[1] The family moved to Philadelphia in 1775, and during the War, Thomas was appointed commissary of prisoners.

Franklin was admitted to the bar in Philadelphia county in 1792, age 19.

He was appointed state Attorney General in 1809, and served until 1810, when Judge John Joseph Henry retired as president judge of the Second Judicial District, then consisting of York, Lancaster and Dauphin counties, and Franklin was appointed to take his place.

Franklin was impeached twice by the state House of Representatives, in 1818 and in 1825, for alleged judicial misconduct, but the Senate acquitted him both times.

Of the sons, Thomas E. Franklin would eventually serve two terms as state Attorney General.