Further Penn Gleanings

Further Penn Gleanings Collected by FRANCIS JAMES DALLETT, F.G.S.P., F.A.S.G. S UPPLEMENTING the "Gleanings" of the late J. Henry Lea of Massachusetts, published many years ago in The Pennsyvania Magazine of History and Biography and in the New England Historic and Genealogical Register, and the recent researches of Brigadier Oliver F. G. Hogg, presented in his Further Light on the Ancestry of William Penn, the following miscellaneous records relating to English Penns and to the family of William Penn, Founder of Pennsylvania, provide additional light on hitherto obscure aspects and on various members of the Penn family. 1539 — Thomas Penne, described as sub-prior of Bradenstoke Priory at its dissolution in 1539, signed the original document of surrender as Thomas Pen, "superior." The Thomas Penne who was accused of heresy in 1551 was, in fact, vicar of Mickleton, Gloucestershire, suspended for simony and later restored.' It is highly possible that the Thomas Penns were one, the same man who became a parish priest after secularization, and married. It is possible that he was a relation, even a brother, of William Penn (d. 1592) of Minety, and thus arose, quite honestly, a tradition of a secularized monk in the ancestry of the Minety Penns, later to be confused with a similar legend connected with the Penns of Penn. This is, of course, speculation. 1590—In the will of William Penn of Minety, dated 1 May 1590, he named as one of his overseers, Francis Bradshaw, gentleman of Wokely (Wokesy, an old variant of Oaksey, Wilts.) . Seven years later on 27 August 1597 (40 Elizabeth I) , Francis Bradshaw and John Warneford, gentleman, were enfeoffed by John Stumpe in the latter's premises in Malmesbury, Wilts., the former Abbey House.' Stumpe, originally a is,, O. P. G. Hogg, Further Light or, the Ancestry of William Penn (London, 1964), published by The Society of Genealogists, 6, 9, 11, 23, for a discussion of the sub-prior Thomas Penne, and of the man accused of heresy. In this study, Brigadier Hogg, a distinguished military historian and genealogist, deals with legend versus fact in the ancestry of 'William Penn, the Quaker and Founder. He explodes finally the myth that Penn's family were connected with the Penns of Penn, sums up existing evIdence, and presents new facts relative to the true Wiltshire origins of the Pennsylvania Penns. See also Bristol and Gloucestershire Archeological Society Proteeedings (BGASP). LX, 122, 126, 128, for details regarding the suspension of the vicar of Mickleton, and the religious difficult),, of a Joan Pen of Stoneham, Glos., of the same period. Wiltshire Note, and Queries, V111, 453. For a transcript of the will of Willis,, Penne of Minety see The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography (PMHB), XIV (1590 ). 17 - 61. 120 Further Penn Gleanings 121 clothier of North Nibley, Glos., had obtained the site of Malmesbury Abbey at its suppression and built Abbey House. Stumpe's brother, Sir James Stumpe, Kt. (d. 1563),' was leasor of the manor of Rodbourne, Wilts., where many Penns lived. Thus Francis Bradshaw, Penn's over-. seer, came into possession of Malmesbury Abbey with a John Wamef ord. In 1546, an earlier John Warneford was recognized as holding the manors and 200 messuages and cottages at Bromham, Bremhill, Stanley, Rowden, Whitley, Shaw, Whaddon and elsewhere in Wiltshire, of Thomas Seymour, Kt., and Andrew Baynton, Esq., who in that year quit claimed these manors to Warneford and to Anthony Pen.' This suggests the possibility of a Penn-Warneford-Bradshaw kinship which may be the origin of a supposed Penn of Minety connection with Malmesbury Abbey.' 1611 — Penns of Rodbourne, not listed by Mr. Lea or Brigadier Hogg, include Jane Penn of Hillmarton, d. ca. 1611, and a Thomas Penn of Alderton, d. ca. 1615. The inventory and bond on the estate of Jane Penn, and the will of Thomas Penn are in the Archdeaconry Court of Wilts. The probate documents, however, shed no light on any connection with the Penns of Minety. 