Benjamin Franklin Washington

Benjamin Franklin Washington (April 7, 1820 – January 22, 1872) was a relative of George Washington. He was involved in a duel with C. A. Washburn over articles printed in the San Francisco Herald.

Benjamin Franklin Washington
Born(1820-04-07)April 7, 1820
near Charles Town, Virginia (now West Virginia)
DiedJanuary 22, 1872(1872-01-22) (aged 51)
San Francisco, California
OccupationAmerican newspaper editor
SpouseGeorgianna Hite Ransom (1845-1872, his death)
Parent(s)John Thornton Augustine Washington
Elizabeth Conrad Bedinger
RelativesSamuel Washington (great-grandfather)
George Washington (great-granduncle)

Personal life

Washington was born on April 7, 1820, at "Berry Hill" afterward[1]"Cedar Lawn" plantation near Charles Town, Virginia (now West Virginia) and was the fifth child and third son of John Thornton Augustine Washington and his wife[2] Elizabeth Conrad Bedinger.[3] Washington's great-grandfather, Samuel Washington, was a younger brother of George Washington.

Washington married Georgianna Hite Ransom on October 22, 1845, in Jefferson County, Virginia[4] (now West Virginia). He studied law[5] but went west to California in the 1849 Gold Rush as the president[6] of the Charlestown Company.[7][8]

He was coeditor of the Sacramento Democratic State Journal, along with Vincent Geiger.[9]

On October 7, 1863, the Democratic Press was established in San Francisco, and by June 12, 1865, it became the Evening Examiner, with William S. Moss as publisher and B. F. Washington as editor. For several years William S. Moss, Phil Roach and George Pen Johnston were its owners. Until it was bought by Senator Hearst in the 1880s, the paper had been a "highly chaste and non-sensation journal".[10] After Senator Hearst's death the paper went to his son, William R. Hearst.

B.F. Washington died January 22, 1872, in San Francisco, California. His granddaughter Frances W. Delehanty was an artist, illustrator, and founder of an abbey in Connecticut.[11]

The duel

Washington, who at the time worked for the Times and Transcript, took offense at articles written in the San Francisco Herald. As a result, he challenged C. A. Washburn, then the editor of the San Francisco Herald, to a duel. Though Washington aimed to kill, his second shot went through the rim of Washburn's hat, and his third bullet struck Washburn in the shoulder. The duel then ended.[12]

References
  1. Thornton Augustin Washington, A Genealogical History Beginning with Colonel John Washington, The Emigrant, and Head of the Washington Family in America,1891, Press of McGill & Wallace, Washington, D. C., p. 31.
  2. Thornton Augustine Washington,1891,p. 24, see ref. above
  3. Harrison 2005, p. 2508.
  4. Jn. T, A. Washington. "Washington Family Bible". Archived from the original on January 31, 2005. Retrieved 2006-03-18.
  5. "Plumas County Biographies, 'Judge Joseph E. N. Lewis'". Archived from the original on 2006-05-23. Retrieved 2006-03-20.
  6. John William Bowers. "Autobiography of John William Bowers". Butte County Edition of the San Francisco Journal of Commerce. Retrieved 2006-03-20.
  7. "Plumas County Biographies, 'Charles C. Thomas'". Archived from the original on 2006-05-23. Retrieved 2006-03-20.
  8. "Plumas Count Biographies, 'Robert M. Blakemore'". Archived from the original on 2006-05-23. Retrieved 2006-03-20.
  9. "Biographical Sketches Part 4". Retrieved 2006-03-20.
  10. Leigh H. Irvine. "A History of the New California, ch. 10, "GROWTH OF NEWSPAPERS"". The Lewis Publishing Company. Retrieved 2006-03-18.
  11. "Mrs. Daniel Delehanty" New York Times (June 5, 1930): 19. via ProQuest
  12. George H. Tinkham. "California Men and Events, ch. 14, "PULPIT, PRESS AND PUBLIC SCHOOL"". Retrieved 2006-03-16.
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