John Penn

BORN – May 17, 1741 near Port Royal, Caroline County, VA.  Parents (English ancestry) - Moses Penn (b1712-d1759) and Catherine Taylor Penn (b1719-d1761).  One Child – John Edmund Penn (b1741-d1788). 

DIED – September 14, 1788 (age 47) at his home near Island Creek several miles northeast of Stovall, Granville County, NC.  Religion – Anglican / Episcopalian.  Buried – Originally near his home.  His remains were reburied at Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, N.C., Greensboro, NC in 1848, along with the remains of fellow Signer William Hooper.

APPEARANCE – The picture above is a lithograph of John Penn from the "Signers of the Declaration of Independence," by Ole Erekson, published in 1876.  Attractive, congenial personality, unobtrusive, unassuming, but remarkably efficient, likeable and discreet.

FAMILY – Married - Susannah Lynne (b1745-___) in 1763.  Two Children – Lucy Penn Taylor (b1766-d1830), William Penn (b1775-___).

OCCUPATION – LAWYER, LEGISLATOR.  Studied law under his uncle.  Established a law practice in Bowling Green, Caroline County, VA in 1762.  Moved and established a law practice in the Williamsboro area, Granville County, NC in 1774.  Member of the Continental Congress representing North Carolina from 1775 to 1780.  Member of the North Carolina Board of War in 1780. 

AT SIGNING – Age 35 at signing.  Described by Thomas Jefferson as “the greatest orator” in the colonies.  On the debate on independence, Jefferson in a letter to John Adams in 1820 said - “Penn had played a key role, fixing the vote of Hewes so that North Carolina came to support the cause of liberty.”   

AFTER SIGNING – Continued to serve in Congress in Philadelphia until 1780.  Led the NC Board of War in 1780, supporting General Greene’s successful campaign against British General Cornwallis including the Battles of Kings Mountain, Cowpens and Guilford Courthouse.   

HISTORIC SITES                                                                                                                                          

Gravesite – Signers Monument, Greensboro, NC (1894).  Located at the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, 2332 New Garden Road, Greensboro, NC 27410, Phone 336-288-1776, Website www.nps.gov/guco.   

Williamsboro Home – Located near Williamsboro, NC.  The roadside historical marker reads – “JOHN PENN – 1740-1788 – One of North Carolina’s three signers of the Declaration of Independence.  His home stood three miles northeast.”  All that remains of the home is the hole in the ground where the foundation of the house was located.                                                                                                                                                     

Birthplace – Located near Port Royal, VA, on the Rappahannock River, east of Fredericksburg, VA.   

Signers Monument, Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, Greensboro, NC (1894). 

Located at 2332 New Garden Road, Greensboro, NC 27410, Phone 336-288-1776, Website www.nps.gov/guco.

The Park commemorates the Battle of Guilford Court House, fought on March 15, 1781.  The Signers Monument is shown in the picture above which is located near the General Nathanael Greene Monument.  The remains of Signers John Penn and William Hooper are buried beneath the monument.  The remains of the third Signer from North  Carolina, Joseph Hewes, could not be reburied at the monument.  He was buried at Christ Church Burial Ground, Philadelphia, PA, but his burial location within the cemetery was unmarked and unknown.