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William Penn 
 
 Founder of Pennsylvania 
 
 By 
 LUCY B. ROBERTS 
 
 PENN IN ARMOR, 1666— Aged 22 
 
 Painted in Ireland 
 
 Presented by his Grandson to The Historical Society 
 
 of Pennsylvania 
 
 Issued by 
 
 The Religious Society of Friends 
 
 (Quakers) 
 
 302 Arch Street, Philadelphia 
 1919 
 
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WILLIAM PENN 
 
 Founder of 
 Pennsylvania 
 
 By LUCY ef ROBERTS 
 
 Issued by 
 The Religious Society of Friends 
 
 (Quakers) 
 
 302 Arch Street, Philadelphia 
 1919 
 
 iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiniiiiiii 
 
WILLIAM PENN 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 It was during the stormy time of the great 
 Civil War in England that WilHam Penn was 
 iDorn, in 1644, at his father's house on or 
 near Tower Hill in London. His boyhood, 
 too, was spent in stirring times. This gave 
 an intelligent boy like William Penn oppor- 
 tunity to hear much about public affairs, 
 especially as his father was an admiral, and 
 had served in the navy under Charles I., be- 
 fore that monarch lost his kingdom and 
 afterwards his life. Admiral Sir William 
 Penn was an important man, and very am- 
 bitious, especially for his son. He had gained 
 a great many honors. When he was thirty- 
 one he was made Vice-Admiral of the British 
 Navy, and was very active under King 
 Charles II. when he came to the throne. 
 
 William Penn was a bright, active boy, 
 fond of sports, and enjoying a joke as much 
 as any. And yet he thought of other things 
 besides fun and worldly advantage, for he 
 tells us, in one of the books which he wrote 
 years afterwards, that one day when he was 
 a little boy he was sitting alone in his room 
 thinking, when a strange feeling of being 
 
comforted came over him, and he felt as 
 though the Lord God was right there with 
 him. He thought that from this time he 
 loved the Lord and wished to serve Him, 
 although there were times afterward when he 
 seemed to be careless about it. 
 
 We do not know much about how he spent 
 his boyhood, except that he went to Chigwell, 
 in Essex, to school until twelve years old, 
 and also had a tutor at home. One thing 
 that happened when he was eleven years 
 old he seems to have remembered very par- 
 ticularly. Thomas Loe, a Quaker preacher, 
 was in the neighborhood of his home in 
 Ireland, and Admiral Penn thought they 
 ought to do as the Bereans whom the Bible 
 tells about, and hear him before they judged 
 him. So the Friend was invited to their 
 house, and when he had opportunity he 
 preached to them with such earnestness that 
 one of the servants cried out loud, and the 
 Admiral shed tears. His son William sat 
 there and wondered, "What if they would 
 all be Quakers! " 
 
 Life at Oxford, 1660-1662. 
 
 When he was sixteen he was sent to Christ- 
 church, Oxford, as a gentleman commoner. 
 He was energetic and thorough, both at study 
 and in all the athletic sports of the day, 
 being particularly fond of fencing. He made 
 excellent friends there, and enjoyed friend- 
 ship with a number of them all his life. 
 
 6 
 
One day, while a student, he went to a 
 meeting of Friends, and there heard the 
 very same Friend, Thomas Loe, who had 
 impressed him so much when he was a boy 
 at home. 
 
 All William Penn's desire to walk more 
 closely with God seemed to be again 
 aroused, and he and some other students 
 held little meetings by themselves. They 
 also refused to go to the other religious 
 services, partly because they were often 
 under the care of people unfitted for such a 
 serious office, and also because they thought 
 students should not be compelled to worship 
 in a prescribed manner. For this they were 
 fined. Charles II. sent a command that a 
 surplice should be worn by every student; 
 this tried William Penn and some others 
 much, as they thought it an unfair inter- 
 ference, and they showed their indignation 
 so strongly that they were expelled. His 
 father was very angry not only because his 
 son was expelled, but because he did not 
 like the Quaker influence. He tried to per- 
 suade William to give it up. At first he 
 was kind and gentle with him; but when 
 his son refused to yield, the father resorted 
 to blows and sent him out of the house. 
 
 Studies in France, 1662-1664. 
 
 William had a loving mother who pleaded 
 for him, so that his father, who was really 
 6 
 
an affectionate man, relented, and tried an- 
 other plan. He sent his son to France with 
 some people of rank. They went first to 
 Paris, where there was much to tempt him, 
 but he seems to have resisted the evil. 
 Thence he went to Saumur and studied there 
 in the Protestant College. 
 
 He also became an excellent French 
 scholar, and gained the polish of manner for 
 which the French are noted. Pepys tells us 
 that he was at that time "a most modish per- 
 son, grown a fine gentleman." 
 
 One evening, while in Paris, a man at- 
 tacked him for an imagined affront. Penn, 
 like all the young men of the time, was 
 armed; he defended himself and defeated 
 the man. When he found he had the man 
 at his mercy he let him go without injury. 
 Years after, he spoke of this incident, say- 
 ing it showed "what envy, quarrels and mis- 
 chiefs have happened among private persons 
 upon their conceit that they have not been 
 respected" in some small matter of form. 
 
