Member of Grand Ohio Company.

Most likely Jacob (John) Franks (1747- 1814), son of David and Margaret (Evans) Franks of Philadelphia, nephew of Grand Ohio Company members Moses and Napthali Franks, and son-in-law of Grand Ohio Company member Aaron Franks. He immigrated to London by 1777 and married Aaron’s daughter Bilhah. There is no evidence that he was in London in 1769, but he may well have been, as the American branch of the Franks family, a wealthy Jewish mercantile clan, frequently sent young men to London for business training.

Alternatively, this may be Jacob Franks (1688-1769) of New York, father of Moses and Napthali Franks, or Jacob Henry Franks (1724-97) of Mortlake, son of Isaac Franks and nephew of Aaron Franks. The former died in New York in January 1769, before the presumed date of the petition; the latter is described as a lunatic.