> What logic supports that Franklin was a member of Hellfire Club?
According to the book The Hellfire Clubs by Evelyn Lord (2010),
"A key figure and someone who could have been a link between
British hell-fire clubs and colonial America was Benjamin Franklin.
Franklin was intimate with Sir Francis Dashwood and other
Medmenham Friars in England, and an attack on Cotton Mather
in 1721 by Benjamin’s brother James in his newspaper the New
England Courant had resulted in Mather calling the Franklins and
their friends a ‘Hell-Fire Club’.[59]
The date is significant, as this is the year that the Duke of
Wharton’s alleged Hell-Fire Club was in operation. We know that
the Franklin was aware of this club as on 6 May 1721 the New
England Courant had published an account of the London club taken
from Applebee’s Journal, which, being sensational news of blasphemy
and supposed sexual orgies, boosted the circulation of Franklin’s
paper considerably. News of the Hell-Fire Club and the King’s
proclamation against scandalous clubs was also published in Boston.
Tavern rumour suggested that Boston had its own Hell-Fire Club,
of which James Franklin was alleged to be a prominent member.[60]"
Also one of the Hellfire Caves was named in honor of Benjamin Franklin, namely Franklin's Cave.
Also Francis Dashwood was the founder of the Hellfire Club and he and Franklin were good friends.
So all in all, there seems to be no conclusive evidence proving that Benjamin Franklin was a member of the Hellfire Club, but it is also hard to make the argument that he for certain was not a member or never visited a gathering. Given that he was friends with the founder, who also named one of the caves after him, it is likely that he at least visited one event.
[59]: C.A. Lopez and E.W. Herbert, The Private Franklin, 1975, 12.
[60]: J.A.L. Leman, The Life of Benjamin Franklin, Vol. I: 1706–1730, 2005,
110–11, 133
> So all in all, there seems to be no conclusive evidence
This is what I am saying. Can you provide me with conclusive evidence that you are not a member of Hell’s Angels? Because if you can’t, there’s always a doubt about your character… This is why the burden of broof is on the one making the claim.
It works the same in historical research. Basically you have hearsay and a tavern rumour, but that is hardly any evidence of anything. This is why biographers and real historians hardly discuss it. There’s no proof and besides, it kinda is not that interesting anyway. Of course Franklin could have visited every meeting, but then any proof of it has disappeared. But occam’s razor would conclude, that he probably just wasn’t interested in the whole thing.
According to the book The Hellfire Clubs by Evelyn Lord (2010),
"A key figure and someone who could have been a link between British hell-fire clubs and colonial America was Benjamin Franklin. Franklin was intimate with Sir Francis Dashwood and other Medmenham Friars in England, and an attack on Cotton Mather in 1721 by Benjamin’s brother James in his newspaper the New England Courant had resulted in Mather calling the Franklins and their friends a ‘Hell-Fire Club’.[59]
The date is significant, as this is the year that the Duke of Wharton’s alleged Hell-Fire Club was in operation. We know that the Franklin was aware of this club as on 6 May 1721 the New England Courant had published an account of the London club taken from Applebee’s Journal, which, being sensational news of blasphemy and supposed sexual orgies, boosted the circulation of Franklin’s paper considerably. News of the Hell-Fire Club and the King’s proclamation against scandalous clubs was also published in Boston. Tavern rumour suggested that Boston had its own Hell-Fire Club, of which James Franklin was alleged to be a prominent member.[60]"
Also one of the Hellfire Caves was named in honor of Benjamin Franklin, namely Franklin's Cave.
Also Francis Dashwood was the founder of the Hellfire Club and he and Franklin were good friends.
Then the organization that currently operates the caves writes that "Benjamin Franklin, a great friend of Sir Francis, was also a visitor to the Caves." (https://www.westwycombeestate.co.uk/the-hellfire-caves)
So all in all, there seems to be no conclusive evidence proving that Benjamin Franklin was a member of the Hellfire Club, but it is also hard to make the argument that he for certain was not a member or never visited a gathering. Given that he was friends with the founder, who also named one of the caves after him, it is likely that he at least visited one event.
[59]: C.A. Lopez and E.W. Herbert, The Private Franklin, 1975, 12.
[60]: J.A.L. Leman, The Life of Benjamin Franklin, Vol. I: 1706–1730, 2005, 110–11, 133