Sarah Franklin Bache

Sarah Franklin Bache
Sarah Franklin Bache by John Hoppner, 1793
Born	11 September 1743(1743-09-11) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Died	5 October 1808(1808-10-05) (aged 65) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Residence	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Nationality	American
Spouse	Richard Bache
Parents	Benjamin Franklin Deborah Read

Sarah Franklin “Sally” Bache (September 11, 1743 – October 5, 1808) was the daughter of Benjamin Franklin and Deborah Read.

Known as "Sally" throughout her life, she was an ardent American patriot during the Revolutionary War through relief work and as her father's political hostess. She raised money for the Continental Army and is known for her involvement in the Ladies Association of Philadelphia. She took leadership of the group in 1780 and supervised the making of 2,200 shirts for the soldiers in the Continental Army the army's winter at Valley Forge, and often meeting at The Cliffs, a country estate owned by Samuel R Fisher on the Schuylkill River, two miles north of Philadelphia.

Sally married Richard Bache on October 29, 1767, even though her family was worried about his financial position. The couple had eight children:^[1]

• Benjamin Franklin Bache (b. 1769, d. 1798 during the Philadelphia Yellow Fever outbreak.) Leading journalist who died while imprisoned under the Sedition Act by the Federalists. Married to Margaret Markoe.
• William Franklin Bache (31 May 1773 - 1814) married Catherine Wistar
• Sarah Franklin Bache (1 December 1775-17 August 1776)^[2]
• Eliza Franklin Bache (10 September 1777-1820) married John Harwood
• Louis Franklin Bache (7 October 1779-4 October 1818) married Margaret Riley (1781–1806). Lt. Col. Louis Bache was the commander of a detachment of 351 men in the Pennsylvania State Militia Volunteers. Assigned by Pennsylvania Gov. Snyder to defend the City of Philadelphia against the British in the War of 1812. In October 1814, Lt. Col. Bache refused to submit to federal military takeover of his Pennsylvania State Militia Detachment because his soldiers originally joined the state militia pursuant to a later-disputed agreement with U.S. Brig. Gen. Bloomfield that Bache's soldiers would always serve under their state (and not federal) militia officers. Standing firm on principle, Bache and his five subordinate officers were arrested. Bache was court-martialed and was dismissed from U.S. Military service. The military court decided not to punish Bache further because the court believed Bache's closing arguments...that he acted in good-faith based upon Governor Snyder's orders, his motives were pure, and that trust was placed in him by his soldiers and the soldiers' parents who allowed their sons to volunteer only under the command of trusted state militia officers. The Bache court-martial case and the related U.S. Supreme Court case of United States v. Peters has been the subject of historical discussion regarding federal-state relations and balance of power.^[3]
• Deborah Franklin Bache (1 October 1781 - ?) married William J. Duane, a lawyer and the 11th United States Secretary of the Treasury.
• Richard Franklin Bache (March 11, 1784 - March 17, 1848) married Sophia Durrell Dallas, the eldest daughter of Arabella Maria Smith and Alexander J. Dallas (statesman) who was an American statesman who served as the 6th U.S. Treasury Secretary under President James Madison.
• Sarah Franklin Bache (12 September 1788 - ?) married Thomas Sergeant.

Bache loved music and reading and was considered a skilled harpsichordist. When her father died, he left most of his estate to her. Among the items bequeathed to her was a small portrait of Louis XVI surrounded by diamonds, which she sold to finance a trip to London. In 1794, she and her family moved to a farm outside of Philadelphia on the Delaware River.

Sarah Franklin Bache died in 1808 and is buried in Christ Church Burial Ground, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

References

1. ^ The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, by Benjamin Franklin, Appendix 1
2. ^ Women of the American Revolution - Sarah Bache
3. ^ Citizen Soldiers in the War of 1812, Ch. 8, Federal-State Relations, p. 141, Vol. 1998, By Carl Edward Skeen.

• Sarah Franklin Bache at Find a Grave
• "The Sarah Franklin Bache Papers, 1768-1807", American Philosophical Society
• "Bache and Wistar Family Correspondence 1777-1895", Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Library
• The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, by Benjamin Franklin
• Article in The Evening Bulletin, November 22, 1971, on the plans to convert the Cliffs to an historic farm.
• Article in The Evening Bulletin, January 27, 1975, on the plans to restore 16 historic houses including the Cliffs.
• Article in The Philadelphia Inquirer, February 23, 1986, on the burning of the Cliffs.

Persondata
Name	Bache, Sarah Franklin
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	11 September 1743
Place of birth	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Date of death	5 October 1808
Place of death