The Penn Family |
The son of Presbyterian, Sir Isaac Penington,
a merchant, an Alderman of London and one time Lord Mayor of London who
was sentenced to the Tower for his part in sentencing Charles I to death.
Educated at Cambridge, he was firstly
a Puritan.
1654, married Lady Springett who
was the daughter and heiress of Sir John Proude and the widow of Sir William
Springett (Mary Springett Penington). They settled in London.
1658, became a Quaker, along with
his wife, after attending meetings and hearing the preaching of George
Fox.
1659, he rebuked the army for betrayal
of conscience.
1660, attacked the persecution
of the Quakers in Massachusetts Bay.
1661, he outlined the political
programme of the Quaker movement.
1661-1671, spent six periods in
jail for his beliefs; at least once with Thomas Ellwood.
1679, October 8th, died after his
health was weakened by imprisonment.
This wealthy and connected family was
very important to William Penn in realising his plans for Pennsylvania.
She was the daughter and sole heiress of
Sir John Proude. She was related to the wife of Henry Cromwell.
1628, orphaned and joined the household
of her uncle, Sir Edward Partridge.
1642, January, married William
Springett who is the nephew of Sir Edward Partridge.
1644, her husband died from an
illness contracted during the siege of Arundel Castle, Sussex. Mary and
her children, John and Gulielma Maria Springett, went to live with her
mother-in-law.
1654, May 13th, married Isaac Penington
(the younger), at St Margaret's, Westminster.
1668-1680, wrote her autobiography,
'A Brief Account of my Exercises from Childhood'.
1658, became, with her husband,
a Quaker. Their home at the Grange, Chalfont St. Peter, Buckinghamshire
housed the meetings of local Quakers.
1666-68, during her husband's imprisonment
in Aylesbury jail she was evicted from the Grange which was confiscated
with her husband's estates. She also lost much of her own land because
of her refusal to swear oaths.
1669. The Penington's moved to
Woodside, near Amersham in Buckinghamshire. Mary had bought and rebuilt
the property there with the remainder of her money.
1679, October 8th, her husband
died.
1680. By this time she had discharged
all her debts and, when she died, two years later, she left a 'handsome
provision' for her daughter Gulielma Maria and her children John, William,
Mary and Edward Penington.
1682, July 18th, she died while
visiting her daughter Gulielma Maria Springett and her husband William
Penn.
1667, September 3rd, born in Amersham,
Buckinghamshire in a comparatively wealthy family. He was the youngest
son of Isaac Penington and Mary Springett Penington. His early education
until the age of thirteen took the form of home tutors amongst them was
Thomas Ellwood (1639-1713) a recent Quaker convert. Thomas Ellwood's father
was a one time Lord Mayor of London and a friend of Edward Penn's mother.
Thomas Ellwood had been ejected from his father's house and was 'adopted'
by the Peningtons. His life was very much tied up with the fates of the
Peningtons and the Penns.
1680, continued his education at
Edmonton.
1682, his mother died leaving him
'£100 to bind him to some handsome trade that hath not much of labour'
and £400 to be given to him at the age of twenty two.
1695, as a Quaker, he published
three pamphlets which were a defence of George Fox from attacks from Thomas
Crisp. Over the next two years he published further argumentative pamphlets.
1698, April 26, he was appointed
surveyor-general of Pennsylvania. He held this post until his death.
1689, November 30, arrived with
William Penn at Philadelphia where he took up his post.
1699, November 16, he married Sarah
Jennings (or Jenings) at Burlington, New Jersey.
1701, appointed with James Logan
attorney for the disposition of the property of Letita Penn the daughter
of William Penn and Gulielma Springett, Penington's half-sister.
1701, November 11, died at Philadelphia.