This is a list of colonial governors of Pennsylvania.
Proprietors
Three generations of Penns acted as proprietors of the
Province of Pennsylvania and the
Lower Counties
Delaware Colony in the North American Middle Colonies consisted of land on the west bank of the Delaware River Bay. In the early 17th century the area was inhabited by Lenape and possibly the Assateague tribes of Native Americans. The first Europ ...
(
Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
) from the founding of the colony until the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
removed them from power.
William Penn
William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...
was granted the new
proprietary colony
A proprietary colony was a type of English colony mostly in North America and in the Caribbean in the 17th century. In the British Empire, all land belonged to the monarch, and it was his/her prerogative to divide. Therefore, all colonial proper ...
in 1681 by
Charles II of England in payment for debts owed to
Penn's father. After Penn became ill in 1712, his second wife
Hannah Callowhill Penn
Hannah Margaret Penn ( Callowhill; 11 February 1671 – 20 December 1726) was an Anglo-American governor. The second wife of Pennsylvania founder William Penn, she effectively administered the Province of Pennsylvania for six years after he ...
served as acting proprietor.
After William's death in 1718, interest in the proprietorship passed to his three sons by Hannah:
John Penn "the American",
Thomas Penn
Thomas Penn (8 March 1702 – 21 March 1775) was an English landowner and mercer who was the chief proprietor of Pennsylvania from 1746 to 1775. Penn is best known for his involvement in negotiating the Walking Purchase, a contested land cessi ...
, and
Richard Penn, Sr., with John inheriting the largest share and becoming the chief proprietor. When John died without children, his brother Thomas inherited his share and became chief proprietor.
When Richard Penn, Sr. died, his share passed to his son
Governor John Penn. When Thomas Penn died, his share (and the chief proprietorship) passed to his son
John Penn "of Stoke".
Governors
The government of
Colonial Pennsylvania (and the
Lower Counties
Delaware Colony in the North American Middle Colonies consisted of land on the west bank of the Delaware River Bay. In the early 17th century the area was inhabited by Lenape and possibly the Assateague tribes of Native Americans. The first Europ ...
) was conducted by a set of administrators in the name of the proprietors.
During the British occupation of Philadelphia from 26 September 1777 until June 1778,
Joseph Galloway
Joseph Galloway (1731August 29, 1803) was an American attorney and a leading political figure in the events immediately preceding the founding of the United States in the late 1700s. As a staunch opponent of American independence, he would bec ...
was "in charge of policing the city, and of imports and exports".
/ref>
See also
*List of governors of Pennsylvania
The governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is the head of state and head of government of the U.S. state, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as well as commander-in-chief of the Commonwealth's military forces.
The governor has a duty to enfor ...
References
Sources
*Miller, Randall M. and William Pencak, eds. ''Pennsylvania: A History of the Commonwealth''. University Park: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2002.
*Treese, Lorett. ''The Storm Gathering: The Penn Family and the American Revolution''. University Park: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1992. .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pennsylvania, List of colonial governors of
*
Lieutenant Governors of Pennsylvania
Pre-statehood history of Delaware
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...