 "Suppose he had killed me," he added, 
 "or I, in my defence, had killed him. I ask 
 any man of understanding or conscience if 
 the whole round of ceremony were worth 
 the life of a man, considering the dignity 
 of his nature and the importance of his life 
 with respect to God his Creator, himself and 
 the benefit of civil society?" 
 
 7 
 
Leaving France, he travelled into Italy to 
 study its language and literature; but from 
 Turin he was recalled by his father, in 1 664, 
 when twenty years old, in order to help in 
 the affairs of the family, his father having 
 received notice that he was to command the 
 fleet, under the Duke of York, against the 
 Dutch. 
 
 He now began to study law till the plague 
 broke out. When the Dutch war began, he 
 went with his father, but returned with let- 
 ters for the King, 1665. 
 
 To his father he thus describes the inter- 
 view: 
 
 "I took post to London and was at London 
 the next morning by almost daylight. I 
 hastened to Whitehall [the King's residence] , 
 where, not finding the King up, I presented 
 myself to my Lord of Arlington. At his 
 Majesty's knocking he was informed- that 
 there was an express from the Duke, at 
 which, earnestly skipping out of bed, he 
 came only in his gown and slippers, who, 
 when he saw me, said: 'Oh, it's you? How 
 is Sir William?' He asked how you did 
 several times. He was glad to hear your 
 messages." 
 
 Within a year of this time gay London 
 was saddened by the plague, the horrors of 
 which would take pages to describe. Wil- 
 liam Penn naturally felt deeply impressed by 
 
 8 
 
it, and he seemed again to desire to turn 
 to a more earnest manner of living. 
 
 We have seen that he had remarkable op- 
 portunities to gain power at court, on ac- 
 count of his father's intimacy with the Duke 
 of York, the heir to the crown. The Admiral 
 wanted him to make use of this influence, 
 and becoming alarmed at his son's more 
 thoughtful manner, he hurried him off to 
 Ireland to be with the Duke of Ormond. 
 William found a better company of young 
 nobles here than in England, where there was 
 so much evil. For a time he entered heartily 
 into their gaiety. He was only twenty-two, 
 lively and handsome. It is thought that the 
 portrait of William Penn in armour was 
 painted at this time, 1666. 
 
 While Penn was in Ireland a mutiny arose 
 among the soldiers at Carrickfergus, and he 
 was sent to help to subdue them. He did 
 this so well that he was reported to have 
 "acquitted himself in that action to his no 
 small reputation." 
 
 William Penn Becomes a Quaker, 1667. 
 
 His father now wished him to take charge 
 of his Irish estates, which he did so well 
 that the Admiral was delighted. On one oc- 
 casion when in Cork on business, he again 
 heard the Friend, Thomas Loe, who had 
 visited his father's house in his boyhood. He 
 preached on the subject, "There is a faith 
 
 9 
 
which overcometh the world, and there is a 
 faith which is overcome by the world." At 
 this time William Penn received a most 
 earnest call to love and serve his Heavenly 
 Father, and he became a Quaker, 1667. At 
 another meeting in Cork he and others were 
 arrested and taken before the Mayor; but 
 when the latter saw William's dress he 
 thought there must be some mistake, and 
 offered to release him. Penn was brave 
 enough to refuse, for he knew all had been 
 unlawfully arrested, and he would not accept 
 his liberty and leave his companions in prison. 
 He wrote to Lord Orrery, President of the 
 Council, asking his help, which was given. 
 
 After procuring release from prison for 
 those who were arrested with him as well 
 as for himself, he had a still greater difficulty 
 io face. His father having heard of this 
 experience sent for him, and, finding such a 
 change in him, became very angry at this 
 disappointment of all his hopes, and again 
 sent him from the house. His devoted 
 mother helped him, and at last his father 
 consented to have him supported at home, 
 but would not see him. 
 
 For some time after William Penn became 
 a Friend he dressed just like other men at 
 that time; he also wore his sword. One day 
 William Penn met George Fox and asked 
 him whether it was right to wear a sword. 
 
 10 
 
George Fox replied, "I advise thee to wear 
 it as long as thou canst." Soon afterwards 
 they met again, and George Fox asked, "Wil- 
 liam, where is thy sword?" Penn replied, 
 "Oh, I have taken thy advice, I wore it as 
 long as I could;" which shows that he soon 
 thought it wrong for a follower of Christ to 
 carry a weapon intended for killing his 
 fellow-men. 
 
 When twenty-four years old William Penn 
 became an earnest preacher. He also wrote 
 much on religious subjects. Indeed, during 
 his entire life he wrote pamphlets and books, 
 when he had opportunity, on such subjects 
 as pure religion, freedom of conscience, and 
 peace among nations. "No Cross, No 
 Crown," "Some Fruits of Solitude in Reflec- 
 tions and Maxims," and "Rise and Progress 
 of the People called Quakers," are the best 
 known of his books. The first-named was 
 written in 1669 while he was a prisoner in 
 the Tower of London, where he vvas im- 
 prisoned because some of his statements were 
 misunderstood, and kept without trial for 
 seven months, until he was unexpectedly dis- 
 charged by the King. 
 
