Hannah Margaret Penn ( Callowhill; 11 February 1671 – 20 December 1726) was an Anglo-American governor. The second wife of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

founder

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...

, she effectively administered the

Province of Pennsylvania The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn, who received the land through a grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania was derived from ...

for six years after her husband suffered a series of

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

s, and then for another eight years after her husband's death. She served as acting proprietor from 1712 until her death in 1726.

Early life

Hannah Margaret Callowhill was born in

Bristol, England Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, the daughter of Thomas Callowhill, a merchant there, and Anna (or Hannah) Hollister.

Province of Pennsylvania

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

, she married William Penn on March 5, 1696, when she was 25 and he was 52 at Quakers Friars in Bristol. She was pregnant with their first of eight children when the couple embarked from

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

for their three-month voyage to what was then

British America British America collectively refers to various British colonization of the Americas, colonies of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and its predecessors states in the Americas prior to the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War in 1 ...

in 1699. She lived in great style, both in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

and at

Pennsbury Manor Pennsbury Manor is the colonial estate of William Penn, founder and proprietor of the Colony of Pennsylvania, who lived there from 1699 to 1701. He left it and returned to England in 1701, where he died penniless in 1718. Following his departure ...

, a beautiful estate located in

Bucks County Bucks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the fourth-most populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Doylestown. The county is named after the English ...

, on the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

. When William Penn died at age 73 on July 30, 1718, his will gave Hannah Penn full control of the

and his fortune. William Penn's oldest son by his first marriage, William Penn Jr., sought to dismiss his father's will in order to obtain control of the colony. His suit was unsuccessful, and Hannah Penn remained in charge of the colony until she died from a

in her son's house in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

at age 55. Her deputy in Pennsylvania from 1718 until 1727 was William Keith. Ernest-Board-The-Marriage-of-William-Penn-and-Hannah-Callowhill-at-the-Friends-Meeting-House-The-Friary-Bristol-1696

Ernest-Board-The-Marriage-of-William-Penn-and-Hannah-Callowhill-at-the-Friends-Meeting-House-The-Friary-Bristol-1696

She is buried in the same grave as William in the Quaker burial ground at Jordans in Buckinghamshire, in England.

Children

She had nine children with

: * Unnamed daughter (born and died 1697) *

John Penn ("the American") John Penn (January 28, 1700 – October 25, 1746) was an American-born merchant who was proprietor of the colonial Province of Pennsylvania, which became the U.S. state of Pennsylvania following American independence obtained in victory in the ...

(28 January 1700 – 25 October 1746), never married *

Thomas Penn Thomas Penn ( – 21 March 1775) was an English landowner and mercer who was the List of colonial governors of Pennsylvania, chief proprietor of Pennsylvania from 1746 to 1775. He was one of 17 children of William Penn, the founder of the colo ...

(20 March 1702 – 21 March 1775), married Lady Juliana Fermore, fourth daughter of Thomas, first Earl of Pomfret * Hannah Penn (1703–1706) * Margaret Penn (7 November 1704–February 1751), married Thomas Freame (1701/02-1746) nephew of John Freame, founder of

Barclays Bank Barclays PLC (, occasionally ) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services ...

* Richard Penn Sr. (17 January 1706 – 4 February 1771) * Dennis Penn (26 February 1707 – 1723) * Hannah Margarita Penn (1708–March 1708) * Louis Penn

Legacy

Hannah Penn is one of the few individuals and the first woman granted the status of Honorary Citizen of the United States, awarded her by

Presidential Proclamation In the United States, a presidential proclamation is a statement issued by the president of the United States on an issue of public policy. It is a type of presidential directive. Details A presidential proclamation is an instrument that: *s ...

by an

Act of Congress An act of Congress is a statute enacted by the United States Congress. Acts may apply only to individual entities (called Public and private bills, private laws), or to the general public (Public and private bills, public laws). For a Bill (law) ...

(PL. 98-516) by

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

on November 28, 1984. When William Penn was laying out the city of Philadelphia in the early 1680s, he named Callowhill Street in his wife's honor. In the 21st century, the neighborhood directly north of

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

, which Callowhill Street passes through, became known as Callowhill. Similarly, a street in Perkasie, Pennsylvania, is also named in her honor. A middle school in

York, Pennsylvania York is a city in York County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located in South Central Pennsylvania, the city's population was 44,800 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in ...

, is named in her honor.

Pennsylvania Governor The governor of Pennsylvania is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as well as commander-in-chief of the state's national guard. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws and the power to approve or veto bills pass ...

Tom Corbett Thomas Wingett Corbett Jr. (born June 17, 1949) is an American politician, lobbyist, and former prosecutor who served as the 46th governor of Pennsylvania from 2011 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he was also attorney general of Pen ...

, named March 12, 2013 "Hannah Callowhill Penn Day." Governor Corbett and Mrs. Susan Corbett commissioned a posthumous portrait of Hannah Penn by Pennsylvania portrait artist Ellen Cooper. The portrait was unveiled at a ceremony at the Pennsylvania capitol during Women's History Month, March 19, 2014. After being publicly displayed in the governor's reception room for several months, on January 15, 2015, the portrait was hung in the Pennsylvania governor's office among portraits of other early leaders of Pennsylvania. However, as of March 2015 the portrait is in storage; Governor

Tom Wolf Thomas Westerman Wolf (born November 17, 1948) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 47th governor of Pennsylvania from 2015 to 2023. He previously served as chairman and CEO of his business, The Wolf Organization, and l ...

asked for it to be moved into the governor's reception room, but he said because of safety concerns it was returned to the Historical and Museum Commission. According to Penn Live, "It is likely that it will be sent, for a time, to Pennsbury Manor, the estate from which the Penns first governed the new colony. Then, it is headed to the state museum for an exhibit on Iconic Stories of Pennsylvania." On March 19, 2014, the Pennsylvania Commission for Women awarded the first Hannah Penn Leadership Awards to honor Pennsylvania women who have been outstanding mentors and role models through their leadership, service and commitment to empowering women and girls in the commonwealth.

References

External links

Presidential Proclamation 5284

Sketch of Hannah PennPennsylvania Historical Marker
and portrait * {{DEFAULTSORT:Penn, Hannah Callowhill 1671 births 1726 deaths 18th-century women rulers English Quakers Hannah Callowhill People from Bristol People from colonial Pennsylvania 18th-century Pennsylvania politicians 18th-century American women 18th-century women politicians 18th-century English women 18th-century English politicians Colonial governors of Pennsylvania