Here are the possible solutions for hancock or franklin clue
Answer
Clue
Relevancy
foundingfathers
Clue
Hancock, Franklin and colleagues
Ben Franklin, John Hancock, etc.
signer
Clue
Hancock or Franklin
tenn
Clue
Locale of Franklin County ... or of Aretha Franklin's birth: Abbr.
aetna
Clue
John Hancock rival
John Hancock competitor
beforehand
Clue
... Hancock ...
Definition
before a particular time
colony
Clue
Each circled pair is an abbreviation for one; all 13 are arranged in the roughly north-to-south order in which their representatives (except for John Hancock) signed the Declaration of Independence