 Trial of William Penn and William Mead. 
 
 In 1670, the Conventicle Act, passed in 
 1664, was renewed. It was intended to sup- 
 press all religious meetings conducted in any 
 other manner than according to the practice 
 
 11 
 
of the Church of England. The Friends con- 
 tinued their meetings as though there had 
 been no such law, as they felt it was an un- 
 just one, and they thought they ought to 
 obey God rather than man. Going to one 
 meeting in London, they found the doors 
 closed by soldiers; so they gathered about 
 the door, where, after standing in silence 
 some time, William Penn began to speak. 
 Soon he and William Mead were arrested by 
 constables. It was charged that they did 
 "with force and arms unlawfully and tumul- 
 tuously assemble and congregate themselves 
 together to the disturbance of the peace of 
 the said Lord and King" — "to the great 
 terror and disturbance of many of his liege 
 people and subjects," etc. There were many 
 mistakes in this. The date was wrong, the 
 Friends were not armed, and only the sol- 
 diers had used force. As it had all been 
 in the street and not in any conventicle or 
 meeting-house, the Conventicle Act did not 
 fit the case; so there was no law against it. 
 William Penn's knowledge of English law 
 enabled him to see this, and also to speak in 
 his own defence. The trial began on the 
 eleventh of Ninth month (September) and 
 was adjourned till the thirteenth. 
 
 The bench would not listen long, and he 
 was hurried away to the bale dock*, with 
 
 * An enclosed place, at the extremity of the court- 
 house, in ■which he could neither see nor be seen. 
 
 12 
 
William Mead, who had also spoken in his 
 own defence. The Recorder then began to 
 charge the jury. William Penn heard a part 
 of this charge, and raising his voice so as to 
 be heard at a distance, said: — 
 
 **I appeal to the jury, who are my judges, 
 and to this great assembly, whether the pro- 
 ceedings of the court are not most arbitrary, 
 and void of all law, in endeavoring to give 
 the jury their charge in the absence of the 
 prisoners. I say it is directly opposite to 
 and destructive of the undoubted right of 
 every English prisoner, as Coke on the chap- 
 ter of Magna Charta speaks." 
 
 After this the prisoners were taken to their 
 cells. The jury were sent out, and, after an 
 hour-and-a-half, returned. The foreman, 
 Thomas Veer, was asked: "Is William Penn 
 guilty of the matter whereof he stands in- 
 dicted in manner and form, or not guilty?" 
 The foreman answered: "Guilty of speaking 
 in Gracechurch Street." 
 
 The Recorder was displeased, and said, 
 "You had as good say nothing"; and, later 
 on, "Gentlemen, you shall not be dismissed 
 till we have a verdict that the Court will 
 accept, and you shall be locked up, without 
 meat, drink, fire or tobacco; you shall not 
 think thus to abuse the Court: we will have 
 a verdict by the help of God, or you shall 
 starve for it." 
 
 13 
 
The jury were kept for two nights with- 
 out food, drink, or any convenience. On 
 the 15th they were again called and gave a 
 verdict of "Not Guilty." Edward Bushel was 
 one of the most determined of this noble 
 jury. 
 
 William Penn and William Mead were 
 sent to Newgate Prison, as well as all the 
 jury. The jury were soon released, and, 
 following Penn's advice, brought an action 
 against the Mayor and Recorder for false 
 imprisonment, and won the day. An able 
 lawyer lately wrote of this trial: "It is an 
 instance not simply of a Quaker pleading 
 for the rights of conscience but it is that of 
 an Englishman contending for the ancient 
 and imprescriptible rights of his race." 
 
 Reconciliation with His Father. 
 
 While William Penn was in prison his 
 father became ill and anxious to see him. 
 He privately paid the fine for William and 
 his companion, and they were released. As 
 he drew near the end of his life the 
 Admiral saw that there were other things 
 more important than the honour of the navy 
 or the glory of the Court, He became more 
 loving and tender, and he and his son were 
 more united in all things. His greatest dis- 
 appointment during the prime of life had 
 been the religious disposition of his son; but 
 his greatest comfort towards the end of his 
 
 14 
 
life was seeing that son living the life of 
 self-denial he had so opposed, and dedicating 
 himself to the service of God. 
 
 One day, soon after his father's death, 
 William Penn was preaching, when he was 
 again arrested, and the same magistrate who 
 had been so harsh with him before sentenced 
 him to six months' imprisonment at Newgate. 
 
 His Marriage. 
 
