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Thursday night, on the eve of Independence, two historical
re-enactors exchanged wedding vows. Ralph Archbold was Benjamin Franklin and
Linda Wilde portrayed Betsy Ross.
According to The Associated Press, the couple wed in a
public ceremony in front of Independence Hall. Everyone who attended the event was
wearing appropriate costumes. Mayor Michael Nutter performed the ceremony and
congratulated the bride and groom, saying that the whole city was happy for
them.
While the Philly Pops were playing the wedding march, the
couple got in a horse-drawn coach as they were heading to a reception at City
Tavern where Benjamin Franklin dined with other important personalities such as
George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.
The couple met September 1 when Linda Wilde, 50, hired
Ralph Archbold, 66, for a friend’s wedding toast. They got engaged this spring.
Ralph Archbold has been portraying Benjamin Franklin since 1973.
Many history books say that Betsy Ross was the one who sewed
the first American flag. But some historians say that Francis Hopkinson, a
member of the Continental Congress from New Jersey, was the one who designed
the flag.
Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706 and died
April 17, 1790. He was one of the founding figures of the United States of
America. He was not married to Betsy Ross but to Deborah Read. Some of his
inventions were the lightning rod, the glass harmonica, the bifocal glasses and
others. In 1776, he became a member of the Committee of Five that drafted the
Declaration of Independence.
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