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WILLIAM PENROSE
Davis Biography Record ~ Pages
699-700
Kindly submitted by: Joan
Lollis
WILLIAM PENROSE.
Pennsylvania owes an inestimable debt of gratitude to those
English Friends who were among the first settlers of the
province. William PENROSE, of Quakertown, is a
descendant of one of these pioneers, who brought to their home
in the New World principles which they not only professed but
practiced, and which have thus been a lasting and powerful
influence for good in the province of Penn.
Robert PENROSE (1), son of Robert and Jane
PENROSE, was born in Yorkshire, England, moved to Ireland in
1669, and married Anna RUSSELL, by whom he was the father
of three children. His son Robert PENROSE (2), was born
in 1670 in Blackane, married Mary CLAYTON in 1695, and
had thirteen children. With part of his family he came in 1717
to Pennsylvania. His son Robert PENROSE (3), who was
born in 1697, came to America after his father, and about 1731
married Mary HEACOCK. They were the parents of eleven
children, one of whom, John PENROSE (4), was born in
1740, in Richland township, married Anna ROBERTS in 1764,
and died in 1813. He was the father of ten children. The ninth
son, Evan PENROSE (5), born in 1782, married Rebecca
BALL, and the following children were born to them: Jane;
Aaron (deceased); Evan, mentioned at length hereinafter: and
Margaret, who became the wife of Eli W. STRAWN.
Evan PENROSE (6), son of Evan (5) and Rebecca
(BALL) PENROSE, was born May 8, 1813, on the homestead in
Richland township, attended the subscription schools of his
birthplace, and afterward became a pupil in the school taught by
Richard HOOPES, of West Chester. He then learned the
carpenter’s trade, which he followed for some time, but the
greater part of his life was devoted to the management of the
homestead. He was a Republican in politics, but never took an
active part in the affairs of the organization. By birthright
he was a member of Friends’ meeting, but was not prominently
identified with the society. Mr. PENROSE married, March
20, 1851, Anna ROBERTS, daughter of George and Anna (PENROSE)
HICKS born November 28, 1817. The family of Mr. and Mrs.
PENROSE consisted of the following children: 1. Charles
Robert, born March 10, 1853, died December 27, 1877. 2. Mary
Jane, born March 7, 1836, married, in 1877, William, son of
William and Sarah (GORMAN) McDEVITT, of
Philadelphia. 3. And 4. Evan Ellwood and George Howard (twins),
born October 22, 1857; the former died April 5, 1858, and the
latter August 17, same year. 5. William, mentioned at length
hereinafter. Mr. PENROSE, the father, retired from the
active labors of the farm in 1884, and his death occurred
December 24, 1888. The mother of the family expired January 29,
1903, at the advanced age of eighty-five.
William PENROSE (7) , son of Evan (6) and
Anna Roberts (HICKS) PENROSE, was born September 16,
1861, on the homestead in Richland township, and received his
primary education in a school held under the auspices of the
Friends’ meeting and presided over by Anna BLAKEY. Later
he became a pupil in a public school, and afterward attended the
Quakertown high school until his seventeenth year. He then
became the assistant of his father on the home farm. For many
years he was the owner of this estate, which for more than a century was the property of the PENROSE family, and
proved himself an able, energetic and successful farmer. In
1901 he sold the estate and took up his abode in Quakertown. In
politics he is a Republican, but has always refused to hold
office, preferring to devote his time to the cultivation of his
farm. He is a member of the Reformed church of Quakertown.
Mr. PENROSE married, in 1886, Jennie
TRUMBAUER, and they are the parents of the following
children: 1. John Evan, born May 26, 1888, and attended the
Quakertown public schools. 2. Henry Speakman, born September
13, 1895. 3. Annie Elizabeth, born October 11, 1899. 4.
Alfred, born October 29, 1903.
Mrs. PENROSE is a granddaughter of John and
Elizabeth (BAUM) TRUMBAUER, whose son John, was
born in 1808, in Richland township, attended the subscription
schools, learned the shoemaker’s trade, and later engaged in
farming. He was a member of the Lutheran church at
Trumbauersville, in which he served as elder and deacon. Mr.
TRUMBAUER married, in 1843, Lydia B. SCHOLL, daughter
of Michael and Lydia (DONOHUE) SCHOLL, the former a
farmer near Telford, and their children were: 1. Henry S. born
in 1845, is a carpenter at Fairview, and married May
STONEBACK, of Richland township. 2. Milton, born in 1848,
is unmarried, and lives on the homestead. 3. Michael S., born
in 1850, lives in Quakertown, and married Eliza MOYER, of
Milford township. 4. Levi S. born in 1853, is a farmer and
unmarried. 5. Lydia Ann, born in 1855, and became the wife of
Gideon GROFF, of Trumbauersville. 6. Mary Elizabeth,
born in 1859, and married Nathaniel KEELY, of East
Greenville, Montgomery county. 7. Jeannie, who became the wife
William PENROSE, as mentioned above. Mr. TRUMBAUER,
the father of the family, died February 2, 1898, having attained
to the great age of ninety years.
Text taken from page 699-700 of:
Davis, William W. H., A.M., History of Bucks County,
Pennsylvania [New York-Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company,
1905] Volume III
Transcribed January 2008 by Joan Lollis as part of
the Bucks Co., Pa., Early Family Project,
www.rootsweb.com/~pabucks/bucksindex.html
Published January 2008 on the Bucks County, Pa., USGenWeb pages
at www.rootsweb.com/~pabucks/
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