 When he was set at liberty, he paid a short 
 religious visit to Holland and Germany. On 
 his return, in 1 672, when in his twenty-eighth 
 year, he married Gulielma Maria, the daugh- 
 ter of Sir William Springett, who had been 
 an officer in the Parliamentary army. She 
 was beautiful, talented, and good. William 
 Penn's friendship for her soon became love, 
 and he won her to be his wife. They lived 
 for a time at Rickmansworth, a few miles 
 from Chalfont, where her home had for- 
 merly been with her mother and her step- 
 father, Isaac Penington. This was a beauti- 
 ful marriage; she helped him in his earnest 
 desires and made life more happy for him. 
 The few months after his marriage were one 
 of the few holidays William Penn ever took 
 in his life. 
 
 In 1677 William Penn again travelled in 
 Holland and in Germany. 
 
 Among the interesting people he met dur- 
 ing his journey was the Princess Elisabeth of 
 
 15 
 
the Palatinate, daughter of the King of 
 Bohemia and grand-daughter of James I. She 
 welcomed him kindly to her home, and with 
 several of her friends held a number of 
 religious meetings, where he spoke to them 
 earnestly and reminded them of the impor- 
 tance of serving the Lord with the whole 
 heart. She also arranged a meeting with 
 her servants, whom he addressed. Her 
 earnest letters to him afterwards prove that 
 this visit did not result in a light impression, 
 but was a real help in deepening the spiritual 
 life. 
 
 16 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 Proprietorship and Colonisation of 
 Pennsylvania 
 
 William Penn, as a young man, had 
 always felt an interest in America, then a 
 new land of adventure and promise. He 
 had known much about some of the settle- 
 ments there, for Lord Berkeley had sold his 
 share of New Jersey, amounting to half of 
 that State, to a man named John Fenwick, 
 in trust for Edward Byllinge, and when there 
 was difficulty between these two — both 
 Quakers — William Penn settled it amicably, 
 and was made a trustee. This gave him 
 much to do. He made terms with Lord 
 Carteret, the owner of the other half of 
 New Jersey; and then almost alone he pre- 
 pared the constitution of that province. The 
 knowledge gained in this experience was very 
 valuable to him when, in 1680, he began to 
 form that plan for the government of Penn- 
 sylvania which was his greatest achievement. 
 
 Admiral Penn had advanced money to 
 the Government for naval purposes, and at 
 his death £16,000 was due to him. William 
 Penn petitioned the Privy Council that this 
 sum might be paid by a grant to him, by 
 17 
 
the King, of land adjoining the territories of 
 Maryland and New Jersey. After much diffi- 
 culty and delay this was granted, and the 
 patent was executed in 1681. 
 
 This was the immediate occasion of his 
 great venture. Penn wrote to a friend that 
 he "so desired to obtain the new land as 
 that 1 may not be unworthy of God's love, 
 . . . and that an example may be set 
 up to the nations, . . . that there was 
 room there [in America] for such an holy 
 experiment." 
 
 The deed of grant made William Penn the 
 owner or proprietor of Pennsylvania, a coun- 
 try as large as England. This deed was on 
 parchment, "each line underscored with red 
 ink and the borders georgeously decorated." 
 It is now in the Division of Public Records 
 in the State Library at Harrisburg, in Penn- 
 sylvania. 
 
 First Visit to Pennsylvania, 1682-1684. 
 
 In Eighth month (August), 1682, this 
 brave man, with a moral courage grander 
 than that of the soldier, sailed from Deal, 
 on the ship "Welcome," to the land of his 
 earnest care. There were about one hundred 
 passengers, mostly Friends from Sussex, to 
 which county he had moved in 1 676. 
 
 No doubt he felt enthusiasm, but he was 
 leaving his dear wife and children, and a 
 
 18 
 

 : A ,uu. . (/ J\^ /C:^ A^^ ^-r^^f^ 
 
 Autograph Letter of William Penn to his Children, just 
 before leaving England on his First Voyage to Penn- 
 sylvania, on the Ship "Welcome," 1682. 
 
 19 
 
voyage was then a matter of much more risk 
 than it is now. The ship had a "prosperous 
 voyage of three months," though some of 
 the passengers had small-pox. William Penn 
 was helpful, "and contributed to the necessi- 
 ties of the sick." 
 
 What did he look like, does some one ask? 
 The pictures and statues we so frequently 
 see, representing him as being very stout and 
 old, and with a large curly wig, were not 
 taken from life and may not be quite correct. 
 
 The noble face in the painting of him 
 when he was twenty-two, which is supposed 
 to be authentic, must have developed strong 
 lines and manly expression, and we can 
 imagine this hale man of thirty-eight years, 
 just in the prime of a noble manhood, as 
 he stood on deck while the vessel was gliding 
 up the Delaware River, Eleventh Month, 
 (November) 6lh, to New Castle. 
 
 The Swedes and Dutch, who had been 
 there for some time, as well as the Friends 
 who had lately preceded him, were glad 
 to welcome him. 
 
 He soon laid out a plan for a city between 
 the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers, and 
 called it Philadelphia, meaning "brotherly 
 love. 
 
 He desired the commissioners to lay ofl 
 ten thousand acres for the boundaries of the 
 town. If this had been agreed to, it would 
 
 20 
 
have included nearly all the suburbs which 
 have since been added to the city; but some 
 of the commissioners thought this too large, 
 and it was limited to one mile north and 
 south on the Delaware, and reaching back 
 to the Schuylkill River two miles. 
 
