Elizabeth Graeme was first engaged to Benjamin Franklin’s son William, but the engagement ended when he left for Europe. Undaunted, she eloped with loyalist Henry Fergusson, who was charged with treason for aiding General Howe and banned from America. In 1777, she tried to get George Washington to give up the fight against the British. When that didn’t work, she tried to bribe an official to arrange for peace. This led to her property being confiscated. What followed was a long struggle to get it back.
