GENEALOGY OF THE PENNINGTON FAMILY - of South Jersey (NJ) ---------------------------- Information located at http://www.rootsweb.com/~njatlant/ On a USGenWeb/NJGenWeb Web site, July 2007 TRANSCRIBED BY GEORGE PRICE, a volunteer for NJGenWeb Please see the web site for email contact. ---------------------------------- The original source of this information is in the public domain, however use of this text file, other than for personal use, is restricted without written permission from the transcriber. ======================================================== Source: The Daily Union history of Atlantic City and County, New Jersey : containing sketches of the past and present of Atlantic City and county, with maps and illustrations specially prepared, by John F. Hall; Atlantic City, N.J.: Daily Union, 1900 PENNINGTON FAMILY The first of the family of Penningtons to come to Atlantic County was Nathan Pennington, who was born at Dutch Farms near Newark, N. J. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary Army, volunteering at the age of 19. He also served against the whiskey insurrection . During the Revolution he was taken prisoner and sent to Quebec, Canada, where he suffered very much, nearly dying of starvation. He escaped with some of his comrades, one of the number mounting to the top of the wall by standing on the shoulders of the others, the others being pulled up by means of their bed clothing, which was tied together, then lowered to the opposite side. Nathan Pennington was a ship builder. He lived at Chestnut Neck, N. J., then a part of Gloucester County, but now in Atlantic County. He was stationed there in charge of the property captured from the enemy. His wife was Margaret Wescott, daughter of Colonel Richard Wescott, of Mays Landing. They resided in Mays Landing, in a part called Pennington’s Point, where was located the ship yard in which he carried his business, and which continued to be an active ship yard until recent years. All the Penningtons in Atlantic county are descended from him. He died in 1810. He had a large family, nine children. John was born in 1791, lived at Mays Landing and was a sea captain, vessel owner, and for a time sheriff of the County. John Pennington had ten children, several of whom are now living, one daughter, Mrs. Mary Scott, at a very advanced age, in Mays Landing. She is the mother of County Clerk Lewis P. Scott. Another daughter was Mrs. Ann Endicott, of Mays Landing, who died a few years ago. One of her sons, Judge Allen B. Endicott, is a resident of the county and of Atlantic City. Others of her children in this county are Miss Catherine B. Endicott, Mrs. Isabella Corson, Mrs. Hannah Howell and Mrs. Mary Izard, all of Mays Landing, and Mrs. Elizabeth Rundall, of Atlantic City. Two of her sons reside in other parts of this state, Dr. George W. Endicott, of Plainfield, and Mr. Charles G. Endicott, of Westfield. A fourth son is Rear-Admiral Mordecai T. Endicott, U. S. Navy. Another daughter of John Pennington is Mrs. Hester Thompson, now in Atlantic City, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Hannah Moore. Mr. Joseph Thompson, formerly Law Judge of this county, and now Mayor of Atlantic City, is her son. One of the sons, Lewis W., is now living, a captain in the merchant service in the Clyde line of steamers, sailing out of New York. He was a volunteer naval officer during the Civil War, rising from the grade of acting master to a lieutenant commander at the close of the war. He did gallant service during the war and served under Farragut, was present in the attacks on Forts Jackson and Philip on the Mississippi river, and captured on of the flags of the latter fort. Captain Pennington was the second son, who had a long and honorable service in the merchant steam marine. He was in command of a transport in the government service during the Civil War, and was seriously wounded by a shot through the lung in passing a Confederate force on the banks of the Potomac river. He resided outside the limits of this State in his later life, but his widow, Mrs. Elizabeth Pennington, now resides in Atlantic City with her son, Dr. Bryon B. Pennington, a very successful physician. Nathan Pennington’s daughter, Charlotte, married Mr. Lewis Walker, of Mays Landing. They reside at Walker’s Forge, near the town. Mr. Walker was the proprietor of large tracts of land and of the iron forge, and had large business interests. They had several children, one, the late John Walker, of Trenton, N. J., being the father of Mr. John P. Walker, who is a resident of this county in the old mansion at Walker’s Forge, during the summer months. He is a very prominent educator, having held a responsible position for many years upon the staff of the school for deaf mutes in Philadelphia, and recently received appointment from the Governor of this State at the head of the State Institution for Deaf Mutes. Another child of Charlotte was Rebecca, who married the late Simon Hawthorne, of Mays Landing, being his second wife. One child by this union resides in Mays Landing, Miss Amelia Hawthorne. The fifth daughter of Nathan Pennington was Rebecca, who married William Mattix, of Mays Landing. They had nine children, two of whom survive and live in Mays Landing, William Mattix and Alwilda , wife of Mr. Martin V. B. Moore. The first member of the family who came into the State of New Jersey was Ephraim, who appears in New Haven in 1643, and it is supposed that that was the time of his arrival in this country. In 1667 the removed to Newark, N. J., and settled there. The Nathan Pennington mentioned above, who lived in Mays Landing, was a great grandson of the Ephraim who came to New Jersey in 1667, and who was the son of the Ephraim who emigrated to this country in 1643. Of this family two were Governors of the State of New Jersey, the first, William S., brother of Nathan, from 1813 to 1815. He was Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey in 1804, and Judge of the United States District Court of New Jersey from 1815 to his death, in 1826. He was an officer of the Second Regiment of the New Jersey Artillery, in the Revolutionary War, serving under General Knox, and the rank of Major was conferred on him by special act of Congress. His son, William, was also a man of great prominence in the State, and was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1860 to 1862, and as Speaker of the same House. He was also Governor of New Jersey for seven years, from 1837 to 1843, inclusive; likewise Chancellor of the State during the same period. Alexander C. M. Pennington, a cousin of the last named Governor, was a practicing lawyer in Newark, N. J., until 1857. He was a member of the New Jersey Assembly from 1837 to 1838, and of the United States House of Representatives for two terms, being elected in 1852, and again in 1854. He was a man of some military education, having been a cadet at the United States Military Academy for two years, after which he resigned to study law. He was Brigadier General commanding the Essex Brigade for a number of years. Alexander C. M. Pennington, a son of the General Pennington just named, was a graduate of West Point in 1860, in the artillery, and commanded a battery of horse artillery during the Civil War. He distinguished himself at the battle of Gettysburg, for which service he received a brevet of Brigadier General. The battery is commonly known as Pennington’s. His lineal rank at the outbreak of the Spanish War was that of Colonel, and he was commissioned a Brigadier General, and retired from active service in October, 1899. The New Jersey Penningtons are descended from the Penningtons of England, who trace their ancestry back to the time of Henry II. The ancestry in Great Britain is a long and distinguished one, and number in the 17th century a long list of knights, including Sir John Pennington, in the time of Henry VI, to whom he was much attached and gave a secret reception at Mulcaster, now Muncaster, for some time when in his flight from his enemies. In return, the king gave him a glass cup, belonging to the family so long as they should preserve it unbroken. It is called the luck of Muncaster, and the family still have the glass in their possession. Sir John Pennington is also said to have been a skilled warrior and fought in Scotland under James II, commanding the left wing of the British army. His son, Sir John the third, was attached to James V, and had an important command at the battle of Flodden Field, where James was killed. The second knight following Sir John the third was a Sir John, admiral to King Charles I, and was one of his privy council. He was betrayed by Charles II and confined in the Tower, but died before the time set for his execution. This Sir John distinguished himself in the wars with France and captured a considerable fleet of French war vessels, bringing them as prizes upon his return to his country. (end)