Family History: Chapters XI-XII, Jenkins', The Family of William Penn, 1899: PA File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Linda Kyle. jkyle@trib.co USGENWEB NOTICE: Printing this file by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information is included. Any other use, including copying files to other sites requires permission from the submitters PRIOR to uploading to any other sites. We encourage links to the state and county table of contents. ____________________________________________________________ The Family of William Penn Founder of Pennsylvania Ancestry and Descendants Page 177 XI. RICHARD PENN AND HIS DESCENDANTS. Richard Penn, son of William Penn the Founder, was the only one of the three Young Proprietaries, inheritors of the Pennsylvania property, who did not come to visit their inheritance. Richard was born, as already stated, at the house of his grandfather, Thomas Callowhill, in Bristol, January 17, 1705/6. He was named after his uncle Richard, the younger brother of the Founder, who died in his youth, more than thirty years earlier. In 1720, as appears from his mother's letter to Hannah Blackfan, Richard was "at school." Later he was sent to business in London, and in a letter from his brother Thomas to (their brother) John, in 1728, the former speaks of him as an apprentice, and says,-- "Neither would I by any means have Dick one day more, while he is an apprentice, absent himself from business, and therefore beg you not to put it in his head, for if he does not now for two months, while all their customers are in town, constantly attend and ingratiate himself with them, it being his last Spring, I had almost as lief see him drive plow," etc. However judicious Thomas's views may have been as to Richard's conduct, it appears that the latter, not far from the date of this letter, must have exchanged apprenticeship for matrimony. In the reconveyance to the Penns of the Pennsylvania estates by Gee and Woods, the surviving mortgagees, in January, 1728/9, one-fourth of the Proprietary right, being Richard's share, was conveyed to his brothers John and Thomas, in trust for him, the reason for this being, as stated in a note in the pleadings in the Maryland Boundary case, "Mr. Richard Penn being then married Page 178 was the reason why the legal estate was not vested in him, only the Trust thereof."1 Richard Penn married Hannah Lardner. She was the daughter of Dr. John Lardner, a physician of Gracechurch Street, London, and Woodford, Epping Forest, Sussex, her mother, the wife of Dr. Lardner, being a Winstanley.2 July 11, 1729, writing to his brother John, Richard says, "My wife joyns with service to you." This was but a few days before the birth of their first child, John, who was afterwards Governor of Pennsylvania. The following letter to his uncle John ("the American") is among the Penn papers: "LONDON, July 15, 1729. "Dear John I hope you got well home--I got well to Town. Last night about Eleven o'clock Mrs. Penn was happily delivered of a fine Boy. He is to be named after your honour and I'm to have ye pleasure to stand Godfather. Your last Civillitys have put me so far in yr debt that I fear [I] shall never have opportunity enough to return them, but pray believe me, dear sir, your most obedient [etc.] "GEO: STAINFORTH. "TO JOHN PENN, ESQ., at Fein's, "near Maidenhead, Berks." It may safely be assumed that Richard's marriage was regarded by his two elder and bachelor brothers as an "early" and not prudent one. Richard's correspondence with them in the years following discloses that John, partly, no doubt, from his larger portion, and Thomas, from his superior business sense and greater personal force, dominated the youngest member of the trio. A letter to Thomas in Pennsylvania, undated, but evidently in 1732 or 1733 (well written for that day, in a good hand, and fairly spelled), refers to the landed interests, expresses regret for taking Thomas's time, and proceeds, "but I am sure you'd excuse 1 Presumably John and Thomas must later have conveyed his share to Richard in fee. 2 Hannah's brother, Lynford Lardner, born 1715, came to Pennsylvania in 1740, was in the Proprietary Land Office, represented the Penns, was Recelver-General, Keeper of the Great Seal, etc., and died 1774. Page 179 me, for you know what a situation I was in when you left us, and I declare I never wanted a guinea so much as now." There is also this postscript: "My little boy is in breeches, and I think has throve ever since; he sends his Duty to you, my little girl is hardly old enough, but I do it for her."1 Richard's will shows that in 1750 he had a house, or houses, in London, and sundry references in the fragmentary family letters suggest that he must have spent some time in town, but his principal residence during most of his married life was at Stanwell, in the city suburbs, in Middlesex. He writes from there to his brother Thomas in Pennsylvania as early as January 20, 1732/3, and for many years his correspondence is usually dated there. A letter from Bishop Vickris (the old friend of the family, especially of John, heretofore repeatedly mentioned) to John Penn, dated at Wandsworth, May 2, 1736, says,-- "I got to Stanwell just at dinner time, & stay'd till 5 o Clock Yr Brot Dick was so good as to propose carrying me to Twitnam [Twickenham] in his Chair which I readily accepted on, & twas a great Ease to me. Yr Cosen Will Pen went to Sussex last week & no body Knows when he Returns."2 Richard and William Penn, 3d, seem to have been quite friendly; at any rate, there is a note extant from the former to his brother John's housekeeper at Feens, Hannah Roberts, October 29, 1734,--during John's visit to Pennsylvania,--as follows: "I am going the latter part of this week with my cousin William Penn into Sussex; he wants two or three spaniels; if all my bro's [John's] are not disposed of I desire you will send by the bearer of this letter two or three of them, and the gun which was my cousin Springett's--it is a whole stock and steel mounted." Richard was apparently desired by his brothers to go to Pennsylvania. The letter, already cited, of his sister, 1 These were John, afterwards the Governor, and Hannah. 2 This was William Penn, 3d, son of William Penn, Jr. Details concerning him will be given later. Page 180 Hannah (Penn) Freame, in June, 1736, from Philadelphia, to John Penn, in England, says, "He [Thomas] much wonders at my brother Richard's declining to come over." By the betterment of the Pennsylvania estate Richard and his family benefited of course, and probably from about 1740 they felt themselves comfortably off. But there are traces in the letters of Richard's consciousness of his subordination to his brothers. In an earnest letter to John in January, 1745/6, a few months before the latter's death, he complains of John's having treated him like a child in regard to financial matters, etc. Other family affairs are suggested in other letters. In one from Thomas Penn, in London, to Richard Hockley, April 16, 1741, the former says,-- "My Brother Richard and Sister are gone to Bath, where she has been dangerously ill, but is recovered; her illness so discomposed my Brother that he has not taken regularly to the waters, so that he can give me no account of the Effect they have upon him." Bishop Vickris, writing from Bristol, July 3, 1747, to Thomas Penn, says,-- ". . . I congratulate your Bro and Sister Penn upon their having another Son, and if he bears the Name of his Good and Honourable Grandfather I hope he will inherit his virtues, which will make him truly Rich and Great." Richard and Hannah Penn had four children: 1. John, Governor of Pennsylvania. We shall speak at some length of him below. He was twice married, but left no issue. 2. Hannah, who is referred to above in the letter to John, in 1732 (or 1733), as "my little girl," not old enough to send her duty message to her uncle. There is among the Penn letters one from her to her uncle John, written in a very formal, childish hand (though she must have been some twelve or thirteen years old), as follows: "TWICKENHAM, 4th Ap. 1745. "HONOURED SIR "I have done according to your Desire in consulting with Mrs. Delafosse what Work I should do, and she advises me to do Cross Stitch Page 181 chairs. I saw my Papa and Mama, last Saturday, who were very well as is "Honoured Sir "Your most dutiful Niece "HANNAH PENN." Hannah married James Clayton, and died in Cavendisk Square, London, without issue. She was buried at Stoke Poges, October 2, 1791, where her husband also had been buried January 23, 1790. Her will was proved October 21, 1791, leaving her estate to her brothers John and Richard Penn and the children of the latter. 3. Richard, who became Governor of Pennsylvania. See below. 4. William. His birth is alluded to in Bishop Vickris's letter, above, in 1747. He died in childhood, February 4, 1760. In a letter to Governor James Hamilton, at Philadelphia, February 8, 1760, Thomas Penn says, "Our family is now under great affliction, my Brother's in particular, his youngest son and your God Son dyed last Monday of a lingering fever." One of the codicils to Richard Penn's will says William was buried in Penn Church, Bucks.1 Richard Penn died February 4, 1771, and was buried at Stoke Poges. His will, made in 1750, and the four codicils, 1756, 1760, 1763, 1768, convey considerable family information. The will is dated March 21, 1750, and was proved March 4, 1771. The testator describes himself as "of Stanwell, in the county of Middlesex, Esquire." He appoints William Vigor, Esq., of Taplow, Bucks, and Joseph Freame, of London, banker, his executors (but as they both died before he did, a codicil later appoints his wife Hannah in their stead), they to act as to all his personal estate in Great Britain or elsewhere, except America. For America he appoints Lynford Lardner, Richard Peters, and Richard Hockley. He says in the will proper (1750), after speaking of his eldest son, John Penn, "I have at present only three younger children, a daughter, Hannah Penn, and two sons, 1 See letter, previously cited, from the Vicar of Penn, 1895, Rev. J. Grainger, M.A., describing the Penn coffins in the vault of that church. Page 182 Richard Penn and William Penn." In the codicil, March 13, 1760, he says, "My younger son William Penn is lately dead." He directs that a family vault be made "in the body of Stoke Church, in the county of Bucks," fourteen or sixteen feet long, seven feet broad, seven feet high. He says (1750), "I am possessed of an house called Batavia House, in the parish of Sunbury, in the County of Middlesex, with the garden [etc.]. I have purchased two individual sixth parts thereof." Later in a codicil he says he has bought two-sixths more. He leaves a house in Cavendish Square to his wife. Hannah Lardner Penn, wife of Richard, survived her husband over fourteen years. Her death is noted in the Gentleman's Magazine (Vol. LV., Part I., p. 326) as of date April 20, 1785: "At Laleham, Middlesex, Mrs. Penn, widow of the late Hon. Richard Penn, formerly proprietor and governor of Pennsylvania, in North America." John Penn, eldest child of Richard Penn and Hannah Lardner, became, in 1763, just when the Colonial wars closed and the Revolutionary ferment began, Lieutenant-Governor of Pennsylvania for his father and uncle, and he has the distinction of being the last Proprietary Governor. His life from 1752 to his death in 1795 was mostly spent in Pennsylvania, and at his death he seems to have left behind a good repute, thus fairly preserving, if he did not increase, the family name in the Founder's Colony. His early life, however, had upon it a serious cloud. He married "while a school-boy," as the accounts phrase it, a wife whom his family, and perhaps more particularly his uncle Thomas, compelled him to repudiate. The right and wrong of this transaction appear to me very uncertain, but the data available are too meagre to permit intelligent discussion of it. The wife was, it seems, the daughter of James Cox, of London,--whether the silversmith who made Thomas Penn's wedding presents for Lady Juliana, I do not know. Probably the marriage occurred as early as 1747, in which year John would have been eighteen years old. Page 183 The course adopted with John was to send him off to Geneva, to pursue his studies in care of a tutor. The record of this exile in the Penn manuscripts of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania is quite complete. Thomas Penn, August 6, 1747, made an agreement with one Robert Dunant to take John to Geneva, teach him, direct his conduct, etc. A little later they set off, Thomas Penn accompanying them to the Continent. John writes to his uncle, October 2, 1747, from Basel, "After we parted, we went on," etc., and adds a postscript: "I hope you will excuse writing, as I cannot get any pen fit to write with, having left the writing box behind, it being put into your chaise, out of a mistake." Dunant and John reached Geneva October 10, and December 1 John acknowledges letters from Thomas, written at Frankfort and Rotterdam, on his return, and London after his arrival home. The stay at Geneva continued about three years, until the autumn of 1751. The preserved letters passing between uncle and nephew are quite numerous, and it would appear that Thomas did not spare reproofs, while John at times pleads so abjectly for pardon for faults committed, especially in London,1 as to awaken our concern as to his entire sincerity, and to show, certainly, that he very much wished the continuance of his uncle's favor. There is also a letter, without date, from James Cox to Thomas Penn, reciting John's marriage to his daughter, and pressing the inquiry, since John has now finished his studies, what is proposed to be done. It is a straightforward letter, couched in sensible language, and, so far as it goes, gives no unfavorable impression of the Cox side of the case. August 26, 1750, William Lowther2 writes to Thomas Penn from Geneva, saying he had found John Penn there, doing well, had received many civilities from him, etc. A year later 1 The manner of his allusions seems to suggest something more than a reckless marriage. 