Franklin was born in New Milford, Connecticut to Mary E. Gauson and Henry J. Franklin. She had a sister, Florence, and a brother, William. Her father had been a soldier in the Union Army during the Civil War. Franklin graduated from MeridenPublic High School in 1890 as one of few African American members of her class. In 1895, she moved to Philadelphia to attend the Women's HospitalTraining School for Nurses. She graduated in December 1897 and as the only African American member of her graduating class. After graduation, Franklin returned to Meriden and began doing in-home private duty nursing. In the early 1900s, Franklin moved to New Haven and became involved in the city's black social organizations.
Nursing activism
In the fall of 1906, Franklin began to study the status of black nurses. She mailed more than 500 letters to black nurses, superintendents of nursing schools, and nursing organizations in order to gain a wider perspective on the experiences of African American nurses. Franklin determined that the prestigious American Nurses Association was technically open to African American members, but many State Nurses Associations refused to admit black members. State-level membership was required to join the American Nurses Association and thus, many qualified African American nurses were barred from full membership in the national association. Franklin sent 1,500 letters to black nurses, suggesting a national meeting. Adah Belle Samuel Thoms hosted the meeting at the Lincoln Hospital and Home in New York City. Fifty-two nurses attended this first meeting to form the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses and Franklin was elected president. Three goals were set out in the initial meeting of the NACGN: improve training for black nurses, reduce racial inequality in the nursing profession, and cultivate leaders from within the black nursing community. The NACGN received early support from the National Medical Association, a black physicians' group. The NACGN was invited to hold their meetings in tandem with the National Medical Association and articles written by nurses were published in the National Medical Association's journal. In 1951, the NACGN merged with the American Nurses Association.
