Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1854-11-03
From the New York Tr;bur,
biography of Sir John FraMkIta.

The reported discovery of the remains of this :,
IustriCus gatnr-whatever doubts may be Throw.
upon the crdhility of the narrative-furnishesaa
table occasion for collecting the scanty details Of b
biography, which have thus far been commun;rotns
10 the public Sir John Franklin was born in I1oc
and would accordingly have been 68 years of aoa hal
he survived 10 the present time. His native nloco
was Spilsby, small town in Lincolnshire in tho y;
entity OF the North Sea. From his earliest wears h.
betrayed certain boldness of disposition ana Io c
OF adventure. His father endeavored to cure him of
his sea tarng propensities by permitting him to ,rr
the experiment OF voyage to Lisbon in a tradin9
vessel. But this only produced the opposite effect
He was confirmed in his taste for The ocean, ana
would not be satisfied until he had procured the CON-
sent of his father TO his entering The navy He oh
tanned midshipmans warrant in his fourteenth vaa
HIS first service in the frgate POIypheme wba,a
he was distinguished for his youthful courage and
energy He was in the battle OF Copenhagen in 1901
ana TWO years after accompanied his relative Cant
Flinders, on voyage of discovery to the South Sea
during which he was shpwrecked on the coas, Of
New, Holland At a subsequent period, he was IN
the belierophon at the battle of TRAFALGAR In 1914
ne was a lieutenant in the Bedford which bronob,
the allied monarchs to England He was concer6et
In te atrack on New Orleans. where he gained great
cFeult oy his bravery and skill In 1918 he com.
named the brig Trent in the Polar Expedition nm.
aef Eapt; b1chan After tie failure of the search
Ior Inc North w est Passage by Cant Ross he ra
ceIved the commission in 1919, 10 undertake an ey
petition by land from Hudson's Bav to the month of
the Copper Mine River in conjunction with Richard
son and Bach to cooperate with Capt. Parry who
was to visit the region by water On this expedif,on
ne followed the coast as far Cope Turnagain 69
Deg ~ min. north latitude and after increditaha
haroshlps having been once rescued from death bv
the Indians, he returned TO England in 1926. '
He was PROMOTED 10 the rank of PostCa and
three years afterward he undertook second nvnad;
tInn TO the Polar Seas, visiting the coast between tho
Mackenzie River and the Copper Mine River Ry
the middle of August, 1927, he had reached no
seventeenth degree of latitude, and The one hnndrad
ard fifteenth degree of longitude, bat was compelled
TO return by the early setting in of extreme col
weather. In recognition of his merits on this avna.
dtion, he received the order of knighthood from
George the Fourth. In 1890, he commanded a shin
OF the line IN the Mediterranean, and afterwards was
appointed Governor of Van Diemans Land, from
which post he was recalled in March, 1913 Re.
turning to England in the spring OF 1916 he was en-
trusted with the command of the fatal expedtion in
which his life has fallen sacrifice The Two YES
sels, Eebus and Terror, in which the Younger Ross
had accomplished his Expedition to the South Pole
was selected for the voyage, and two distinguished
officers, Captains CrozIer and Ftzames were an.
pointed as his companions The Expedition sailed
on the 10Th of May lS45, arrived at the Whale Fish
Island on the 4th of July, and seen for the last
time IN Melville Bay, on the 26ih of that month 1t
was not until after the return Of Capt Ross IN l84g
who had been sent in search of the missing naviga.
TORS that general anxiety felt for Their safety
In 1850 an Expedition was fitted out BY Lady Frank
lin and another by the British Government TO seek
the lost vessels. About the time, our towns
man, Mr.. Henry GrinneII, dispatched the two ships
Advance and Rescue for the same purpose. The IN,
successful result of these expeditions is we'll known
During the past year a large feet was sent by the
British Government, 10 make renewed search for
Sir John Franklin. Mr. Grinnel also dispatched the
Advance, under the command of Dr.. Kane on
similar Grand. But all in vain. Before the an
nouncement of the recent intelligence no further
hope was cherished that the lives of the brave ex
plorers had been preserved Their names were some
time since stricken from the Admiralty list and or
ders issued for the recall of the Expeditions