1620 — The published marriages of Brinkworth show the marriage of John Sherer to Agnes Lewen on 24 June 1620, and of John Sherer, probably the same man and a widower, to Margery Pen on 17 October 1622. 1630 — Rachel Penn, baptized 24 February 1607, daughter of Giles and Joan (Gilbert) Penn, married by license 26 October 1630, at the Church of St. Gregory by St. Paul, London, Randall (otherwise Ralph) Bradshaw.' The 1664 - 5 Visitation of Lancashire gives the pedigree of "Bradshaw of Pendleton" and shows that Laurence Bradshaw of Hope, in the parish of Eccles, Lancashire, married Sarah Hinchman of Andover, Southampton, and had four sons and three daughters. The eldest son, the gentleman who entered his pedigree at the Visitation, was "Raphe Bradshaw, of Pendelton, co. Lancaster, aet 53 an. 16 March 1664, marBGASP, XXXVIII, 174. Si, James Stumpe. will . in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, Roister Chayre, folio 23, at Somerset HOUSC, London. 4 Calendar of Feet of Fines for Wiltshire. CP. 21(s) 324, at the Public Record Office, London. Unfortunately, the document gives no details about Anthony Pen. 5 Hogg, Further Light, 10 et seq. His name is printed in error as Sher, in Hogg, 26. Aho in error on the same page -is the Penn-Cusse marriage datr It is 1633, not 1663. 0 Transcript of the register at The Society of Genealogists, London, M. Moos. Arms: Argent, two bendlets between as many manias, sable, a cinquefoil in the fess point, soles; crest: In front of an oak eree, a stag statant, proper. See F. R.. Haines, al., The Visitation of lie County Palatine of Lancaster, made in the year 1664-5, by Si, SViScnno Dugdale, Knight, Chetham Society Publications, 84 (Manchester, 1872). Part 1, 53. The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine 122 tied Rachel!, dau. of Giles Pen, a merchant in Bristol." The will of Raphe Bradshaw of Pendleton, gent., is missing in the Lancashire probate reccords of the Consistory Court of the Bishop of Chester, but probate of the will was granted 31 January 1667/8, to Nathan Leech and Ralph Bradshaw. The children of Raphe Bradshaw and Rachel Penn, as listed in the Visitation pedigree, but not in the order of birth, were: Robert Bradshaw, a merchant, ob. s.p. ii. William Bradshaw, died an infant. iii. James Bradshaw, now a merchant, at sea, act 18 an. 16 March 1664. iv. John Bradshaw, art 13. v. Rebecca Bradshaw, wife of William Crispin merchant of London. vi. Sarah Bradshaw, died young. Mary Bradshaw, died young. viii. Anne Bradshaw. ix. Frances Bradshaw. The eldest daughter, Rebecca Bradshaw (d. Ca. 1664-5), married at St. Dunstan's, Stepney, Middlesex, as his first wife, William Crispin, baptized 3 October 1627, at Holy Trinity, Hull, Yorkshire; died "transmarinus" 1681/2, letters of administration on his estate being granted 7 July 1682, in Ireland to John Suxberry and John Watts.' The youngest daughter, Frances Bradshaw, married after 1664, William Assheton (Asheton, Ashton), an attorney-at.law, a coroner of Lancashire and a Deputy Herald at Arms. As progenitors of the Philadelphia Asshetons, they had issue: Robert Assheton (1670-1727), who came to Pennsylvania; Frances Assheton, baptized at Salford 15 March 1675; Mary Assheton, baptized at Salford 6 May 1680; and Rachel Assheton.' James and John Bradshaw, sons of Ralph and Rachel (Penn) Bradshaw, were named in the will of their uncle, Admiral Penn. James Bradshaw, born about 1646, the "merchant at sea" listed in the Visitation pedigree, followed his first cousin William Penn to Pennsylvania and from him obtained the post of Surveyor of New Castle County. He died about 1691, for on 28 lm (March) 1691, the Commissioners of Property in Philadelphia ordered the profits of the place of Surveyor continued to 9 Captain Crispin was appointed a commissioner for settling the colony of Pennsylvania, and was to have been chief justice, There is no evidence to support the long-held contention he was also to have been surveyor general. According to the Eccles Parish registers, Ralph Bradshaw -of ye