William Pennoyer was a British puritan merchant born in Bristol in 1603. In 1657 he was elected as Master of the

Clothworkers' Company The Worshipful Company of Clothworkers was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1528, formed by the amalgamation of its two predecessor companies, the Fullers (incorporated 1480) and the Shearmen (incorporated 1508). It succeeded to the position of t ...

and he became a Governor of Christ's Hospital in 1659. As a successful merchant, he was involved in trading of cloth, tobacco, livestock and gunpowder, and he had interests in sugar plantations and fishing. He was involved in business ventures with the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

William Pennoyer was involved in the foundation of free "Pennoyer's Schools" in the village of Pulham St Mary,

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

and at Hay-on-Wye,

Brecknockshire , image_flag= , HQ= Brecon , Government= Brecknockshire County Council (1889-1974) , Origin= Brycheiniog , Status= , Start= 1535 , End= ...

(now Powys). He made extensive charitable provisions in his will in connection with Christ's Hospital,

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

(now University) in Massachusetts and local charities in Pulham St Mary.

Harvard University

In his will, Pennoyer left a farm in Pulham St Mary to provide, from its income, funds for stipends for two Fellows and two Scholars at Harvard College. Preference was to go to descendants of his younger brother Robert, who lived in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, and to candidates from New Haven Colony. By the late 19th century, agricultural depression in England had reduced the annual income and steps were taken to sell "Asten's Farm", as it had become known. In 1903 US$4,030 was realised and added to the Pennoyer Scholarship Fund. The scholarship continues to be available to qualifying applicants. Among the recipients of Pennoyer scholarships have been historians Jared Sparks and

John G. Palfrey John Gorham Palfrey (May 2, 1796 – April 26, 1881) was an American clergyman and historian who served as a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts. A Unitarian minister, he played a leading role in the early history of Harvard Divinity ...

and theologian George R. Noyes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pennoyer, William 1603 births 1670 deaths People from Bristol 17th-century English merchants Defunct schools in Norfolk Pulham St Mary Hay-on-Wye Harvard University people