2 This was probably Sir William Lowther, the last of the baronets in the line of Anthony Lowther and Margaret Penn,--the great-grandson of that couple. He died 1756. Page 184 Thomas Penn was arranging for John to travel, and provided funds for him through Thomas Hyam & Son, London, merchants and bankers. In September or October, 1751, John set off; he writes from Turin October 13, from Milan six days later, from Florence November 6, and from Rome the 11th of December. Precisely how or when the tour concluded does not appear, but the time must have been not much later. In the summer following he came to Pennsylvania. Writing from Hitcham, England, August 26, 1752, to Richard Peters at Philadelphia, Thomas Penn says,-- "I wrote you a few lines by my nephew from Deal, who arrived just in time to take Mr. Morris's passage off his hands, as we thought it best for him to stay a little longer."1 The Pennsylvania Gazette, November 30, 1752, contains advices from New York, November 27: "Last Monday there arrived here Capts. Bryant and Garrison from London. John Penn, Esq., a Grand Son of the late William Penn, 1 A further passage in this letter is of interest in connection with Thomas's expectation, at this time, of revisiting Pennsylvania. He says, "I have recommended to my Nephew to give some orders for the cleaning of my House, & desire you will give him any assistance you can in it. I desire the painting may be immediately done, that the smell may be gone before the time I can possibly be there, and the papering in the spring, as I hope to embark in April or May [1753] at farthest." Mr. Keith says ("Provincial Councillors of Pennsylvania," p. 309), "The father-in-law [Cox] wrote to him [John Penn] in 1751, after he had been away four years, to induce him to cut loose from the Penn family, as he was of age, and his uncle's recent marriage rendered it unlikely that he should be his heir; but John Penn, after a trip to Italy, where he spent more money than his uncle thought proper, cheerfully submitted to his uncle and father, who did not scruple at sending him permanently from his wife. Lieut. Gov. Hamilton, to whom the story was confided, offered him a home in Pennsylvania. In order to see his father before crossing the Atlantic, he came as privately as possible to England. His return being discovered, he hastily withdrew to Lille, and waited until an opportunity offered to go to America. He then recrossed the Channel, took ship, and, after various delays and a voyage of seven weeks and three days, arrived in New York, Nov. 21, 1752. He reached Philadelphia on December 1st, and became the guest of [James] Hamilton at Bush Hill." Page 185 Esq., Proprietary of Pennsylvania, came passenger with Capt. Bryant, and is since set out on his Way for Pennsylvania." And the same journal, December 7, adds,-- "Friday last John Penn, Esq., (son of the Honourable Richard Penn, Esq., one of our Proprietaries), arrived here from London." Shortly after his arrival, John Penn was made a member of the Provincial Council. The minutes, Tuesday, February 6, 1753, state,-- "The Governor [James Hamilton] proposed to introduce Mr. John Penn, the Eldest son of Proprietor Richard Penn, lately arrived here, into the Council, and left it to the consideration of the Board what Place they would be pleased to offer him; Whereupon the Council, taking the Governor's Proposition into their Consideration, unanimously agreed, as he stood in so near a Relation to the Proprietaries, and was himself perfectly agreeable to them, to place him at their Head, and that when he shall have taken the legal Qualification he should be considered as the first named or Eldest Counsellor on the Death or Absence of the Governor or Lieutenant Governor." The minutes show him to have been moderately attentive to the Council meetings; his presence is noted after August (1753) at eight of them within six months. In 1754 he was one of the Commissioners sent to represent Pennsylvania in the conference with the Indians at Albany, New York. April 6 of that year Governor Hamilton informed the Council that he intended to appoint John Penn and Richard Peters, of the Council, and Isaac Norris and Benjamin Franklin, of the Assembly, "as Commissioners for this Province to the treaty in Albany in June next." John's conduct here, however, did not please his uncle. Letters from the latter to Richard Peters refer to him in terms of sharp dissatisfaction. These letters especially belong to the year 1755. February 21 of that year Thomas Penn writes to Peters,-- "I write you this line to tell you in confidence that my nephew's demands have been so much more than they should be on Mr. Hockley that he is ordered not to take any more than the amount of his bills. [Some bills, he complains, have been drawn by J. P. on parties in London who did not even know him, and have gone back unaccepted.] Page 186 I think he had better return to Europe, and begin to fear he wants to settle in England." Again, August 15, Thomas Penn wrote to Peters, and after further complaints of John, said,-- "Your letter . . . shows me plainly that I must never expect any assistance from him. . . . I receive great pain to find after all my expense he will remain so useless a branch of my family. I could not have thought it possible that any young man would have said he could not do business, and hated a place belonging to his Family, where any man might live with the greatest satisfaction, and that he lives in a sort of exile in the place where he could live with honour, and where he would have been sent had he married the first Duke's daughter in the kingdom. . . . I have nothing to do now but to throw him off my mind, as much as possible, and hope for a more useful member of society in my own offspring. . . . I think it better he should return." Following these instructions, no doubt, in the autumn of 1755, about three years from the time of his arrival, John Penn returned to England. His last attendance at the Governor's Council is recorded on September 24 of that year. What occurred in England in the following eight years to improve the relations between himself and his uncle must be left to surmise, but in 1763 he returned to Pennsylvania, commissioned by his uncle and his father as their Lieutenant-Governor. Thomas Penn writes to Richard Peters, from London, August 31, 1763, thanking him for remaining in Philadelphia till his nephew, by whom this letter is sent, should arrive, and adds, "We are very sensible Mr. John Penn will arrive at a time of great difficulty. . . . I make no doubt all those we have experienced the friendship of will assist him. . . . My nephew Richard Penn accompanies his brother, to see the country. I must desire your friendly offices to him." In the "Colonial Records" (Vol. IX. p. 71), a memorandum, at New Castle, on Saturday, October 29, says,-- "The Assembly sent a Verbal Message to the Governor by three Members that the House, having understood that His Honour intended to set off To-morrow morning for Philadelphia in order to meet the Hon'ble John Penn, Esquire, lately appointed his Successor in the Government, and this day arrived in the river from England, proposed to adjourn, [etc]." Page 187 In the Council, at Philadelphia, October 31, the commission of John Penn, signed by Thomas Penn and Richard Penn on the 18th of June, and with the royal approval August 31, was produced and read, and he took "the usual oaths." Then "the Governor, attended by the Council, Mayor, Recorder, Aldermen, and Common Council, and preceded by the Sheriff and his officers, went to the Court House, where his commission was published with due solemnity in the presence of a very great concourse of people. Immediately afterwards the Battery Guns fired a Royal Salute, and the bells of Christ Church [were] rung in compliment to him." The next day "the Governor, accompanied by the Earl of Stirling, Lynford Lardner, and Richard Penn, Esq's., and several other gentlemen, went to New Castle," where the commission was publicly read, etc., with due ceremony.1 The commission given John, it seemed, was for three years only, and was to expire December 1, 1766; accordingly the Council minutes show that in 1766 a new commission was sent over, extending to 1769, and in 1769 another for three years more. But in 1771, upon the death of his father, John again went back to England. In the Council, Monday, May 6, 1771, the president, James Hamilton, announced that John Penn had embarked for Great Britain on the previous Saturday. Richard Penn, his brother, produced in October following (16th) a commission as Lieutenant-Governor, and served as such until August, 1773, when John returned. On Monday, the 30th of that month, John Penn appeared in the Council and produced a revocation of Richard's commission, dated April 30, and his own commission of the same date. The public service of John Penn, beginning in 1763 and closing thirteen years later with the final collapse of the 1 In a letter from George Roberts, Philadelphia, to Samuel Powel (afterwards mayor of the city), then in London, dated November 5, 1763, the writer says, "Last week we had the pleasure of hearing our new appointed Governor's proclamation read. The usual cavalcade attended. . . . His honor Penn is a little gentleman, though he may govern equal to one seven foot high." Page 188 Proprietary government, fortunately and favorably shuts from view the apparent shortcomings of his earlier life. It was, on the whole, creditable to him. His position through the whole period was one of extreme difficulty, and the fact that he retained his place without alienating the good will of the people generally is a testimony to his personal qualities. May 31, 1766, John Penn married Ann, the eldest daughter of Chief-Justice William Allen, of Philadelphia. The marriage is upon the register of Christ Church, and presumably took place there. The Pennsylvania Gazette, in its issue of June 6, 1766, announced,-- "On Saturday last the Honourable John Penn, Esq., our Governor, was married to Miss Ann Allen, eldest daughter of the Honourable William Allen, Esq., Chief Justice of this Province, a young Lady adorned with every Accomplishment to render the married State happy." Of this event Thomas Penn writes to Richard Peters, July 17, 1766,-- "I have this day an account of my nephew's marriage from himself, and write to him by this opportunity to wish him joy. I think there is a good prospect of their being happy; she has good sense, great sweetness of temper and prudence, and I think he knows how to prize qualities so amiable in so agreeable a form." The presumption is that the first wife, the daughter of James Cox, was then deceased, but the light on that episode is very imperfect. By neither marriage, so far as appears, was there issue. By his connection with the Allens John Penn's social, and for a brief time political, influence was increased. Up to 1776 the Allens were in the front rank of Colonial importance. Mrs. Penn's mother, Mrs. Allen, wife of the Chief-Justice, was the daughter of Andrew Hamilton, the distinguished lawyer, defender of the newspaper press, Speaker of the Assembly, etc., and the brothers of Mrs. Allen--uncles of Mrs. Penn--were Governor James Hamilton, of Bush Hill, and Andrew Hamilton, of The Woodlands. Mrs. Penn's brothers, John, James, and Andrew Page 189 Allen, were active and prominent men, the last named for some time Attorney-General of the Province. The displacement of his brother Richard by John in 1773 seems to have been somewhat abrupt; it caused a serious breach between them. The diary of Mrs. Penn's brother, James Allen,1 contains these allusions to the matter. "August 23 [1773]. The 20th of this Month, Mr. John Penn, Sister, & Brother John [Allen] arrived at New York in the Grove[?] Mast Ship, & are daily expected here. He comes to assume the Government & to supersede his Brother; to his [Richard's] great dissatisfaction. This step, tho' highly approved by Mr. John Penn's friends is thought will lay the foundation of a lasting animosity between the brothers. Mr. John Penn's reasons for this measure are that his Brother has set up a claim to the Proprietary Estate in reserved Lots & Manoors & immediately on his coming to the Government entered a Caveat in the Proprietary Offices, declaratory of his right, which he still reserves, not withstanding his signing Patents as Governor. "Sept. 8, 1773. Last night at Club the Governor and his brother not for the first time since his arrival, but they took no Notice of each other. Mr. Penn never having visited his Brother, and being determined to continue at variance." A letter from Judge Yeates to Colonel Burd, October [??] 