Guide to the T. H. Franklin Co. , 1836-1924

Steamship Historical Society of America, Archives
Steamship Historical Society of America
2500 Post Road
Warwick, RI 02886
Tel: 401-463-3570
E-mail: info@sshsa.org

Published in 2023

Collection Overview

Title:	T. H. Franklin Co.
Date range:	1836-1924
Creator:	T. H. Franklin Co.
Extent:	2 linear feet
Abstract:	The T. H. Franklin Collection comprises approximately 1,800 glass slide negatives and 1,900 ship records, also known as "ship slips", used by the ship brokerage company to promote ships to prospective buyers between 1902 and 1940. A board range of ship types are represented in this collection from the United States and abroad. A select number of photographic contact prints made from the negatives are also part of the collection.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	Steamship Historical Society of America, Archives
Collection number:	1947.01

Scope & content

The T. H. Franklin Company Collection comprises over 1,900 individual ship business records that document her operator, location, ship design, and sale price for ships. 837 of those ships also have at least one accompanying image represented in the 1,800 glass slide negative collection. Ships documented in this collection were built between 1836 and 1924 and cover locations across the United States, including the Great Lakes, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Pacific Coast, with the bulk documenting the Northeast coast of the United States. A few glass plate negatives include ship plans, while the majority are ship portraits. A limited number of photo prints from the negatives are part of this collection.

Access Points

Subject Names

• Franklin, T.H. (Thomas Henry)

Subject Organizations

• T.H. Franklin Co.

Subject Topics

• Ship brokers
• Shipping
• Steamboats
• Ocean liners

Document Types

• Photographs
• Negatives (Photographs)
• Records (Documents)

Subject Topics

• Maritime

Arrangement

Series 1: Glass plate negatives

• Approximately 1,900 glass negatives documenting ships sold by the T. H. Franklin Company between 1902 - 1940, organized alphabetically by ship name.

Series 2: Print, Photographic

• Over 1,000 8" x 5" or smaller black and white prints organized by ship name alphabetically in a two-drawer cabinet. Photos are marked on the back with ship name, negative number, the Franklin Collection rubber stamp, and other markings.

Series 3: Ship Slip Business Records

• The T. H. Franklin Company ship record series comprises 1958 slips providing detailed information on individual ships, arranged by ship name. The information provided include not only include typical descriptive information, such as built, length, beam, etc., but in many cases the amount she sold for and the percentage T.H. Franklin Co. received in commission. An index of this series includes the vessel name, date, operator, and location (if provided). Roughly 800 ships also have at least one image in the glass plate negative series two. The ship locations are sometimes listed in notes and cover the nation with a particular concentration on the Northeast coast.

Biographical note

Thomas Henry Stanislaus Franklin, Sr. was born on 28 Oct 1864 in Brooklyn, New York, to parents Thomas Henry and Margaret (Conroy) Franklin, both of Ireland. His parents were born in Ireland and likely arrived in the U.S. before the birth of their first child in 1861. He had three sisters, Sarah, Maggie, and Mary. His father worked as a laborer and died on 23 June 1875, leaving a nine-year-old Thomas, his widowed mother, and three sisters to support themselves. Sarah started work as a "segar maker" and Thomas became a store clerk to contribute to the family.

A strong work ethic at a young age likely motivated Thomas when he founded T.H. Franklin Company, a ship brokerage firm in New York City. Company letterhead indicates the firm was established in 1857. The brokerage firm sold various types of maritime vessels, engines, equipment, and machinery. The company devised a system of making promotional material for prospective buyers. They hired a professional photographer to make glass negatives from the ship owner's photographs, which were used to make multiple contact prints. They then sent those prospective buyers a simple description. In 1911, in Officers, Directors, and Committees, Charter, By-laws by the Maritime Association of the Port of New York, the T.H. Franklin Co. was located at 78 Broad Street. The company subsequently moved to 8-10 Bridge Street.

T.H., Sr. married on 28 Sep 1893, in Brooklyn, New York, to Sarah E. Craig. The couple had one son and five daughters: Thomas, Jr., Mary, Julia, Marion, Neil, and Regis. His namesake, born 17 Aug 1895 in Brooklyn, New York, took over the firm in 1930. T.H. was a lifelong Brooklyn resident. He died four years later, on 17 Mar 1934, in his Putnam Avenue, Brooklyn home at the age of 69, after a short illness. He was buried the next day in Holy Cross Cemetery. T. H. Franklin, Jr. reported after his father's death that his father was "considered honest, was loved by his friends, and those that were not respected him.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	This collection is available to the public by appointment at the Steamship Historical Society. Objects that are fragile, significant, or require additional tools to access may require archivist assistance.
Use of the materials:	Use, reproduction, and/or publication of archival material is prohibited without prior approval of the Steamship Historical Society. Fees and/or restrictions may apply. Please contact the SSHSA archivist, Astrid Drew, at adrew@sshsa.org for more information.
Preferred citation:	T. H. Franklin Co. Collection (1947.01), Steamship Historical Society of America Archives, www.sshsa.org.
Contact information:	Steamship Historical Society of America, Archives Steamship Historical Society of America 2500 Post Road Warwick, RI 02886 Tel: 401-463-3570 E-mail: info@sshsa.org

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	The T. H. Franklin Collection was donated by Thomas Henry Franklin Junior. The retroactive accession of this collection in 2023 was based on acquisition files and support material.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by Heather Pouliot Kisilywicz.
Encoding:	Finding aid encoded by Heather Pouliot Kisilywicz 2023 July 28
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Information

Inventory

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