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Margaret Rooke Stevenson
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Margaret Rooke Stevenson (1706–1783) was a British landlady and close friend of Benjamin Franklin. Franklin rented rooms from her during both of his stays in London: 1757–1762 and 1764–1775.[1]
She was married to Addinell Stevenson, a merchant, and they had one child, Mary (better known as Polly), in 1739.[2] Her husband died in about 1747.[2] After his death, Stevenson and her daughter moved to 36 Craven Street, near Charing Cross, London, and began letting rooms to lodgers.[1] The listed building is now known as Benjamin Franklin House.[3]
Her most famous tenant was American Founding Father Benjamin Franklin, who rented a suite of four rooms in the house beginning in 1757.[2] The widowed Stevenson took on many of the social responsibilities of a wife for Franklin: she accompanied him to functions around London and hosted dinner parties with him.[2] In a letter to his wife Deborah (who remained in Philadelphia), Franklin called Stevenson "a certain very great Lady, the best Woman in England".[4]
Even though Stevenson found writing an "oddieus taske", she maintained an active correspondence with Franklin while he returned to America.[1][5] After Franklin's wife died in 1774 Stevenson hoped that he might marry her, but this did not happen.[6]
Stevenson died in 1783.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Cowell, Pattie (2001). ""Much depends upon my knowing"". Finding Colonial Americas: Essays Honoring J.A. Leo Lemay. University of Delaware Press. pp. 317–330. ISBN 978-0-87413-722-4.
- ^ a b c d "Maintaining Independence: Widows as Landladies During the Georgian Era". Benjamin Franklin House. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
- ^ Historic England, "36, Craven Street WC2 (1066930)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 5 March 2018
- ^ "Benjamin Franklin to Deborah Franklin, 13 February 1768". Founders Online. National Archives. Retrieved 22 February 2026.
- ^ "Margaret Stevenson to Benjamin Franklin, [1763?]". Founders Online. National Archives. Retrieved 22 February 2026.
- ^ "Poor Richard's Women: Deborah Read Franklin and the Other Women Behind the Founding Father by Nancy Rubin Stuart". Publishers Weekly. 20 October 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2026.
Further reading
[edit]- Stuart, Nancy Rubin (2022). Poor Richard's Women: Deborah Read Franklin and the Other Women Behind the Founding Father. Boston: Beacon Press. ISBN 9780807011300.