Richard Penn Sr. (17 January 1706 – 4 February 1771) was a proprietary and titular governor of the Province of Pennsylvania and the counties of New Castle, Kent, and Sussex, which then included present-day Delaware. He served as governor from 1746 to 1771. His father was William Penn, founder of the colonial-era Province of Pennsylvania, one of the original Thirteen Colonies in British America
Richard Penn Sr. | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Titular Governor of The Province of Pennsylvania and the Delaware River | |
| In office 1746 – February 4, 1771 (his death) | |
| Preceded by | None |
| Succeeded by | None |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 17 January 1706 Bristol, England |
| Died | 4 February 1771 (aged 65) England |
Early life
editPenn was born in Bristol, England, the third son of William Penn, founder of the colonial-era Province of Pennsylvania, and his second wife Hannah Margaret Callowhill.
Penn married Hannah, daughter of John Lardner, and had two sons, John and Richard, both of whom also served as governors of the Province of Pennsylvania.
Province of Pennsylvania
editOn 12 May 1732, Penn with his brothers John and Thomas as the proprietors of Pennsylvania, signed an order to create a commission. This order was directed to Governor Gordon, Isaac Norris, Samuel Preston, James Logan, and Andrew Hamilton, and to James Steel and Robert Charles. The commission, which was to be made up of at least three or more of these individuals, was given full power on behalf of the proprietors for the "running, marking, and laying out" of any boundary between Pennsylvania and the Province of Maryland.
This was in accordance to the agreement signed between the Penn brothers and Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore on 10 May 1732.[1]
Death
editPenn died in England on 4 February 1771, at age 65.
Notes
edit- ^ Proud, Robert (1798). The History of Pennsylvania in North America From the Original Institution and Settlement of that Province, Under the First Proprietor and Governor William Penn, in 1681, until after 1742: With an Introduction Respecting the Life of W. Penn, Prior to the Grant of the Province, and the Religious Society of the People Called Quakers, with the First Rise of the Neighbouring Colonies, More Particularly of West-New-Jersey and the Settlement of the Dutch and Swedes on Delaware. To Which is Added a Brief Description of the said Province, and the General State in which it Flourished, Principally between the years 1760-1770. With an Appendix. Written principally between the years 1776 and 1780. Philadelphia, PA: Zachariah Paulson Jr. pp. 206–219.
References
edit- John Woolf Jordan (2004). Colonial And Revolutionary Families Of Pennsylvania. Genealogical Publishing Com. ISBN 978-0-8063-5239-8.