This page contains
a picture that may take a while to download
Some of this is guess
work if you can add or correct any information contained in this tree please
email me.
The Penn family come from Staffordshire. When William
Penn’s (born 1829) first wife died William whether from grief or other
reasons (perhaps work related) moved to Abergavenney, Monmouthshire, where her
met and married his second wife Mary J Morgan. By 1880 we find William again on
the move and this time to Liverpool where his youngest son was born in 1880. The family never seem to stay in one place
for too long and although my father-in-law Thomas
Penn was born in Liverpool he came to London to joined the Metropolitan
police Force in 1934. He returned to
Liverpool a couple of years before his death in 1983.
If you have any
information on the Penn Family please EMAIL
me.
Last updated September
25th 2004
1. James PENN, b. 1725. He married Elizabeth ALLEN, 3 Jun 1750, in Shenstone,
Staffordshire, d. 24 Apr 1796?, Shenstone, Staffordshire. James died 2 Aug 1805, Walsall,
Staffordshire.
Children:
i William
PENN, b. 1755, Aldridge, Staffordshire,
baptized 19 Sep 1755, Aldridge, Staffordshire.
He married Ann TIMMS, 1778, in St Matthew,
Wallsall, Staffordshire, d. 1785, Aldridge, Staffordshire, buried: 6 Jul 1785,
Aldridge, Staffordshire. William died
1780, Aldridge, Staffordshire, buried: 21 Jul 1780, Aldridge, Staffordshire.
2. ii Allin b. 1757.
iii Mary
PENN, b. 1763, Shenstone,
Staffordshire, baptized 5 Mar 1763, Shenstone, Staffordshire.
3. iv James b. c1765.
4. v Elizabeth.
vi ?
PENN, b. 1767, Shenstone,
Staffordshire.
vii Sarah
PENN, b. 1772, Shenstone,
Staffordshire, baptized 18 Apr 1772, Shenstone, Staffordshire.
Second Generation
2. Allin PENN, b. 1757, Aldridge,
Staffordshire, baptized 23 Jun 1757, Aldridge, Staffordshire. He married Elizabeth SNAPE, 7 May 1778, in Weeford,
Staffordshire. Allin died 1786, buried:
24 Feb 1786, Shenstone, Staffordshire.
Children:
i Elizabeth
PENN, b. 1780, baptized 4 Jul
1780, Shenstone, Staffordshire. She
married Francis SMALLWOOD, 18 Sep 1800, in St
Matthews, Walsall, Staffordshire.
3. James PENN, b. c1765, baptized 16 Feb
1765, Shenstone, Staffordshire. He
married Margaret BULLOCK, 19 Jul 1787, in St Matthew,
Walsall, Staffordshire, b. 1764, (daughter of Thomas BULLOCK and Mary SPURNER) baptized 17 Mar 1763, St
Matthews, Walsall, Staffordshire.
Children:
5. i James b. 1789.
ii Mary
PENN, b. 1790, baptized 26 Nov
1790, Rushall, Staffordshire.
iii Elizabeth
PENN, b. 1792, baptized 20 Nov
1792, Rushall, Staffordshire. She
married Thomas STRONG, 31 Jan 1816, in St
Matthews, Walsall, Staffordshire.
iv Ann
PENN, b. 1794, baptized 21 Apr
1794, Rushall, Staffordshire.
v William
PENN, b. 1795, baptized 27 Oct
1795, St Matthew, Walsall Staffordshire, buried: 7 Mar 1796.
6. vi William Allen b. ?24 Sep 1798.
vii Thomas
PENN, b. 1803, baptized 5 Jan
1803, St Matthew, Wallsall, Staffordshire.
viii Joseph
PENN, b. 1804, baptized 31 Oct
1804, Walsall, Staffordshire. He
married Harriett HOBBS, 31 Mar 1834, in Tipton,
Staffordshire.
ix Benjamin
PENN.
4. Elizabeth PENN. She married ? WAKEMAN.
Children:
i Mary
WAKEMAN.
ii Elizabeth
WAKEMAN.
