IMITATION OF LIFE: Ben Franklin To Wed Betsy Ross

ASSOCIATED PRESS: Wedding bells will ring in Philadelphia July 3 for Benjamin Franklin and Betsy Ross. Ralph Archbold and Linda Wilde, who are well known for their portrayals of the historical figures, plan a very public ceremony on the steps in front of Independence Hall. They met Sept. 1 after Wilde hired Archbold for a friend’s wedding toast. Archbold had initially declined, saying he doesn’t “do weddings,” but Wilde begged and he relented. The couple then found a love of history and education that soon evolved into love for one another , and this spring announced their engagement.Wilde, a pharmacist, is widowed. Archbold’s first wife died, and he is long divorced from his second. MORE
PREVIOUSLY: Ben & Betsy Get Engaged
TIME: All About The Benjamin
TIME: Why He Was A Babe Magnet
RELATED: Deborah and Ben had a close marriage, except for the fact that for 18 of the 44 years of their union they lived apart. But even if their bond lacked grand passion, it had mutual respect. Plain and plump, Deborah, a carpenter’s daughter, is first taken with the young printer when he begins lodging with her family shortly after his arrival in Philadelphia in 1723. MORE