Introduction

Biography

Franklin was the son of Ez­ra C. Har­din and Pris­cil­la Rai­ney, and hus­band of Al­ice Barnes.

He in­i­tial­ly worked as a black­smith, then in 1850 was or­dained a Me­tho­dist min­is­ter. He was a cir­cuit rid­er through­out In­di­ana and Il­li­nois, and a pre­sid­ing el­der in the Me­tho­dist Rock Ri­ver Con­fer­ence, which co­vered Chi­ca­go and north­ern Il­li­nois.

During the Am­er­ican ci­vil war, he served as a lieu­ten­ant co­lo­nel in the 57th In­di­ana In­fan­try.

Works

• Honey Out of the Rock, with Will­iam Nick­le & John B. Shaw (Chi­ca­go, Il­li­nois: Mey­er & Bro­ther, 1892)
• The Bow of Pro­mise, with George El­der­kin, Charles Mc­Cabe, John Swe­ney & Will­iam Kirk­pat­rick (Chi­cago, Il­li­nois: R. R. McCabe, 1898)
• Songs of the Century, with George El­der­kin, John Swe­ney, Wil­liam Kirk­pat­rick & Henry Gilmour (Chi­cago, Il­li­nois: George D. El­der­kin, 1900)
• The Fin­est of the Wheat No. 3, ed­it­ed by George El­der­kin, Charles McCabe, Wil­liam Kirk­pat­rick & Hen­ry Gil­mour (Chi­cago, Il­li­nois: George D. El­der­kin, 1904)