Third Generation
5. James PENN, b. 1789, baptized 29 Jun
1789, Rushall, Staffordshire. He
married Mary CORFIELD, 13 Mar 1811, in Walsall,
Staffordshire, b. 1789, (daughter of Thomas CORFIELD and Mary ?) baptized 19 Apr 1789, Sedgley,
Staffordshire.
Children:
i James
PENN, b. 1812, St Matthews,
Walsall Staffordshire, baptized 23 Jan 1812, St Matthews, Walsall
Staffordshire.
ii Mary
PENN, b. 1815, baptized 8 Sep
1815, St Matthews,Walsall Staffordshire.
6. William Allen PENN, b. ?24 Sep 1798, baptized 5 Jan 1803?, St
Matthew, Wallsall, Staffordshire, occupation Plater. He married Phebe SHAW, 29 Aug 1826, in St
Bartholomews, Wednesbury,Staffordshir, b. 1803, (daughter of Lydia SHAW) baptized 26 May 1803, St
Matthew, Wallsall. William died 19 Jul
1840, Park St ,Walsall, Staffordshire, buried: 23 Jul 1840.
Children:
7. i William b. 1829.
8. ii Joseph b. 1832.
iii Charles
PENN, b. 1834, baptized 20 Jul
1834, St Matthews, Walsall Staffordshire.
Fourth Generation
7. William PENN, b. 1829, St Matthew,
Wallsall, Staffordshire, baptized 11 Oct 1829, St Matthew, Wallsall,
Staffordshire, occupation Master Painter & Glazier. He married (1) Mary, 1850, b. 1825, d.
1851. He married (2) Mary J MORGAN, 18 Aug 1853, in Hanover
Chapel, Abergavenny, Monmouth, b. 1828, Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, (daughter
of Joseph MORGAN and Alice BLACKBURN).
Children by Mary:
i Ann
PENN, b. 1849, baptized 4 Nov
1849, St Matthews,Walsall Staffordshire.
9. ii William b. 1851.
Children by Mary J MORGAN:
10. iii Charles b. 20 Jun 1855.
iv Mary
J PENN, b. 1857.
v Richard
H PENN, b. 1863, Abergavenny,
Monmouthshire.
vi William
J PENN, b. 1880, Liverpool.
8. Joseph PENN, b. 1832, baptized 10 Feb
1832, St Matthews, Walsall, Staffordshire, occupation Silver Plater. He married Elizabeth ?, b. 1831, Walsall,
Staffordshire.
Children:
i Mary
Jane PENN, b. 1856, baptized 11 May
1856, St Matthews,Walsall Staffordshire.
ii Harry
PENN, b. 1858, Walsall,
Staffordshire, baptized 23 May 1858, St Matthews,Walsall Staffordshire, occupation
Silver Plater.
iii William
PENN, b. 1860, Walsall,
Staffordshire, occupation Bridle Cutter.
iv Sarah
A PENN, b. 1869, Walsall,
Staffordshire.
v David
PENN, b. 1871, Walsall, Staffordshire.
Fifth Generation
9. William PENN, b. 1851, baptized 8 Jun
1851, St Matthews, Walsall Staffordshire, occupation Puddler in ironworks. He married Hannah ?, b. 1849, Etruria,(nr
Newcastle) Stafford.
Children:
i Thomas
PENN, b. 1876, Etruria, Stafford.
ii William
J PENN, b. 1878, Etruria, Stafford.
iii Charles
PENN, b. 1881, Etruria, Stafford.
10. Charles PENN, Also known as Joseph
Charles Penn, b. 20 Jun 1855, Gilwern, Llanelly, Brecon, occupation
Painter. He married Mary Ann PARTOON, 18 Sep 1881, in St
Cuthberts , Walton on the Hill, West Derby, Lancs, b. 10 May 1861, Pinfold
Alley, Darlarton, Staffordshire, (daughter of William George PARTOON and Ann STOKES).
Children:
11. i William George b. 9 Apr 1886.
