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Family Group 21
Penningtons of Delaware
The long published belief that there are "no known living descendants" of the Delaware Pennington families is no longer true. This statement published on the Pennington Association Web site and in print in the "Pennington Pedigrees" has been of concern to many who know that their Pennington roots stem from the State of Delaware. Whatever the original intent in establishing the Delaware Group 21, it can be stated that there are many descendants of the Delaware Penningtons. They may no longer have Pennington as their surname; however, their lineage to the Pennington name has been documented through years of research. In order to move pass this "no known living descendants" obstacle, research continues to find out how the Pennington families established themselves in the wonderful state of Delaware.
The theory that the Pennington family groups that settled in Delaware migrated east from Maryland has been put forward by many researchers over the years. It stands to reason since Cecil Co., MD is next to New Castle Co. and Kent Co., DE and the Pennington roots were established there in the early 1600's. In the case of two large DE Pennington family groups, this theory has been proven true. Current research points to several family groups establishing the Pennington lines in Delaware. Each of the following can be considered a progenitor of a branch of Delaware Penningtons
1. Samuel Penington, who died in 1823 in New Castle Co., DE in the current Group 21 leader's lineage. Samuel came to Odessa, DE from Cecil Co., MD around 1800 and is connected to two MD Pennington lines.
- The first connection: Samuel is the son of Robert "of Wm." and Mary (Biddle) Penington who lived in Cecil Co., MD. Mary Biddle is the d/o John and Rachel (Pennington) Biddle Jr.
- The second connection is Wm., the father of Robert. This William could be connected in some manner to the William and Mary (Atkey) Pennington family group because of similar naming patterns- however, this is only a theory and not proven fact. (This particular DE branch from Robert of Wm. spells the Pennington name with one "n" on most legal documents and on their tombstones)
2. Atkey R. Pennington, who was born in 1759 Elkton MD and died in New Castle Co., DE. Current research points to the parents of Atkey R as being -- James (b 1723) and Elizabeth (Beastin) Pennington, s/o William (b abt 1693) and Mary (Atkey) Pennington. Both James and Wm. lived in Cecil Co MD. Atkey R. Pennington lived in the Port Penn area of New Castle Co.
- Other predominate family surnames in Atkey R Pennington lineage are Ryland, Vandergrift, Eaton, and Price.
3. John Atkey Penington, who died in 1820 in New Castle Co., DE and farmed around the Odessa area, is another progenitor in DE.
- Other predominate family surnames in the John Atkey Penington line are Price, McDonough, Dushane, and Barr.
4. James Fields Pennington born June 6, 1793 in MD, died 1876 in DE. (Looking for more research on the parents of this DE family group).
These Delaware Pennington progenitors started large families. There are several other family groups found in the DE Archives Hall of Records. These smaller groups could also be linked into the families from MD and quite possibly from the Philadelphia and NJ areas. More research is in store for all these connections.
Maybe there will be a donation to the MD and DE Archives of more family bibles, or a trunk load of family papers. One can only hope and dream of such a find to help clear up the Maryland Mysteries.
For the most recent information concerning this family please refer to the Group 21 web page.
Copyright © 2000 Ruth Voshell Stonesifer, Previous Family Group 21 Leader, 10/07/00. This Group needs a Leader. How about you? Contact Gene Pennington to learn more.
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