b. 1814
d. 1885
The Franklin brothers were auctioneers and real estate agents in
San Francisco, and continued their business ventures in
Victoria with the establishment of S. Franklin & Co., located on Yates Street.
2 Both brothers were prominent members of the early Jewish community of
Victoria, executive members of the
Victoria Philharmonic Society, and had brief but significant careers in politics.
3
In
1860, Selim was elected to the second Legislative Assembly of
Vancouver Island, at which time other electees (
Alfred Waddington, notably) complained that he could not take the Christian oath of office.
4 Chief Justice
David Cameron overrode this political barrier when he ruled that Jews could indeed take the oath,
citing precedents of non-Christians taking office in British North America.
5 Unlike
his brother, Selim opposed the union of
Vancouver Island and
British Columbia, resigning from the Legislative Assembly and returning to
San Francisco when the colonies merged in
1866.
6 In
San Francisco, he took up an interest in chess before passing away in
1885.
7
- 1. Selim Franklin, Jewish Pioneer of Victoria, Canada, 1858, Jewish Museum of the American West.
- 2. Dorothy Blakey Smith, Franklin, Lumley, Dictionary of Canadian Biography.
- 3. Danda Humphreys, Franklin Bachelor brothers made their mark, Times Colonist, September 12, 1999.
- 4. Ibid.
- 5. Ibid.; Selim Franklin would be the 3rd person of Jewish faith elected to a legislative
assembly in British North America.
- 6. JHS Admin, Lumley and Selim Franklin, Jewish Museum & Archives of British Columbia.
- 7. Selim Franklin, Jewish Pioneer of Victoria, Canada, 1858, Jewish Museum of the American West.