History of Bucks County, Pa Volume 3 by William H. Davis
Names and Page # Index

 THE PENROSE FAMILY. The PENROSE family is an old one and was established in Yorkshire, England, many generations before Robert PENROSE, the ancestor of the subject of the sketch left there in 1669. He was the son of Robert and Jane PENROSE, and in that year removed to county Wicklow, Ireland, where in the same year he married Anna RUSSELL. In 1673 he was imprisoned for refusing to take an oath. He was probably accompanied or preceded to Ireland by other members of the family, as Richard and John PENROSE, of county Wicklow, suffered persecution in the same year for their religious faith.

Robert PENROSE, a son of Robert and Anna (RUSSELL) PENROSE, born in county Wicklow, married in 1695, Mary CLAYTON, of Back Lane, Dublin, by whom he had thirteen children. On 3 mo. 2, 1717, Robert PENROSE and Mary, his wife of Ballykenny, county Wicklow, Ireland, with daughters Ann and Margaret and son Christopher, obtained a certificate from the Two Weeks Meeting at Dublin, which they produced at Philadelphia Monthly Meeting, 8 mo. 25, 1717. Another son Robert soon followed them to Pennsylvania, and the family settled first in Philadelphia and later at Marple, Chester, (now Delaware) county, where Christopher married at Middletown Meeting, 3 mo. 1719, Ann HUNTER.

Robert PENROSE, son of Robert and Mary (CLAYTON) PENROSE, born in Ireland, as before stated, followed his parents to Pennsylvania and located near them in Chester county. On September 13, 1733, he married at Springfield Meeting, Mary HEACOCK, and in 1734 obtained a certificate to Gwynedd Monthly Meeting. He located in the Great Swamp, later Richland township, becoming a member of Richland Monthly Meeting at its organization in 1742. Their children, all born in Richland, were: Jonathan, born March 1, 1736; Joseph, born August 10, 1737; John, born January 19, 1740, married Ann ROBERTS; William, born April 15, 1742, married Mary ROBERTS; Robert Jr., born May 6, 1744; Samuel, born August 21, 1748, see forward: Benjamin, born December 30, 1749; Mary, born June 5, 1753; and Jesse, born May 2, 1755. Of the above named children of Robert and Mary Penrose Jonathan, Joseph, John and William remained in Richland and reared families. Jesse, the youngest son, removed to Warrington, York county, by way of Exeter, 1776.

Samuel PENROSE, sixth son of Robert and Mary (HEACOCK) PENROSE, born in Richland, August 21, 1748, remained there until April, 1801, when he removed with his wife and children, William, Eeverard, Benjamin and Margaret, to the Graeme Park farm in Horsham, Montgomery county, which he had just purchased. Graeme Park was established as the county residence of Sir William KEITH, the last of the English provincial governors of Pennsylvania. The old historic mansion erected by him in 1721 and still standing, an illustration of which appears in these volumes, is replete with historic associations as narrated in a previous volume. He married at Richland, November 9, 1777, Sarah ROBERTS, born June, 1758, daughter of Abel and Gainor (MORRIS) ROBERTS, and granddaughter of Edward ROBERTS, born in Merionethshire, Wales, in May, 1687, came to Pennsylvania in 1699, and settled in Byberry, Philadelphia county. He married in 1714 Mary BOLTON, daughter of Everard, and in 1816 removed to Richland, where he became an extensive landholder and reared a family of eight children. He was a minister among Friends for many years, and died on his Richland farm, November 25, 1768, in his eighty-second year. His widow died July 22, 1784, in her ninety-seventh years. Abel ROBERTS, their second child and eldest son, born October 23, 1717, married, April 17, 1744, Gainor MORRIS, daughter of Morris and Susanna (HEATH) MORRIS. Morris MORRIS was also a native of Wales. His father, Evan MORRIS, born in Grikhoth, Caernarvonshire, Wales, in 1654, became a convert to Friends’ faith and suffered persecution therefor. He emigrated to Pennsylvania with his wife and family about 1690, and lived for a time in the present limits of Delaware, removing later to near Abington, now Montgomery county, where he died. His son Morris MORRIS, born 1674 was a farmer near Abington for a number of years but became one of the pioneers to the Great Swamp, where he died June 2, 1764. His wife Susanna was a daughter of Robert HEATH; she died in Richland, June 8, 1755. The children of Samuel and Sarah (ROBERTS) PENROSE, all but the youngest of whom were born at Richland, were as follows; Abel, born August 7, 1778, died in Richland, Married (first) Keziah SPEAKMAN and (second) Abigail FOULKE; Gainor, born March 4, 1780; William, born March 13, 1782; Everard, born October 7, 1784; Mary, bornMay 11, 1787, died young; Benjamin, born September 16, 1791; Susanna, born August 21, 1793; Samuel, born August 10, 1796; Margaret, born September 20, 1798, and Morris, born June 15, 1801. Samuel PENROSE, the father, on the marriage of his son William sold him the Graeme Park farm and removed to Warminster, where he died February 2, 1833.