1773, says,-- "The accounts from Philadelphia tell us there is no connection between the present and later Governors, though they have dined together twice in public. Mr. Richard Penn takes no notice of his brother, not even speaks to him." And a letter the following day from Edward Shippen to Colonel Burd says,-- "Mr. Bob. Morris, the head man at the Merchant's feast, placed Governor Penn on his right hand, and his brother, the later Governor, on the left; but not a word passed between the two brothers." This estrangement continued for some time, but appears to have been healed within a twelvemonth; a letter from Lady Juliana Penn to John Penn, at the end of 1774, expresses her satisfaction in learning from his letters of an 1 PENNA. MAG., Vol. IX. p. 181. Page 190 earlier date that a reconciliation had been effected. She speaks most kindly of the matter, and adds that "Mr. Penn [her husband] would be sorry any [letter] went from hence without mentioning the subject, till he is sure you have received his approbation and affectionate compliments upon it." In a letter to Lady Juliana, April 3, 1775, John said, "I have received your favor of December 31, and am obliged to you and my uncle for your kind congratulations on the reconciliation between me and my brother, which, as you observe, was happily timed, for I was then surrounded with many vexations, and I do not yet see an end to them." In 1773, after his final return from England, John Penn purchased of Dr. William Smith a tract of one hundred and forty-two acres on the west side of the Schuylkill, and soon after built upon it a handsome mansion, giving to the place the name "Lansdowne." The estate is now a part of Fairmount Park. The house was burned in 1854. It is understood that Horticultural Hall, erected for the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, occupies nearly or exactly the site of the mansion. Its erection was completed before 1777, as it appears on a map of that year--Faden's--and is there marked as exceeding in size and distinction the other "seats" of the neighborhood. "Lansdowne" was left by John Penn's will to his wife, and she almost immediately--March 9, 1795--conveyed it to her niece's husband, James Greenleaf.1 "Lansdowne" was John Penn's principal home for the remainder of his life, though he had, probably always, a city house also.2 In the stress of the war operations in 1777 he was sent by military authority to Union Iron-Works, in New Jersey, with Chief-Justice Chew, and remained there a 1 James Greenleaf had married Ann, daughter of James Allen (Mrs. Penn's brother). He was associated with Robert Morris, and was engulfed in the misfortunes of the great financier. 2 "After his marriage to Miss Allen, Penn resided in the house built for Col. Byrd of Westover, on the west side of Third street below Spruce." (Keith's "Provincial Councillors.") In 1793, the City Directory shows, he lived at 44 Pine Street, between Second and Third. He was buried from there 1795. Page 191 prisoner on parole from August of that year until May following. The feeling towards him seems to have been kindly. General Washington, in 1787, when in Philadelphia attending the Constitutional Convention, twice or oftener accepted his invitations to dine or drink tea. Glimpses of the social situation are afforded by extracts from family letters. December 13, 1783, Mrs. Rebecca Shoemaker wrote to her husband from Philadelphia,-- "That set [the Tory party] have prudently determined, as they can not exist in retirement either at Lansdowne or any where else out of public places, to join the others, and Gov. [John] Penn and lady, Mrs. Allen and mother . . . and all their former intimates, are now as happy at Mrs. Stewart's, formerly M'Clanachan, at the French Minister's, or in any other Whig Society, as ever they were in the select circle they once were the principals of." Same to same, May 23, 1785: "Betsy Allen has been confined to her chamber six months with the Rheumatism. Her eldest daughter is now grown up and is a very fine girl. Perhaps if young J. Penn1 would think so it would be agreeable; he lives a most recluse life over Schuylkill. He bought about 20 acres of land and is making it all a garden and has built a house in a most singular stile. I believe he still retains that peculiarity of address and manner we thought he had in N. York." John Penn died February 9, 1795, and was buried in Christ Church. A tablet within the church bears this inscription: Here lieth The Body of The Honorable JOHN PENN, Esqr One of the late Proprietaries of Pennsylvania who died February 9th A D 1795 Aged 67 years Two statements in reference to his death and his remains are commonly made, and both apparently are on the authority 1 This, of course, was John Penn, son of Thomas, and his place here referred to "Solitude." He remained, as we have seen, a bachelor. Page 192 of Watson, who says1 that he died "in Bucks county," and that, after interment "in Christ Church ground," his remains were "taken up and carried to England." As to the latter statement, Mr. Thomas H. Montgomery2 says that the records of the church afford no evidence of such removal. The diary of Jacob Hiltzheimer records: "February 12, 1795. Mr. John Penn, formerly Governor, when this State was a province of Great Britain, was buried from his house on Pine street, in Christ Church yard."3 Ann Penn survived her husband, and was made by his will, dated January 2, 1795, his residuary legatee, and coexecutor with John F. Mifflin. John Penn had had, after his father's death in 1771, the life use of that one-fourth of the Pennsylvania Proprietary right which had come to this branch of the family in 1729. A decision by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, in 1800, in the suit of Richard Penn against his brother John's executors, reviewed the subject of their property relations, including an agreement which the two brothers had made in 1787 respecting the division of the moneys received from the estates. The decision of the Court was for the defendants.4 Richard Penn, brother of Governor John Penn and second son of Richard the Proprietary, was born, as his obituary implies, in the year 1735. He was thus six years younger than John. He entered St. John's College, Cambridge, but quitted without a degree. By the will of his uncle, John Penn, he received a small allowance, about eighty pounds a year, but this he found quite inadequate to support his mode of life. Letters from him to his uncle Thomas, asking assistance, and the latter's somewhat sharp replies, are among the Penn papers. His arrival in Pennsylvania with John, in October, 1763, has been noted. John, as Governor, appointed him to a place in the Council, and he qualified January 12, 1764. He was the first president of the Jockey Club of Philadelphia, formed in November, 1766, 1 "Annals," Vol. I. p. 125. 2 PENNA. MAG., Vol. VII. p. 476. 3 Ibid., Vol. XVI. p. 418. 4 Reported in 2 Yeates, Penna. Supreme Court Reports, p. 550. Page 193 and so continued until 1769, in the beginning of which year he returned to England. He there remained until after the death of his father, in February, 1771. He was then appointed Lieutenant-Governor by his uncle Thomas and his brother John, and came again to Pennsylvania, arriving here October 16, 1771. He served a little less than two years in the place to which he had been appointed, and was superseded, as already mentioned, by John in August, 1773. Contemporary accounts generally represent him as more popular at that time than John. The journal of Miss Sarah Eve says,--1 "August 30th.--This morning . . . hearing that Mr. John Penn was to be proclaimed Governor, curiosity led Deby Mitchel and I to go to see him. For my part I had rather be his brother than he, the one possesses the hearts of the people, the other the Government. Yesterday he made a public entry into Town with a large train." The estrangement of the brothers was apparently not of John's choice,2 and he made overtures to Richard, intended to heal the breach. An offer from John of an allowance of five hundred pounds a year, while the latter remained Governor, Richard declined, but upon the death of Richard Hockley, John appointed him naval officer at Philadelphia, and he accepted the place with appropriate acknowledgments. Richard married at Christ Church, May 21, 1772, during his service as Governor, Mary, the daughter of William and Mary Masters.3 This marriage has a romantic interest, for thus it came about that the daughter of Letitia Penn's unsuccessful suitor of 1701 now became the wife of Letitia's nephew.4 William Masters had married in 1754, many 1 PENNA. MAG., Vol. V. p. 197. 2 Though an expression in James Allen's journal seems to suggest this. 3 Jacob Hiltzheimer's journal, May 22, 1772: "Richard Penn, Governor of this Province, was married to Miss Polly Masters last night. . . ." 4 This statement is in accord with that of other authorities, yet I cannot forbear mentioning the element of doubt that appears in it. The William Masters of 1701 could hardly have been under eighteen (though Logan, in the letter cited, calls him "young William Masters") to have been a suitor of Letitia Penn (who was twenty-three), and if so, he would have been a man of seventy-one in 1754, when the person of his name married Mary Lawrence. Facts known concerning Mary's husband, however, indicate that he was not young in 1754, but "well on in years." Thompson Westcott, perceiving the apparent difficulty of the matter ("Historic Mansions"), makes an effort to solve it: "And so Richard, perhaps in ignorance that Mary's grandfather had nearly threequarters of a century previous been a suitor for the hand of his greataunt," etc. This is only adding error to doubt. Letitia was Richard's own aunt (of half blood), not his great-aunt, and, as already stated, the William Masters of 1701 is said to have been the father, not grandfather, of Mary Penn. Page 194 years after his failure with "Tishe," Mary, the daughter of Thomas Lawrence, sometime mayor of the city, and had died in 1760, leaving two daughters, Mary and Sarah, aged respectively four and two years. It was the elder of these whom Richard Penn now married, and the disparity of the ages of the two may be noted. Richard was then thirty-seven years old, and his wife, born March 3, 1756, was a little past sixteen. Thomas Masters, grandfather of the young bride, had had, early in the eighteenth century, a large holding of ground in the "Northern Liberties" of Philadelphia, and this, inherited by William Masters, passed to his widow and little girls.1 The widow Masters also received from her father, Thomas Lawrence, in 1761, a large lot on the south side of Market Street, between Fifth and Sixth, and erected there soon after a handsome house, one of the finest in Philadelphia, which became later an "historic mansion" of the city.2 Here 1 Sarah, the second daughter, married Turner Camac. Cf. Keith's "Provincial Councillors of Pennsylvania." 2 The house is described by Richard Rush as quite superior; "few, if any equal to it are at present in Philadelphia," he says in his Recollections of 1790-1800. It was the residence of General Howe during the British occupancy of the city, 1777-78, and again was selected by General Benedict Arnold when Howe departed. After Arnold, Holker, the French consul, occupied it, and subsequently Robert Morris bought it and lived there. General Washington stayed in it with Morris during the sitting of the Constitutional Convention, 1787, and in 1790, when the seat of government was removed to Philadelphia, he occupied it as the Presidential residence for the next seven years. Page 195 she was living with her two daughters at the time of Mary's marriage to Richard Penn, and a conveyance was made to the bride, by the widow, two days before the wedding, of her interest in the property, "in consideration of natural love and affection," it being obviously a wedding present. The Market Street house became known as "Richard Penn's," though as a matter of fact his ownership in it was only through the interest of his wife, and their married life in it extended but little beyond three years. The house was burned January 2, 1780, while in their ownership. Jacob Hiltzheimer's diary, that date, says,-- "Early this morning a fire broke out in Mr. Penn's house on Market street, occupied by Mr. Holker, the French consul, which destroyed all but the first floor." And Elizabeth Drinker in her journal records,-- "1780, January 2, Richard Penn's large house, up Market St., took fire last night, and this morning is consumed all but ye lower story. A most violent snowstorm this afternoon and all night."1 Richard Penn bought, in April, 1775, of Andrew Doz, the "Peel Hall" estate, forty-five acres, on which Girard College now stands, and it was during his ownership, November, 1777 (he being then in England), that the British engineer officers burned the house, with many others, along the north side of the then city, as a supposedly necessary feature of their defensive operations. "Peel Hall" was sold February 15, 1779, by Tench Francis, attorney for Richard Penn, to Owen Biddle, and the description in the conveyance shows its condition: ". . . with the outhouses, improvements, and gardens, being now torn down, burnt, and almost destroyed, and the tract or piece of land belonging thereto being laid waste, and opened to commons, the Fences which enclosed the same being taken away and destroyed." 