 After attending to a few such matters, he 
 went to New York, but returned soon. 
 
 Treaty with the Indians. 
 
 He then made that famous treaty of which 
 tradition tells, though there are no contem- 
 porary records. It was made under the great 
 elm at Shackamaxon, now called Kensington, 
 in the northeastern part of Philadelphia. An 
 Indian village was situated there at that time. 
 
 Although this land belonged to him as 
 granted by Charles II, for money which the 
 King owed him, yet William Penn thought 
 the Indians ought to be paid for it, and this 
 had been done in part before he came to 
 America. 
 
 The Indian council fires were burning, the 
 foliage had on its autumn dress, and under 
 the elm tree were the chiefs of the Lenni 
 Lenape tribes, without weapons, for no war- 
 like arms were allowed. The most prominent 
 among the chiefs was the great sachem 
 Taminen, spoken of as one of nature's noble- 
 men. As they waited there, a barge ap- 
 peared on the river "floating the broad 
 pennant of the Governor." Near the helm 
 21 
 
was William Penn, only different from the 
 other Friends in having a blue netted scarf 
 around his waist. Taminen, as they drew 
 near, put on his chaplet, surmounted by a 
 small horn, the emblem of kingly power, 
 and then informed the Friends, as they 
 landed, that they were ready to hear the 
 Governor. 
 
 William Penn began his address to them 
 (so we gather from the accounts that have 
 come down to us), by saying: — 
 
 "The Great Spirit rules in the Heavens and 
 the Earth. He knows the innermost thoughts 
 of men. He knows that we have come here 
 with a hearty desire to live with you in 
 peace. We use no hostile weapons against 
 our enemies; good faith and good will 
 towards men are our defences. We believe 
 you will deal kindly and justly by us, as 
 we will deal justly and kindly by you. We 
 meet on the broad pathway of good faith 
 and good will; no advantage shall be taken 
 on either side, but all shall be openness and 
 love. 
 
 Then he read them the treaty which told 
 *hem : — 
 
 "We will be brethren, my people and your 
 people, as the children of one Father. All 
 the paths shall be open to the Christian and 
 the Indian. The doors of the Christian shall 
 
 22 
 
be open to the Indian, and the wigwam of 
 the Indian shall be open to the Christian." 
 
 The final pledge was: — 
 
 "We will transmit this league between us 
 to our children. It shall be made stronger 
 and stronger, and be kept bright and clean, 
 without rust or spot, between our children 
 and our children's children, while the creeks 
 and rivers run, and while the sun, moon and 
 stars endure." 
 
 The Indians evidently felt the sincerity of 
 the Governor's speech and heartily gave the 
 belt of wampum as a pledge of friendship. 
 "We will live," they said, "in love with 
 William Penn and his children as long as 
 the moon and stars shall endure." 
 
 This pledge was not bound by any oath, 
 nor by signatures or seals, and the terms 
 seem to be written nowhere but on their 
 hearts. "There they were written like the 
 laws of God." It was of this treaty that 
 Voltaire, the famous French writer, said 
 that it was "the only treaty between these 
 people and the Christians that was not rati- 
 fied by an oath and was never infringed." 
 
 The famous elm tree under which the 
 treaty was made blew down in 1810. An 
 interesting story is told about it. During 
 the war of the Revolution, General Simcoe, 
 the British Commander, was quartered near, 
 and his soldiers cut down many of the trees 
 23 
 
24 
 
for fuel; but the General placed a sentinel 
 under the tree, so that not a branch of it 
 should be hurt. 
 
 A scion of this tree was in the southeast 
 corner of the Friends' Meeting House 
 grounds on Twelfth Street, above Chestnut 
 Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Others 
 are at the Quaker Colleges of Haverford and 
 Swarthmore. 
 
 The Assembly and the Constitution. 
 
 The next step of the Proprietary was to 
 call an Assembly, that they might agree 
 upon rules of government. Those which 
 William Penn had prepared in England were 
 passed with a few alterations, and nineteen 
 added to them, making fifty-nine in all. 
 Among them were the following: All persons 
 who confessed one Eternal God to be the 
 Creator and Ruler of the world, and who 
 lived peaceably and justly, were not to be 
 molested for their religious persuasion or 
 practice. All officers, treasurers, judges, 
 sheriffs, etc., were to be such as professed 
 faith in Jesus Christ, and were to be sober 
 and honest. All children of the age of 
 twelve were to be taught some useful trade 
 or skill. There were to be only two capital 
 offences — murder, and treason against the 
 State. All prisons were to be considered as 
 workshops, where the offenders might be 
 industriously, soberly and morally employed. 
 25 
 
Afterwards Penn divided the land into 
 counties and appointed sheriffs to each, and 
 then called for an election for members to 
 sit in the Council and the General Assembly 
 in the following spring. 
 