Pole," father of Rebecca, wm bur. 30 Oct. 1667, his daughter Sarah, 28 July 1631. Si, M. Jackson Crispin, "Captain William Crispin," PMHB, LIII (1929), 97, 1041 126, 130, 32ln, for vital records, and M. Jackson Crispin, "The Crispin, of Kingston on-Hull," Publications o fib, Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, X (1928), 105 (4 Va. The marriage record is in Thomas Colyer-Fergusson, ed., The Marriage Register, of St. Dnnstan's, Stepney, in the Conuty of Middlesex, II (Canterbury, 1899), 83. The relationship of Rebecca (Bradshaw) Crispin to William Penn has long been known despite such erroneous statements as in Mabel Richmond Brallsford, The Making of William Penn (London. 1930), 13, which makes Captain Crispin husbmd of a hypothetical maternal aunt of Penn, Anne Jasper. M, Charles P. Keith, The Provincial Councillors of Pennsylvania . . . (Philadelphia, 1883), 282; PMHB, L111, 291n. Further Penn Gleanings 123 his widow, Mary Bradshaw." He was one of the very few first settlers of Penn's colony whose name was actually entered in a Visitation pedigree. 1643/4 — The marriage of Captain (later Admiral) William Penn and Margaret Van der Schuren, widow, took place at the church of St. Martin Ludgate, London, on 6 January 1643/4, and was "by Mr. Dyke, Lecturer then: witness Mr. Roche churchwarden then." " She was the daughter of John Jasper of Rotterdam and Ballycase, County Clare, Ireland (where he was naturalized) , and the widow of Nicasius Van der Schuren of Kilconry, parish of Kilrush, County Clare. 1666— On 12 February 1666/7, the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury issued a marriage license to Anthony Lowther, aged 24, and Margaret Pen, aged 15, daughter of Sir William Pen. The marriage took place 14 February 1666/7, at Clapham, Surrey. At that time Admiral Penn had a country house at Clapham. He subsequently moved to Clay Street, Walthamstow, Essex, and the Lowthers to a house called Sweetacre or Swetsacre, on Church hill in the same parish.' 1670— In the British Museum is the manuscript work book of the Herald-painter who painted the monument to Admiral Sir William Penn in St. Mary Redcliffe Church, Bristol. The artist, who seems to have been in the best employment for funerals of the nobility and gentry in the reign of Charles II, records: Worke don for the funall of Right / honll: Sr: Will: Penn Interd at / Bristow: / ars of Buckinghamshire. / For a great Atchievement / For 2 pennons / For 10: Buck Esctons [buckram escutcheons] / For a Standard of England." Accompanying sketches gave the full armorial achievment and a second plain coat, each bearing the arms of Penn of Bucks. 1692 — Inscription on a monument on the south wall, above the gallery, of the parish church of Walthamstow, Essex, as given in St. 00 Pennsylvania Archives, 3rd Series, XIX, 66. 32 The registers of St. Martin Ludgate are at Guildhall Library, London, Ms. 10,212 and 10,213. While the register shows the marriage as taking place 6 June 1643, the entry is not in original sequence and was rmonstitured by the certificate of Richard Roche on 2 July 1652, as reference to the original shows. Roche evIdently woos, June in error for January, confirmed by the entry for 6 January 1661/2, in Pepys' Diary. Tkd corrects the error in M. Atherton Leach, "Gulielma Maria Springetc, First Wife of William Penn," PMHB, LVII (1933), 99, and the error in 02 F. G. Hogg, "Pedigree of Penn of Co. Wilts and of Bristol," The Wiltshire Archeological and Natural History Magazine, LX, 130, which fixes the place of marriage at St Mary Redcliffe, 13 Index to registers of Clapham, Society of Gonealog;sts, London, correcting the pedigree by Hogg, cited above, which states the Lowthers were married in London. See also George F. Bosworth, Some GhaPters ho Oh, History of Walthanisioui, Walthamstow Antiquarian Society, Publication No. 22 (1929), 19, and Howard M. Jenkins, The Family of William Penn (Philadelphia, 1899), 255, first published in PMHB, XXII (1898), 32737 Add. Mss. 26,685, 6.1 lb. British Museum. The inscription on the monvment is in Jenkins, 18-19, and in Hogg, 33-34- which also contains A definitive statement on the usurpation of the eons displayed on oh,roonumga. 