1758 at the age of 68, and was buried at the Friends Cemetery, Jamestown, Newport County, Rhode Island.[4][5]

Sources

↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q29G-4PH2 : 18 February 2020), James Franklin in entry for Abel Franklin, 18 May 1690; citing Birth, New Bedford, Bristol, Plymouth, British Colonial America, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007009325.
↑ Vital Records of Dartmouth, Massachusetts to the Year 1850. Volume 1 - Births. Boston: NEHGS, 1929. p. 89
↑ Book Author?. "Descendants of James Franklin, Massachusetts Circa 1675" (no publish date). The book lists the following sources for this information:
1) History of Jamestown on Conanicut Island (1949), by W. L. Watson.,
2) History of Rhode Island Ferries (1925), by A. A. & C. V. Chapin.
3) Short History of the West Ferries of Jamestown, a paper propared for Jamestown Historical Society by Susan B. Franklin, PhD, d/o William Barker Franklin.
4) Jamestown Sampler (1980), by B. Lippincott.
Strongly suggest locating, checking and using of these original sources instead.
↑ Photo of gravestone Abel Franklin, Friends Cemetery, Jamestown, Newport County, Rhode Island
↑ Tombstone photograph for Abel Franklin at Findagrave #29053109.

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