Jacob Pennell, Sr. Papers

Overview

Abstract

Scope and Contents

Biographical Note

Administrative Information

Detailed Description

Shipping Business

Personal Correspondence

Other papers

Contact us about this collection

Title:
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Jacob Pennell, Sr. Papers, 1807-1865

Predominant Dates:1823-1841

Primary Creator:
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Jacob Pennell, Sr. (1778-1841)

Other Creators:
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Given, William S., Captain (1802-1877), Pennell Shipbuilding Company (1834-1874), William S. Given (1802-1877)

Extent: 1.0
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Boxes

Arrangement: The papers are organized into three series: Series I: Shipping Business, Series II: Personal Papers, and Series III: Other papers.

Date Acquired: 05/20/1994

Subjects:
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Accounts, Amazon (Brig), Brunswick (ME), Charles (Brig), Clement (Bark), Cotton trade, Farmer (Schooner), George (Brig), Given, William S., Jacob Pennell (Ship), Letters, Lumber-trade, Martin, Clement, Captain, Pennell, Jacob, Sr., Pennell, Thomas, Pennell, William, Pennell Shipyard, Pennellville, Seafaring, Shipbuilders, Shipbuilding—Brunswick (ME), Ship captains, Shipping, Shipyards—Brunswick (ME), Snow, Jesse, Captain, Sugar-trade, Voyages and travels, Wages, West Indies trade, Woodward, Peter, Captain

Languages:
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English

The Jacob Pennell, Sr. papers are primarily shipping business correspondence (1807-1841) and makes references to a number of vessels he owned and/or built. Business correspondence referring to the schooner Farmer and the brig Amazon were both owned by Jacob Pennell, Sr. Other correspondence refer to the bark Clement and the ships Jacob Pennell and George, vessels built by Jacob Pennell, Sr.

The correspondence is to Jacob Pennell, Sr. from ship agents and brokers regarding vessels and captain’s letter. A few letters are addressed to both Jacob Pennell, Sr. and his brother Thomas. Captain’s letters are from Peter Woodward, Clement Martin, William S. Given and Jesse Snow.

Correspondence for specific vessel related business includes the Farmer (Schooner), Amazon (Brig), Clement (Bark), Amazon (Brig), Jacob Pennell (Ship), and Charles (Brig). Other vessels mentioned in the correspondence are the Mary Pennell (Brig), Cicero (Ship), Boston (Ship), and Eliza (Schooner). There is a letter written by Asa Clapp to Jacob Pennell, Sr. regarding the Cicero (Ship), 1816. Correspondence pertains to bills, shipments, freight, costs, vessel damage, repairs, weather, voyages, shipping rates, market trends and procurement of business. Letters also record domestic and foreign trade of lumber, molasses, sugar, cotton, tobacco and salt.

The only accounts are for the ship Jacob Pennell and the brig Charles. The account for the ship Jacob Pennell is a summary account with Humphrey & Biddle Co. of Liverpool with a freight list and disbursements for a voyage from New Orleans to Liverpool from September to December 1838.  The account for the brig Charles is a summary with E. Dickinson & Morris and invoice cargo bound for a market in the West Indies. This is dated January 2, 1838. There is one undated document listing payments due from Jacob Pennell, Jr. and payments due to George Brook. An exchange receipt for $2000 written out in Guayanna [S.A.] dated February 15, 1839 and to be paid to Capt. Jesse Snow was placed with a letter written on February 27, 1839 from Jesse Snow to Jacob Pennell. There appears to be some link between the letter and the bank note so these were kept together.

There is one reference to a crewman (Charles C. Grows) who was discharged from the brig Charles (folder 10) while in Norfolk bound for Guadalupe.

Family papers include three personal letters. The first is a letter from brother William Pennell who was living in Williamsburgh [Williamsburg, ME] dated May 29, 1830.  William was living in Williamsburg, Maine at the time as a farmer. The second letter is from Peter C. Alden to Jacob Pennell about an estate dated June 22, 1839. This letter pertains to an estate settlement. The third letter refers to Jacob Pennell’s appointment to the Justice of the Peace dated February 16, 1841.

There are three personal incoming letters to Jacob Pennell, Sr. (Series II) and one personal letter unrelated to Jacob Pennell, Sr. The author of this letter is John O. Rogers to his father. It appears that John O. (John Osborne) Rogers may have been a crewman on an unidentified vessel in Matanzas during January of 1865. An 1860 U. S. Federal Census record identifies a John O. Rogers, age 12, born in Brunswick, Maine. It also identifies his father as John Rogers, a ship carpenter.  A death record for John O. Rogers, dated July 1906, describes him as a carpenter and his father, John Rogers, as a mariner. Could both these records of John O. Rogers be the same author of the letter? If so, he would have been 17 years old at the time he wrote the letter. Could his father worked as a ship carpenter in the Pennell Shipyard? Could his father been a captain for a Pennell vessel? Rachel Pennell, sister of Jacob, Sr., was married to a George Rogers. Is there a relationship between George and John Rogers?  All these questions cannot be answered at this time. The letter has been placed in Series III: Other papers, as it is not written to or authored by any Pennell family member. There is one envelope with no contents with postal mark from Richmond, Maine dated March 31, also in this series.

