cvthompson

I wonder if this Stacy Penn is related to our New Jersey Penn line. If so, I believe he is a descendant of James Penn (1756 – 1839) and his wife Rebecca Shinn (1760 – 1806). Their three eldest sons were James (b. 1778), Joel (b. 1779), and William (b. 1780). As you know, these are all names that appear in connection with your Stacy Penn. The three youngest sons were Stacy (b. 1801), Jonathan (b. 1807), and John (b. 1811). About James Penn (1756–1839): This fourth child of James Penn and Elizabeth Judith Alloway is reported to have been born in Port Elizabeth on August 29, 1756, but I’ve seen no documentation of this fact. At the age of about 24, he appears in a 1780 tax list of single men living in Evesham, Burlington, New Jersey. In 1812 he is recorded as working at Martha furnace as a “victualer”—someone who furnishes victuals. A few miles north of latter-day Harrisville, Martha was built in 1793 by Isaac Potts, who named it after his wife. The furnace processed bog iron and produced salable products from the result. Potts sold his interest to a group of four men about 1800. It appears the furnace ceased operation sometime near 1840. It is likely that James Penn lived in the town that sprung up near the furnace, which at it’s peak had a population of about four hundred individuals living in forty or fifty homes. He likely remained in Washington Township, Burlington County, until his death in 1839, as he appears there on the 1830 census. James Penn married a Rebecca _____. Historian Charles Kier reports it was Rebecca Headley. This author suspects it was Rebecca Shinn (1760-1806), the daughter of Restore Shinn and Mary Biddle. This belief is based upon the known alliance between the families. Also, Elizabeth Judith Alloways’ brother, John Alloway, married Elizabeth Shinn, daughter of William Shinn and Exercise Corlies, and the couple named a son Stacy Penn: Rebecca had a brother named Stacy. The couple had nine children known to this author. ...more