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Old Drawers Church, Odessa, DE |
This article was originally prepared for the annual meeting of the Pennington Research Association. The PRA had no record of any living descendents of Delaware Peningtons. My research turned up quite a few, including myself. I was quickly invited to be the leader of the long dormant Group 21, Delaware Penington's. This paper documents the progenitor of this group and some of his important descendents.
Twenty years ago, my mother handed me a genealogical chart depicting Peningtons from "Robert – a merchant in London" to my great grandfather Franklin J. Penington (1848 –1926). [ "Penington’s 1550-1859" chart is included in this paper.] I thanked her but with two sons to raise, I put the chart in a file and promptly forgot it. By the time my sons were out of the house and my interest in the chart revived, everyone that could have shed any light on it had died.
"How do you know any of these people are actually your relatives?" That was the question posed to me by a friend that started me on this odyssey.
The first of the Delaware Peningtons in my direct line is Samuel Penington, d.1823, and buried in Old Drawyers Churchyard near Odessa DE. Samuel is also interesting because of an actual recorded "death bed scene." But, let me start at the beginning.
Samuel’s father appears to be Robert of Wm. from Sassafrass Neck, Cecil Co, MD as recorded in the MD Probate record.
I believe that Samuel was the oldest of Robert’s (of Wm.) children mentioned in his will-- Samuel, Hyland Biddle, Mary, Edward, Benedict, and Robert. Samuel was the executor of his father’s estate and inherited the family farm near the Bohemia River and Morgan Creek in Cecil Co, MD. I have not discovered Samuel’s birth date. However, his brother Hyland Biddle was born on March 5, 1777.
Why did Samuel venture east of Cecil Co MD into the Middletown-Odessa area of Delaware? (Today it takes 30 minutes by car, then maybe a half-day by horse). My theory is that he had relatives in the area. There were other Peningtons in Delaware before 1800. One was John Atky Pennington, d. Sept 10, 1820 who owned land next to Samuel’s farm near Odessa.
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Old Drawers Church, Odessa, DE |
Samuel first appeared on the 1800 census in St. Georges Hundred (New Castle Co.) and purchased the "Meldrum Farm" in 1801 from his wife’s sisters, Elizabeth Meldrum wife of Benjamin Flintham, Christine Meldrum wife of Richard Flintham. This farm is located to the west of Old Drawyers Church, which is just north of Odessa, DE on Route 13. "The bricks were burnt on the farm of Robert Meldrum, now owned by Samuel Penington. The remains of the brick-kiln are still visible on the north side of the road leading from this church, to Middletown." (This quote was recorded closer to 1900; I have not been able to find the kiln site, probably due to the large highway construction of Route 1 on the old family farm.)
Samuel’s first of three marriages was to Rebecca Meldrum sometime after 1793 and before 1798. The will of Robert Meldrum does not mention her Penington surname. Therefore, I assume she was married after her father’s death in 1793. Rebecca and Samuel’s only daughter Margaret B. Penington/Cochran/Polk was born Oct. 25, 1799. Rebecca died just three years later in 1802.
Samuel’s second marriage was to Hannah McConaughy on May 13, 1810. She gave birth to two sons, Samuel April 17, 1817 and John Augustine abt. 1819. Hannah died in 1821 leaving very young children for Samuel to care for while running his business. Samuel’s niece, Mrs. Margaret Penington/Handy/Pearce, appears to have taken up the household duties according to the Orphan Court file. Margaret removed back to MD when the next wife appeared.
Samuel’s third marriage is the most interesting and was probably remembered over dinner conversations for many years. Eliza S. Armstrong became Samuel’s wife on April 14, 1822 and gave birth to a daughter Lavinia (no recorded date, just that she was around 2 or 3 years old in 1824). Samuel became ill in December 1823, signed his will on the 14th, and died on the 27th.
During his last illness, his brother Hyland Biddle Penington came to visit and witnessed a scene right out of a soap opera. While Eliza was out of the room, Samuel told his brother that he had indeed married Eliza in Smyrna, DE by a Rev. Joseph Osborne. He also revealed that he had drawn up a marriage contract with Eliza stating that instead of dowager’s rights she would get $200 per year for the rest of her life. He also told Hyland Biddle that the contract paper had been placed on his desk. Samuel had asked his nephew and business partner Augustine Hyland Penington (Hyland’s son) to find the document. Augustine could not find it. Samuel feared that Eliza had taken it.
When Eliza came into the room where Samuel was ill and talking with his brother, Samuel called out to his wife, "Eliza, give up that paper." Hyland Biddle stated that Eliza left the room without saying a word. The marriage agreement has never been found in any of the resulting court cases.
