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A leading Jeffersonian journalist, Benjamin Franklin Bache was the eldest son of Richard and Sarah (Franklin) Bache, and grandson of Benjamin Franklin. Educated in France and Switzerland, Bache returned to the United States with his grandfather in 1785 and by 1790, had established himself as editor of the Aurora, a newspaper that became one of the most important voices for radical Republicanism in early national Philadelphia. Bache died in the yellow fever epidemic of 1798. His son Franklin Bache became a noted physician and chemist, teaching at the Franklin Institute (1826-1832), the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science (1831-1841), and at Jefferson Medical College.
The Castle-Bache Collection contains a diverse assemblage of both personal and professional correspondence relating to the grandson of Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Franklin Bache, with interesting material relating to Bache's son, Franklin, and later generations of the Bache family. The collection also includes genealogical materials on the Franklins, Baches, Markoes, and cognate families, as well as a selection of miscellaneous printed materials.