William Penn, father of the founder, was a lieutenant in the English Navy and played an important part in the sea trades with the Mediterranean. He learned all of his knowledge from his father, Giles Penn, who was a well-respected captain for the Royal Navy. "He served with his father, as a boy, in various mercantile voyages in the northern seas."# William married Margaret Jasper in winter of 1643 and to this conceived three children; William, Richard, and Margaret.

William died on September 16, 1670. As he lay on his deathbed, William spoke to his son about having a truly Christian mind, and never be troubled at disappointments. Young William was always close to his father, and became very dedicated

Pound, A., The Penn's of Pennsylvania and England. New York: MacMillan Company, 1932, 189-190, 252-253

After many years of leading his colony, Penn decided to retire and become a family man. Unfortunately, his debt with Ford never was resolved and started rekindling. "Reduced though he was, he might have raised the money to meet this outrageous bill but his friends advised him to enter debtor's prison rather than pay, since his assets were so encumbered that nothing of his could be swiftly seized and sold upon execution. Meantime, they negotiated with the Fords, while Penn patiently endured prison, though failing visibly in health"#

Penn arrived back in Pennsylvania in 1682, and brought about 100 passengers with him. Many had died of smallpox. On November 18 he sent out writs for the election of representatives to a general assembly to be held on December 6. This assembly later passed ninety bills called "written laws of constitution" Penn was later granted with 20,000 acres of land as a gift from the Duke of York. He gave 1000 of those acres to the founder of Quakerism, George Fox.

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Hull, W.I., William Penn and the Dutch Quaker Migration to Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: Patterson and White Company, 1935, 15-22, 180-184

William began traveling around Pennsylvania, talking to the common folk and tasting the good wife's beer. Every negotiation with neighboring states was done with pomp. However, Penn's responsibilities were never too great, and he still gave out sermons and speeches around a crowd of people whenever he got the chance.

He also came into major debt because of Pennsylvania. He made a deal with Philip Ford, which would later ruin him. Ford would give Penn a loan to pay back the debts in return for major land and 20,000 pounds later. Unfortunately, Penn could never come up with this money and this almost landed him in jail. Outraged, Penn went back to England and then began chancery proceedings against Ford, alleging that Ford over charged and certain documents were kept from him due to fraud. However, the claims are thrown out. Ford then received a major setback. The court ruled that though Penn owes money, Ford had no right to ever claim power of government in Pennsylvania. This led Ford to compromise with Penn, which led William out of debt.

A year after his father's death, William married Gulielma Maria Springett. Shortly after, William was again imprisoned because he spoke at a friend's meeting and failed to take an oath of allegiance. He wrote several more religious pamphlets and then made several visits to Holland and Germany. "He became a part of the inner circle of the society of Friend's; and with George Fox, George Whitehead, Alexander Parker, and other Quaker leaders, repeatedly petitioned Parliament for religious toleration."#

ich filled the meetinghouse to overflowing.

"Two happenings made the year of 1682 memorable for Penn; he was saddened by the death of his mother and lightened by his first trip to Pennsylvania. Much was accomplished during this first visit. When Penn sailed back to England in 1684, he had already organized the province of Pennsylvania; set up courts and magistrates; laid out Philadelphia; established friendly relations with the Dutch and Swedish colonists along the Delaware river, and with Indians"#

Some common words found in the essay are:
William Penn, Fords Penn, Purchasers Penn, James Harrison, Broad Street, English Manners, Penn England, Experiment Penn, Fall Penn, London October, william penn, king charles ii, king charles, charles ii, penn family, william opportunity, george fox, preaching thomas, holy experiment, received education, family moved, penn family william,
Approximate Word count = 2484
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)