Franklin-Wandless House
Galveston, Galveston County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Built in 1886 to replace a house destroyed in the great Strand fire, this was the home of Robert Morris and Sarah Franklin. Robert Franklin (1839-1923) was the son of Benjamin C. Franklin, the Battle of San Jacinto veteran for whom Franklin County was named. An attorney and judge, he had taken part in the Civil War Battle of Galveston as a "horse Marine," a Confederate cavalryman aboard a makeshift "cottonclad" battleship. As the officer in charge of a captured Federal ship, Franklin single-handedly captured notorious Confederate deserter and Union spy "Nicaragua" Smith the day after the battle. The house probably was designed by noted Galveston architect Nathaniel Tobey, whose works included the Galveston Opera House. According to family history, it survived the 1900 storm with three feet of water inside the downstairs rooms. Franklin was actively involved in the planning of the seawall. John F. Wandless (1879-1961) was born in New Brunswick, Canada. He was a veteran of the Boer War and World War I, and worked as a mounted policeman and journalist before coming to Galveston in 1921. John and his wife Vernonica "Vera" Wandless (1896-1977), bought the house from the Franklin heirs in 1931. During World War II, John Wandless served as a key Gulf Coast security and intelligence officer for Great Britain, while Vera operated the popular local British Allied & Merchant Navy Club. They achieved U. S. citizenship in the 1950s. The Franklin-Wandless house is an imposing example of the Italianate style. Hallmark features of the style include pedimented doors and windows, corbelled eaves and the double gallery porch with chamfered (beveled) posts and bandsawn brackets. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1999
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Built in 1886 to replace a home lost in a great Strand fire, this Italianate house belonged to attorney and judge Robert M. Franklin, son of San Jacinto veteran Benjamin C. Franklin, for whom Franklin County was named. Robert had fought in the Civil War Battle of Galveston as a Confederate "horse Marine" aboard a cotton-clad gunboat and later helped plan the city's protective seawall. In 1931 the house passed to John F. Wandless, a Boer War and World War I veteran who served as a Gulf Coast intelligence officer for Britain during World War II while his wife ran a local British sailors' club.
Why it matters
One Galveston house links the founding of the Republic, the Civil War on the Texas coast, and two world wars, showing how a single home can hold layers of the American and Atlantic story.
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Related people
- · Robert M. Franklin
- · Benjamin C. Franklin
- · John F. Wandless
Related events
- · Battle of Galveston
Themes & tags
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