124 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine Mary the Virgin, IV althamstow. Inscriptions in the Church and Churchyard, Walthamstow Antiquarian Society, Publication No. 23, (1930), 19: Near this place lyeth the body of AN / THONY LOWER [Lowther] / of Maske in Clieve / land in the County of York, Esq .', descen / ded from the antient family of the Low / thers of Lowther Hall in the County / of Westmoreland, Baro" He died 27 / day of January 1692. Aged 52 years. / He married Margaret daughter of S' / William Penn, Knight, by whom he had / issue six sons and three daughters, yid' / Margaret, William, Elizabeth, Robert, / William, Anne Charlotte, Anthony, / John, and Anthony, of which the follow / ing five lye here buried, Margaret mar / ried to Benjamin Poole Esq' / William aged / 6 months, Robert (a Gen' of great / hopes and learning) died in the twenty / second year of his age, very much lamen / ted, Anthony aged one year and eight / months, and Anthony aged twenty years. / Here also lyes the body of MARGARET wife to / the above said Anthony Lower [sic] / Esq' who / died the 5th day of Decem" 1719 aged 73 years. (Arms: In a lozenge: Or, six annulets, three, two and one, sable [Lowther]; impaling Argent, on a fess sable, three plates, in chief a lion passant gules [Penn].) " The difference of the lion passant in the Penn arms as impaled by Anthony Lowther should be noted. The arms are now placed in error over the Mores monument in the north aisle of the church and the Mores arms are over the Lowther monument. The inscription corrects previous accounts of the Lowther children as being not four in number, but nine, and the date of Margaret Lowther's death and her age, which has not previously appeared. 1720 — On 14 February 1720, at the Church of St. Mary Magdalen Old Fish Street, London, Aubrey Thomas of the parish of St. Michael Cornhill, and "William Mary" Penn, of the parish of St. Andrew Holborn, were married." The bride was Gulielma Maria Penn, born 10 9m 1699, daughter of William Penn, Jr., and his wife Mary Jones, and the first granddaughter of William Penn, the Founder, to marry. She married secondly, Charles Fell. 1728 — The Vicar General's Marriage Allegation Bond of 26 October 1728 states that: Appeared personally Hannah Lardner of the Parish of Woodford in the County of Essex aged above nineteen years & a Spinster and alledged that she intendeth (with the Consent of Frances There is no probate for Margaret Lowther in 1719 or 1720 in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury. It is of interest to note that the Penn arms described above are identical with those described by Mr. Lea in (1898), 51, as belonging 'orb, Penne of Worcestershire, bring his "Genealogical Gleanings," PMHB, "the same as those borne by the Founder differenced by 'in cheife a (you passant gulp:" In the time of Cromwell they were in the church window at Churchill, near Stourbridge. ray 16 Transcript of tie register is at The Sociery of Genealogists, London, Mss. Further Penn Gleanings 125 Lardner her Sister and Guardian lawfully assigned her Parents being both dead) to marry with Richard Penn of St. Dionish Barkchurch London aged above two & twenty years and a Batchelor. Prayed License for them to be Married in the parish Church of St. Saviours Southwark in the County of Surry. Is/ Hannah Lardner." 1748 — In the Administration Act Book of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, at Somerset House, for October 1748, is the following: On the Seventeenth day [October 17481 Admon of the Goods Chattels and Credits of Charles Fell late of the Parish of St. Margaret Westminster in the County of Middx Widower decd was granted to Robert Edward Fell the natural and lawfull son of the said decd being first sworn duly to adster. 