John Penn (May 17, 1741 September 14, 1788) was an
American Founding Father who served multiple terms in the
Continental Congress, and who signed both the
Declaration of Independence and
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation, officially the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was an agreement and early body of law in the Thirteen Colonies, which served as the nation's first Constitution, frame of government during the Ameri ...
as a delegate of
North Carolina
North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
.
Biography
Penn was born near
Port Royal in
Caroline County, Virginia, the son of Moses Penn and Catherine (Taylor) Penn. He attended at common school for two years as his father did not consider education to be important. At age 18, after his father's death, Penn privately
read law with his uncle,
Edmund Pendleton. He became a lawyer in
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
in 1762.
[ Goodrich, 1842, pp. 433–435][ Hamilton, Malone (ed.), 1934, p. 431]
On July 28, 1763, Penn married Susannah Lyne. The couple had three children. Their daughter, Lucy, married
John Taylor of Caroline, a political leader from Virginia.
[
In 1774, Penn moved to the Stovall, North Carolina. There, he was a representative at the colony's Third Provincial Congress in August 1775. In 1775 Penn was elected to the Continental Congress. He was re-elected in 1777, 1778 and 1779 and is said to have served with distinction. During his tenure, he signed the Declaration of Independence and the ]Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation, officially the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was an agreement and early body of law in the Thirteen Colonies, which served as the nation's first Constitution, frame of government during the Ameri ...
.
In 1780 Penn was appointed to the North Carolina board of war. Following his appointment to the Congress, he practiced law until his death in 1788.[
]
Legacy
The naval ship USS ''John Penn'' was named in his honor. A historical highway marker honoring Penn was erected in near his home in Stovall in 1936; it was the first such marker erected by the state of North Carolina.
See also
* Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence
* Joseph Penn Hunt Farm
* Joseph Penn Breedlove
Sources
*
*
References
External links
Biography by Rev. Charles A. Goodrich, 1856
{{DEFAULTSORT:Penn, John
Founding Fathers of the United States
1741 births
1788 deaths
Continental Congressmen from North Carolina
Signers of the United States Declaration of Independence
Signers of the Articles of Confederation
People from Port Royal, Virginia
People from Granville County, North Carolina
American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law
American slave owners