“If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading or do things worth writing.” – Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanac
Benjamin Franklin is perhaps my favorite Founding Father. In the annals of U.S. History, there are few characters who were more interesting and few who were more important to the American cause than Franklin.
Known for his wit and wisdom, he was a true polymath – a creative writer, printer, publisher, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, and political philosopher.
Without his efforts to procure the help and support of France during our Revolution, we might still be under the rule of the bully British.
Franklin’s contributions to American life are almost too numerous to mention.
Franklin was the only Founding Father to sign all three of our nation’s most foundational documents – the Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Alliance with France, and the U.S. Constitution.
His genius and productivity as a scientist and inventor is almost unparalleled.
Among his creations were the lightening rod, bifocals, the Franklin stove, a flexible catheter, swim fins, an improved streetlamp, the odometer, and the glass armonica, a musical instrument made of spinning glass bowls. Franklin founded the U.S. Postal Service, the first public library, and the first fire department.
Franklin possessed solid economic insight and exhibited a deep understanding of trade, money, and the paper currency supply in the Colonies.
It is fitting that his likeness graces the highest denomination of U.S. cash in circulation.
Many today know him only as the face on the $100 bill, or the old guy they keep talking about in the movie National Treasure.
But Franklin is one American we should all know more about.
His life was full to the brim with accomplishment, adventure, and good stories.
And of all the Ben Franklin stories, this is my favorite. Buckle up buttercup, this is the strange story of Silence Dogood…
In the spring of 1722, 16-year-old Ben Franklin was an apprentice laboring in his older brother’s Boston print shop.
Here James Franklin published the New England Courant, one of America’s first newspapers.
The Courant was a solid newspaper and known for its sometimes “seditious” articles and critical view of the colonial government.
A common practice for James’ friends and cohorts at the time was to write and submit entertaining letters to the newspaper.
When little brother Ben wanted to join the fun and submit letters of his own, he was rejected. James refused to publish them.
Ever the creative problem solver, young Ben found a solution to his predicament. In the process, he essentially “catfished” colonial Boston – in the person of Silence Dogood.
Silence Dogood was Franklin’s fictional creation.
A wise and witty widow woman, she became Franklin’s persona, penning a series of humorous and controversial letters to the paper and people of Boston.
Her first letter explained her tragic entry into this life. Here are her words:
“At the time of my birth, my parents were on shipboard in their way from London to New England.
“My entrance into this troublesome world was attended with the death of my father, a misfortune, which tho’ I was not then capable of knowing, I shall never be able to forget; for as he, poor man, stood upon the deck rejoicing at my birth, a merciless wave entered the ship, and in one moment carry’d him beyond reprieve.
“Thus was the first day which I saw, the last that was seen by my father, and thus was my disconsolate mother at once made both a parent and a widow.”
With her first letter, Silence Dogood was warmly welcomed with empathy into the folds of Boston society, becoming the talk of the town.
She was so popular and interesting that she even garnered numerous proposals of marriage.
And newspaper circulation surged, with Boson’s residents eagerly waiting to read the widow’s next letter.
Franklin went on to write 14 Silence Dogood letters over several months, secretly sliding them under the door of the print shop at night.
In these letters, Silence Dogood addressed numerous topics.
She poked fun at Boston’s elite, complained about the treatment of women, and even suggested the clergy were not as moral and upright as they claimed to be.
On rich parents sending their unqualified offspring to Harvard, she once noted they “were blind to their children’s dullness and insensible of the solidity of their skulls.”
She candidly shared her observations on various aspects of life in colonial America, and readers devoured her words.
When James Franklin was jailed by the provincial government for his incendiary articles, Ben kept the paper going, and Silence Dogood continued to write.
A vocal proponent of free speech, in response to James’ incarceration, an angry Mrs. Dogood wrote:
“Without freedom of thought there can be no such thing as wisdom and no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech… “Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation, must begin by subduing freeness of speech, a thing terrible to public traitors….”
Upon his release from jail, James discovered that Ben was the author of the Silence Dogood letters, and he was furious. This prompted a rift between the two brothers, leading Ben to leave Boston and escape to Philadelphia.
In Philadelphia, Ben Franklin opened his own print shop, made his home, and began to leave his mark on the Colonies and the world.
As Americans, we owe a special debt of gratitude to Franklin, one of our finest patriots and citizens.
He reminds us even today that words matter, and that there is no liberty without free speech and the resulting written word.
Ben Franklin wrote things worth reading, lived a life worth writing about, and helped build our great nation.
As we celebrate America’s 250th birthday, let’s remember him.
Thank you Ben.
© 2026 Jody Dyer, typewriterweekly.com