1751 — On 22 August 1751, the marriage was solemnized at the Church of St. George, Hanover Square, London, of "Thomas Penn, of St. Martin in the Fields, Esq. B. & the Hon. Juliana Fermor, of St. James, '37estmr S. Special License." " 1786 — The Army List for this year carries, for the last time, the name of Robert Edward Fell, Lieutenant Colonel, 79th Regiment of Foot, original commission 25 May 1772. 00 1787 — Abstract of the will of Robert Edward Fell in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, Major 66: The will of Robert Edward Fell of Hamlet of Clitha in the parish of Lanarth in the County of Monmouth, Esquire: To nephew, William Hawkins Newcomb, 0000. Executor to pay to the Trustees of the marriage settlement of my niece, Philadelphia Brookholding, with Thomas Brookholding of the City of Worcester, the £500 I have secured to them. From affection I have for said Niece and her husband, I devise to my Friend Pryce Owen of Shrewsbury in the County of Salop, Esquire, over such sum as I am engaged to pay, the further sum of £500 upon trust, the yearly interest to go to Thomas Brookholding and his assigns for life; at his death the principal to go to my said niece Philadelphia Brookholding, if living, or to Thomas if she predeceases him; they may have the principal while living if required. To Thomas Brookholding upon trust, £1000, the interest to be paid to my Sister, Gulielma Maria Frances Newcomb, or her assigns for life and at death interest of £500 to niece Gulielma Maria Newcomb in" Faculty Office Allegation Series, Lunbeth Palace Library, London. It was roost unusual for the prospective bride to apply for the license. Hannah evidendy was taking no chances. 18 John H. Chapman, ed., The Register Book of Marriages Belonging to the Parish of Si. George, flanos,er, iss thr CokktY of Midar9r., SOciety, Vol. XI (London, 1856), I, 46. The marriage of Thomas Pmn'a daughter Sophia Margaret, to the Hon. and Right R. William Stuart took place in the same church 1 May 1796. Ibid., 147. .9 To Jenkins' account of his activities (p. 271), may be added that he became • member of the Society of the Sons of St. George at Philadelphia, 23 January 1773. 126 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine dependent of any husband, with principal at her death to nephew William Hawkins Newcomb. Remaining £500 on trust for niece Susanna Margaretta Crompton, wife of Richard Crompton, Gentleman, for life, independent of her husband, and at death principal to be divided amongst any child or children then living when they attain the age of 21. If she dies without issue, principal to Thomas Brookholding and William Hawkins Newcomb. To Thomas Brookholding, my Gold watch, chain and seals; to niece, Philadelphia Brookholding, my diamond shirt pin, sleeve buttons set with garnetts, and all my laced ruffles. To nephew, William Hawkins Newcomb, my sword and pistols. To servant Thomas Durman, if in my service at my decease, shooting and fishing tackle, and £10 for mourning. Servant Ann Lokier, if in my service at my decease, my small silver tea pot or Argyle and £10 for mourning. Servant Ann Jenkins, if in my service at my decease, two silver table spoons and 5 guineas for mourning. To Richard Crompton, husband of my niece Susanna Margaretta Crompton, £100 he owes me secured in the name of Richard Benbow. Niece Gulielma Maria Frances Newcomb £20. Residue of estate to be equally divided between Thomas Brookholding and William Hawkins Newcomb. Thomas Brookholding to be sole Executor. Dated 24 March 1784. /s/ Robert Edwd. Fell [seal] Witnesses: Samuel Morgan, Ann Morgan, Benjn. Esner Proved at London 22 February 1787 by Thomas Brookholding, sole executor. "Testator was formerly of the Hamlet of Clitho in the Parish of Lanarth in the County of Monmouth but at Borden Town in the State of New Jersey in North America deceased & died in Novr. last." 2° 1825 —Philadelphia Hannah Freame (c. 1740 - 1825), daughter of Margaret Penn and Thomas Freame, and granddaughter of William Penn, the Founder, by his second wife Hannah Callowhill, married on 8 May 1770, Thomas Dawson, Baron Dawtrey and Viscount Cremorne. For