A Concise Biographical Sketch of William Penn

The influx of settlers was unprecedented; the forest began to be cleared, and dwellings were put up rapidly. The soil yielded abundantly, and no calamity occurred for years to check the rapid increase of inhabitants, or create doubts and dissatisfaction as to the course they had taken in removing from their native country. New meetings for worship were established, as the new-comers took up lands in the counties contiguous to the city; so that, in 1684, William Penn wrote, there were eighteen in all, and all were brought within the order of church government, as laid down in the discipline then adopted.

Shortly after witnessing the prosperous beginning of his new colony, William Penn returned to England, and for a number of years continued to reside in or near London. He had provided for the affairs of the Province during his absence; but such was his unceasing solicitude for the spiritual welfare of the Friends he was about leaving, that, after he had embarked, he addressed them a letter from the ship, in which he says: "Now you are come to a quiet land, provoke not the Lord to trouble it, and as liberty and authority are with you, and in your hands, let the government be upon His shoulders in all your spirits; that you may rule for Him, under whom the princes of this world will one day esteem it their honor to govern and serve in their places. I cannot but say, when these things come mightily upon my mind, as the apostle did of old, 'What manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness?'

"And thou, Philadelphia, the virgin settlement of this Province, named before thou wert born, what love, what care, what service, and what travail has there been, to bring thee forth and preserve thee from such as would abuse and defile thee.

"Oh that thou mayst be kept from the evil that would overwhelm thee; that, faithful to the God of thy mercies, in the life of righteousness, thou mayst be preserved to the end. My soul prays to God for thee, that thou mayst stand in the day of trial, that thy children may be blessed of the Lord, and thy people saved by His power."

He had been commended by his father, on his death-bed, to the good offices of the then Duke of York. The respect and kind feeling of the Duke for William Penn appeared to have continued after he became King; and a sense of gratitude and Christian interest, in measure, bound the man he had befriended to his royal benefactor. He was almost daily at Court, and as often his interest there was employed on behalf of those with whom he was united in religious fellowship, or of others who solicited his aid; which his kindness of heart prompted him not to refuse. His house in Kensington was daily thronged with persons who sought his mediation to promote their interests, or desired to engage him to present their petitions or addresses to the King. He received all with courtesy, and aided those he could with cheerfulness; and no one ever charged him with making gain of his position or influence. Nevertheless, in this way, it is probable he appeared in cases where greater prudence would have restrained him from interfering. Certainly he made many bitter enemies, who hesitated not to proclaim him to be a Jesuit, a hypocrite, and an enemy to the Protestant interest. Accustomed to calumny as a Friend, and conscious of his innocence, William Penn allowed these slanders to possess the public ear, until they came to be credited by many, who, without any particular prejudice against him, supposed that, like other emissaries of Rome, he was in league with the King in trying to subvert the religion and constitutional liberties of the nation. At length the Secretary for the Plantations, who knew Penn well, and was greatly grieved with the manner in which he was traduced, and fearful of the ultimate result of his persistently declining publicly to defend himself, addressed him by letter; reciting the charges industriously circulated against him, and earnestly requesting he would notice and refute them. To this letter William Penn replied, taking up each accusation separately, and showing their untruth and their absurdity. He did not hesitate to acknowledge the gratitude and kind feeling he entertained toward King James, and that on some occasions, when his opinion had been sought on matters affecting the nation, he had given it; but he declared that, on all such occasions, he had advocated liberty of conscience, and the best interest of Protestant England; and he challenged any one to come forward and show to the contrary. Notwithstanding this explanation of his intimacy at Court, and his positive denial and refutation of the many false stories raised about him, the feeling produced by them was not entirely removed; and in the last month of 1688, as he was walking in Whitehall, he was suddenly summoned to appear before the Lords of the Council. Some of the Council, who were inimical to him, required him to give sureties for his appearance on the first day of the next term of Court. On his appearance there, his case was postponed until the next session; when there appeared to be no accuser or accusation against him, and he was declared clear in open Court.1

