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Obituary · primary-source record

Richard Penn

circa 1734 (computed from age at death) – 1811 (reported in the 29 July 1811 issue)

Died 1811 at his seat at Richmond in the 77th year of his age — former governor of Pennsylvania, grandson of William Penn, reported in the United States Gazette

Editorially verified

At-a-glance facts

Record type

Obituary

Date of death

1811 (reported in the 29 July 1811 issue)

Date of birth

circa 1734 (computed from age at death)

Age at death

in the 77th year of his age

Place of death

At his seat at Richmond

The obituary

Inscription transcription

United States Gazette (Philadelphia), July 29, 1811

DIED.

At his seat at Richmond, in the 77th year of his age, the honourable RICHARD PENN, late governor of Pennsylvania, &c. &c. &c. and for many years a member of the British house of commons. To entitle him to respect and consideration among the worthy, he had no occasion to borrow merit from his ancestors; although even in modern America, it cannot be unknown, that he was second in lineal descent from the beneficent founder of Pennsylvania, and third from admiral sir William Penn, conqueror of Jamaica. His high [...]

Transcribed from the clipping photograph, which is cut off mid-sentence at the foot ("His high [...]"). The clipping states no death date; the year 1811 in the structured date comes from the newspaper issue date (29 July 1811). Our original posting describes him as "Richard Penn of Richmond, Pennsylvania," but the clipping itself says only "at his seat at Richmond" and notes he was "for many years a member of the British house of commons" — the clipping does not state which Richmond, so the posting's "Pennsylvania" gloss is not adopted; both readings are preserved here.

People named in this record

  • Richard PennSubject
  • Sir William PennMentioned

Record submitted by

From the Ancestors at Rest archive

Source & citation

Source type
Photograph & transcription
Provenance
From the Ancestors at Rest archive — founded 2004 by Brian and substantially built out across two decades by Lorine McGinnis Schulze of Olive Tree Genealogy.
Transcribed by
Ancestors at Rest archive — original contributor not recorded.
Last verified
2026-07-06
Permalink
/records/obituaries/penn-richard-1811/
Image vs transcription
Photograph of the newspaper death report with mourning-rule border; transcription made from the image, which is cut off at the foot

Citation: Death report of Richard Penn, late governor of Pennsylvania, who died at his seat at Richmond in the 77th year of his age; United States Gazette (Philadelphia), 29 July 1811. Clipping image preserved in the Ancestors at Rest archive. (https://ancestorsatrest.com/records/obituaries/penn-richard-1811/ : accessed [your access date]).

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