William Henderson Franklin

Rev. William Henderson Franklin was an American educator, minister, journalist, and school founder. Franklin dedicated his life to the education of Black children in rural Tennessee during the time of racial segregation. He founded Swift Memorial College in 1883, and served as the principal until 1926. He was the first minister the congregation at St. Marks Presbyterian Church in Rogersville, Tennessee. He was also known as W.H. Franklin.

Early life and education

William Henderson Franklin was born on April 14, 1852, in Knoxville, Tennessee, to free Black parents Elizabeth and Henderson Franklin. He attended schools in Knoxville, before heading to Hudsonville, Mississippi to earn money teaching.
Franklin attended Maryville College in Maryville, Tennessee, and was the first African American to graduate with a A.M. degree in 1880. He continued his studies at Lane Theological Seminary in Walnut Hills, Ohio, and graduated with a D.D. degree in 1883.

Career

Franklin was the minister of the congregation of St. Marks Presbyterian Church in Rogersville, Tennessee, where he served from 1883 until his retirement in 1926.
Franklin was ordained by the Union Presbytery Synod of Tennessee shortly after graduating from Lane. In 1883, Franklin founded the Swift Memorial Institute in Rogersville, Tennessee, with financial help from Maryville College. He acted as the principal from the time of the school's opening until 1926.
He was also a journalist, and regularly wrote for The Tennessee Star, The Herald Presbytery, and The Critic. Additionally he acted as a correspondent for The ''New York Age, and the Negro World''.

Death and legacy

Franklin died on October 19, 1935. He is buried at Saint Mark's Presbyterian Cemetery in Rogersville.
A profile of him is included in the books The Afro-American Press and Its Editors, and An Encyclopedia: Experiences of Black People in Knoxville, Tennessee, 1844–1974 by Robert J. Booker. The Tennessee Independent Colleges and Universities Association placed Franklin in the Hall of Fame in 2020. The town of Rogersville has a historical marker in his honor on West Kyle Street.