Obituary from the Blue Earth Post, Friday, July 18, 1879:

An Old Settler Passed Away

Sudden Death of John Franklin

This community was greatly shocked on Tuesday to learn ofthe sudden death of John Franklin, one of the early settlers of Blue EarthCity. He had had a slight attack ofcongestive chills the day before, and coming in from the field, where he hadbeen at work, the Doctor advised him to keep quiet for awhile. He was not considered dangerously ill duringa part of the day Tuesday, and only for a former heart trouble, he woulddoubtless have fully recovered, as the chills had been entirely overcome.

Towards night he was somewhat better, and conversed freelywith Mr. Parker who was with him. At aboutnine in the evening he called for a glass of lemonade, and, after tasting itremarked to Mr. Parker "that it did not taste as good as he thought itwould". A moment after, he shuthis teeth quickly together two or three times, gasped, and before assistancecould be summoned, was dead. A telegramwas at once forwarded to his son G. B. Franklin, at Jackson, who arrivedWednesday afternoon.

The funeral services were held on Thursday forenoon, in thePresbyterian Church, and conducted by Mr. Cheadle. The church was filled to itsutmost capacity with friends of the deceased. The pall bearers who bore the remains to their last resting place, wereW. W. White, C. F. Haynes, G. B. Kingsley, J. A. Kiester, Jno. Anderson, and G.S. Converse. Over forty carriages werein procession.

Mr. Franklin was 58 years old the 30th of April last. He removed from Leon, Cattaraugus County,N.Y., to Blue Earth City, in March, 1863, bringing his family along, and hasbeen a resident here ever since. Thecountry was comparatively new then, and the luxuries of life were not veryabundant - oxen being more plentiful than horses, for instance; but when Johncame, with a span of horses and carriage, it was considered an event of greatimportance, and every body turned out to help him across the river. Mr. Franklin acquired considerable propertyduring his residence here, in buying and selling land, and trading in horses,and has probably owned and sold more land than any other man in this county.

He was a man of generous impulses, warm in his friendships,strong in likes and dislikes, but honorable in all his dealings between man andman. He never held any public office,except as a member of the School Board, but was generally active in all publicenterprises, and at the time of his death was President of the Faribault CountyAgricultural Society. No man in thecommunity will be more sadly missed than John Franklin.

The deceased leaves a wife, three sons, two daughters, who,with a host of warm friends will sadly miss him.