C. L. Franklin - Personal Life

Personal Life

On October 16, 1934, Franklin married his first wife, Alene Gaines, and though that marriage had ended by early 1936, the form of dissolution is uncomfirmed. On June 3, 1936, Franklin married Barbara Siggers, with whom he had four children: Erma (1938-2002), Cecil (1940-1989), Aretha (b. 1942), and Carolyn (1944-1988). Barbara had a son by a previous relationship, Vaughn (b. 1934), whom C. L. adopted shortly after the marriage. Vaughn did not know C. L. Franklin was not his father until 1951. In 1940, Franklin fathered a daughter, Carl Ellan Kelley (née Jennings), by Mildred Jennings, a 12-year-old girl in his New Salem Baptist Church congregation. (She gave birth to Carl Ellan several days after her thirteenth birthday.)

In 1948, C. L. Franklin and Barbara separated for the last time, with Barbara moving with Vaughn to Buffalo, New York, and leaving Franklin with the couple's four other children. However, the couple never divorced. According to Franklin's biographer, Professor Nick Salvatore of Cornell University, Barbara made periodic trips to Detroit to visit her children and the children traveled to New York to visit her during summer vacations. This claim, however, has been widely disputed. Barbara died of a heart attack in 1952 at age 34. Reverend Franklin did not attend her funeral.

C. L. Franklin was a close friend and supporter of Martin Luther King, Jr., who deeply admired C. L., and was also known for his close relationships with Mahalia Jackson and Clara Ward, two of gospel music's greatest voices. Clara and her singing groups frequently toured with Franklin, and he and Clara had a long-term romantic relationship. Mahalia and Clara greatly encouraged his daughter, Aretha, who credits their mentoring and frequent visits to the Franklin home as great influences.