JOHN PENNOCK
THE STORY AS I KNOW IT
The Pennock family was a leading Quaker family in
colonial Pennsylvania. The descendants are numerous. Three
known books have been written about them:
The Pennocks of Primitive Hall by George Valentine
Massey II,
The Pusey Family by Pennock Pusey, and
Christopher Pennock Genealogy, compiled by Charles
A. Rudolph, 1959.
John Pennock was born in the later half of 1800 in Chester County Pennsylvania. He was the son of James Pennock and Mary Hayes.
John married Elizabeth
Stevens about 1822. They had 3 known
children
1.. William Pennock born in
1823 married Margaret Jane McMasters.
2. Samuel Pennock born 1825 married Ann
Stannert.
3. Hayes Pennock born 1830 married Jeannette
Ganne Wilson.
They lived in southern Chester County. On the 1860
and 1870 Census he is said to be a miller.
The Quakers kept great records, but they tended to
not give middle names. There are a lot of John Pennocks.
There is record held at the Friends Historical Society Henshaw files held at Swarthmore College
that John Pennock
was disowned from the London Grove Meeting for joining the
Hicksites on 1828-10-11 as was Elizabeth Pennock on 1828-8-9. We do not
know if this is our John
and Elizabeth even though it is the right time
and very likely the right place. If this is our couple it
may have been about this time that they moved from the London Grove area
near Avondale to the Oxford area in East Nottingham
Township where the family was found in following
decades.
The 1840 Chester County Census has 3 John Pennocks.
The one that most matches our family is John Pennock of New
London. It says the family consisted of:
1 male under 5 - an unknown child
2 males 10-14 Hayes & an unknown child
2 males 15-19 Samuel & William
1 male 40-49 John
1 female 40-49 Elizabeth
Ok, it is a stretch.
They are not on the 1850 Census as a family. I
cannot find John at
all, nor William.
Samuel Pennock is
in Lower Oxford
township with a wife, Ann E., a 9 mt old daughter and his
brother Hayes Pennock.
I believe William
is living with another family, Mary Hage and her 2 children as a farm
laborer.
However, using the Family Search deep document search,
it came up with a very reasonable listing:
John Pennock, age 49, miller living with the Pyle
family. through the regular Census search on
Ancestry I can find 2 Pyle families.
One large, but neither included a John Pennock.
I believe that Elizabeth
Stevens Pennock died sometime between 1840 -
1850. and possibly their youngest child. John Pennock, right
age, a miller, is on the 1860 Census, East Nottingham,Chester county PA
M653_1092. John Pennock, age 59, born PA, miller with
a new family.
Mary
Pennock, age 30, born PA
Mary
E. Pennock, age 8
John
Pennock, age 10 months
I'm not sure that this is a new wife and children.
They are not on the 1870 Census. But who are they
and what happened to them? Could they have been the
family of the unknown male 10-14 on the 1840 census, and
he died or just left in 1859 leaving his wife and children
with his father? All speculation, but worthy of
further study.
The 1870 Chester
County Census has John Pennock, the father and subject of
this story that doesn't quite fit, now living with his
oldest son William and
William's family in London Britain , Strickersville.
William is the head of the household, a farmer with
his wife and 8 children and his father John Pennock, age 69,
a miller.
We do not know when our John Pennock died. But
again thanks to Family Search deep document search they
have probably the last record of John Pennock:
1880 Census, Chester County Poor House - John Pennock 79,
Miller, OLD age. So it is reasonable to assume he
lived into his 80s. Not well, but there.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
If you know the answer please CONTACT US
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Doc; gppen050.html
Date Last Edited: 7/13/2012
Date edited 3/4/2025