Notable Cousin · via your maternal line

Benjamin Franklin

1706–1790 · Founding Father, polymath. Only person to sign the Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Paris, and the U.S. Constitution.

Engraved portrait of Franklin on the United States $100 Federal Reserve Note
United States $100 Federal Reserve Note — Franklin has appeared on U.S. currency since the Series 1914 Federal Reserve Notes.

Relationship

Benjamin Franklin is your 1st cousin, 10 times removed.

Through Peter Folger of Nantucket (1617–1690), the family’s maternal-side common ancestor.

SIDE: MATERNAL · Folger / Swift / Winter / Perry

Most Recent Common Ancestor

Peter Folger (1617–1690) — Nantucket settler, surveyor, interpreter of Wampanoag. This is the single shared ancestor that connects Benjamin Franklin to John, Perry, and Patrick. FamilySearch PID: 99BX-1P2.

Descent Tree

Both lines descending from the MRCA. Long chains (>6 generations) collapse the middle generations to keep the tree scannable. Click any PID to open the FamilySearch record.

Via your maternal line — Folger / Swift / Winter / Perry
MRCA
Peter Folger
1617–1690
Nantucket settler, surveyor, interpreter of Wampanoag
99BX-1P2
Your line (12 gens)
John Folger
1659–1732
Peter’s son; Abiah Folger’s brother (therefore Benjamin Franklin’s uncle)
L5YS-VGM
Jethro Folger
1689–1772
son of John Folger; Peter Folger’s grandson
KPD1-53J
Jedidah Folger
1711–1757
Peter Folger’s great-granddaughter; mother of Eunice Gardner
LZKC-HXD
Eunice Gardner
1744–1809
convergence ancestor: father Robert Gardner carries the Coffin descent from Tristram via Hannah Coffin; mother Jedidah Folger carries the Folger descent from Peter
LZD4-RLB
Margaret ‘Peggy’ Macy
1782–?
daughter of Eunice Gardner; Macy → Folger surname transition through her marriage
K81V-53P
Frederick William Folger
1805–1878
Folger surname re-enters the line through Peggy Macy’s marriage — 42 FS sources
K4TW-BFB
Harriet Ann Folger
1830–1881
canonical PID per S59 override (duplicate record L4K7-4PX superseded); 18 FS sources
KZDT-ZC5
Charles Franklin Perry Sr.
1860
L1V1-W1H
Charles Franklin Perry Jr.
1890
L1VB-T1N
Francis S. Perry
1923
b. Oct 6, 1923, d. June 5, 2011 (family archive: perry-family-heritage.pdf, long-perry-heritage-v6.pdf)
L1V1-8D2
Carol A. Perry
1952
maternal bridge; probe HTTP 403 (living record)
GB2W-HXSLIVING
John, Perry & Patrick Long
living
the three brothers
LIVING
Benjamin’s line (2 gens)
Abiah Folger
1667–1752
Peter’s daughter; Franklin’s mother
Benjamin Franklin
1706–1790
Founding Father
LJLQ-WRC

Generation Recount

The S59 Folger bridge runs Peter Folger → Jedidah Folger → Eunice Gardner → Peggy Macy → Frederick William Folger → Harriet Ann Folger → the Perry line — the maternal Gardner → Macy → Folger chain through Eunice Gardner as the convergence ancestor. Benjamin Franklin connects via Peter Folger’s other daughter Abiah Folger.

Sourcing confirmed

Sourcing confirmed (GREEN-verified). Peter Folger (99BX-1P2) is in the FamilySearch corpus at 48 sources. The S59 verified chain runs through the maternal Gardner → Macy → Folger Nantucket marriages: Jedidah Folger → Eunice Gardner (convergence ancestor) → Peggy Macy → Frederick William Folger (1805, 42 FS sources) → Harriet Ann Folger (canonical PID KZDT-ZC5, 18 FS sources). Carol Perry’s parents — Francis S. Perry (L1V1-8D2) and Rachael Winter Swift (9JGN-43B) — anchor the modern bridge. The Franklin side is primary-sourced by Franklin himself in Part One of the Autobiography, naming his mother Abiah Folger and her Peter Folger parentage. Chain verified via FamilySearch relationship view (data/tristram-chain-verify-s59.md).

External Links

Sources

  1. Benjamin Franklin — Wikipedia
  2. Abiah Folger — Wikipedia
  3. Peter Foulger — Wikipedia
  4. Benjamin Franklin, “The Autobiography” (1771–90) — Part One (on Abiah Folger — Peter Folger parentage)
  5. Nantucket Historical Association — Folger family papers
  6. Cousins audit § 2h — generation recount (genealpha repo, 2026-04-18)
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