[1][2][3] Franklin dedicated his life to the education of Black children in rural Tennessee during the time of racial segregation.

[1][2] He attended schools in Knoxville, before heading to Hudsonville, Mississippi to earn money teaching.

[7][8] He continued his studies at Lane Theological Seminary in Walnut Hills, Ohio, and graduated with a D.D.

[2][7] Franklin was the minister of the congregation of St. Marks Presbyterian Church in Rogersville, Tennessee, where he served from 1883 until his retirement in 1926.

A profile of him is included in the books The Afro-American Press and Its Editors (1891), and An Encyclopedia: Experiences of Black People in Knoxville, Tennessee, 1844–1974 (2017) by Robert J.