Despite his previous intention to remain in London, Franklin returned to Philadelphia in October 1727. He and Read eventually resumed their relationship and decided to marry. While Read considered her marriage to her first husband to be over, she was not able to legally remarry. At that time, the law in the Province of Pennsylvania would not grant a divorce on the grounds of desertion. She could neither claim to be a widow, as there was no proof that Rogers was dead. If Rogers returned after Read legally married Franklin, she faced a charge of bigamy which carried the penalty of thirty nine lashings on the bare back and life imprisonment with hard labor. To avoid any legal issues, Read and Franklin decided upon a common-law marriage. On September 1, 1730, the couple held a ceremony for friends and family in which they announced they would live as husband and wife. They had two children together: Francis Folger "Franky" (born 1732), who died of smallpox in 1736 at the age of four, and Sarah "Sally" (born 1743). Read also helped to raise Franklin's illegitimate son William, whose mother's identity is still