In 1688 James II., finding himself deserted by the nobility, the gentry, and the army, fled to France, and William, Prince of Orange, who had come over with an army on the invitation of some of the leading statesmen of England, was proclaimed king. Notwithstanding the alienation of the kindly feelings of the people, by the impolitic course pursued by James, and their apparent determination to maintain William and Mary on the throne, the self-exiled monarch resolved to continue whatever effort he could make, with the assistance of his friend Louis XIV., to regain the crown of Great Britain. There were many, who had stood high in State and Church, who refused to take the oath of allegiance to the reigning royal pair. These were termed Non-jurors and Jacobites, and intrigues and covert conspiracies were, for a long time, rife among them. Naturally this gave rise to suspicion and distrust on the part of the party in power. From this cause William Penn was subjected to no little trouble; his intimacy with the former king affording ground to prejudice the minds of many against him. He had already been arrested and discharged, there being no specific charge brought against him. But some letters from James having been intercepted, among them was found one addressed to him. He was again brought before the Privy Council, and some of those present saying the circumstances required sureties from him, he urgently requested to be allowed to appear before King William himself. This was granted, and, after a conference of two hours, the king was prepared to acquit him of being implicated in any treasonable correspondence with James. Some of the Council, however, were not satisfied without bail being given to appear at Court. On coming before the Court, he was again discharged. While King William was conducting the campaign in Ireland, where James was at the head of an army, fighting for possession of that island, a conspiracy in favor of the latter was discovered, originating in Scotland. Queen Mary ordered the seizure of many supposed to be hostile to the government, and among them William Penn was again included. How long he was detained does not appear, but, at the Michaelmas term of the Court (1690), he was once more cleared of any complicity with the opponents of the government. For many months he had been making preparations to revisit Pennsylvania, and on his discharge he hastened to have everything ready to embark; but, before he could complete his arrangements, he was again brought into difficulty, more serious than at any time before, on account of his connection with the Court of King James. King William had crossed over to Holland, to be present at a Congress held at the Hague, and his absence emboldened the disaffected to enter into another plot for restoring James, who was then at the Court of Louis XIV. Two of their number started to cross the Channel, and have an interview with their absent sovereign; but the plot was discovered, and these emissaries, with their papers, seized. One of them was hung; the other, in order to save his life, gave testimony against several of the nobility, and implicated William Penn in the conspiracy. A warrant for his arrest was issued, and, on his return from the funeral of George Fox, he narrowly escaped once more being made a prisoner.

In what manner he was said to be connected with the conspiracy, or what was the specific charge brought against him, is nowhere clearly stated; but as Lord Preston – one of the captured messengers – declared he was one of the plotters, and a man of the name of William Fuller swore to the correctness of Preston's statement, the matter assumed a serious aspect. As the origin of the plot was believed to have been among the Catholics, the same misrepresentations of Penn being a Jesuit in disguise were again brought forward, and the passions of the people being much inflamed against the intriguing papists, it was thought a fair trial could not be obtained for him. Under these circumstances, some accounts represent that William Penn voluntarily secluded himself where he could not be easily seen; waiting until a time should arrive when he might have a fair opportunity to clear himself; while others state that, having been examined before the Privy Council, he was ordered to remain a prisoner in his own house, under surveillance. The latter is the more probable, as he could hardly have supposed he could escape the search the government would make for him; especially as he kept up intercourse with his friends. Thus, in the Third month of 1691, he addressed an epistle to the Yearly Meeting in London, in order to remove any unfavorable impression that might have been made in the minds of his brethren by his forced seclusion. In this he says: "My privacy is not because men have sworn truly, but falsely, against me; for wicked men have laid in wait for me, and false witnesses have laid to my charge things that I knew not; who have never sought myself, but the good of all, through great exercises; and have done some good, and would have done more, and hurt to no man; but always desired that truth and righteousness, mercy and peace, might take place among us."

