Below you will find a link to a PDF-file of the preliminary cumulative index of The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, which was created by merging the indexes of volumes 1 to 36. Over the four decades during which these volumes appeared, the single-volume indexes were prepared by various individuals according to different principles. The Editors have begun to unify main entries, consolidate obviously compatible subentries, and adjust earlier entries to the series’ current index format. However, much work remains to be done. For example, while some of the longer entries (in particular the “Franklin, Benjamin” entry) have been made more manageable through subheadings, this task is not yet completed for many others. If the Editors remain unsure whether two similar entries refer in fact to the same person or thing, this is noted in the index. Subject entries are not always comprehensive, as the same subject might have been indexed under more than one heading or might not have been indexed consistently across volumes. The Editors hope that the ability to do word-searches in the PDF-file will alleviate some of these deficiencies. The Editors will continue to improve and correct this preliminary cumulative index as they prepare the remaining volumes of the series.
Abbreviations of names and works by Franklin used in the index:
| Autobiog. | BF’s autobiography |
| BF | Benjamin Franklin |
| BFB | Benjamin Franklin Bache (BF’s grandson) |
| DF | Deborah Franklin (BF’s wife) |
| Exper. and Obser. | Experiments and Observations on Electricity |
| JA | John Adams |
| JW | Jonathan Williams, Jr. (BF’s grand-nephew) |
| Polly | Mary Stevenson Hewson (daughter of BF’s London landlady) |
| RB | Richard Bache (BF’s son-in-law) |
| SB | Sarah Franklin Bache (BF’s daughter) |
| WF | William Franklin (BF’s son) |
| WTF | William Temple Franklin (BF’s grandson) |