In 1779, Thomas was residing at The Gannow.
Events
Date of Birth: about 1741.
Thomas’s burial record gives his age at death as 77. This age at death is also written into Thomas’s copy of Watson’s Book of Common Prayer and is given in the account of his death in the Worcester Journal of 28 May 1818 (p. 3).
Date of Baptism: 26 December 1741.
Place of Baptism: Halesowen, Shropshire, England.
The baptism is given in the parish register.
Place of Death: Bromsgrove, Worcestershire.
Date of Death: 11 May 1818.
The date is written into Thomas’s copy of Watson’s Book of Common Prayer. A death notice in the Worcester Journal (28 May 1818, page 3): "At Bromsgrove, Mr. Thomas Penn, aged 77."
Date of Burial: 15 May 1818.
Place of Burial: Bromsgrove, Worcestershire (St John the Baptist).
The parish register records the burial. Thomas’s abode is given as High Street, and his age at death as 77.
Relationships
Father: William Penn.
Mother: Elizabeth Hunt.
See the Commentary section.
Spouse: Sarah Bach. Married 29 August 1775 in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire.
The marriage is given in the parish register.
Children:
(Complete source citations for facts about the children on this page are currently outside of the scope of this project. All children were baptized in Bromsgrove.)
Hannah Penn (born 15 January 1777 - died 21 February 1832) married William Ward 11 August 1796 in Bromsgrove.
Thomas Penn (baptized 12 December 1779).
Evidence
from the Bromsgrove registers:
Thomas Penn Batchelor of this Parish and Sarah Bach of the same a spenster were Married in this Church by Banns this Twenty ninth Day of August in the Year One Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy five By me G Filkin Cutate
This Marriage was solemnized between Us Thomas Penn Sarah Bach
In the Presence of Us John Southall William Penn
Christenings
January 1778
25 Hannah Daugr of Thomas & Sarah Penn
December 1779
12 Thomas S of Thomas & Sarah Penn Ganno
1818
Name: Thomas Penn
Abode: High Street
When buried: May 15
Age: 77
From the UK Land Tax Redemption (1798, Bromsgrove):
[Chadwick Yield]
Proprietor: Mr Brettell Atty
Occupier: Thos Penn
Sum Assessd: [3 pounds 4 shillings]
From a poll book for the 1806 election:
Name of Freeholder: Thomas Penn (Jurat)
Place of Residence: Bromsgrove
Place of Freehold: Bromsgrove
Occupiers Names: Rich.d Lwer & others
Land Tax: L.R.
Hon. W.B.Lygon: -- [Penn voted for him]
Commentary
Thomas’s parentage:
Siblings:
The signatures in several Bromsgrove marriage records are distinctive enough to show that the grooms in some marriages were the same person as the witnesses in others:
The John Penn who married Mary Harden in Bromsgrove in 1778 was a witness to the marriage of William Penn to Ann Ashmore in Bromsgrove in 1782.
The William Penn who married Ann Ashmore in Bromsgrove in 1782 was a witness to the marriage of Thomas Penn to Sarah Bach in Bromsgrove in 1775. (William later, in 1789 in Birmingham, married a sister of Thomas’s wife Sarah Bach.)
The Thomas Penn who married Sarah Bach in 1775 was a witness to the marriage of Betty Penn to George Lea in Bromsgrove in 1779.
Ages:
Thomas’s age at his death in May 1818 is given as 77 in the burial record in the register, in a newspaper death notice, and it is written into Thomas’s copy of Watson’s Book of Common Prayer along with the date of death.
The burial record for William Penn, farmer of Gannow (Gannow Green in the bishop’s transcripts), in Bromsgrove gives his age at death in December 1814 as 67.
Place:
The above-mentioned William Penn was of Gannow at the time of his death in 1814. The abode of the Thomas Penn of this page is recorded as “Ganno” in the 1779 Bromgrove baptism record of his son Thomas. The abode of the above-mentioned John Penn is recorded in baptism records as Newtown in 1781 and Waseley Hill in 1789, both of which are very close to Gannow Green (less than a mile away).
Baptisms:
Only one set of baptisms is consistent with the above information:
William Penn and Elizabeth had these children baptized in Halesowen:
Thomas Penn (26 December 1741)
Hannah Penn (25 November 1743 - buried 18 March 1745/6)
William Penn (23 February 1745/6)
Betty Penn (14 February 1748)
John Penn (26 December 1751)
Hannah Penn (29 December 1754)
The birthdates implied by the ages at death for Thomas and William are within one year of the baptisms. There is no other baptism record for a Betty (as opposed to Elizabeth) Penn in the area in the time period.
Place again:
The parents of the children baptized in Halesowen, William and Elizabeth Penn, both appear to have been buried in Bromsgrove: “Elizth the wife of William Penn” in 1797; and William Penn in 1801.
Summary:
The evidence that the parents of Thomas Penn were William and Elizabeth Penn is satisfactory. That Elizabeth’s maiden name was Hunt is indicated by the marriage of William Penn and Elizabeth Hunt in Halesowen in 1739, shortly before the baptisms above.
References
Halesowen, Worcestershire, St John’s, parish registers, FHL film 886632, Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, St John the Baptist parish registers, FHL films 321125, -7, Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Thomas Penn’s copy of Watson’s Book of Common Prayer.
Land Tax Redemption Office: Quotas and Assessments. IR23. Records of the Boards of Stamps, Taxes, Excise, Stamps and Taxes, and Inland Revenue. The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, England . Digital image on Ancestry.com.
UK, Poll Books and Electoral Registers, 1538-1893. Digital images at Ancestry.com.