During his retirement he employed his pen diligently, producing several works of much value. The refusal of Friends in Pennsylvania to contribute money for the erection of forts or other military purposes, had given great offence to the home government, and the enemies of Penn took advantage of this, and of the position he was now in, with charges of treason hanging over him, to obtain an order from the King and Council, in the early part of 1692, to annex the government of Pennsylvania to that of New York, then presided over by Colonel Fletcher. Penn remained shut out from the world, and deprived of opportunity to serve the cause of truth and righteousness, and his brethren of the same faith, except by his pen, for more than two years; his character stained in the estimation of some, and his valuable services forgotten by many others, who, perhaps, thought he had indeed fallen to rise no more. But there were men of eminence who had never believed William Penn guilty of the crime laid to his charge, and were awaiting the right opportunity to have justice done to his position and character. Among these was the celebrated John Locke, who esteemed him, not only as a man of exalted virtue and great literary attainment, but as a personal friend. He applied to King William for a pardon; but William Penn was too conscious of innocence, and too fully persuaded that in due time his innocence would be made manifest to the world, to be willing to accept of any release that would imply he had been guilty. In the meantime, Lord Preston, who had made the charge against him, had fled the country, and Fuller, his witness, having been detected in perjury, was, by order of Parliament, tried as an imposter, in the Court of the King's Bench, found guilty, and sentenced to stand in the pillory. Lords Ranelagh, Rochester, and Sidney now waited on the King, and, stating that the name of William Penn had never been found in any of the letters or papers connected with the conspiracy, and that the charge against him rested solely on the accusation of two men who were known to be unworthy of belief, urged upon him the injustice and hardship of his case. The King appears to have heard them patiently, and replied that William Penn was an old acquaintance of his; that he had nothing to allege against him, and that he might follow his business as freely as ever. Afterwards the King gave an order to the principal Secretary of State for his freedom; which was communicated to him in the presence of the Marquis of Winchester. He, however, sought and obtained a hearing before the Privy Council; and, after a full examination of the charges, he was honorably acquitted. The cloud that had long obscured his standing and services was now dispelled, and he returned to his family and friends, to resume the position he had before attained in the church, and in civil society. His wife survived his release but little more than two months.

In 1696 William Penn was married to Hannah, the daughter of Thomas Callowhill, of Bristol, – a sober, religious woman, who survived him several years. Soon after this event he sustained an afflictive bereavement in the death of his eldest son, Springett Penn, in the twenty-first year of his age. He was a pious and amiable young man, of whom, in a touching testimony to his worth, William Penn says, "I lost all that any father can lose in a child."

He had been absent from his colony for many years, though longing to return there, and oversee the working of the government he had instituted, and the growth of the prosperous colony he had been a principal means of planting on the shores of the Delaware. But the various troubles in which he had been involved, and the great loss of pecuniary means that had resulted from his outlay for the Province, and the dishonesty of his agent in Ireland, had so crippled and embarrassed him, that he had been unable to carry out his strong desire to cross the Atlantic, and spend the remainder of life amid the Friends and scenes he pictured eminently propitious to secure comfort and peace. But in 1699, having settled his affairs in England and Ireland, so as not to require his personal oversight, in the Seventh month he embarked with his wife and family for Philadelphia, expecting to end his days in the Province. The voyage, providentially, was a long one; occupying three months; by which delay on the ocean they did not arrive in the city until after the malignant fever, of which so many had died, had passed away.

William Penn brought with him certificates from three meetings of Friends in England: one from "The Second-day's Meeting of Ministering Friends" in London; one from the "Men's Meeting of Friends" in Bristol, where he had resided for some years, and another from "A Monthly Meeting held at Horsham;" all expressing their full unity with and love for him as a member and minister. The reception of these certificates is recorded on the minutes of the Monthly Meeting of Friends, of Philadelphia.

The arrival of the Proprietor, after an absence of fifteen years, was hailed with joy by the people generally, and doubtless he supposed that he could now pass his days in usefulness and tranquillity. But William Penn soon found that troubles beset him on every hand, and that his wise counsels and cherished plans of improvement were thwarted and opposed by a faction bent upon promoting their own selfish schemes and interests.

A circumstance now occurred which separated him from his American possessions forever. A bill had been introduced into Parliament for changing the colonial into regal government. This measure, if adopted, would take the control of the colony out of his hands, and substitute military rule for the mild and pacific government he had established. From a sense of duty, although very reluctantly, he yielded to the request of his friends in England, that he would immediately return thither.

