Francis Franklin, father of Eliza, was born on December 9, 1772 in Mursley, Buckinghamshire. He was the youngest of seven children; his parents being William and Mary Franklin. Just before he turned 15 he moved to Oxford to apprentice as a cabinet and chair maker to his cousin, John Payne. He regularly attended the parish church, as he had been raised, but found the Baptist ministry of James Hinton to be more useful. He also took up the habit of reading, especially George Whitefield’s sermons.