1 The house was subsequently rebuilt by Robert Morris. Page 196 In the summer of 1775 Richard Penn, with his family, went to England.1 He had been solicited by the Continental Congress, then sitting at Philadelphia, to take to London the second petition of the Congress, the Address to the King, called the "Olive Branch," which John Dickinson had drawn up. Penn and Arthur Lee, agent in London for the Massachusetts Colony, presented it to the Earl of Dartmouth September 1, 1775, and in November, the petition being under consideration in the House of Lords, Richard Penn was interrogated, on motion of the Duke of Richmond, as to the condition of the American Colonies. His replies were intelligent and judicious; he had had, no doubt, a sympathy with the Colonial claims, and was well qualified to give information as to the circumstances out of which they arose. Following upon this return to England, Richard Penn spent there practically the whole of his remaining years. During the continuance of the Revolution, the receipt of funds from Pennsylvania being probably mostly cut off, he appears to have been in severe financial straits. A letter (1780) says, "My friend Richard Penn's distresses have almost drove him to distraction. I understand from Mrs. Penn they are now kept from starving by the bounty of Mr. Barclay.2 For aught I know Mr. Penn might long ago have 1 The following letter is among the Penn papers in the Pennsylvania Historical Society's collection: "DEAR MADAM: "I have just now received your letter of the 22d of March informing me of the Melancholly Event of my Uncle's Death. . . . God be prais'd! the happy & advantageous Marriage I have contracted in this Country enables me to live like a Gentleman in England for which place I intend to Embark this Summer, where I hope to find you and your family in good health. "I am, dear Madam, "Your Most Obedient Servant "RICHD PENN. "PHILADELPHIA, May 10 [1775]." 2 Barclay, no doubt, of the London firm of merchants and bankers, Friends, descendants of Robert Barclay the Apologist. Page 197 been in the Fleet Prison, had not Mr. Barclay stepped forth to his relief." With the termination of the war his own and his wife's circumstances no doubt improved. In 1785 the Masters family, Richard Penn joining, sold the Market Street house and grounds to Robert Morris. In 1787 his brother John agreed with Richard to pay him one-fourth of the sums received by him (John) as his share of the one hundred and thirty thousand pounds voted by the State of Pennsylvania as compensation under the Divesting Act, and one-third of the returns from sales of the reserved property made after the act was passed. Upon the death of John, Richard succeeded to the life-right which John had enjoyed in the Proprietary estate. For many years Richard Penn was a member of Parliament. He was elected to the House of Commons April 9, 1784, for the borough of Appleby, Westmoreland, and represented it until December 20, 1790, when he was returned for Haslemere, Surrey. From 1796 to 1802 he sat for the borough of Lancaster, and in 1806 was again chosen for Haslemere. His residence is named as Queen Anne Street West, County Middlesex. In 1808, or earlier, he came to Philadelphia with other members of his family, and his residence appears in the Directory of that year as at 210 Chestnut Street, between Eighth and Ninth. This visit is commonly spoken of as not continuing more than about a year. He returned, and died in England. The Gentleman's Magazine says,-- "May 27, 1811. At Richmond [Surrey] in his 76th year, R. Penn Esq., grandson of W. P., one of the Proprietaries, and formerly Governor of Pennsylvania." Mary Penn survived her busband eighteen years. The Gentleman's Magazine records,-- "Aug. 16, 1829. At the house of her younger son, Richard Penn, Esq., in Great George street, aged 73, Mary, relict of the Hon. Richard Penn, one of the Hereditary Lords of Pennsylvania." Page 198 Richard Penn is spoken of as an attractive and genial man. Thompson Westcott says1 he "possessed a fine person, elegant manners, was of a social disposition, and a bon vivant. He was the most popular member of his family who visited Pennsylvania after the death of the Founder." Of the four children of Richard and Hannah Lardner Penn, only Richard, as has already appeared, had issue. His children by Mary Masters Penn were: 1. William, of whom an account will be given below. 2. A daughter, mentioned but not named in the Gentleman's Magazine, who died June 17, 1790. (The notice simply says, "June 17, 1790: The youngest daughter of Richard Penn, Esq.") She was probably an infant. 3. Hannah, who died unmarried at Richmond, Surrey, England, July 16, 1856. She accompanied her father and brother William to Philadelphia in the visit of 1808. 4. Richard. See below. 5. Mary, born April 11, 1785; married 1821 (being second wife of) Samuel Paynter, Esq., of Richmond, Surrey, J. P. for Surrey and Middlesex, High Sheriff of Surrey in 1838. Her husband died July 24, 1844. She died without issue March 26, 1863. Our consideration of the line descended from William Penn the Founder, through his son Richard, is thus narrowed to the two sons of Richard, 2d, and Mary Masters. These sons, William and Richard, 3d, left no issue, and the line thus ends. It only remains, therefore, to speak appropriately of them. The two brothers were both notable men, having remarkable talents, but William's ability was offset by serious defects and weaknesses. They have each the distinction of receiving in the Gentleman's Magazine an extended and appreciative obituary notice, from which we shall quote below. William Penn was born in England, June 23, 1776. He was entered at St. John's College, Cambridge, but did not take his degree. While there he produced (1794) a 1 "Historic Mansions," p. 253. Page 199 pamphlet "which attracted the particular notice of Mr. Pitt, Mr. Wyndham and the Government generally," its title being Vindicioe Britannicoe. It was a reply to a pamphlet which had been published by Gilbert Wakefield, of Jesus College, Cambridge, entitled "The Spirit of Christianity compared with the Spirit of the Times in Great Britain." The pamphlet was criticised by the Analytical Review, and Penn rejoined with such effect that, had his habits and disposition favored, "a path was opened for him to any advancement he could possibly desire." Unfortunately, "he was too fond of that species of festive companionship in vogue at that period, and which precluded a man from standing in any other sphere."1 William was for a time a captain in the Surrey militia. He came to Philadelphia with his father and sister Hannah in 1808, and appears to have remained in Pennsylvania for at least four years. Letters written by him in 1810 are dated in Dauphin County, and in 1812 he signs legal papers as of Northampton County. The most notable event of his visit here, if not of his life, was his marriage. This was the occasion of much sharp comment and of some warm discussion. His wife was named Catharine Julia (or Juliana Catharine) Balabrega, her parents being Jacob and Mary, of Philadelphia. She was born March 13, 1785, and was baptized in Christ Church. What her relations to William Penn may have been is not disclosed, but his appearance at the house of Rev. Dr. James Abercrombie, rector of Christ Church, on the evening of August 7, 1809, to say that within an hour he would return with Miss Balabrega to be married, threw that worthy clergyman into extreme distress, and when at the end of the time Penn appeared with her and her sister, Dr. Abercrombie and an intimate friend of Penn, who had been hurriedly summoned, earnestly endeavored to dissuade him from the step. Penn insisted, however, that he was determined upon it, and declared that if the rector refused to officiate, he would go to an alderman near 1 Gentleman's Magazine, obituary notice. Page 200 by--naming him--at once, "and enter into a civil contract of marriage," upon which Dr. Abercrombie yielded and married them. Later, having been much criticised, Dr. Abercrombie published a pamphlet,1 in which he presented two letters from William Penn, describing the marriage (as here stated), an extended letter from Bishop White, and a still longer opinion of a lawyer, justifying him (Dr. Abercrombie) in performing the marriage. The objection to the bride is suggested, but not positively stated. Bishop White develops his opinion of the case by means of a supposititious example, in which one of the couple proposing to be married "labours under the apparently just imputation of very faulty conduct." William appears to have been sincerely attached to his wife at least as late as August 11, 1812. On that date he wrote from Easton, Pennsylvania, to John Penn, of Stoke Poges, proposing to sell to him all his interest in Pennsylvania, with the avails of which he wished to purchase an annuity.2 Having explained and urged the proposal,--which apparently was not accepted,--he says,-- "I do not think I am likely to last very long, which Idea renders me doubly solicitous to place beyond the reach of Inconvenience a most deserving Wife, who is indeed my only Friend on this side of the Atlantic. I shall certainly never visit the other, and am grown so misanthropic that I protest I see no difference between the old, and the new World, except [etc.]." He subscribes himself "your faithful, affectionate, and much obliged kinsman."3 He returned to England later, however, and lived there until his death. Of his wife there is no further definite information. They are said to have been childless. In 1817 he is styled "of St. John st., Adelphi, Co. Middlesex." Much of his time he spent in or near the debtors' prison in London. 1 "Documents Relative to the Celebration of a Late Marriage." Printed by Smith & Maxwell, Philadelphia, 1809. Pp. 47. 2 He had then, by the death of his father, come into the one-fourth of the Pennsylvania rights belonging in this line of the family. 3 MS. letters in collection Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Page 201 He wrote for sundry periodicals, his contributions to the Gentleman's Magazine being usually over the signature of "the Rajah of Vaneplysia," the last word being an anagram of Pennsylvania, omitting two of the n's. His learning was quite extensive, and indeed pedantic, as an example of his letters in the magazine mentioned sufficiently shows. He died in Nelson Square, Southwark (London), September 17, 1845. "Pursuant to his own desire," says the notice in the Gentleman's Magazine, "the remains of Mr. Penn were deposited in the church of St. Mary Redcliffe, Bristol, by those of his illustrious ancestor, Admiral Sir William Penn." We cite in conclusion as to him a further paragraph from the same obituary: "Extravagance and heedlessness brought him into debt, and he passed so much of his time within certain confines in Southwark, that he afterwards, when free from such restraint, declined to quit that neighborhood, and ended his days there. He was a kind, good-hearted man, and according to a common remark might truly be said to have been an enemy to no one but himself. More than this he was a man of transcendent abilities, an excellent classical scholar, and possessed of a wonderful memory, which he displayed by an extraordinary power of quotation in conversation. His talents, however, were rendered unavailable, from a recklessness and indifference to his position in society, and a turn for conviviality, which was towards the end of the last century very much in fashion. When he chose he could transfix the minds of those he associated with by the depth of his research and splendid talents. We have heard it asserted, that after a midnight excess, and being completely oppressed with wine, instead of retiring to rest, he would wrap a wet napkin round his head, and write a powerful paper for the Anti-Jacobin. He mixed with the highest ranks in society, and was courted in every company; and it was of him George the Fourth (then Prince of Wales) said, 'He was a Pen often cut (drunk, a term now obsolete, as well as the custom, in a great degree), but never mended.' Had he improved the opportunities which came in his way towards the end of last century and beginning of this, there was probably no elevation attainable which he might not have reached." Richard Penn, the younger brother, remained a bachelor, and appears to have been a man of estimable character. It was at his house in Great George Street, as already mentioned, Page 202 that his mother died in 1817. He was for many years a trusted and useful official of the Colonial Department of the English government. He devised a cipher code for use in despatches, published 1829, with the title "On a New Mode of Secret Writing." He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society November 18, 1824. His portrait, by E. W. Eddis, was engraved (1834) by M. Ganci. The obituary notice in the Gentleman's Magazine says,-- "Mr. Richard Penn, jun., entered the Colonial Department, at the beginning of the present century, in which he remained many years successively under Lord Hobart, Viscount Castlereagh, and Earls Camden and Bathurst. He had talents admirably suited for official duties, added to a bonhomie and agreeable address which gained him the esteem of everyone. He had also a very profound acquaintance with the French language, and was well versed in all its difficulties of grammatical construction. Possessed of a competent fortune, he dispensed it in a manner suitable to a gentleman. His benevolence and charity were of the most extensive nature, and to be in distress was at all times a sufficient recommendation to his bounty; but his feeling for the orphan was particularly strong. Mr. Penn possessed a rich vein of humor, with much good sense and good nature, all of which are fully evinced in a little book which he wrote, under the title of 'Maxims and Hints on Angling, Chess, Shooting, and other Matters; also Miseries of Fishing; by Richard Penn, Esq., F.R.S.' (London, Murray, 12mo, 1842).1 There are very many neat woodcuts interspersed in the work, from designs by his friend Sir Francis Chantrey, and other eminent artists." Richard Penn died at his house at Richmond, Surrey, April 21, 1863, "aged 79." He had enjoyed after the death of his elder brother (1845) the life use of the Richard Penn fourth of the Pennsylvania rights, and upon his death they vested in his second cousin, Granville John Penn, in accordance with the limitations of the family entail, heretofore mentioned. He survived his sister, Mrs. Paynter, it will be observed, only about a month, and with his decease this line from William Penn the Founder closed. 