 Soon William Penn was at liberty to meet 
 Lord Baltimore, who seemed very polite. The 
 latter had received the grant of Maryland, 
 and had mostly peopled it with Roman 
 Catholics; but he nobly allowed liberty of 
 conscience to all who came to live in his 
 province. The two Proprietaries found it 
 was going to take some time to settle the 
 differences about a boundary line, and so 
 parted until spring, when travelling would 
 be easier; but the difficulty was not settled 
 for a long time. 
 
 Penn Returns to England. 
 
 The Governor spent almost two years in 
 Pennsylvania and did much good. At the 
 end of that time there seemed fear that 
 Lord Baltimore's province was going to 
 encroach upon Pennsylvania, as there was 
 some question as to limits granted, which 
 could only be settled by returning to Eng- 
 land. There had also arrived from England 
 sad news of hundreds of Friends in prison. 
 William Penn felt that he was needed there, 
 and hastened back, the voyage this time 
 only taking seven weeks. 
 
 26 
 
Soon after his arrival in England Charles 
 II. died and was succeeded by the Duke of 
 York as James II. This new King made no 
 effort to hide his preference for the Roman 
 CathoHc Church; but he continued very- 
 friendly with William Penn, so that many 
 became jealous, while others asked him to 
 use his power with the King for them. This 
 he did, when the cause was good, for others 
 as well as for Friends. He pleaded with 
 the King to be tolerant in religious matters, 
 and in 1687 the King issued his Declaration 
 of Indulgence which freed eighteen hundred 
 people from prison. This was much gain, 
 but the law was still there. Soon after this 
 the King ordered that informers should not 
 be noticed nor the law enforced. All this 
 was mostly attributed to Penn's influence 
 with the King. 
 
 In 1688 the second Declaration of In- 
 dulgence was issued. "While repeating the 
 provisions of the first it differed from it in 
 boasting of the appointment of Catholics to 
 civil and military command." Even the 
 Dissenters refused to receive liberty and tol- 
 eration by an unconstitutional act and at 
 such a price. Seven Bishops, headed by 
 the Archbishop, presented a petition against 
 it. They were sent to the Tower, were tried 
 and acquitted — to the great joy of the 
 people. 
 
 27 
 
William Penn, being intimate with the 
 King, shared in the blame for the King's 
 conduct. 
 
 The people were by this time fully con- 
 vinced that James, who was a Roman Cath- 
 olic, as was also the Queen, intended to 
 re-establish the power of Rome in the coun- 
 try and to act without regard to the Consti- 
 tution. Events moved rapidly. William of 
 Orange, son-in-law of James, was invited 
 by many of the most influential men to 
 come and secure the Crown. A large num- 
 ber flocked to his support. King James was 
 overwhelmed; and although he had formerly 
 been a courageous man, he soon gave up 
 his kingdom and followed his wife and son 
 to France. Penn lost a friend in King 
 James, who always seemed to cherish 
 a real regard for his straightforward adviser. 
 
 Public Cares and Troubles in England. 
 
 We have not forgotten the band of people. 
 
 In that delightful land which is washed by 
 
 the Delaware's waters, 
 Guarding in sylvan shades the name of 
 
 Penn, the apostle. 
 
 Stands on the banks of its beautiful stream 
 the city he founded, 
 
 And the streets still re-echo the names of 
 the trees of the forest. 
 
 While kingdoms have passed from one 
 rule to another, these people have spent the 
 time mostly in quietness and increasing pros- 
 perity. 
 
 28 
 
Once they were alarmed by the report 
 that an uprising was being planned by some 
 of the Indians; when Caleb Pusey, one of 
 the Council, informed them that he would 
 "go to where the Indians were said to be 
 assembled, provided the Council would 
 appoint five others to go with him unarmed! " 
 
 They started on horse-back, and instead 
 of meeting five hundred Indian warriors, as 
 they had been warned, they found the old 
 king lying quietly on his bed, the women at 
 work in the fields, and the children at play. 
 The king asked what they had come for? 
 They told him the report which an Indian 
 woman had brought them. He said: "The 
 woman ought to be burnt to death"; they 
 had nothing against the English. " Tis true 
 there are about fifteen pounds behind yet of 
 our pay from the land William Penn bought, 
 but as you are still on it and improving it 
 to your own use, we are not in haste for our 
 pay, but when the English come to settle it, 
 we expect to be paid." He added: "As 
 God has given you corn, I advise you to get 
 it in, for we intend you no harm." 
 
 About this time William Penn wrote them 
 of his desire to be with them, and said: 
 "Depend upon it, Pennsylvania is my 
 worldly delight and end of all places on 
 earth." But he could not go to them, for 
 the revolutions in the kingdom had made 
 
 29 
 
his affairs quite critical. He was accused 
 of having private communication with 
 James II. in France, with intention of bring- 
 ing him back to England; so it would not 
 be wise for him to go to Pennsylvania, as 
 it would give his enemies opportunity to say 
 that he had fled to escape punishment. 
 
