William Penn - Jordans, England - Grave of a Famous Person on Waymarking.com

William Penn was born in 1644 into a wealthy and influential family: His father, Sir William Penn was an admiral in the Royal Navy, served in the House of Commons and was a friend of King Charles II. The young William Penn was first exposed to the relatively new sect of Quakerism (a.k.a. the Society of Friends) after hearing a sermon by an itinerant preacher in the late 1650s. He was further exposed during his years at Oxford (1660-62) and finally joined the sect officially in 1666, much to the chagrin of his aristocratic father.

After spending a little time abroad in France and a short stint in the military, William Penn focused on writing, mostly pamphlets expounding on various Quaker doctrines, and promoting religious tolerance. Quakers were officially persecuted in England often serving prison sentences - Penn himself served time in prison on four separated occasions.

As settlement for a debt owed to his father by Charles II, William Penn sought land in the New World where he wished to establish a colony for Quakers and other persecuted religious sects in Europe. Penn named the colony Sylvania which Charles II renamed Pennsylvania after Admiral Sir William Penn. Though Penn’s dream of a Quaker utopia didn’t quite pan out, the Colony of Pennsylvania did become a model of religious tolerance, self-rule and personal liberty and an eventual contributor to the Constitution of the United States.

Though he had a home built in Philadelphia, William Penn and his family didn’t actually spend much time there. He was a prolific writer and politically prescient but lacked business savvy. He lost most of his wealth to swindle, even signing away Pennsylvania at one time. He spent his last years in England, some of which was spent in debtor’s prison. He is buried in the Jordans Friends burial ground outside of London in Buckinghamshire alongside his second wife Hannah and his first wife, Gulielma who died in 1694.

There are two known likenesses of William Penn: a portrait done during his short military career which shows a young William Penn in full armor and another portrait made later in life. I’ve included a picture of the portrait of the young Penn which I saw at the Philadelphia History Museum.
(Sources: britannica.com, quaker.org.)

Description: See Long Description above. Date of birth: 10/14/1644 Date of death: 07/30/1718 Area of notoriety: Historical Figure Marker Type: Headstone Setting: Outdoor Visiting Hours/Restrictions: none Fee required?: No Web site: [Web Link]

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