1 The edition here mentioned is evidently only one of several. The book on Angling, with "Maxims and Hints for a Chess Player" added, was published in 1833, with an enlarged edition in 1839, and an edition of "Maxims and Hints on Shooting" in 1855. Page 203 RICHARD PENN, PROPRIETARY, AND HIS DESCENDANTS. RICHARD PENN=HANNAH LARDNER. John, Hannah, Richard, William, m. m. m. d. s. p. (1) (???) Cox. James Clayton, Mary Masters. (2) Ann Allen, s. p. s. p. William, Daughter, Richard, Mary, m. d. s. p. d. s. p. m. C. J. Balabrega, Hannah, Samuel Paynter, s. p. d. s. p. s. p. Page 204 XII. WILLIAM PENN, THIRD, AND HIS DESCENDANTS. The several family lines descended from William Penn the Founder have now all been traced except one,--that resulting from the marriage of his grandson, William Penn, 3d, and Christian Forbes. In the present chapter it is proposed to follow this line to existing generations. William Penn, 3d, son of William Penn, Jr., and his wife, Mary Jones, was born at Worminghurst, March 21, 1702/3. The allusion to his birth, "we are now major, minor, and minimus," in a letter from the Founder to Logan, may be recalled. His childhood and youth were probably passed largely in the care of his mother and of his step-grandmother, Hannah Penn. He was seventeen years old at the death of his father, 1720. When a young man he appears to have spent some time in Ireland.1 In 1730/1 the death of his elder brother, Springett Penn, unmarried, brought to him the heirship of the remaining estates of the elder line. They included the old estate, "Shangarry," in Ireland, with which he was especially associated during the remaining years of his life, and a place in Sussex, in England, "The Rocks," which I presume to have been a remnant from the inheritance of the Founder's first wife, Gulielma Maria Springett, whose possession descended in the elder line. 1 A letter to him from Thomas Penn, in London, March 5, 1729/30, is addressed to "William Penn, Esq., at Thomas Griffith's, Apothecary, on the Blind Key, in Dublin, Ireland." It begins "Dear Will." Page 205 Following upon his succession, the first event of importance--and an interesting one--was his marriage, on the 7th of Tenth month (December), 1732, to Christian, daughter of Alexander and Jane Forbes. The certificate follows: The 7th of the 10 Mo. 1732. WILLIAM PENN of Kingston Bowrey in the County of Sussex Esq, son of William Penn late of Worminghurst in the said County Esq. Deceased, & Mary his wife him surviving and CHRISTIAN FORBES daughter of Alexander Forbes of London, merchant, & Jane his wife, Having publickly declared their intentions of taking each other in marriage before several meetings of the people of God called Quakers in Wandsworth in the County of Surry according to the good order used amongst them whose proceedings therein after due enquiry and deliberate consideration thereof with regard unto the righteous Law of God were allowed by the said meetings they appearing clear of all others and having consent of Parents & Relations concern'd. NOW THESE ARE TO CERTIFIE all whom it may concern that for the full accomplishing of their sd marriage this 7th day of the month called December in the year 1732 They the sd William Penn and Christian Forbes appeared in a publick assembly of the aforesaid people, & others met together for that end in their meeting house near Devonshire Square in London. And in a solemn manner he the said William Penn taking the sd Christian Forbes by the hand did openly declare as followeth. Friends in the presence of God & this assembly whom I desire to be my witnesses I take this my Dear Friend Christian Forbes to be my wife promising by Divine Assistance to be to her a faithful & loving husband till by death we are separated. And then & there in the said Assembly the said Christian Forbes did in like manner declare as followeth, Friends in the fear of God & presence of this Assembly whom I desire to be my witnesses I take this my Friend William Penn to be my husband & promise by the Lord's Assistance to be unto him a faithful & loving wife till by death we are separated. And the said William Penn & Christian Forbes as a farther confirmation thereof & in testimony thereunto, did then & there to these Presents set their hands. We whose names are hereunto | WILLIAM PENN. subscribed being present | CHRISTIAN FORBES. Among others at the solemnizing of the above said Marriage & subscription Page 206 in manner aforesaid as witnesses hereunto have also to these presents subscribed our names the day & year above written. Ann Forbes Alex. Forbes Jun. Jo. Coysgarne Eliz. Coysgarne Da. Barclay Mary Banks Joseph Todd Is. Collinson Tho. Richardson Mary Hodges Jno. Wilson Rt. Gerard Mary Falconer Alex. Barclay Eliz. Barclay Eliz Knight Martha Stafford Priscilla Barclay James Barclay Martha Moys Richd Moys Wm. Hughes Nat Cole Jesse Poole Phil. Elliot Osgood Gee [and many more] Mary Penn Alexr Forbes Jane Forbes Jno. Forbes Barbara Forbes James Hoskins Jno. Trubshaw Wm. Howard Tho. Poole Tho. Zachary Eliz. Wells Eliz. Charter Patience Barclay Jno. Falkner. [Certified to be an Extract from the Register, numbered Society of Friends 958, and entitled a Register of Marriages formerly kept by the Society of Friends at the Monthly Meeting at Kingston.--From the General Register Office, Somerset House, London.] This was, it will be seen, strictly a Friends' wedding. The departure from the Society of William Penn, Jr., after his visit to Philadelphia in 1704, had probably influenced his wife and children also, and Gulielma Maria (Fell), as we have seen, was "publicly baptized" in St. Paul, Covent Garden, in 1723 or 1724. In the present case, however, William, deeply in love with "Chrissie" Forbes, returned, for a time at least, to the faith of his great ancestor. A letter from his uncle John Penn to Thomas Penn (then in Pennsylvania), from Feens, 1st October, 1732, makes this announcement: "My Cozn Will Penn has cutt of his buttons, Left of his Sword & Ruffles, & appears a plain Quaker, he will Certainly be marry'd very soon at Meeting to Miss Chrissie Forbes." And a few weeks later we have another letter from John to Thomas, dated at Feens, 28th January, 1732/3, the following passage savoring, one must admit, something of levity: "I must begin with acquainting you of the Conversion and Marriage of our Nephew Wm Penn, with the daughter of Alexander Forbes, Page 207 which was Solemnized on the 7th of Last Month at Devonshire house Meeting before a numerous Assembly to the Consolation of Thousands of the Righteous, who are full of the Prophecy of Robert Haddock the last Yearly Meeting was Twelve Months, which was that in Two years time the Young man should be made a Brave Instrument in the hand of the Lord for the Conversion of many, therefore it is believed that in the next Yearly Meeting he will come forth in a Powerfull manner." The marriage, indeed, had encountered other impediments than those which could be removed by the laying aside of sword and ruffles. William was not clear of prior engagements of marriage. He had, it seems, entered into a matrimonial contract, more or less formal, in Ireland, with a young lady named Ann Mansell, "and his intended bride had to listen," in the Friends' meeting at Wandsworth (near London), "to the reading of documents connected with his former love affair, including a full release from Ann Mansell and her family, in consideration of William Penn's having paid £1000 in compensation for his breach of promise."1 The bride, Christian Forbes, is described as a lovely girl of a notably pious character. She was quite young--in her eighteenth year--at the time of her marriage. Her father, Alexander Forbes, was a son of John Forbes, of Aquorthies, near Aberdeen, in Scotland, and her mother, Jean, was a daughter of Robert Barclay, of Ury, author of the famous Quaker book the "Apology." Between these two families, Forbes and Barclay, very intimate relations existed; three sons of John Forbes (Timothy, James, and Alexander) had married three daughters of Robert Barclay (Patience, Catharine, and Jean). Aquorthies and Ury are neighboring estates, and in the Quaker movement in the later half of the seventeenth century both families had earnestly joined.2 1 Beck and Ball's "London Yearly Meetings," p. 323. 2 In the social and ecclesiastical friction that was evolved, members of both families had been imprisoned in the gaol at Aberdeen, and had suffered some losses of property. The Barclays, Robert and his father Colonel David, are well known in many ways; Besse, in his "Sufferings" of the Friends, mentions John Forbes, of Aquorthies, as in prison at Aberdeen, 1677, and as otherwise persecuted. Page 208 The young bride was descended through her mother's family, the Barclays, from the royal family of the Stuarts. Robert Barclay's mother, the wife of Colonel David Barclay, of Ury, who served under Gustavus Adolphus in the Thirty Years' War,1 was Lady Catharine Gordon, daughter of Sir Robert Gordon, who was the second son of the Earl of Sutherland, and a cousin to King James VI. of Scotland, who became James I. of the United Kingdom.2 The married life of William Penn, 3d, and his young wife was, however, pathetically brief. She died inside the year (November 1, 1733) of illness following upon the birth of her child, a daughter, on the 22d of October. Her funeral occurred at Jordans ground on the 7th of the month. The journal of Rebekah Butterfield says, "7th of 9th month, 1733. Daniel Bell and John Fallowfield was at Jordans, att ye burial of William Pen's wife, daughter of Alex. Forbes." The daughter, Christiana Gulielma Penn, survived, and it is through her, subsequently married to Peter Gaskell, that all the Penn descendants of the elder line are derived. There is a sketch of the mother, Christian (Forbes) Penn, in "Piety Promoted," Part X., London (1810), edited by Joseph Gurney Bevan,--a collection of Quaker memorials,--in which her religious character is highly extolled. Her age at her death is stated as eighteen years and a quarter. Christiana Gulielma Penn, the daughter, was reared in the family of her grandfather Forbes, at Dowgate Hill, the London home, and at Aquorthies. Letters show that for some time, at least, Alexander Forbes took a helpful interest, as his large means enabled him to do, in his son-in-law. 1 Whittier's poem, "Barclay of Ury," and its lines-- "him who stood Ankle deep in Lutzen's blood With the brave Gustavus"-- are familiar. 2 Through this marriage of Colonel David Barclay to Lady Catharine Gordon their descendants trace their descent back through all the English kings, beginning with Richard II., to Alfred. (Browning's "Americans of Royal Descent," edition of 1894, p 554.) Page 209 John Penn, in the letter to Thomas, January 28, 1732/3, already cited, says,-- "I am very sorry it is not in my Power to Satisfy my Cozn William Penn, but it is not, without acting very much to my disadvantage, wherefore he must Stay [wait] which I hope he can do, for some time, for he lives now with Alexander Forbess, & is at very little Expence." In the adjustment of the Proprietary rights in 1731 (after the death of Springett Penn), John, Thomas, and Richard Penn gave William Penn, 3d, five thousand five hundred pounds for his claim, secured by a mortgage on the Pennsylvania proprietorship. On this mortgage Alexander Forbes lent William Penn two thousand five hundred pounds. (The mortgage was finally extinguished by the three Proprietaries, January 29, 1740.1) In a letter to John Penn, from London, April 20, 1736, asking for interest due "last midsummer," on the mortgage, Alexander Forbes mentions his need for it, as he is helping William Penn to raise some money immediately, his affairs being in such shape "that there is a necessity," etc. Alexander Forbes, it may be added here, died May 25, 1740. The Gentleman's Magazine records the death, under that date, of "Mr. Alex. Forbes, London Merchant, of great Worth and Reputation."2 William Penn, 3d, married a second time, Twelfth month (February) 13, 1736/7, Ann Vaux.3 She was the daughter of Isaac Vaux, of London, and granddaughter of George Vaux, of Reigate, mentioned by Besse in his "Sufferings" of the Friends, as fined, etc., in 1683. Ann's uncle, George Vaux, a physician of Reigate, who died 1741, was a distinguished linguist and antiquarian. This second marriage was marred, as was the first, by 1 Breviate in the Boundary Case, pp. 447, 448, 462, 504. 2 Several of the Forbes family, Mr. Summers says ("Memories of Jordans and the Chalfonts"), lie buried at Jordans. 