Phillip Taylor

 Phillip Taylor was baptized on November 12, 1651 in Devonshire, England so he was born shortly before this day. His parents were Gwain Taylor and Ursula Russell Taylor. There is no information to know what Philip's childhood was like. In 1665, in Devonshire, the Civil War just ended that year and Devonshire saw much tragedies from the war. Life for most people in Devonshire was difficult, marked by hard work and hardships such as illness and famine. Infant mortality rates were high. The church of England was the established church.

In 1678, Phillip suffered religious persecution for following the Quaker religion and for being a Quaker preacher in Devonshire. In 1678, Philip married Juliana Lyddon in Tauton, Devonshire, England. The couple lived in Collumpton, Devon, England. Between 1688 and 1690, the couple had three children, one son and two daughters. The family immigrated to Oxford, Philadelphia, America in about 1695. In 1696 and 1697 the couple had two more children, one son, and one daughter. Shortly after the birth of their last child, in November 1697, a daughter, Phillip died at the young age of 37 on November 23, 1697 leaving six young children between the age of one and nine. Shortly after that Philip was buried.

 

William Penn (1644-1718)

 

My first Pennsylvania Quaker Ancestor that I would like to mention is William Penn (1644-1718)-Founder of Pennsylvania. It is said that there are no male descendants of William living today as the Penn male line ended in the late 1860’s. I am a first cousin 11X removed  to William through his Aunt Rachel Penn who is a maternal 10^th great grandmother of mine.

William became a Quaker at age 22 while in Ireland where he listened to Thomas Loe, a traveling Quaker speak. William’s father passed away in 1670 when William was age 35 at which time King Charles II granted William a land charter as a debt repayment. William became the largest non-royal owner of land totaling around 45,000 square miles. He named the lands “Penns Woods” after his father. Today, these lands are known as Pennsylvania and Delaware.

                                                 Peter Lely, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

To get other Quakers through out Europe to buy land in Penns Woods, William promised them Religious freedom. He also stated that his new government would be very different then the law under the Crown. There would be two houses to keep things in check and only two crimes that could result in the death penalty, those being murder and treason. In six months, William distributed about 300,000 acres to more than 250 families.

William arrived in America October 27, 1682, at New Castle, Delaware and would make his way to  Philadelphia also known as the “City of Brotherly Love” to lay out the City that he envisioned.

After living in and near Philadelphia for several years, with his second wife Hannah and some of their nine children, William left the colonies and never returned. The last several years of his life was filled with financial problems such as land debt due to poor management. William twice tried to sell Pennsylvania back to the Crown, but the sale was denied. William spent some time in debtors jail until some Quakers raised the money to pay off his debts and get him released from jail.

William had a stroke in 1712 which took away his ability  to speak and take care of himself. William died August 10, 1718, in Ruscombe, Berkshire, England. His wife, Hannah took over the role of Overseer of the Providence of Pennsylvania until her death eight years later.

Many of my other Ancestors were Quakers and also land purchasers of William Penn's lands and came to America as the same time period as William Penn. In the followig Blogs, I will write about them.

https://billypenn.com/2017/09/04/no-youre-not-a-descendant-of-william-penn/#:~:text=Penn%20had%2014%20children%20during,'re%20not%20inheriting%20Pennsylvania.%E2%80%9D

https://www.nps.gov/people/william-penn.htm