How do I know all this? Eliza petitioned the Orphan Court in 1824 to claim her dowager’s rights to inherit the substantial estate of her late husband. The family and guardians of the young sons fought back. Usually in orphan court files at the DE Archives, there is no recorded testimony. In this case, it seems that Samuel’s brother, Hyland Biddle Penington, could not attend the proceedings and sent a deposition instead. Whatever the reason, it has been very enlightening and I am glad he was unable to attend.
The judge awarded Eliza $200/year. Apparently, the guardians of Samuel’s children never paid Eliza the $200 per year, because on July 6, 1829 Eliza S. Penington took the family to Court for non-payment of the annuity. On September 20, 1834, the case was reviewed again. It appears that no payment had been made for 10 years. The Court restated that Eliza was to receive $200 per year as long as she remained Samuel’s widow and that she was due $2000 immediately from Robert Polk, guardian administrator of the estate.
Eliza S. Penington died in September 17, 1873 and is buried on the opposite side of the Old Drawyers Church from her husband Samuel. Her probated will states she was a widow, died in Philadelphia, and left her estate to her nieces and nephews. Before I saw the orphan documents, Eliza’s grave stood out to me. It was removed from the others, singular in placement, and even at an odd angle to the rest of the cemetery’s alignment. I said to myself, "I’m going to find out who your were." Little did I know, when I first encountered her tombstone, she was such an interesting part of the story.
When the archivist brought out the Samuel Penington 1823 Orphan Court file, she said she had never seen one that big. The court battles over the guardianships of the young children, the accounting of the business partnerships, and accounting of the estate continued many years. Unfortunately, both Lavina and John Augustine died young. Samuel’s son Samuel and his half sister Margaret lived and prospered in the Middletown–Odessa, DE area for many years.
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Capt Samuel Penington |
Margaret had two daughters by her first husband John T. Cochran. Their names were Olivia Rebecca (married Charles Beaston) and Mary Adeline Cochran. Her second marriage was to William Polk a large land owner and hotel proprietor. Margaret's daughter Mary Adeline Cochran married James M. Vandergrift. Margaret died May 11, 1874 and is buried at Old Drawyers Churchyard just up the hill from her stepmother Eliza S. Penington.
Samuel’s son Samuel was commissioned Captain of First Company, 5th Delaware Regiment and "when the brave Gen. Lee made his raid into Pennsylvania the Captain and his company were stationed at Gunpowder to guard the railroad bridges there and subsequently at Fort Delaware to guard prisoners." [In other documents about this regiment, Gunpowder might be the DuPont gunpowder mill at Hagley near Wilmington, DE]
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Mary Ball Penington |
Captain Samuel owned vast acreage and operated a working farm in the center of Middletown. He married twice and had a prenuptial agreement with his second and much younger wife. (Lessons learned from the past perhaps.)
Captain Samuel Penington was influential in Middletown DE. He was a founding member of the Forest Presbyterian Church, served on the Board of Directors for the town and the New Castle Co. National Bank, Odessa, DE. He served as town commissioner of Middletown, (1863-64, 1865-66), and served on the School Board for the Middletown Academy, built on land behind the working farm residence in Middletown. This building now houses the Town Hall.
Captain Samuel married Mary Ball sometime before 1841. They produced ten children including Franklin J. Penington 1848-1926. Franklin inherited the "Meldrum Farm" near Odessa. He married Geneva Wilson and produced five children including Addie Mae Penington 1888-1981.
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Franklin J Penington |
She married John Wesley Voshell Sr. the miller at Willow Grove Mills. They had three sons John Wesley Voshell Jr. (my father), Franklin Penington Voshell, and Joseph Rees Voshell.
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Adeline M Penington |
The most entertaining part of studying my family is to be able to put stories to the names. Since most of my family is from the Middletown area, the Middletown Transcript newspaper has been a wealth of information. I have taken on the project of reading the entire paper from 1868 to 1960. There are stories about runaway horses, fires that almost destroy the family property in town, birthday parties including descriptions of dresses and lots of cake and ice creams, a lost ring found 30 years later while plowing the fields, and the "candy murders". I could probably write a book with all the information I have collected. Maybe a title of, "What I learned about my family from the local gossip columns." would be appropriate. Oh, the questions I wish I could ask my grandparents now. Anyone who has started late in family research can understand that regret.
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John W Jr, Frank P, Joseph R Voshell |
As far as the question on accuracy of the chart that started this journey, it has been quite accurate. Documentation for all the people on the lower portion just after Robert (father of Samuel in Odessa) has been obtained at the DE and MD Archives. The search is still progressing for the earlier links. The graves mentioned on the chart for Wm., Wm., and Robert as being located at St Stephens Parish in MD have not been discovered. The stones if they existed are not there as of May 2000. The connections to the Maryland Penington’s are a work in progress.