 Very soon he was called before the Lords 
 of the Council, when he said he had done 
 nothing but what he could answer before 
 God and all the princes in the world; that 
 King James was always his friend and his 
 father's friend, and in gratitude he was the 
 King's friend, and did ever, as much as in 
 him lay, influence him to his true interest. 
 
 Nothing was proved against him, but he 
 was "required to give sureties" for his 
 appearance. At the next term he was 
 cleared in open court. 
 
 In 1 690 Penn was again arrested on a 
 charge of holding secret correspondence 
 with the former King. On his release Wil- 
 liam Penn thought he could return to his 
 beloved Pennsylvania ; but King William had 
 gone over to Ireland, where James had pos- 
 session; and Queen Mary, in her anxiety, had 
 eighteen persons arrested who, she feared, 
 were in conspiracy with King James. Among 
 them was William Penn, who was sent to 
 prison for some time; at his trial nothing 
 was proved against him, and he was liberated. 
 
 30 
 
Again he prepared to cross the ocean, but 
 within a few days of sailing he learned that 
 William Fuller, who was afterwards called 
 by Parliament a cheat and an imposter, had 
 accused him, and a warrant was out against 
 him. Messengers had been sent to arrest 
 him at the funeral of his friend, George 
 Fox; but they made a mistake in the hour 
 and so missed their purpose. He concluded 
 that it would not be wise for him to attempt 
 to leave England while under suspicion, 
 neither did it seem necessary for him vol- 
 untarily to give himself up to the authorities, 
 when he knew that he was innocent of the 
 crime they accused him of; so he settled 
 down to a life of seclusion in London. 
 
 Here his friends visited him, and he wrote 
 a number of pamphlets and larger works, 
 one of them on the desirableness of peace 
 and the truest means to obtain it — to wit, 
 justice and not war. In this he proposed 
 that as each country had some kind of 
 Parliament, so each should send a certain 
 number of delegates to a European Diet, to 
 be held yearly or more frequently, if neces- 
 sary, to settle matters of dispute, and that 
 they should vote by secret ballot. This seems 
 a forerunner of The Hague Court. 
 
 His enemies in Pennsylvania sent reports 
 to England that Pennsylvania was going to 
 ruin because of the poor management of its 
 31 
 
Governor. King William believed the reports 
 his ministers brought him, and gave the gov- 
 ernment of the colony to Colonel Benjamin 
 Fletcher, Governor of New York. Because 
 of this act, William Penn had absolutely no 
 authority in Pennsylvania. He bore this 
 trial patiently, although it was a great dis- 
 appointment, for he had hoped to give to 
 the world a perfect pattern of government 
 and a virtuous and happy people. 
 
 The new Governor tried to make the col- 
 onists help in preparations for war, which 
 they positively refused to do. In the short 
 time he had control they paid him more in 
 taxes than William Penn ever received. 
 There was cause for rejoicing in Pennsyl- 
 vania when, in I 694, William Penn's govern- 
 ment was restored to him by the King and 
 Queen. But some domestic matters and 
 probably lack of money prevented him from 
 hastening to America. Yet for the next five 
 years Pennsylvania enjoyed great prosperity. 
 
 In the meantime there had been a won- 
 derful change in public opinion in favour 
 of William Penn, and his time was divided 
 between preaching to crowded audiences 
 throughout England and the care of his 
 family. 
 
 Death of William Penn's Wife. 
 
 William Penn's crowning trial came when 
 his sweet wife gradually failed in health, 
 
 32 
 
and passed from earth in 1693, just after 
 she had the comfort of knowing that the 
 King had expressed his wish that her hus- 
 band should feel himself entirely at liberty. 
 
 Two years after the death of his wife, 
 he married, at the Friends' Meeting House, 
 Bristol, Hannah Callowhill, an excellent and 
 highly esteemed woman and a very helpful 
 wife to him. This was in Third Month (March), 
 1696. 
 
 Second Visit to Pennsylvania, 1699-1701. 
 
 At last, in 1699, after seventeen years of 
 absence, the Governor of Pennsylvania pre- 
 pared to return to the land of his choice. 
 His family, except his son William, sailed 
 with him on the ship "Canterbury." He 
 took with him also a young Quaker school- 
 master, James Logan, and made him his 
 secretary. James Logan was born in Ire- 
 land, removed to Bristol, where he taught 
 in a Friends' school, and was twenty-five 
 when he accompanied William Penn. He 
 showed such marked capacity for business 
 and administration that his services became 
 indispensable, and when Penn returned to 
 England in 1701, he "not only continued 
 him as Secretary of the Province, but gave 
 him a general charge both of the govern- 
 ment and property." 
 
 For forty years he held high office, looked 
 after the Penn estates, and was the great 
 33 
 
a; 00 
 
 'i § 
 
 m -a 
 
 c c 
 
 PLi CO 
 
 34 
 
leader of the Proprietary Party of the As- 
 sembly. Like Penn, Logan knew how to 
 win and keep the confidence of the Indians. 
 It was largely due to him that friendship 
 and alliance between them and the Prov- 
 ince was so long maintained.* 
 
 When William Penn reached Philadelphia, 
 he took a house, known as the Slate-roof 
 House. Here his son John was born; he 
 was called the American because he was 
 the only child of William Penn born in 
 America. William Penn received from the 
 people a promise of faithfulness to the King 
 and the Proprietary. In reply he urged the 
 maintenance of virtue and justice, and the 
 passing of a law to prohibit the sale of rum 
 to the Indians, also one with reference to 
 tl:e marriage of negroes. 
 
