Isaac Franklin (May 26, 1789 – April 27, 1846) was an American slave trader and plantation owner. He was the co-founder of Franklin & Armfield, which became the largest slave trading firm in the United States. Based in Alexandria, Virginia, it also had offices in New Orleans and other Louisiana cities. Franklin owned six plantations in Louisiana and Tennessee. His Fairvue plantation, in Sumner County, Tennessee, was formerly listed on the National Register of Historic Places. By 1841, Franklin left slave trading and devoted his energy to the plantations and other property interests. At the age of 50, he was married, for the first time, to Adelicia Hayes of Nashville. None of their four children survived to adulthood. In the late 19th century, his widow eventually sold the Louisiana plantations. In West Feliciana Parish, his former Angola and other plantations were bought by the state in 1901 and converted for use as Louisiana State Penitentiary, the largest maximum-security prison in the United States. Early life Isaac Franklin was born on May 26, 1789, at Pilot's Knob Plantation on Station Camp Creek in Sumner County, Tennessee. His father James Franklin (1755-1825 or 1828) and grandfather Charles (1735-1769) both came from Baltimore, Maryland. James served in the Revolutionary War and was later listed by militia leader James Robertson as one of the "Immortal Seventy" who were granted one square mile or each of land by the state of North Carolina for their service. (North Carolina then claimed Tennessee as part of its territory to the west.) Isaac's mother was Mary Lauderdale. James Franklin prospered in Tennessee—as each of his sons reached adulthood, he presented them with a horse, a bridle, and a pocket knife. When Isaac was twenty-one years old, he received his share and, according to tradition, used the knife to carve a ship miniature. He sold this to a friend for one dollar. In fifteen years he had made a fortune in slave trading. Career Franklin took up slave trading in 1810. After serving in the War of 1812, Franklin resumed the trade. In 1828 Franklin formed a partnership with his nephew John Armfield when Isaac's father James died and bequeathed land and slaves to him and his brother James. They set up Franklin & Armfield in Alexandria, then part of the District of Columbia. Between 1828 and 1837, Franklin & Armfield became "the largest slave trading firm" in the