Sixth Generation
11. William George PENN, b. 9 Apr 1886, 30 Wyatt St, Kirkdale,
Lancashire, occupation Dock Labourer.
He married Frances
Ann BROWN, 3 Jul 1906, in St Nicholas,
Liverpool, b. 7 Aug 1886, 74 Boundary St, Liverpool, (daughter of George BROWN and Emily Ann Meffert) d. 25 Nov 1964, 4 Lambourne
Rd Clubmoor,West Derby, Liverpool.
William died 15 Jan 1949, 289 Nederfield Rd, Kirkdale, Liverpool.
Children:
i William
PENN. He married Mabel ?.
ii John
PENN. He married Ada ?.
**** iii Thomas
PENN, b. 11 Oct 1914, 49 Mark
Street, Liverpool, occupation Police Constable. He married Charlotte Edith LAWRENCE, 10 Oct 1939, in St
James-the-Less, Bethnal Green, London, b. 21 May 1920, (daughter of George
LAWRENCE and Charlotte GILL). Thomas died 0 May 1983,
Liverpool, buried: Anfield Crematorium, Liverpool. Charlotte Edith died 1999
Herne Bay, Kent.
iv Joseph
PENN. He married Marjorie ?.
v Arthur
PENN. He married Marjorie ?.
vi Emily
PENN. She married Arthur TYSTEEL.
vii Frank
PENN.
viii Albert
PENN. He married Olive ?.
ix Marion
PENN.
**** Thomas Penn
THE
BETHNAL GREEN TUBE DISASTER
Thomas Penn was the
first person on the scene of the famous Bethnal Green Tube disaster in 1943,
which claimed the lives of 173 East Enders. According to newspaper articles he
was labeled a coward because some victims thought he had tried to save himself,
as he climbed over trapped bodies to summon help. But it was later revealed
that he was a very brave man.
On the night of March 3 1943, the air raid
alert sounded at 8.17 pm. Shortly
after, PC.Penn, who was off duty, was taking his wife, who was expecting a baby, to the air raid
shelter when he noticed unusual congestion around the entrance to the
Underground.
He sent his wife to another shelter and hurrying
forward, saw in the dim light of a single blacked out bulb that the steps
leading to the shelter were jammed with people who had become so tightly packed
that they could not move.
PC Penn, who had seen service in grim bomb
incidents in the Isle of Dogs, was as yet unaware of the cause or immensity of
the disaster. His first instinct was to
assess the extent of the trouble. To do
this he crawled over massed bodies to the foot of the 19 steps, where a woman
had tripped and where the pressure of oncoming crowds had jammed over 200
people into the space of a small room.
As PC Penn crawled back over the massed
bodies, a woman, thinking he had been among the trapped and was seeking to save
his own skin shouted the word “coward”.
After sending a message for help, PC Penn
again crawled to the foot of the stairs and helped other rescue workers
extricate the trapped people. At one
point he was overcome and had to receive first-aid from the post in the
shelter.
He returned to the rescue work and continued
until the stairs were cleared. When
casualties were counted, it was found that 173 had died, including 62 children,
and that 92 had been taken to hospital.
PC Penn, who was able to help in the handing
out of children over the heads of the trapped people, was the only constable to
give evidence at the inquest and at the into the disaster.
PC Penn who comes from Liverpool, joined the
Police in Bethnal Green in 1934. After his marriage in 1939 he was transferred
to the Isle of Dogs and the following year saw his toughest spell of duty. During the autumn of 1940 he served through
some of the heaviest raids, lost his home in Bow, had concussion, and on the
first day of his return to duty was on duty at Bullivant’s air raid shelter
where 80 people were killed.
In May of the following year he was
transferred to Poplar, and was laid out for three weeks after a land mine
exploded near the door of the police station at which he was standing with
another officer. He was transferred to
Walthamstow for a rest, but found it too quiet and returned to Hackney.
Later he joined the Fleet Air Arm and after
the war returned to the police in Bethnal Green.