their issue, Thomas Dawson, d. 9 October 1787, and Juliana Frances Anne Dawson, d. 8 June 1789, and for an extended biographical account of Lord and Lady Cremorne, see Thomas Faulkner, An Historical and Topographical Description of Chelsea and Its Environs (Chelsea, 1829), I, 65 - 72. In this work is recorded Lady Cremorne's death in Stanhope Street, Mayfair, on 14 April 1825, her burial at Stoke Poges churchyard, attended by the Royal Princesses, and a list of her pictures, chiefly Old Masters, sold at auction on 6 June 1827, by her executor, Granville Penn. Opposite page 70 is a lithographic view of Chelsea Farm, the Cremorne's " Th, eorreets the inaeeneete verb..,, of tbo will ha Jenkins (p. I41), and adds the name of Susanna Margaret. Newcomb', husband, Richard Crompton, of which he was not aware. The present compiler has notes on the Brookholding family subsequent to 1787, which will be published hteo There is a possibility that Penn descendants ha this Line are extant. Further Penn Gleanings 127 country house in Chelsea on the Thames. More information about their establishment there — the house, later called Cremorne House, was enlarged by the architect James Wyatt — and additional views are in Alfred Beaver, Memorials of Old Chelsea (London, 1892), 158-159. Beaver points out that Lady Cremorne, whose Christian name was the name of her American birthplace, was a particular friend of Queen Charlotte and is "celebrated in the Percy Anecdotes as the best mistress of a household that ever lived." The will of the Right Honorable Philadelphia Hannah, Viscountess Cremorne, was proved in June 1 8 2 6, in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, Swabey, 317, but adds nothing new to the knowledge of the Penn family. Granville Penn's family were the principal heirs. The present day Dartrey Road and Cremorne Road preserve the family name in Chelsea. Miscellanea The ancestry of William Penn in the direct male line has beer, developed by Brigadier Hogg to John Penne of Minety and the early years of the sixteenth century. The genealogy of the founder's great-great grandmother, Anne George, wife of John Rascal], Alderman of Gloucester, has been established in Major Thorne George, Pedigrees and History of the Families of George and Gorges (Folkestone, Kent, 1903). Here her ancestry is correctly traced in unbroken sequence to 1310 when the George family acquired the Gloucestershire manor of Baunton (held by the family until 1707). In the same work, her ancestry is tentatively extended to the Norman Conquest, but includes an entirely fanciful link with the celebrated Gorges family, See Oswald Barron, "Georgics," The Ancestor, IX (April, 1904), and Raymond Gorges, The Story of a Family Through Eleven Centuries . . being a History of the Family of Gorges (Boston, 1944). At an undisclosed date prior to 1702, William Penn "Sent over into this Province one Martha Durant, a Relation of his own, with her husband, John Durant, and Children." By 1702, the husband was dead and Martha, "being now in a great Strait and having an opportunity of entring upon a Way for a Livelyhood," presented to the Board of Property a "Certificate Under the Propr'y's hand" for 600 acres of land Penn had granted the Durants. In 1712, when Martha again appeared before the Board, she was "wholly destitute of all manner of Support," and "must of necessity perish for want, or come upon the Publick, unless the Proprietor . . . shall think fitt to relieve and assist her . . . adding that her Cousin, R. Assheton, was willing to advance Something for her if the Proprietor would do the Same." The Board then ordered "that R. Assheton be Treated with, and as she is desirous to keep a small Shop for Drams and Hucksters ware, that five pounds be immediately advanced to her . . . ," as noted in Pennsylvania Archives, 2nd Series, XIX, 283, 351, 541. It seems probable that Martha's relationship to Penn and to Robert Assheton was derived from Rachel Penn (wife of Ralph Bradshaw) who was the Founder's aunt and Assheton's grandmother,