Jacob Pennell, Sr. was born on July 28, 1778 to Thomas Pennell III (b.1738-d.1812) and Alice Anderson (b.1738-d.1839). Jacob Pennell Sr. and the Pennell family were an important family of shipbuilders in Brunswick, Maine. Jacob Pennell, Sr. married Deborah Dunning (b.1780-d.1861) on March 28, 1802.

Jacob Sr. and Deborah Dunning had eleven children—three daughters and eight sons:

Eliza (b.1802-d.1894) Benjamin Dunning (b.1804-d.1861) Jacob Jr. (b.1807-d.1882) James (b.1809-d.1865) Job Anderson (b.1812-d.1868) Charles Sewall (b.1815-d.1900) Paulina A. (B.1817-d.1899) Joseph Dunning (b.1828-d.1902) Harriet Jane (b.1822-d.1905) Robert Spear (b.1826-d.1899) John Dunning (b.1828-d.1878)

In 1780, Jacob Pennell’s brother, Capt. William Pennell, bought a large farm on a point in Brunswick at the head of Middle Bay and built his home there. Capt. William Pennell would establish the Pennell Shipyard about 1822 (Baker, pg. 327)

It is important to note that Capt. William Pennell built ships at other locations before the Pennell Shipyard was established in 1822. Records show that Capt. William Pennell built the schooner Hope in 1910, the brig Argo in 1911, and the brig Acteon in 1917.

Capt. William Pennell sold his shipyard to his brother, Jacob Pennell, Sr.—although the exact year is unknown.  Records show that Jacob Pennell Sr. built ten vessels between 1818 and 1839: Eliza (Sloop, 1818) Florida (Schooner, 1822) Washington (Ship, 1829) now owner of the Pennell Shipyard Romulus (Ship, 1830) Clement (Bark,1832) Henry (Brig, 1832), Charles (Brig, 1834) Jacob Pennell (Ship, 1836) Joseph Henry (Brig, 1837) Mary Pennell (Brig, 1839). The sons of Jacob Pennell, Sr. operated the yard from 1834 to 1874 as the Pennell Brothers.

Jacob Pennell, Sr. was a selectman for the town of Brunswick from 1819 to 1823. In February of 1841, he was appointed Justice of the Peace for the state of Maine.  That same year on October 10, 1841, Jacob Pennell, Sr. died and was buried at the Pennell family cemetery in Brunswick, Maine.

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Accounts
Amazon (Brig)
Brunswick (ME)
Charles (Brig)
Clement (Bark)
Cotton trade
Farmer (Schooner)
George (Brig)
Given, William S.
Jacob Pennell (Ship)
Letters
Lumber-trade
Martin, Clement, Captain
Pennell, Jacob, Sr.
Pennell, Thomas
Pennell, William
Pennell Shipyard
Pennellville
Seafaring
Shipbuilders
Shipbuilding—Brunswick (ME)
Ship captains
Shipping
Shipyards—Brunswick (ME)
Snow, Jesse, Captain
Sugar-trade
Voyages and travels
Wages
West Indies trade
Woodward, Peter, Captain

Repository: Maine Maritime Museum Manuscript Collection Online Catalog

Access Restrictions: There are no restrictions on the study or use of these materials.

Use Restrictions: The material described herein is the physical property of the Maine Maritime Museum Library. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or the various items, or to their legal representatives, or to Maine Maritime Museum.  For further information, consult the library staff.

Physical Access Note: The papers are in fair condition with tears, stains and missing fragments. Most papers were carefully flattened using a tacking iron on medium heat. Most papers were sleeves in archival Melinex with archival paper between pages to prevent any migration of acidic ink. A request for librarian assistance is recommended when handling papers.

Acquisition Source: Murray Litchfield donated the Jacob Pennell, Sr. papers to the Maine Maritime Museum on May 20, 2005

Acquisition Method: The donor found the collection in a house where he grew up at 244 Maine Street in Brunswick, Maine. This was the former home of Captain Samuel Berry who was lost at sea on the brig Guadalupe in 1844. According to the accession record Berry’s wife was Hannah Bates Pennell the daughter of Jacob Pennell. However, a genealogical search (http://treesancestry.com) reveals Hannah Bates Pennell (b. 1806-d. 1876) was the daughter of William Pennell (b. 1781-b.1832). William Pennell was the brother of Jacob Pennell, Sr.

Related Materials: Related materials found in repositoiry, MS. 88.

Preferred Citation: Jacob Pennell, Sr., Papers, MS-273, Research Library, Maine Maritime Museum, Bath, Maine.

Processing Information:

The Jacob Pennell, Sr. papers came folded and housed in acidic envelopes (modern day). The papers did not appear to have any particular order nor was there any logical reasoning for their grouping in this manner that was evident to us.  The majority of papers are correspondence to Jacob Pennell, Sr. pertaining to the shipping business with his vessels. Letters are primarily from captains, ship agents and brokers. There is one account summary for the ship Jacob Pennell from New Orleans to Liverpool dated 1838. There is also an undated list of names with account due amounts.

All correspondence are incoming to Jacob Pennell, Sr. with a few incoming to both Jacob and his brother, Thomas Pennell. General correspondence is listed first followed by Captain’s letters.

Other Note: In order to help direct users to letters that reference a captain’s or vessel name, an index of vessel name (Appendix A) and a list of captains’ names (Appendix B) was created.