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Giles Penn was a descendant of the Penns who lived in Minety,
Wiltshire, England. Minety, derived from 'mint stream', is between
Swindon and Malmesbury in Wiltshire (originally in
Gloucestershire), England. His grandfather, William Penn of
Minety (d.1591), must have been quite an important figure for
when he died in 1591 it is believed that he was buried in front
of the alter at Saint Leonards Church, Minety. A plaque
commemorating his life was erected in the church. All evidence
of this was destroyed during repairs and alterations at the turn
of the 19/20th centuries.
1573, Giles was born. His father was William Penn, a law
clerk at Malmesbury, Wiltshire and chief clerk to counsellor at
law, Christopher George (whose sister he married). His mother
was Margaret Penn (Rastall(e)) daughter of John Rastall,
alderman of Gloucester and Ann George who was Christopher
George's sister.
1600, November 5, Giles and Jeanne (Joane) were married at St
Mary Redcliffe Church, Bristol. Jeanne Gilbert was from
Yorkshire but at this time lived in the West Country.
1618, Giles and his brother, William, were merchants in
Bristol who become bankrupt. It may have been that Giles took up
'merchant adventuring' in order to extricate himself from the
debts and losses of his business. He started a series of risky
seagoing trips, and was involved in the, literally, cut-throat
business of trading off the Barbary coast, (North Africa), with
Moorish Merchants.
1601, son George Giles was born.
1607, daughter Rachael was born.
1612, daughter Eleanor died - date of birth unknown.
There is also at least one other daughter born to Giles and
Jeanne Penn. Two of their daughters married men named Bradshaw
and Markham (see Admiral Sir William Penn's Will). Their nephew
William Markham, first cousin to William Penn (see 1681) became,
for many years, Lieutenant-Governor of Pennsylvania.
1621, son William (Admiral Sir William Penn) was born.
1627 December 30th, Giles was appointed Council to the
Barbary region (Sallee). He was authorised to 'execute that
office by himself and his deputies in Morocco and Fez during the
king's pleasure with such allowances as consults in other parts
of Turkey have from the merchants, or otherwise as Penn and the
merchants shall agree.' This had significant financial rewards
for Giles Penn and enabled him to make business contacts which
allowed him to engage in a steady accumulation of wealth. It is
unlikely that he ever revisited England after his appointment.
1631, he obtained Tetuan hawks from Morocco for Charles I and
he was given letters of Protection from the king, later he was
charged with obtaining Barbary horses for the royal household as
well as further numbers of hawks.
Giles was directly involved in consultations and planning
arrangements for the sending of an armed English fleet to Sallee.
c1641, Giles Penn died around this time. He left no Will and
there is no record of his death in England.
Richard J. Easton: Giles Penn was a brother of my Great Grandfather
(10 generations back), George Penn. These generations are as follows:
Richard J. Easton (1938) ->
Ray Robert Easton (1911) -> Eva Jane Barton -> (1879) -> John Hunter Barton (1858) ->
William Barton (1821) -> Sally Penn (1800) -> Joseph Rosco Penn (1768) -> Phillip Penn (1738) ->
George Penn (1709) -> John Penn (1650) -> William Penn (1609) -> George Penn (1571) -> William Penn (1548).
William Penn Jr. (1644) -> Admiral Sir William Penn (1621) -> Giles Penn (1573) -> William Penn (1548).
The genealogy has been traced back two more generations:
William Penn (1548) -> William Penn (1525) -> John Penne (1500)
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