In 1871 Franklin gave a series of sermons at Wellsburg, West Virginia. It was here that he attracted the interest of a young Bethany College student named Daniel Sommer, becoming a lifelong mentor of Sommer, who would take up Franklin's mantle as publisher following Franklin's death. Sommer would become notable for his participation in the 1889 Sand Creek "Address and Declaration", a particularly strong statement of exclusivity which helped to drive the split between the Disciples of Christ and more conservative Church of Christ.