Vol III File 5: The Paternal Ancestry of Homer Beers James (original) (raw)

1. Abraham Liddon Pennock, Sr., was born in Philadelphia, PA August 7, 1786. For thirty years he resided in that city, engaged in business, first as a dry goods merchant, the firm being Pennock & Robbins, and afterwards in the wire business of the firm of Sellers and Pennock. Here he was the originator of the riveted hose, the superiority of which over the sewed method enabled the firm to bring it into universal use, and caused the United States government to enter its contract with them for the making of all mail bags used in its service. In 1840 he retired from business and moved to Haverford Township. Subsequently he undertook the care of a number of estates. In the fall of 1845 he moved to Upper Darby Township, where he remained until his death on May 12, 1868. He was preeminently a man who had the courage of his convictions. When slavery was advocated in the South, as a "divine institution," and apologized for in the North, he would neither use the products of slave labor nor allow his family to do so, preferring at greater expense and trouble to procure goods elsewhere. His entire life was exemplified with high ideals, and he was "ever ready to aid the temperance cause with purse or pen." He erected at his own expense a Temperance Inn for the accommodation of travelers, in order to forestall the building of one already begun where liquors were to be sold. The poet John Greenleaf Whittier wrote of him:

"He was my friend and councilor in the dark and troubled times of 1838-39 and 40, a man of antique heroism, against whom the bitterest enemies of freedom could find nothing to urge. I think he came near to my ideal of a true Christian gentleman than any one else I ever knew."

He was a zealous advocate of abolitionism, active in the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, and made his country home an underground station for runaway slaves. At the Darby Meeting of the Society of Friends, on May 24, 1810, he received certification to marry, doing so on June 7, 1810, to Elizabeth Sellers, daughter of John and Mary (Coleman) Sellers, of Philadelphia. She was born August 26, 1791, in Philadelphia, and died June 18, 1870. They had nine children as follows:

• 1. Abraham Liddon Pennock, Jr., nurseryman and florist, was born in Philadelphia, PA, November 3, 1827. He was educated at the Friends Select School and at Haverford College. He undertook to learn the woolen business, but the confinement in the mills affected his health and he returned to his father's farm, whence sprang his love for growing plants and flowers. He built his first greenhouses in Landsdowne, PA, in 1861, and three years later formed a partnership with his brother, J. Liddon Pennock, under the firm name of Pennock Bros., and began business in cut flowers, then a new enterprise, at the ancestral home at Twelfth and Market streets, Philadelphia, PA. He was responsible for increasing the popularity of the lily-of-the-valley by preserving the pips in cold storage and planting them when needed throughout the entire year, thus furnishing the trade with a continuous supply of blooms. Other florists adopted this plan, and the lily-of-the-valley has thus been made an important feature in the cut-flower business. His son, Aldrich J. Pennock, following his footsteps, was known as the "Valley King of America." He took a keen interest in the growth and improvement of his home town, being instrumental in securing the first post-office inLandsdowne, the first sewerage plant, and a new water plant, of which his son Casper was the head. He was the inventor of a hot-water furnace and boiler for use in both dwellings and greenhouses, an improved grate for furnaces, and a greenhouse ventilator. He was a member of the American Rose Society, as well as numerous other organizations. He was twice married, (1) October 3, 1850, to Abby Jane Aldrich, daughter of Duty B. Aldrich, of Woonsocket, RI; she died in 1864, leaving the following three children: Herbert Aldrich Pennock, Casper Pennock, and George Liddon Pennock; and he was married (2), June 5, 1867, to Anna Maria Buckman, of Pennsylvania, by whom he had eight children as follows: Oliver Cadwalader Pennock; Olivia Cadwalader Pennock, who married Francis Judson Laird; Joseph Liddon Pennock; Henry Sellers Pennock; Anna Liddon Pennock, wife of Dr. Nathan Pennypacker Strauffer; and Elizabeth Pennock, wife of Robert C. Folwell, Jr.
  He died in Landsdowne, June 29, 1917.
• 2. Joseph Liddon Pennock, married Lydia Eldredge. All of the Pennock family were members of the Society of Friends. He and his brother, Abraham Liddon Pennock formed in 1864 the partnership of Pennock Bros., Philadelphia, PA, becoming pioneers in the cut flower business. They had a son, Joseph.
  • 1. Joseph Eldredge Pennock, building contractor, was born at Collegeville, PA, December 25, 1853. He attended the Friends' Select School in Philadelphia and the Westtown (PA) boarding school. He then spent two years learning the carpenter's trade in Philadelphia and in 1876 started in business for himself as a builder. He continued in that business until he retired in 1931 at the age of seventy-eight. During the greater part of his career his firm was known as J. E. & A. L. Pennock, the other partner being his brother. The firm had offices in Philadelphia and New York City and it constructed many of the largest buildings in eastern United States during its period of operation. He was a pioneer in the building industry, particularly in the use of concrete as a foundation, in setting concrete in wintertime by using protected heat, in setting concrete underwater and in using an elevator tower alongside a building under construction to carry up materials. His buildings were always well made and have stood well the test of time. Politically he was a Republican. He was a man of many talents, an athlete, interested in good literature, raised dahlias, collected etchings, and took up photography at seventy-two. H was married at Haddonfield, NJ, January 15, 1880, to Mary Haines, daughter of John Haines Lippincott, a farmer of Woodstown, NJ, and had two daughters: Pauline Scull Pennock, who married William Caspar Horn, Jr., and Margaret Liddon Pennock. He died in Philadelphia, PA, June 6, 1941.
• 3. George Pennock
• 4. Mary Coleman Pennock
• 5. John Sellers Pennock
• 6. Sarah Pennock
• 7. Ann Pennock
• 8. Casper Wistar Pennock, born July 2, 1799.
• 9. Isabella Pennock, born January 29, 1795.