William PENROSE second son of Samuel and Sarah, born in Richland, March 14, 1782, removed with his parents to Horsham, in 1801. In 1810 he married Hannah JARRET, daughter of William and Ann, of Horsham, purchased the home farm of his father, and erecting a commodious residence on a natural building site, lived thereon until a few years before his death, when he purchased a farm adjoining and there spent his remaining days. His seven children were: Ann J., born September 25, 1811, married Abraham Iredell, of Horsham; Samuel, born April 18, 1813, died unmarried at the age of thirty-five years; Jarret, born April 1, 1815; Abel, born May 3, 1817, married Sarah BEISEL, of Allentown in 1856; Hannah, born February 28, 1820, married Isaac W. HICKS, of Newtown. (See HICKS Family); William, born 1822, died in infancy; and Tacy S., born October 14, 1823, married Morris DAVIS, of Warminster. William PENROSE, the father, died November 20, 1863, and his wife in 1850. Both were consistent members of Horsham Friends’ Meeting, and their children were reared in that faith.

Jarrett PENROSE, second son of William and Hannah (JARRETT) PENROSE, born April 1, 1815, was reared at the Horsham homestead and lived all his life in that township. On his marriage he purchased the Abraham IREDELL farm in Horsham and lived thereon until his death in 1889. His life was one of unfaltering industry and straightforward dealing. He and his wife were members of Horsham Meeting of Friends, and their children were reared in that faith. In politics Mr. PENROSE was a Republican, but while giving his unfaltering support to the principles of that party by his ballot he neither sought nor neld public office. He married Tacy Ann KIRK, daughter of John and Tabitha KIRK, daughter of John and Tabitha KIRK, who still survives at the age of eighty-three years. Her great-grandfather, a mason by trade, born 1692, and a son of John and Joan (Elliot) KIRK, the pioneer ancestors of the family, erected for Sir William KEITH, the last of the provincial governors of Pennsylvania, Graeme Hall, the home of her husband’s ancestors in Horsham. The children of Jarrett and Tacy Ann (KIRK) PENROSE were: Ellen S., born January 14, 1843, married Edward T. BETTS, late of Buffalo, New York, deceased; Elizabeth H., born January 4, 1845, wife of Alfred MOORE, of Horsham; William, of Warrington, Bucks county, born July 31, 1847, mentioned hereinafter; Alfred born May 14, 1849, died in infancy; and Samuel, also mentioned hereinafter.

William PENROSE, born in Horsham township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, July 31, 1847, spent the days of his childhood and youth upon the home farm and early became familiar with the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. After his marriage he began farming on his own account in Warrington township, Bucks county, upon the tract of land which is yet his home. He has attended market and is regarded as a practical and prosperous agriculturist. He has one of the extensive and valuable farms of Warrington township, comprising three hundred acres, upon which are two sets of farm buildings, houses, barns and outbuildings. The farm is well equipped in every way and its highly cultivated conditions indicates the careful supervision which he has given to it. He is now largely living retired, having given the management of the property over to his son. His present residence is situated on the Doylestown pike and trolley line, and is a commodious two story stone structure, built in modern style of architecture. It is surrounded by a fine stone fence, the gates being formed by heavy pillars, and beautiful forest and evergreen trees adorn the land, while in the rear are many fine fruit trees. He endorses Republican principles and is deeply interested in the success of his party, but has never sought or desired office for himself. He was reared in the Friends’ meeting and has never departed from that faith.

