Correct Scott. Franklin does mean free man. It derives from the feudal system instituted by the Normans in England after their conquest of 1066 AD. Wessex, last of the Anglo Saxon regional kingdoms that had not fallen to the Danes fell to the Normans. The old Celtic and Anglo Saxon social structure was pushed aside to establish the Norman system

The Feudal system consisted of a hierarchy of classes each with its own rights and obligations:

           1.  Royalty
           2.  Nobility
           3.  Gentry
           4.  Commoners
                     a.  Franklins
                     b.  Serfs

The land (fief) was doled out to vassals in return for military service. The vassals were granted the use of the land, but not title to it. Some historians have characterized it as a loan. Legal scholars have likened it to a trust. The land was held by the vassal for the benefit of the lord to which he owed homage. Some speculate that it may have been the origin of our modern law of trusts. The titles and estates were not always hereditary, but held by staying within the good graces of the king. This changed with the enactment of the Statute of Uses during the reign of Henry VIII

Th serfs were bound to the soil and required to work on the lord's estate a certain number of days per year in return for his protection and possible lands allocated for their cultivation and use.

The Franklins were freemen that rented their land, but were not required to serve.