3 A letter dated a few months earlier, July 20, 1736, at Battersea, from William Penn, 3d, to Thomas Penn, then in Pennsylvania, is published in The Literary Era, Philadelphia, May, 1898. It is a well-expressed communication, and refers mainly to the Pennsbury Manor property in Pennsylvania. Page 210 unlooked-for circumstances, but of a different sort. William and Ann appear to have removed to Ireland, and they were living in Cork in March, 1738, when a son was born. The Friends' records of Cork contain this entry: "Springett Penn, son of William Penn, and Anne his wife, was born at their dwelling-house in Ballyphechane, in the South Liberties of the County of this City, between the hours of 8 and 9 in the evening, the first day of the First Month, 1738. "N. B.--The above memorial was delivered me by the hand of William, the father of the above Springett, and desired it may be registered in this book.--JOSHUA WIGHT." The matrimonial troubles of William and Ann must have followed soon. Apparently she left him and went to London, and he charged her with one of the gravest of offences. A letter from him, in January, 1741/2, is among the collection preserved by Thomas Penn. It is addressed to Thomas Penn, who was then in Pennsylvania: "DR UNCLE THOMAS "I wrote thee two lettTS in answr to thine from Plymouth & Philadelphia. I hope thou hast received them both wch I have no acct of yet; I hear that thou hast money of mine in thy hands, if so, I desire thee to let me know wt ye sum is that I may give thee a proper rect for it and have it lodged in ye hands of Freame & Barclay, in Lombard Street, because it may prevent my remitting money from here in order to carry on a suit I have in Doctors' Commons for a divorce, ye occasion of wch I presume thou hast heard of, therefore I begg a speedy answr to this, for ye Term is drawing on apace & I must supply my Proctor by a remittance from hence in case thou had no money due to me, or that should not be sufficient. I am, wth my dr love to you all, "Thy very affte kinsman, "WM PENN "DUBLIN, Jany 12th 1741 "I directed my former letters to ye Pennsylvania coffee house." William Penn, 3d, continued to live in Ireland until his death. Letters to Thomas Penn, in 1741, are dated at Dublin; they represent his desire to sell his interest in the Pennsbury estate in Pennsylvania (which was not, however, accomplished), and mention "my house at the Rocks, Page 211 in Sussex." A note from Thomas Penn, at Kensington, January 5, 1743, addressed "To the Housekeeper at Wm. Penn Esq.'s House at the Rocks," says,-- "I have sent the bearer Danl Chandler down to view the underwood belonging to the Rocks Farm, by order of my Nephew, and send this to desire you will provide for him and his horse at the house while he stays."1 Further letters from William Penn, 3d, to Thomas Penn disclose facts of interest. April 20, 1746, he writes from Cork, speaking of the death of his aunt Letitia Aubrey, and the provisions of her will; he mention that his own plate is in pawn "with Benn: Pike" for thirty pounds. A few days later, April 29, he again writes from Cork,-- ". . . I received yours, with a copy of the Inventory of Aunt Aubrey's Goods. I desire the Beds, Quilts, & Blankets, all of ye Linen and all of ye Plate2 may be sent hither to me soon as possible. Burches 1 On the back of this Ann Mercer (the housekeeper, no doubt) notes the receipt of ten shillings "for Danl. Chandler's charges at the Rock Farm." 2 The plate belonging to Letitia Aubrey does not appear to have been divided until some time later. The following memorandum is in the Penn papers: "An account of Plate belonging to ye Estate of Mrs. Letitia Aubrey, deseased, & divided this seventh day of July, 1749, between William Penn Esqr deceased and Mrs. Christiana Gulielma Penn, the residuary legatees: "To Mr. William Penn for his share: "One Sawspan, a porringer, 2 candle-sticks, snuffers, and stand; a punch ladle, 2 salts, 6 spoons, a punch straner, a purs spring and hook, a milk pott, 23 medals and coins. Weighing one hundred and twenty ounces, at 5s. 3d. £31 10s. "To Mrs. Christiana Gulielma Penn for her share: "One coffee pott, 3 castors, a hand candle-stick, a porringer, a soup ladle, a skimmer, 2 wax candlesticks, a tea Canister, a spoon boat, a child's sawspan, 2 salts, 1 Extinguisher, a silver cha. and frame, 1 bobin case and thimble, 1 snuff-box, 8 teaspoons, a tongs, and straner; a nutmeg grater, 2 ink horns, a plain box, 3 small box's, a clasp, a purs spring, a watch hook, a bodkin, a pensil, 14 medals and coines. Weighing one hundred and twenty ounces. "Gold, viz.: a Gold box, a pincushin, hoop & chaine; 2 morning rings, 6 pieces of gold coins, a tag and mask bead. Weighing 4 ounces, 4 dwts., at £3 13s. an ounce. Val. £15 6s. 6d. "6 shell teaspoons garnished with silver--9. "Weighed and valued by me, Richard Langton." [A memorandum is appended of some articles purchased by R. L.] Page 212 will take ye trouble of getting them shipped & Dispose of ye remdr upon as good terms as possible. Ye money arising thence, as well as ye ready money left Chrissy [his daughter] and me I desire may be remitted into Ben: Pike's hands. [He concludes] with dear love to all yor family as if named, yor very affte kinsman & sincere friend." August 5, 1746, he writes to Thomas Penn, asking news of his uncle John Penn (who died October 25 following), for whom he expresses affection; nothing, he says, keeps him from going to see him "but a wicked woman, worse than all earthly things, who stands in the way and hinders me."1 He asks Thomas to address him "at Shannagarry, near Middleton, as usual." Finally, December 24, 1746, he writes to Thomas Penn, presenting condolences on John's death, and says,-- "It is no time to trouble thee about business, wch I shall omit. I am indeed in a very indifferent state of health myself, a Scorbutick humour attended wth a Dropsical one. I'm heartily concerned at the misfortunes of Aunt Margt." This letter very shortly preceded his own death. The Friends' records at Cork state,-- "William Penn died at his house at Shangarry, about 15 miles from Cork, of a dropsy, 12 month [February] 6, 1746/7." His will was dated 17th of Tenth month (December), 1743, and appears not to have been proved in England until March 15, 1760, when his son Springett presented it as executor.2 The will appoints John Penn and Thomas Penn guardians of the children during the minority of Springett, 1 This suggests that in the proceedings between the pair the legal situation made it inexpedient for William to come into England. Whether the strong expression he applies to his wife was justified I do not undertake to say. 2 Memorandum on copy of will in Friends' collections at Devonshire House, London. Page 213 and he to be executor when he shall attain the age of twenty-one. To the widow William leaves one shilling, and states his reason for this with candor: "Whereas my present wife, Ann Penn, otherwise Vaux, some years ago eloped from me, and hath ever since continued without any reasonable Cause to live separate from me . . . whereby I am advised that she hath forfeited all Right to Dower and Thirds out of my Real & Personal Estate," etc. Springett Penn, the son of William, 3d, and Ann, then a boy eight years old, appears to have been at school at Lismore, Ireland, at his father's death. Thomas Lowder, the master, wrote, February 23, 1746/7, to Thomas Penn, asking instructions, especially in case the mother should claim the boy. Later other letters and statements of account followed. A letter from Lowder to Thomas Penn, August 17, 1747, says of the lad, "He is indeed a very tractable and hopeful child, with the best capacity. His dutiful respects he desires may be sent to you." June 30, 1748, Thomas Penn sends £29 10s. 3d. to pay Lowder's bill for a year's tuition, board, clothes, etc. Replying to this, Lowder writes, July 7, and says Springett has now been two years under his care; he cannot write much, he says, and this is pretty well evidenced by a letter of duty on the same sheet from Springett,--a very juvenile attempt, in large characters. Later Springett was sent to school to Gilbert Thompson, at "Sankey," and a letter from him, dated there November 15, 1749, is much improved in all respects. He seems, from allusions in a letter of Thompson's to the weakness of his legs, etc., not to have been in vigorous health. In November, 1750, Thompson writes to Thomas Penn that the boy set off in the stage-coach that morning for "home," and "should arrive at the Bell Inn, in Wood street, either on 6th day or 7th at the furthest, being the 23d or 24th inst., as the roads may be." Thomas Penn no doubt had charge of Springett and of his affairs. Ann Mercer, housekeeper at "The Rocks," sends Thomas an estimate of repairs, January 4, 1749, dated "Rocks House." The brew-house and grainary, she says, Page 214 need attention. "The house wants tyling, I am obliged to set many things about to catch the water, it should have been done last summer, but I suppose thee forgot it." In a note from Thomas Hyam & Son, London, November 10, 1751, to Thomas Penn, they notify him that they have bought, "according to thy order," a lottery ticket, No. 14,242, "for which we were obliged to give £12 11s. 'Tis an extravagant price, but they have been at £12 14s. this afternoon; the Eagerness of People after them is quite surprizing." On the letter a memorandum in another hand, doubtless that of Thomas Penn, says,-- "This ticket is for the benefit of Springet Penn Philadelphia Hannah Freame William Branson Hockley, & his sister Mary Hockley." Whether it drew a prize is not stated; we fear not. The relations later of Springett Penn and his uncle Thomas were not uniformly cordial. April 25, 1760, Springett writes to Thomas, from Ealing, and after a brief condolence on "your great loss" (Thomas's son William had died only the day before), quickly turns to business, and concludes, "Therefore, sir, must desire that you let me have in three days at the farthest, all my papers without exception, that there may be no more troubles, delays, or mistakes whatsoever." To this Thomas sent an indignant, brief answer, from "Marybone, April 26;" he charges Springett with "ingratitude" and "inhumanity:" "am now," he says, "attending the body of my son, and cannot think of any business of my own till he is interred," nor that of any one. He desires to break off all further communication, and directs Springett to send to Mr. Heaton, his attorney. Later, May 6, Springett writes from "Broad Street Buildings" that his attorney is Mr. Thomas Life, at that address. "I hope," he says, "my Aunt and Cousins are well, and I am yr dutiful Nephew." To this Thomas replied that he had sent the deeds to Mr. Heaton, "this morning, and have desired he will confer with Mr. Life about your affairs." Page 215 Again, May 27, Springett writes from Great Ealing, desiring an interview, and this Thomas writes declining, referring him to his attorney, "as I have met with a Treatment from you I think very improper, and that it is owing to your being under an influence which I think is not for your honour or service."1 Later correspondence indicates an improvement of relations. A letter from Springett at Dublin, June 16, 1764, speaks of an offer from Thomas for his interest in Pennsbury. Finally, this last male bearing the name of Penn, descended from William Penn and Gulielma Maria 1 There is a letter from Benjamin Franklin, in London, May 9, 1761, to Edward Penington, Philadelphia, in which the writer--who would have much regretted to overlook any serious defects of Thomas Penn--explains at length the representations made to him by "Mr. Springett Penn," who he says is "a very sensible, discreet young man, with excellent dispositions." The substance of the letter is that Springett believes his uncle Thomas has tried to keep him ignorant of his property rights, in order, he intimates, to defraud him. Springett particularly wants to know about a manor of seventy-five thousand acres on the Susquehanna, said to have been surveyed for his uncle Springett, 2d, by Sir William Keith, and he wishes to know the value of Pennsbury, the full title to which Uncle Thomas is desirous to acquire. The following passage from the letter may be given in full: "There has by his account been something very mysterious in the conduct of his uncle, Mr. Thomas Penn, towards him. He was his guardian; but instead of endeavoring to educate him at home, under his eye, in a manner becoming the elder branch of their house, has from his infancy been endeavoring to get rid of him. He first proposed sending him to the East Indies. When that was declined he had a scheme of sending him to Russia; but the young gentleman's mother absolutely refusing to let him go out of the kingdom, unless to Pennsylvania, to be educated at the college there, he would by no means hear of his going thither, but bound him an apprentice to a country attorney, in an obscure part of Sussex, which, after two years' stay, finding that he was taught nothing valuable, nor could see any company that might improve him he left, and returned to his mother, with whom he has been ever since, much neglected by his uncle," etc. These statements bear all the marks of being inspired by Ann Penn. It is very likely that Thomas had suggested plans to get the boy away from her, which she thwarted. That Thomas wished to defraud his ward, I do not suppose. (The letter is in Bigelow's "Franklin," Vol. I. p. 422.