 Soon the family moved to Pennsbury 
 Manor, on the banks of the Delaware, nearly 
 opposite Burlington, New Jersey. The manor 
 estate reached nearly two miles along the 
 Delaware, on ground purchased from the 
 Indians. The Proprietor had sent out from 
 England, walnut, hazelnut, fruit trees, haw- 
 thorn, and a variety of rare trees and roots, 
 and ordered wild flowers to be transplanted 
 to his garden. It is told that once the Gov- 
 ernor entertained so many Indians that a 
 table was spread in the avenue, and among 
 
 * See Albert Cook Myers, Immigration of the Irish 
 Quakers into Pennsylvania, 237 S. 
 
 35 
 
the dishes provided were one hundred tur- 
 keys, besides venison and other meats. 
 
 Return to England. 
 
 William Penn was not allowed to remain 
 long in this land, where he had undoubtedly 
 spent some of his happiest days, for he 
 received word that an effort was being made 
 in England to give the several Proprietary 
 governments to the Crown. Before he sailed 
 in the autumn of 1701, he held a Council 
 for the Indians at Pennsbury Manor. A 
 wonderful sight it must have been on the 
 shore of the Delaware. They kindled their 
 fire on the lawn and performed their dances 
 around it, with songs and shouts. Before 
 this they gathered in the mansion and 
 renewed their promises of faithfulness. 
 "They never first broke covenant with any 
 people." 
 
 Besides his public cares Penn found a 
 heavy burden when he returned to England 
 — the heaviest that a parent can bear. His 
 son William had gone into the gay and evil 
 company of the Court, and had lived a life 
 far unlike that desired by his father. He 
 sent him to America, and told James Logan 
 to encourage him "with pleasant and good 
 entertainment, little journeys, visits to the 
 Indians," etc., and added: "The Lord pity 
 and spare in His great mercy: I yet hope." 
 But his son was always an expensive anxiety 
 
 36 
 
to him, and died young, after a career of 
 dissipation. 
 
 Soon after his return the bill with refer- 
 ence to Proprietary Government was de- 
 feated in Parliament, yet it seemed liable to 
 come up at any time in the House of Com- 
 mons; it was therefore necessary for one 
 so interested to remain near. 
 
 All the time William Penn had enemies 
 making trouble for him both in England and 
 America. New Jersey had cast aside pro- 
 prietary government and surrendered to the 
 Crown. Lord Cornbury was sent there under 
 the Queen. Dissatisfied people of Pennsyl- 
 vania flocked to him and made trouble. 
 William Penn at last became so reduced in 
 money that he thought of selling his govern- 
 ment. A fraudulent claim was also made 
 on him by his English steward, Philip Ford. 
 
 It did not seem right for William Penn 
 to yield to these demands; indeed, he had 
 not the money to do so, and the next we 
 hear of him is that he was arrested at Grace- 
 church Street Meeting, and imprisoned in the 
 Fleet prison for debt. He was in prison 
 nine months. At that time the Fords con- 
 sented to yield half their claim and were 
 paid the rest by Friends, who received a 
 mortgage on Pennsylvania for the amount. 
 
 Through all his troubles William Penn 
 maintained his quiet trust in God. 
 
 37 
 
38 
 
The next few year? were rather sad ones, 
 except for this strong anchor, as after a 
 stroke of paralysis or apoplexy in 1712 his 
 mind seemed to weaken gradually, so that 
 he forgot much that was passing around; 
 but he always kept his loving, trustful spirit, 
 until in the year 1718 he passed to that 
 better country where "beyond these voices 
 there is peace." His body was laid in Jor- 
 dans burial-ground, without a monument. 
 
 William Penn was earnest in his desire 
 for freedom of the slaves when but few 
 others agreed with him; his treatment of 
 the Indians proved his wisdom in its suc- 
 cess. The William Penn Charter School, 
 one of the largest and best schools of the 
 City or State, remains a monument to his 
 enlightened care for education. He advo- 
 cated placing the power of government with 
 the people, at a time when he could have 
 held that power entirely in his own hands; 
 and this when a monarchy seemed to wise 
 men to be the only way to govern. 
 
 And in his great home, Pennsylvania, 
 
 "His door was free to men of every name. 
 He welcomed all the seeking souls who 
 
 came, 
 And no man's faith he made a cause of 
 blame." 
 
 (From the Life of Penn, No. 14, Friends' 
 Tract Association, London, 1917, as adapted 
 from "Quaker Biographies," Vol. L, Philadel- 
 phia, 1916.) 
 
 39 
 
Penn in old age — the Bevan bust 
 
 40 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
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