The Pennington Family of the Parish of Upwell, Norfolk, England

Updated September 23, 2016

Born in England, James Pennington was a soldier in the Queen's Rangers, a Loyalist regiment, during the Revolutionary War from 1778 to 1782. After the war, he was granted land in New Brunswick where he married Mary Price, had five children born between about 1795 and 1803 and died in 1808. Was he the same James Pennington who was baptized in 1749 in Upwell, Norfolk, England? Here's what I know about the family.

The father of the Loyalist James Pennington may have been James Pennington who was buried in Upwell on 23 December 1757.^1,2 He was married on 7 January 1740 at Wiggenhall St. Mary Magdalen to Elizabeth Toppin.³ She was buried in Upwell on 15 June 1752,⁴ the same day that her youngest child William was baptized.

James Pennington and Elizabeth (Toppin) Pennington had six children who were baptized in Upwell. At least three of them died in infancy and were buried there.

1. Ann, baptized 17 Jan. 1741.⁵

2. Jane, baptized 7 March 1743,^{6, 7} buried 5 April 1745.⁸

3. Elizabeth, baptized 9 March 1745.^{9, 10}

4. James, baptized 28 March 1749.^{11, 12}

5. Thomas, baptized 14 April 1751,^{13, 14} buried 17 May 1751.^{15, 16}

6. William, baptized 15 June 1752,¹⁷ buried 2 Aug. 1752.¹⁸

Was the James Pennington who died in 1757 in Upwell the same James Pennington who was the father of these two children who were baptized in Upwell a few months after his death?

• Thomas Johnson, baptized 2 April 1758, a son of James Pennington & Mary Johnson, "base born."

• Jane Johnson, baptized 2 April 1758, a daughter of James Pennington & Mary Johnson, "base born."¹⁹

Was James Pennington related to these three Penningtons who were buried in Upwell?

• Ann Pennington/Peninton, buried 14 March 1760²⁰

• Thomas Peninton, bachelor, buried 28 March 1784²¹

• William Pennington, born about 1773, buried 6 April 1823²²

The James Pennington who died in Upwell in 1757 didn't leave a will, but probate records show that John Mann of Upwell was named as administrator of James Pennington's estate and as guardian of his son James, then about ten years old.²³ The other children are not mentioned, so they had probably died.

I'd welcome more information on this family.

Rick Crume

E-mail: rick@onelibrary.com

NOTES

1. "Transcriptions of the Parish Registers of Upwell St Peter & Upwell Christchurch," CD-ROM (Cambridgeshire Family History Society, no date), p. 86.

2. "England, Norfolk Archdeacon's Transcripts, 1600-1812." Images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org: 14 June 2016. Citing Church of England. Record Office, Central Library, Norwich. Parish of Upwell, Baptisms, Marriages, Burials, 1725-1812. Image 56 of 387.

3. Wiggenhall St. Mary Magdalene parish registers 1695-1812, Family History Library microfilm 1,546,347, item 4.

4. "Transcriptions of the Parish Registers of Upwell St Peter & Upwell Christchurch," p. 78.

5. "Transcriptions of the Parish Registers of Upwell St Peter & Upwell Christchurch," p. 46.

6. "Transcriptions of the Parish Registers of Upwell St Peter & Upwell Christchurch," p. 49.

7. "England, Norfolk Archdeacon's Transcripts, 1600-1812." Parish of Upwell, Baptisms, Marriages, Burials, 1725-1812. Image 29 of 387.

8. "Transcriptions of the Parish Registers of Upwell St Peter & Upwell Christchurch," p. 68.

9. "Transcriptions of the Parish Registers of Upwell St Peter & Upwell Christchurch," p. 52.

10. "England, Norfolk Archdeacon's Transcripts, 1600-1812." Parish of Upwell, Baptisms, Marriages, Burials, 1725-1812. Image 32 of 387.

11. "Transcriptions of the Parish Registers of Upwell St Peter & Upwell Christchurch," p. 55.

12. "England, Norfolk Archdeacon's Transcripts, 1600-1812." Parish of Upwell, Baptisms, Marriages, Burials, 1725-1812. Image 38 of 387.

13. "Transcriptions of the Parish Registers of Upwell St Peter & Upwell Christchurch," p. 58.

14. "England, Norfolk Archdeacon's Transcripts, 1600-1812." Parish of Upwell, Baptisms, Marriages, Burials, 1725-1812. Image 42 of 387.

15. "Transcriptions of the Parish Registers of Upwell St Peter & Upwell Christchurch," p. 77.

16. "England, Norfolk Archdeacon's Transcripts, 1600-1812." Parish of Upwell, Baptisms, Marriages, Burials, 1725-1812. Image 42 of 387.

17. "Transcriptions of the Parish Registers of Upwell St Peter & Upwell Christchurch," p. 59.

18. "Transcriptions of the Parish Registers of Upwell St Peter & Upwell Christchurch," p. 79.

19. "Transcriptions of the Parish Registers of Upwell St Peter & Upwell Christchurch," p. 67.

20. "Transcriptions of the Parish Registers of Upwell St Peter & Upwell Christchurch," p. 89.

21. "Transcriptions of the Parish Registers of Upwell St Peter & Upwell Christchurch," p. 129.

22. "Transcriptions of the Parish Registers of Upwell St Peter & Upwell Christchurch," p. 14.

23. James Pennington administration bond, Episcopal Consistory Court, Archdeaconry of Norwich, 1758, number 48. Family History Library microfilm 167,020.