William PENROSE was married December 14, 1871, to Miss Hannah PAUL, who was born in Warrington township, Bucks county, a daughter of Morris and Lydia (HALLOWELL) PAUL. Joseph and Mary PAUL, ancestors of Mrs. PENROSE, came from Yorkshire, England, about 1682, and settled near the site of the present village of Fox Chase. Joseph Paul purchased the farm now occupied by William PENROSE in 1727, and it descended to his son, James, who married 2 mo. 25, 1737, Mary WORTH, daughter of Judge WORTH, of Maryland; she was a lady of education and culture and a warm friend of Lady FERGUSON, who then lived at Graeme Park. Joseph Paul, first child of James and Mary (WORTH) PAUL, born 1739, became the next owner of the old Warrington homestead. He married his cousin, Hannah PAUL, whose mother, Sarah MORRIS, was a daughter of Morris and Susanna MORRIS, the latter a prominent minister of the Society of Friends for forty years, and although the mother of twelve children she made several religious visits to various parts of the American colonies and three voyages over the sea, attending the Meetings of Friends, and the gracious arm of divine providence was evidently manifested in preserving and supporting her through divers remarkable perils and dangers, which she ever reverently remembered and gratefully acknowledged. Her paternal grandfather, Joshua PAUL, was a descendant of an old colonial family connected with the Friends’ meeting. Morris PAUL was reared in Warrington township, where he settled on a farm after attaining man’s estate, remaining one of the reliable and enterprising agriculturists of his community up to the time of his death, his life being in harmony with his profession as a member of the Society of Friends. His only child became the wife of Mr. Penrose. She was a lady of culture and intelligence, who proved a devoted wife and loving mother and was also a consistent Christian. She died of typhoid fever in 1900, and their daughter Lydia H. died on the 29^th of April of the same year when twenty years of age, also from an attack of typhoid. The other children are J. Howard, born May 10, 1873; Morris P., born November 8, 1875; and William, born October 16, 1877. Howard married Miss Edith CHAPMAN, and is in the office of the Reading Coal & Iron Company. Morris is connected with the extensive lumber, coal, and milling business in Pedricktown, New Jersey. William PENROSE, Jr., is operating the old homestead farm. On the 16^th of October, 1902, William PENROSE married (second) Miss Anna HALLOWELL , who was born in Abingdon township, Montgomery county, September 28, 1865, her parents being Joseph W. and Hannah (LLOYD) HALLOWELL, the former born in Abingdon township and the latter in Moreland township, Montgomery county, where both were representatives of distinguished early families of this state. Her father, Joseph W., was a son of John R. and Ann (JARRETT) HALLOWELL, the former descended from John HALLOWELL and a native of Nottinghamshire, England. Emigrating to America he became one of the first settlers of Pennsylvania. John R. was one of the directors of the old York pike road. Joseph HALLOWELL was a brother-in-law of Edwin SATTERTHWAITE, who was a grandson of Betsey ROSS, who made the first American flag and who made the ruffles for General Washington’s shirt fronts. The SATTERTHWAITE family were among the oldest and most respected members of the Abingdon meeting. The children of John R. HALLOWELL were: William, Lydia, Mrs. Martha SATTERWAITE, Joseph and Penrose. Joseph HALLOWELL was reared to farm pursuits and always carried on the work of an agriculturist. However, he extended his efforts to various other lines and was connected with many enterprises, his good management winning him desirable success. He was recognized as one of the substantial men of his county. After his retirement from the farm he resided at Jenkintown, becoming one of the incorporators of the Jenkintown Bank and a director thereof for many years. He was a man of plain deportment, but reliable and trustworthy at all times, and his freedom from self laudation and ostentation commanded the good will of all who recognized and appreciated true worth. He died at Jenkintown, April 3, 1904, leaving a wife and four children. His widow still occupies the residence at Jenkintown and she, too, is a member of the Friends’ meeting. They were parents of four children: Edwin S., a prominent farmer of Abingdon, Pennsylvania; Emma L., who is living with her mother; Fanny, born August 12, 1856, died March 25, 1900; and Anna, the wife of William PENROSE. Hannah (LLOYD) HALLOWELL, the mother of these children, was descended through Benjamin LLOYD and Sarah CHILD, whose marriage took place 6 mo., 1775, and is also descended from George and Sarah SHOEMAKER, of Warrington, who were married in 1662, and George and Sarah (WALL) SHOEMAKER, who were married at Abington Meeting, 12 mo. 14, 1694. Benjamin H. SHOEMAKER commemorated the two hundredth anniversary of the marriage of the latter named by a dinner, sixth day evening, twelfth month fourteenth, 1894, at seven o’clock. George SHOEMAKER, Jr., and Sarah WALL, his wife, were the great-great-great-grandparents of Benjamin H. SHOEMAKER. Mr. and Mrs. PENROSE have one son, Joseph HALLOWELL, born July 31, 1903. They are prominent socially in the community where they reside, and the circle of their friends is almost co-extensive with the circle of their acquaintance.

Samuel Jarrett PENROSE, born at Horsham, May 5, 1852, was reared in that township and educated at the Friends’ school, at Lollar Academy, Hatboro, the Excelsior Normal Institute at Carverville, and Swarthmore College. At the close of his school days he accepted a clerical position with the firm of Ellis P. MOORE & Co., lumber merchants is Philadelphia, where he remained for eighteen months. He then returned to his father’s farm in Horsham, and was engaged in agricultural pursuits until his marriage in 1881 with Mary C. FARREN, daughter of John and Elizabeth (FRETZ) FARREN, of Doylestown township, whose ancestry is given under the title of "The FRETZ Family: in this work. He continued as a farmer in Horsham until 1884, when he removed to his mother-in-law’s farm in Doylestown township, where he has since resided, he and his wife having inherited it at the death of Mrs. FARREN, and devotes his time to the care of his three farms comprising 278 acres. Mr. Penrose is now serving his second term as director of the poor of Bucks county, and is also a director of the Doylestown Trust Company, vice-president and director of the Philadelphia and Eastern Railway Company, and director of Fellowship Norse Company. Their children are: Cyril, Ralph F., and Norman, all of whom reside with their father. The mother of these children is deceased.

Test taken from page 293-296 of:

Davis, William W. H., A.M., History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania [New York-Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1905] Volume III

Transcribed December 2001 by Joan Lollis of IN. as part of the Bucks Co., Pa., Early Family Project, www.rootsweb.com/~pabucks/bucksindex.html

Published January 2002 on the Bucks County, Pa., USGenWeb pages at www.rootsweb.com/~pabucks/