 It was here that he attracted the interest of a young Bethany College student named Daniel Sommer, becoming a lifelong mentor of Sommer, who would take up Franklin's mantle as publisher following Franklin's death.Sommer would become notable for his participation in the 1889 Sand Creek "Address and Declaration", a particularly strong statement of exclusivity which helped to drive the split between the Disciples of Christ and more conservative Church of Christ.Franklin married Mary Personet on December 15, 1833 with whom he had eleven children.