Daniel Penfield (1759 – 1840) was an American merchant and Revolutionary War veteran who is best known for founding the Monroe County town of

Penfield, New York Penfield is a town in Monroe County, New York, United States. The population was 36,242 at the 2010 census. The town was incorporated in 1810 by the proprietor Daniel Penfield, who purchased the town lands in 1795 and moved to the area in 1809 ...

Biography

Born on April 25, 1759, to Isaac and Esther Hurlburt Penfield in

Guilford, Connecticut Guilford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, that borders Madison, Branford, North Branford and Durham, and is situated on I-95 and the Connecticut seacoast. The population was 22,073 at the 2020 census. History Guilfo ...

, Penfield served as a clerk in the commissary department under Oliver Phelps during the Revolutionary War. The family moved to Hartland, Connecticut, prior to the war and later to

Granville, Massachusetts Granville is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is th ...

. About 1784, Penfield married Mary Fellows (born September 10, 1762), daughter of John and Mary Ashley Fellows. General Fellows served as an '' aide-de-camp'' to

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

. The couple bore five children: Henry (born July 18, 1785), Harriet (born May 12, 1787), Charlotte (born May 22, 1791), Mary Jane (born 1794), and George (born November, 1797). Shortly after marrying, the couple moved to Hillsdale, New York, and opened a general store. The store was burnt by an angry mob during

Shays' Rebellion Shays Rebellion was an armed uprising in Western Massachusetts and Worcester in response to a debt crisis among the citizenry and in opposition to the state government's increased efforts to collect taxes both on individuals and their trades. The ...

, so the couple moved to New York City sometime around 1789. Penfield became owner of a "lucrative commission business" and began making speculative land purchases of tracts in present-day Wayne County, New York, in 1790 and present-day Perinton, New York, in 1792. Penfield bought his first parcel in the present-day town of Penfield on February 4, 1795. Penfield opened another general store in

Claverack, New York Claverack is a town in Columbia County, New York, United States. The population was 6,021 at the 2010 census. The town name is a corruption for the Dutch word “Klaverakker” for "Clover Fields" or "Clover Reach". In 1705, the first discovery ...

, and maintained homes in

Hudson, New York Hudson is a city and the county seat of Columbia County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 5,894. Located on the east side of the Hudson River and 120 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, it was named for the rive ...

, and New York City. He kept these properties until Embargo Act of 1807 severely curtailed his commission business, prompting his decision to move to his Western New York lands in 1809. Penfield contracted with carpenters from

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

, to build his homestead in 1811. The house still stands today at 1784 Penfield Road. Over the years, he built or controlled several mills on

Irondequoit Creek Irondequoit Creek is a stream in eastern Monroe County, New York that feeds Irondequoit Bay. It begins in rural West Bloomfield in Ontario County, flowing north into the town of Mendon in Monroe County. Accumulating a few small tributaries, i ...

, including a sawmill, grist mill, distillery, ashery, oil mill, soap mill, clothing mill, and tannery. Penfield owned several

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

slaves until slavery was abolished in New York in 1827. Penfield spoke at the ceremonies welcoming the Marquis de Lafayette during his visit of June, 1825. His last commercial undertaking, a five-story flour mill, built in 1835, failed in part due to the

Panic of 1837 The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis in the United States that touched off a major depression, which lasted until the mid-1840s. Profits, prices, and wages went down, westward expansion was stalled, unemployment went up, and pessimism abound ...

. Penfield died on August 24, 1840, and was interred next to his wife (who died August 18, 1828) in Oakwood Cemetery in Penfield, New York.

Legacy

The Town of Penfield, New York and Penfield Road are both named after Penfield. Penfield Street in the Wakefield, Bronx section of the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

was also named for him and his family, who once were owners of a mansion located on White Plains Road between what is now Penfield Street and East 242nd Street.

External links

Penfield Family websiteTown of PenfieldTown of Penfield Bicentennial Celebration 2010Penfield TV
{{DEFAULTSORT:Penfield, Daniel 1759 births 1840 deaths American businesspeople American revolutionaries People from Guilford, Connecticut People from Columbia County, New York People from Penfield, New York People from Hartland, Connecticut People from Granville, Massachusetts

Biography

Legacy

Further reading

External links