The Indexes
Below you will find links to the individual indexes of the first
thirty-six volumes of The Papers of Benjamin Franklin. Because a single
file of all the indexes would be too large for us to mount, we have divided
the data roughly in half. The mid-point conveniently falls at November,
1776, just as Franklin embarked on his mission to France. Researchers may
therefore search his early life, his activities in Philadelphia, and his
missions to England in the first section (Volumes 1 through 22), and his
years in France in the second section (Volumes 23 through 36).
Volumes 1 - 22
(January, 1706 - October, 1776)
Volumes 23 - 36
(November, 1776 - March 15, 1782)
Additional Information and Searching Tips:
Semicolons separate subentries; colons separate divisions within
subentries. A volume and page reference in parentheses following a main
entry refers to an individual's first identification in this edition.
To search the indexes, use the "Find" function provided by
your web-browser. Keep in mind that main entries will invert names
("Franklin, Benjamin") and are also often followed by qualifiers
(York Co., Pa.). Titles of various natures have been variously employed,
and they also tend to change over time (Doe, John, Capt. and Doe, Lieut.
Col. John may be the same person).
Accented characters and ligatures were inconsistently employed
throughout the indexes, and in some cases they may resist the search
function. Try using a word fragment if you find yourself unable to get any
hits searching for a word that could be spelled with an accent, or to make
sure that you have found all instances of the word. (For example, for
"Morandière" search with "Morandi.")
Abbreviations and short names you may find in the indexes:
|
Adm.
|
Admiral
|
|
Amer.
|
American
|
|
Anon.
|
anonymous
|
|
Autobiog.
|
BF's autobiography
|
|
Belg.
|
Belgium
|
|
BF
|
Benjamin
Franklin
|
|
BFB
|
Benjamin
Franklin Bache
|
|
Biog.
note
|
biographical
note
|
|
Co.
|
Company
OR County
|
|
Col.
|
Colonel
|
|
Commr(s).
|
commissioner(s)
|
|
Comp.
|
compiled/compiler
|
|
Conn.
|
Connecticut
|
|
Corresp.
|
Correspondence
|
|
Del.
|
Delaware
|
|
Dept.
|
Department
|
|
DF
|
Deborah
Franklin
|
|
Eng.
|
England
|
|
Exper(s).
|
experiment(s)
|
|
Exper. and Obser.
|
Experiments
and Observations
|
|
Ft.
|
Fort
|
|
Ga.
|
Georgia
|
|
Gaz.
|
Gazette
|
|
Gent.
Mag.
|
Gentleman's
Magazine
|
|
Ger.
|
Germany
|
|
Gov.
|
governor
|
|
Hist.
|
Historical
|
|
Hosp.
|
Hospital
|
|
Ill.
|
Illinois
|
|
Ire.
|
Ireland
|
|
Lib.
Co.
|
Library
Company
|
|
Lieut.
|
lieutenant
|
|
JA
|
John
Adams
|
|
Jour.
|
Journal
|
|
JW
|
Jonathan
Williams, Jr.
|
|
J.P.
|
justice
of the peace
|
|
Ky.
|
Kentucky
|
|
M.P.
|
Member
of Parliament
|
|
Mag.
|
Magazine
|
|
Mass.
|
Massachusetts
|
|
Md.
|
Maryland
|
|
Me.
|
Maine
|
|
MS(S)
|
manuscript(s)
|
|
No.
|
number
|
|
No. Car.
|
North
Carolina
|
|
N.C.
|
North
Carolina
|
|
N.E.
|
New
England
|
|
N.H.
|
New
Hampshire
|
|
N.J.
|
New
Jersey
|
|
N.S.
|
Nova
Scotia
|
|
N.Y.
|
New
York
|
|
Neth.
|
Netherlands
|
|
Obser(s).
|
observation(s)
|
|
Pa.
|
Pennsylvania
|
|
Phila.
|
Philadelphia
|
|
Polly
|
Mary
Stevenson
|
|
Prov. commr(s).
|
Provincial
Commissioner(s)
|
|
Pseud.
|
pseudonym
|
|
R.
|
River
|
|
RB
|
Richard
Bache
|
|
Regt.
|
Regiment
|
|
Rev.
|
Reverend
OR Review
|
|
R.I.
|
Rhode
Island
|
|
Sally
F.
|
Sarah
Franklin Bache
|
|
SB
|
Sarah
Franklin Bache
|
|
Scot.
|
Scotland
|
|
So.
Car.
|
South
Carolina
|
|
Soc.
|
Society
|
|
Sept.
|
September
|
|
S.C.
|
South
Carolina
|
|
Trans.
|
Translation
|
|
Va.
|
Virginia
|
|
WF
|
William
Franklin
|
|
WTF
|
William
Temple Franklin
|
|