--It seems more appropriate for the date to be 1760.) Page 216 Springett, died unmarried, at Dublin, in November, 1766. His mother wrote from that city on the 11th of that month to Thomas Penn,-- "SIR: "I have taken the earliest opportunity my present Indisposition would admitt of acquainting you with the Irreparable loss I have sustained by the Death of my Son. He had for a considerable time a most violent cough, attended with symptoms of a Decay, which ultimately terminated in Consumption that nothing the Physicians of this Kingdom could Prescribe would stop. His Will has been opened, whereby he has left me all his Reall and Personall Fortune in Ireland and America. Nothing could Induce me to write in my Present afflicted Situation but the Respect I shall allways Endeavor to shew to his Relations that is in the power of "Sir, Yr Humble Servt "ANN PENN." Same to same, Dublin, November 29, 1766,-- [She is obliged by his letter of the 20th] "particularly by your proffers of information and services respecting affairs in Pennsylvania. I must take ye liberty of setting you right in regard to Pennsbury, for all remainders to that Estate were barred by my son, by a recovery suffered by him under the directions and conduct of Mr. Life and Mr. Penington; ye former can give you full satisfaction in those particulars. I lodge at Mrs. Keson's, in York street, where," etc. Same to same, February 18, 1767, acknowledging one from Thomas Penn of January 31,-- "I always considered Mr. Life as Mr. Penn's adviser in business. [He is the proper person to advise T. P. of the steps taken to cut off the entail of the American estates. Mr. Penington had written (from Pennsylvania) that] every matter was completed. [She will sell her estate in America] for the purpose of discharging a large debt contracted by my son, as well as the heavy one due Mr. Gaskell, with which the Irish estate is encumbered." [She wishes to be on a good footing with her son's family, but complains much of "Mr. Gaskell," and goes at length into details.] Same to same, Dublin, March 14, 1767,-- "Since my last to you I have been married to Mr. Alexander Durdin, an attorney of this City." [She now does not wish to sell the Pennsylvania property. She had given Mr. Penington power of attorney to sell it. Page 217 Mr. Durdin has gone on circuit, and will be back by the middle of April. He is not himself inclined to go to Pennsylvania; he is busy, and his business profitable.] And this closes Mrs. Vaux-Penn-Durdin's letters. Inside a month she had quitted the scene. Edward Scriven (probably a lawyer) writes from Dublin, April 16, 1767, to Thomas Penn, saying her marriage was unknown in advance to him or others conversant with her son's affairs, and that it was formed with a person she scarcely knew. It occurred "the latter end of February." Then she continued "in a bad state of health," and "as her Physician informed me, Dyed the 13 Instant." Alexander Durdin was, it is stated, of a family "originally from the county of Norfolk." Ann Vaux Penn was his third wife. In the brief time between her marriage to him and her death, something less than two months, she had made her will in his favor, thus carrying to him that part of the Penn property in Ireland and America which her first husband, William Penn, 3d, had left to their son, Springett, 3d, and which the latter, at his death, had left to her. Her will was dated March 11, 1767, and Alexander Durdin was by it "devisee and residuary legatee." The will also created a trusteeship, the precise nature of which I have not investigated, James Duncan (who died before March 16, 1784) and Joseph Hoare, "of Dublin, Esquire," being trustees. Mr. Durdin promptly entered into correspondence with Thomas Penn. He writes him from Dublin, August 13, 1767. He has received a letter "from Mr. Ben: Pike in Corke," about the cutting off the entail. Mr. Penington has since sent him a "copy of the Recovery suffered by Mr. Springett Penn." He has consulted counsel, and is informed as to his rights. He will sell the Pennsylvania interest to Thomas Penn sooner than any one else; he will act fairly. His letter reads as though candid and reasonable, though it may have been neither.1 1 In 1784 Mr. Durdin gave letters of attorney (in which Hoare, the surviving trustee, joined) to Richard Durdin, "of the city of Dublin, gentleman, eldest son of Alexander Durdin," empowering him to take charge of the property in Pennsylvania and Delaware which had come to Alexander from his wife. One of these letters was dated March 16, 1784, and acknowledged before the Lord Mayor of Dublin, and a subsequent one, September 17, 1784, was acknowledged before the Lord Mayor of Cork. Richard Durdin, no doubt, then came to this country. He was, it is stated, a son of Alexander by his second wife, and married a Miss Esmonde, daughter and co-heiress of Sir John Esmonde, of Huntington Castle, near Ferris, Ireland. Members of the Durdin family, Miss Fanny Durdin and her brother, died in Philadelphia 1812 and 1809. (Cf. PENNA. MAG., Vol. V. p. 364.) Page 218 We need not, however, dwell on this branch of the subject. The second marriage episode of William Penn, 3d, closes here, with the single exception--not an unimportant one to the lawyers--that a lawsuit followed between Alexander Durdin and Christiana Gulielma (Penn) Gaskell, the half-sister of Springett Penn, which lasted out the eighteenth century. "Christiana Gulielma's fortune was never paid," Maria Webb says,1 "and Durdin resisted the claims made upon him to obtain it. The result was a long suit in chancery, which did not terminate till the year 1800, when the Shangarry estate was divided between the heirs-at-law of Peter Gaskell and Alexander Durdin." Springett's will, it appears, was executed December 21, 1762, but the "recovery" suffered by him to bar the entail was not completed until April, 1764. An opinion by Henry Wilmot, counsel for Thomas Penn, remaining in the Penn papers, says, therefore, that as to the Pennsbury Manor Springett died intestate. In England, intestate property could not go to heirs of the half-blood,--i.e., the Gaskells; it would go to the Crown first; but Wilmot says he does not know the Pennsylvania law as to this. We return, now, to pursue the line from Christiana Gulielma Penn, the daughter of William Penn, 3d, by his first wife, Christian Forbes. She was born, as already stated, October 22, 1733. She married Peter Gaskell, of Bath, England. From the similarity of their arms it is inferred that his family was related to the Gaskells of Lancashire, a 1 "Penns and Peningtons," p. 437, American edition. Page 219 representative of which was the family of that name at Beaumont Hall in that county, and Kiddington Hall, Oxford.1 The home of some of his immediate ancestors, it has been stated, was Macclesfield, Cheshire.2 His marriage to Christiana Gulielma Penn took place in 1761. Thomas Penn, in England, writing to William Peters, at Philadelphia, October 9 of that year, says, "Miss Penn's and Miss Freame's accounts I shall expect soon; the former is married to one Mr. Gaskell; I suppose he and his wife must send over a joint power-of-attorney." And later, December 12, same year, he writes, "Miss Christiana Penn is married to Mr. Gaskel; they send a power-of-attorney by a ship that is expected to go soon for Philadelphia to you and Mr. Hockley, to finish the sale of her land." Peters and Hockley had been Miss Penn's agents before her marriage; she had given them her letter of attorney, March 5, 1755, some months after she came of age. She describes herself in the letter as "of London, spinster." From her great-aunt, Letitia Aubrey, she had inherited valuable lots and lands in the city of Philadelphia, the old Manor of Mount Joy (Upper Merion Township), and Fagg's Manor.3 These several properties continued to be 1 Cf. Burke, "County Families," edition of 1868. 2 Statement of Peter Penn-Gaskell Hall to the author.--A member of the family, writing late in the last century, describes a visit to the grave of Peter Gaskell's grandfather, at or near Macclesfield.--Martin, "History of Chester (Pennsylvania)," in connection with remarks on the Penn-Gaskells, refers to "the Gaskells of Rolfe's Hold, Bucks." 3 Fagg's Manor was created by William Penn in 1682, being a grant of fifty thousand acres to Sir John Fagg, as trustee for his (W. P.'s) wife and children. It was not laid out until 1700, when Penn was in Pennsylvania the second time, and perhaps not more than thirty thousand acres were located. It included in part several townships of southern Chester County, and extended over the line into Newcastle County, Delaware. Letitia Aubrey's share appears to have been at least seven thousand one hundred and seventy-five acres (Futhey and Cope's "History of Chester County, Pennsylvania"). Peters and Hockley sold in 1758 for C. G. Penn several tracts in this manor, one of which, it is stated,--one hundred and eighty-two and a half acres, sold to Thomas Charlton,--remains (1897) partly or entirely in the ownership of his grandson of the same name. Sir John Fagg was a cousin of William Penn the Founder's first wife; the mother of Mary Proude (Springett-Penington) was Ann Fagg. (Cf. brief table, ante.) Page 220 objects of concern and attention by her several agents from the time stated, 1755, down to her death in 1803. Space cannot be afforded here to go into the subject, but a complete examination of the record offices for Philadelphia and Chester Counties would develop a vast mass of business and legal details of some interest, as showing the connection of the Penn family, in its elder branch, with the soil of Pennsylvania. Besides William Peters and Richard Hockley, other agents were Miers Fisher, Thomas Clifford, and John Abraham de Normandie, who were constituted in 1785, on the death of Peter Gaskell; Edward Edwards, constituted 1794; Israel Morris, of Harford County, Maryland; and Christiana Gulielma's son, Peter Gaskell (afterwards Peter Penn-Gaskell), who came to this country about 1785, probably upon his father's decease. In 1774 proceedings were begun to effect a "common recovery" of entailed family property in Philadelphia, in which the Gaskells represented a three-fourths interest (derived two-fourths from Christiana Gulielma's uncle Springett and one-fourth from her father), while the other one-fourth was the share of the Fell-Thomas branch, represented at that time by "Charles Hurst and others," with whom a partition was effected in 1775. A suit for damages brought by Hurst and John Barron against Christiana Gulielma Gaskell resulted in a judgment for the plaintiffs, in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, at the June Term, 1786, for four thousand five hundred and thirty-six pounds, with costs, and a number of the defendant's city properties were levied on by the sheriff, and some sold, before a settlement was effected, January 1, 1790. In 1785 Peter Gaskell died. The children of himself and wife are stated as five in number, as follows:1 1 Browning, "Americans of Royal Descent;" Thomas Gilpin's "Chart of Penn Family;" MS. sketch, by C. R. Hildeburn, in collections of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Cf. also Burke's "Landed Gentry," edition of 1879. Page 221 1. Thomas Penn-Gaskell, who inherited the Irish and other property. He is described as of Shangarry (or Shannagarry), and died at Dublin, Ireland, in 1823, without living issue. A contemporary obituary notice says,-- "Died at his house, in Fitzwilliam-Square, Dublin, on the 19th of October, 1823, aged 61, Thomas Penn Gaskell, of Shanagarry, in the county of Cork, Esq. This gentleman was the heir-general of the celebrated legislator William Penn. . . . His estate in the county of Cork Mr. Gaskell inherited by lineal succession from his illustrious ancestor, Vice-Admiral Sir William Penn. . . . After being engaged forty years in a suit in the Irish Chancery, and expending upward of £20,000, he obtained a decree to possess his estate.1 He married in the year 1794, a daughter of the Dowager Countess of Glandore, who lived but a few years; they had only one son, who died an infant. After so much affliction he retired from the world and lived a very secluded life." His Irish property descended to his brother next named. 2. Peter Penn-Gaskell. See below. 3. Alexander Forbes Gaskell (or Penn-Gaskell), d. s. p. 4. William Gaskell (or Penn-Gaskell), of London, who had two children: (1) William Penn-Gaskell, born February 20, 1808; (2) Elizabeth, d. s. p. Of these, William married and had ten children, the youngest of whom is George Penn-Gaskell, of (1898) No. 12, Nicoll Road, Willesden, S. W., London. 5. Jane Gaskell (or Penn-Gaskell), d. s. p.2 Christiana Gulielma Gaskell survived her husband eighteen years. Her mother's memorial in "Piety Promoted," already cited, says she "died a widow at Bath, in 1803." The place named is an error. She continued her residence at Bath for several years after her husband's death, and is so described in legal papers; but in 1795, and perhaps earlier, she is described as "of Thornhaugh street, in the parish of St. Giles in the Fields, in the county of Middlesex, England," 1 This allusion refers, perhaps, to the litigation between the Gaskells and Alexander Durdin rather than to a lawsuit by Thomas Penn-Gaskell. 