{"id":5803,"date":"2026-06-29T10:35:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T10:35:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5803"},"modified":"2026-06-29T10:35:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T10:35:19","slug":"orlando-sentinel-150-monday-memory-of-ben-franklin-celebrating-july-4-in-orlando","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5803","title":{"rendered":"Orlando Sentinel 150: Monday Memory of Ben Franklin celebrating July 4 in Orlando"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

This week the United States will celebrate its 250th birthday, but 50 years ago America\u2019s bicentennial was the nation\u2019s focus.<\/p>\n

Read more Smaller looking, but full Strawberry Moon rises Monday night<\/a><\/p>\n

For the big birthday, Sentinel Star reporter Angela Jacobs found that Ben Franklin, John Adams and other notable names on the Declaration of Independence were celebrating in Orlando. Here\u2019s her story from July 5, 1976.<\/p>\n

Ben Franklin, who is proud of his direct links to the Philadelphia Franklins, was hosting a family affair at his Orlando home this July 4th. Others with the same names of those famous signers of 200 years ago were doing much the same Sunday, picnicking, swimming, watching TV,\u00a0 just taking it easy.<\/p>\n

Benjamin Franklin of 2711 Keystone Dr. said his famous kin was a brother to a grandfather several generations back and that July 4th always has a special significance to him.<\/p>\n

John Q. Adams, who carries the same name as a prime mover for independence, said he was spending the day watching the nation\u2019s celebration on TV.<\/p>\n

Winter Park\u2019s John Hart became aware while in grammar school he bore the same name as one of the Declaration signers and felt very proud of the fact, he said. He planned to go to Lake Baldwin during the evening to watch the fireworks.<\/p>\n

Read more Alex Murdaugh\u2019s true crime saga continues as he heads to court for hearing on murder retrial<\/a><\/p>\n

Lewis Morris said he was aware of his link by name to another signer, but knew of no kinship. He manages the Marbeya Club Apartments in Casselberry and planned to host a picnic for his employees during the afternoon while watching television coverage of the celebration.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

John Morton was another signer of 200 years ago, but the electronic age greeted a call to Orlando\u2019s man of the same name. Seems he was away from home for a while and a recorded voice advised callers to leave their message.<\/p>\n

As for the bold signature on the Declaration, the only John Hancock listed in telephone directory was the life insurance company of the same name.<\/p>\n

And over in Oviedo, Thomas Jefferson was at church and couldn\u2019t be reached for comment.<\/p>\n

More stories and features from the Orlando Sentinel\u2019s 150 years of covering Central Florida can be found at OrlandoSentinel.com\/150. Sign up for our free history newsletter at OrlandoSentinel.com\/newsletters. <\/em>\u00a0Buy a copy of the Orlando Sentinel\u2019s 150th anniversary book with 150 front pages from our 150 years. Get it OrlandoSentinel.com\/150yearsbook and see more anniversary merchandise at OrlandoSentinel.com\/150yearsmerch<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Dr. Phillips Center wins NEA grant for patriotic celebration<\/a><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over in Oviedo, Thomas Jefferson was at church and couldn’t be reached for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5802,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","category-orlando-sentinel-150"],"yoast_head":"\nOrlando Sentinel 150: Monday Memory of Ben Franklin celebrating July 4 in Orlando - Orlando Relocation Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5803\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Orlando Sentinel 150: Monday Memory of Ben Franklin celebrating July 4 in Orlando - Orlando Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Over in Oviedo, Thomas Jefferson was at church and couldn't be reached for comment.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5803\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Orlando Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-29T10:35:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=5803#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=5803\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8\"},\"headline\":\"Orlando Sentinel 150: Monday Memory of Ben Franklin celebrating July 4 in Orlando\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-29T10:35:19+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=5803\"},\"wordCount\":450,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=5803#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/16562520b4295b210bad665b90b9404d.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Local News\",\"Orlando Sentinel 150\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=5803#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=5803\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=5803\",\"name\":\"Orlando Sentinel 150: Monday Memory of Ben Franklin celebrating July 4 in Orlando - Orlando Relocation Report\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=5803#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=5803#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/16562520b4295b210bad665b90b9404d.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-29T10:35:19+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=5803#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=5803\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=5803#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/16562520b4295b210bad665b90b9404d.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/16562520b4295b210bad665b90b9404d.webp\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":764},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=5803#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Orlando Sentinel 150: Monday Memory of Ben Franklin celebrating July 4 in Orlando\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Orlando Relocation Report\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Orlando Sentinel 150: Monday Memory of Ben Franklin celebrating July 4 in Orlando - Orlando Relocation Report","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5803","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Orlando Sentinel 150: Monday Memory of Ben Franklin celebrating July 4 in Orlando - Orlando Relocation Report","og_description":"Over in Oviedo, Thomas Jefferson was at church and couldn't be reached for comment.","og_url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5803","og_site_name":"Orlando Relocation Report","article_published_time":"2026-06-29T10:35:19+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5803#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5803"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8"},"headline":"Orlando Sentinel 150: Monday Memory of Ben Franklin celebrating July 4 in Orlando","datePublished":"2026-06-29T10:35:19+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5803"},"wordCount":450,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5803#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/16562520b4295b210bad665b90b9404d.webp","articleSection":["Local News","Orlando Sentinel 150"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5803#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5803","url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5803","name":"Orlando Sentinel 150: Monday Memory of Ben Franklin celebrating July 4 in Orlando - Orlando Relocation Report","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5803#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5803#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/16562520b4295b210bad665b90b9404d.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-29T10:35:19+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5803#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5803"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5803#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/16562520b4295b210bad665b90b9404d.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/16562520b4295b210bad665b90b9404d.webp","width":1024,"height":764},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5803#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Orlando Sentinel 150: Monday Memory of Ben Franklin celebrating July 4 in Orlando"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/","name":"Orlando Relocation Report","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com"],"url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5803"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5803\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5802"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}