William Penn, My Ancestor

William Penn

Here's a fun fact: the founder of Pennsylvania is my ancient relative on my dad's mother's side of the family! William Penn was a Quaker who was born in London in 1644. Quakers were really frowned upon during this time, so Penn moved to America to avoid persecution when he was 38 years old. He was even expelled from Oxford University because we wouldn't convert to Anglicanism. King Charles ll owed Penn's father, but didn't pay him back before he died, so King Charles ll gave Penn the land of Pennsylvania to make up for it. According to Quaker.org, "Penn had to give the King two beaver skins and a fifth of any gold or silver mined within the territory" annually (very specific!). After spending most of time advocating for freedom of religion, Penn was finally able to make his new land exactly what he has dreamt of.

A signed document by William Penn granting land to a Quaker who was persecuted in England for his religion. Courtesy of RAAB Collection.

My grandma said our family does not have any documents or pictures in our possession, but our relatives has passed down the story of our well-known ancestor. Penn hasn't been around for 300 years after all. In a text message, my grandma said, "There are a lot of families descended from WP. My maternal grandparents' family were from Virginia. I believe he had a lot of children." Which he did in fact have 13 children with two wives of different times. My grandma's middle name is also Penn which she says "goes way back" in our family.

Right is right, even if everyone is against it, and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it. -William Penn

Penn died at 73 years old in Ruscombe, England from a stroke. He is remembered to be a very respectable gentleman who fought against slavery, for freedom of religion, and for education rights. Because of everything Penn had gone through in his life and his good intentions, I can agree with the statement that he was a "great hero of American liberty".

The Mystery of Mrs. Jackson

Die on socket marker that reads "Near this spot is buried Elizabeth Jackson, mother of president Andrew Jackson, she gave her life cheerfully for the independence of her country on an unrecorded date in Nov. 1781 and to her son Andy this advice: 'Andy, never tell a lie, nor take what is not your own, nor sue for slander, settle those cases yourself.'"

There is one very historical mystery that lurks between the brick roads of Charleston. On the College of Charleston campus on the edge of Cougar Mall is a grave marker dedicated to Elizabeth Jackson, the mother of the 7th president of the United States, Andrew Jackson. Although, the marker's location is fooling because that is not where Mrs. Jackson actually rests. In fact, no one knows exactly where she was buried at all.

Robert Remini, author of "Andrew Jackson: The Course of American Empire, 1767-1821" briefly explains that a long time ago, Mrs. Jackson and a couple of lady friends traveled from Waxhaw, North Carolina with medicines to deliver to a prisoner ship of the British in Charleston. She was known to be a caring nurse, so going out of the way to help others was not surprising for those who knew her. During her time there, she caught the disease cholera, also known as the "ship fever" and did not recover. According to Post and Courier journalist, Robert Behre, the original grave marker was placed near upper King Street to adhere a letter to Andrew Jackson written by James H. Witherspoon which states that she is buried "in and about the forks of Meeting and Kingstreet Roads". It sits in Courgar Mall today as safe keeping.

As one can imagine, finding the location of her remains was very important to him and brought him grief. I came across the blog "History of American Women" which had  another well-known letter that Andrew Jackson wrote saying that locating her "would bring [him] great satisfaction, that [he] may collect her bones". His mother was a wise and nurturing woman who wanted not the best for Andrew, but for him to treat all situations the best he could. Try to put yourself in the lonely 15 year old Andrew Jackson's shoes to understand how easy it is to love a woman like his mother. Sadly, he passed away in 1845 without fulfilling his goal of finding her remains. The strange thing is, though, is that still to this day, no one has either. Mysteriously, there is no documentation of her death records or word of mouth of where someone buried her. Also, those who know what she had looked like are only those who had seen her with their own eyes in person because no pictures of her exist.

If you are shopping around uptown Charleston or pass this headstone on your way to class, think of Elizabeth Jackson and how she has to be somewhere you are too. Remember what her reason was for being in town as well to give her soul some recognition.