2 The names of Nos. 3, 4, and 5 are placed according to the order of a MS. pedigree by C. R. Hildeburn; the statement that Nos. 3 and 5 d. s. p. is given on the authority of Browning, "Americans of Royal Descent." Page 222 and she there died. The Gentleman's Magazine contains the following notice: [March, 1803] "24. At her house in Thornhaugh-street, Bedfordsquare [London] aged 69, Mrs. Gaskell, relict of Peter G., esq., of the city of Bath, and only daughter of Wm. Penn, esq., late of Shannagarry, co. Cork, Ireland, the grandson and heir of William Penn. . . ." Peter Penn-Gaskell, son of Peter Gaskell and Christiana Gulielma Penn, came, as stated, to this country about 1785. He married, 1793, Elizabeth, daughter of Nathan Edwards, of Radnor, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. He died July 16, 1831, as stated by the inscription on his tombstone in the Baptist Church of Lower Merion, Pennsylvania, which adds that his age was sixty-eight years, thus fixing his birth as in 1763. He purchased, 1796, three years after his marriage, of John Bewley, a tract of land and residence in Radnor (near the present railway station, Villa Nova), which he called "Ashwood," and which remained in the family possession until 1888. In 1823, upon the decease of his brother Thomas Penn-Gaskell, he came into succession as owner of the Irish property, and he was thereafter known as "of Shangarry." He assumed, "by royal license," May 31, 1824, "in compliance with the testamentary injunction of his brother," the additional surname of Penn,1 and the family name has since so continued. Elizabeth (Edwards) Penn-Gaskell, widow of Peter, died July 19, 1834, "aged 62 years." In her will, dated June 21, and proved September 12, 1834, she leaves three thousand dollars for tombstones to be placed over the remains of her husband, herself, and their children, in the Baptist burial-ground at Lower Merion.2 The children of Peter Penn-Gaskell and Elizabeth Edwards were eight in number, as follows: 1. William, born 1794; died unmarried October 12, 1817. Buried at Lower Merion Baptist Church. 1 Burke's "Landed Gentry," edition of 1879. 2 They were so placed, and the inscriptions upon them have been used for this essay. Page 223 2. Thomas, whom Burke ("Landed Gentry," edition of 1879) describes "of Ballymaloe, county Cork, Ireland, and Penn Hall, Montgomery county, Pa., born 1796." He was married, December 22, 1825, by Right Rev. Bishop White, to Mary, daughter of George McClenachan. He died at his home, "Penn Cottage," in Lower Merion, near Philadelphia, "at 5 o'clock," on the morning of Sunday, October 18, 1846, "in the 52nd year of his age." He was buried "in his vault," at St. John's R. C. Church, Thirteenth Street, above Chestnut, Philadelphia, on the 20th.1 His wife Mary died December 21, 1867, "at Penn Cottage, Lower Merion," and was buried on the 24th, in the vault at St. John's, with her husband. They appear to have had no children. 3. Eliza, died unmarried, at "Ashwood," November 23, 1865, "aged 67 years," and was buried at Lower Merion. She had been resident at "Ashwood" all her life, and by her will (1861, codicil 1862) she made elaborate provision designed to preserve the ownership in the family; after partition, however, the last part of it, about fifty acres, was sold, 1888, to Dr. J. M. Da Costa, of Philadelphia. 4. Alexander Forbes, died unmarried, at "Ashwood," September 8, 1829, "aged 27 years," and was buried at Lower Merion. 5. Peter, married Louisa Heath, and had issue. See below. 6. Christiana Gulielma, married William Swabric Hall, and had issue. See below. 7. Jane, died unmarried, July 7, 1852, "aged 24 years," and was buried at Lower Merion. 8. Isaac, died unmarried, without issue, October 24, 1842, "aged 32 years," and was buried at Lower Merion. His will, dated October 23, 1842, was probated May 16, 1843, his brother, Thomas Penn-Gaskell, to whom letters of administration had previously been granted, withdrawing them and consenting to the probate, "though," the record 1 Funeral notice in Pennsylvania Inquirer; "History of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick," etc., Philadelphia, 1892. The latter mentions that Thomas Penn-Gaskell became a member of the Hibernian Society, 1835. Page 224 says, "his belief of the mental incapacity of the [deceased] to make a will remains unaltered." Browning ("Americans of Royal Descent") designates Isaac Penn-Gaskell as "Dr.," and adds "of Paris." Peter Penn-Gaskell, "of Shangarry," second of that name, son of Peter and Elizabeth, was born April 3, 1803, and married, February 15, 1825, Louisa Adelaide, daughter of Charles P. Heath. She was descended through her mother, Esther Keeley, from Captain Anthony Wayne, the grandfather of General Anthony Wayne, her great-grandmother being Esther Wayne, a first cousin of the general. Peter Penn-Gaskell, 2d, died April 6, 1866. He describes himself in his will as "of No. 1613 Chestnut street, in the City of Philadelphia," and "of Shangarry, in the county of Cork, in Ireland." His will is very long. He leaves Shangarry to his son William, and then to Peter, who received it by William's decease. Louisa, wife of Peter Penn-Gaskell, 2d, survived him. Her will, dated June 29, 1869, was made in London, and describes her as "of Philadelphia, in the United States of America, but now residing at Eastbourne Terrace, Hyde Park, London, widow." It had three codicils added, the latest March 27, 1877, and was proved in Philadelphia July 30, 1878. The last codicil mentions her son Peter as "now living in London." The children of Peter Penn-Gaskell, 2d, and Louisa Heath were ten in number, as follows: 1. Elizabeth, born 1828; died 1869; married Samuel Ruff Skillern, M.D., of Huntsville, Alabama. By this marriage there were two children. The younger was Louella, who died aged three years; the other was Penn-Gaskell Skillern, M.D., of Philadelphia, born April 28, 1856; married October 17, 1878, Anna Dorsey, and has issue: (1) Violet Skillern, born November 13, 1879; (2) Peter Penn-Gaskell Skillern, Jr., born March 26, 1882. 2. Louisa, married, May 15, 1845, at St. Stephen's P. E. Church, Philadelphia, by Rev. H. W. Ducachet, D.D., William Gerald Fitzgerald, of New York. (Burke's "Landed Gentry," describes him as "of Waterford.") She died 1853, without issue. Page 225 3. Mary Gulielma, died young. 4. Gulielma, died unmarried, 1852. ("A beautiful girl, who died young."--Martin, "History of Chester, Pennsylvania.") 5. Hetty, died unmarried. 6. Mary, married, 1855, Dr. Isaac T. Coates, of Chester, Pennsylvania, and died August 22, 1877. Dr. Coates died June 23, 1883. They had one son, Harold Penn-Gaskell Coates, who married Miss Jarvis, of Philadelphia. 7. William, died unmarried, December 6, 1865, "aged 29 years." He was the oldest son, and would have inherited the family property in Great Britain. He served with credit in the national army in the war for the Union. The record1 shows him to have been mustered into the United States service, August 9, 1862, at Camp Struthers, Philadelphia, as second lientenant of the Independent Company of Acting Engineers (authority for recruiting which was given by the Secretary of War June 2, 1862). He was promoted to first lieutenant December 16, 1862; to captain March 30, 1863; and discharged on surgeon's certificate July 5, 1864. His death was caused by consumption, "after a lingering and distressingly painful illness." An extended obituary, signed I. T. C. (Dr. Isaac T. Coates, his brother-in-law, no doubt), published in a New Orleans newspaper, January 13, 1866, mentions the cause of his death, as stated above, and says he "breathed his last in the bosom of his family, and surrounded by every member of it . . . father . . . mother . . . sisters, and . . . brother." The notice speaks highly of his scholarship; "his acquirements for one so young were very great." Science, metaphysics, history, romance, are mentioned as familiar to him. In standard poetry he had read everything "from the Edda of the icy North to the sweet lyrics of sunny Italy." His modest and retiring character is especially dwelt on, "yet when his sweet voice was heard, dignity of speech, good sense, and social eloquence always accompanied it." 1 Bates's "History of Pennsylvania Volunteers," Vol. V. p. 919. Page 226 8. Jane, who married Washington Irving, U.S.N. (a nephew, it is stated, of the eminent author), and died 1863, without issue. 9. Emily, married, 1864, John Paul Quinn, M.D., surgeon U.S.N., and had one son, Granville Penn-Gaskell Quinn, who died 1893, aged twenty-two. 10. Peter, born October 24, 1843, who succeeded to the family property on the death of his father, 1866, and has since resided abroad, mostly in London. He served with distinction on the national side in the American civil war. He was commissioned second lieutenant in the First Regiment New Jersey Cavalry April 7, 1862, and first lieutenant November 7, 1862; was promoted to captain October 23, 1863, and resigned February 3, 1864, to become major of the Second Louisiana Cavalry, in which position he served until September 7, 1864. He married, July 6, 1869, Mary Kathleen, eldest daughter of Charles Edward Stubbs, Esq., of Sussex Square, Hyde Park, London, formerly of Lima, Peru. Some time after his marriage Mr. Penn-Gaskell visited this country. The portrait of William Penn (following the painting in armor), engraved by W. G. Armstrong, and placed as the frontispiece to the first volume of the PENNSYLVANIA MAGAZINE, was inscribed to him, 1877, by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Accompanying this engraving are the arms of Penn-Gaskell of Shangarry. As described by Burke they are: "Quarterly: 1st and 4th, or, three bars engrailed vert, in chief a rose gu. barbed and seeded ppr., between two trefoils slipped of the second, for GASKELL; 2d and 3d the arms of PENN, viz., arg., on a fess sa. three plates a canton, gu., thereon a crown, ppr., representing the royal crown of King Charles II. Crests for Gaskell: A sinister arm embowed with an anchor erect with cable sa. Motto over, 'Spes.' Of Penn: a demi-lion arg., gorged with a collar sa., charged with three plates. Motto over, 'Pennsylvania.' " The children of Peter and Mary Kathleen Penn-Gaskell are three in number: William, Winifred, Percy. Page 227 Christiana Gulielma Penn-Gaskell, daughter of Peter Penn-Gaskell and Elizabeth Edwards, married, January 2, 1827, William Swabric Hall, and died March 29, 1830, "aged 24 years;" she was buried in the Baptist church-yard at Lower Merion. William Swabric Hall, born in England, near Liverpool, 1799, came to Philadelphia about 1825. He died September 26, 1862, "aged 63 years," and was buried at Lower Merion. They had two children: William Penn-Gaskell Hall, who died unmarried, May 2, 1862, aged thirty-five years, and was buried at Lower Merion, and Peter Penn-Gaskell Hall, of Philadelphia, of whom below. Peter Penn-Gaskell Hall, second son of William S. Hall and Christiana Gulielma Penn-Gaskell, is a graduate of Princeton College (now University), New Jersey, and studied law and was admitted to the bar of Philadelphia. At the outbreak of the war against the Union, 1861, he entered the national service. He was commissioned second lieutenant of the Twenty-sixth Pennsylvania Infantry May 31, 1861, and first lieutenant August 25, 1861; was honorably mustered out February 16, 1863; and was appointed additional paymaster, with the rank of major, November 6, 1863. On November 15, 1865, he was honorably mustered out. January 17, 1867, he was commissioned paymaster of the regular army of the United States, with the rank of major, and continued in that position until July 2, 1891, when he was honorably retired, having served over twenty years. He is President of the Colonial Society of Pennsylvania. He married, December 24, 1861, Annie M. Mixsell, daughter of Philip Mixsell, of Easton, Pennsylvania; she died at Vicksburg, Mississippi, February 14, 1869, and was buried at the Baptist Church, Lower Merion. Secondly, he married, at San Antonio, Texas, November, 1871, Amelia Mixsell. Issue by both marriages, eight children, as below: 1. Christiana Gulielma, born at "Ashwood" April 19, 1863. 2. Eliza, born at Baltimore, Maryland, February 1, 1865; married, July 1, 1892, Henry J. Hancock, member of the Philadelphia bar, son of George W. and Elizabeth (James) Hancock. They have issue, a daughter, Jean Barclay Penn-Gaskell, born March 24, 1893. Page 228 3. Edward Swabric, born at "Ashwood" January, 1867; died at Vicksburg, Mississippi, January, 1869. 4. Amelia, born at Vicksburg, Mississippi, January, 1869; died at Holly Springs, Mississippi, May, 1869. 5. William, born at San Antonio, Texas, January 16, 1873. 6. Peter, born at New York City March 14, 1875. 7. Amelia, born at New York City February 9, 1877. 8. Philip, born at "Ashwood" September 10, 1878. TABLE: LINE OF WILLIAM PENN, THIRD. WILLIAM PENN, John Forbes, Robert Barclay, Founder of Pa. of Aquorthies. of Ury, William Penn, Jr. Alexander Forbes = Jean Barclay. William Penn, 3d, = Christian Forbes. Christiana Gulielma = Peter Gaskell. Thomas Penn-G., Peter Penn-G., Alex. Forbes, d.s.p. William, Jane, d.s.p. of Shangarry, of London, m. m. Eliz. Edwards. m. d.s.p. Issue Issue. [Issue of Peter Penn-G. and Eliz. Edwards.] William, Thomas, Eliza, Alex. Forbes, Peter, Christ. Gul., Jane, d.s.p. Isaac, d.s.p. d.s.p. m., d.s.p. d.s.p. d.s.p. m. m. Louisa Heath. William S. Hall. [Issue of Peter Penn Gaskill and Louisa Heath] [Issue of Christ. Gul. and William S. Hall] Elizabeth, m. Dr. Skillern. Issue. Louisa, m. W. Gerald Fitzgerald, s. p. William Penn-G., Peter Penn-G., Mary Gulielma, d. s. p. d.s.p. m. Gulielma, d. s. p. 1. Annie M. Mixsell. Hetty, d. s. p. 2. Amelia Mixsell. Mary, m. Dr. I. T. Coates. Issue. William, d. s. p. Jane, m. Washington Irving, s. p. Christiana Gulielma. Emily, m. J. P. Quinn. Issue d. Eliza, m. H. J. Hancock. Issue. Peter, m. Mary Kathleen Stubbs. Issue. Edward S., d. Amelia, d. William. Peter. Amelia. Philip.