West was the author of five books, including three manuals for the Church Educational System and a biography of his maternal grandfather, LDS Church apostleFranklin D. Richards. West was also the grandson of Chauncey W. West, a Mormon pioneer and prominent leader of the LDS Church in Weber County, Utah for whom he also wrote a biography. West, also a decadent of LDS Church apostle Lorenzo Snow, was named Franklin Lorenzo, in honor of his family heritage.
West was married to Gladys Spencer, August 19, 1904 a granddaughter of Brigham Young and a member of the prominent Thatcher Young family of Logan, Utah.[1] Children: Gladys Virginia and Marjorie West. They later divorced and, West married Violet Madsen, February 12, 1920 of Ogden, Utah.[2] After Violet Madsen's death, he married Mrs. Sarah Frances Nelson Malmborg who survived him.[3]
Franklin L. West Oral Histories, MSS 8353; 20th Century Western and Mormon Manuscripts; L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University.