The news of his intended departure was received by the inhabitants with feelings of sincere regret. Perhaps none felt it more deeply than the aborigines. On this occasion, a number of them waited upon him at his residence at Pennsbury. The interview was conducted with great gravity. One of the chiefs, in the course of his remarks, said "that they never first broke their covenants with any people;" striking his hand upon his head, he said "they did not make them there, but" – placing it upon his breast – "they made them there."

William Penn sailed for England in the Eighth month, 1701, having been in the Province about two years. On the eve of his departure he presented Philadelphia with a charter, constituting it a city.

The bill to change the form of the colonial government was never passed into a law, but other engagements prevented his return to Pennsylvania. In 1705, in a brief but forcible epistle to Friends, he exhorts them to hold all their meetings in that which set them up, the heavenly power of God. In 1706 he removed with his family to Brentford, about eight miles from London. In 1709 he went forth on a gospel mission through the western parts of England, which was his last journey of this kind. In 1710 he removed to Rushcomb, in Buckinghamshire, where he continued to reside until his death. In 1712 he had three attacks of apoplexy. By these his mental powers were so weakened that he was rendered incapable of transacting business. In this situation he remained for several years, without much bodily suffering, and appeared to enjoy great quietness and sweetness of mind. In the latter part of 1714 he was visited by Thomas Story, who says of him, "that he had a clear sense of truth, was plain, by some very clear sentences he spoke in the life and power of Truth, in an evening meeting we had there; wherein we were greatly comforted, so that I am ready to think this was a sort of sequestration of him from all the concerns of this life, which so much oppressed him, not in judgement but in mercy, that he might not be oppressed thereby to the end."

When visited by two of his friends, in 1716, he still expressed himself sensibly, and at parting thus addressed them: "My love is with you, the Lord preserve you, and remember me in the everlasting covenant."

He continued gradually to grow weaker until the thirtieth of the Fifth month, 1718, when his Divine Master was pleased to summon him from the tribulations of time to the eternal rewards of the righteous.

Thus peacefully passed away one of the most useful men of the age in which he lived: indeed, history makes us acquainted with few so faithfully and fearlessly devoted to the cause of justice, and to the increase of righteousness in the earth. In early life he felt the tendering visitations of the Holy Spirit, and as he submitted thereto, was led in paths of great circumspection and non-conformity to the world, and soon became an object of scorn, reproach, and even bitter persecution. But none of these things moved him; neither did he count his life dear, being mainly desirous that he might bear a faithful testimony to the truth whilst on earth, and finish his course with joy.

Early called to the "ministry of reconciliation," and wisely instructed in the school of Christ, he was enabled, for the good of others, to bring forth out of the heavenly treasury things new and old.

As an author, his many publications are characterized by the forcible manner in which they set forth the spiritual nature of Christ's kingdom, and the necessity of obedience to the teachings of the Holy Spirit. His views of morality and civil government were the fruit of Christian principle, and adapted to all times and all conditions of men. He shows that oaths, whether judicial or profane, are contrary to the doctrine of Christ and His Apostles, and the practice of the primitive Christians, and, in their direct tendency and effects, injurious to morality. He establishes conclusively, that liberty, civil and religious, is the right of all, so far as its exercise does not infringe the rights of others; and he was consequently opposed to all persecution to enforce conformity in religious opinion. In founding his colony of Pennsylvania, he was influenced by the spirit of the gospel, and a desire that its government might be supported without the violation of any Christian precept. His policy grew out of that religion which breathes "Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth, good-will to men;" and the aboriginal inhabitants, by others deemed treacherous and cruel, became the kind friends and faithful allies of his colonists. The pacific principles of the gospel were found in their operation more effectual than munitions of war, to preserve the State in peace and prosperity.

Our narrow limits are insufficient to do justice to the character of William Penn, in setting forth his uprightness, his firmness, his zeal, his diligence, his love of the truth. Whether we consider him as a religious writer, a wise and Christian legislator, or as a faithful and devoted minister of the gospel, we must regard him as a benefactor to mankind. Of such the everlasting memorial is sure: "They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever."