Hannah Margaret Penn (née Callowhill; 11 February 1671 – 20 December 1726) was an Englishwoman who was the second wife of Pennsylvania founder William Penn. She effectively administered the Province of Pennsylvania for six years after her husband suffered a series of strokes, and then for another eight years after her husband's death. She served as acting proprietor from 1712 until her death in 1726.
Contents
Early life
Hannah Margaret Callowhill was born in Bristol, England, the daughter of Thomas Callowhill, a merchant there, and Anna (or Hannah) Hollister.
Province of Pennsylvania
A Quaker, she married William Penn on 5 March 1696, when she was 25 and he was 52 at Quakers Friars in Bristol. She was pregnant with their first of nine children when the couple embarked from England for their three-month voyage to what was then British America in 1699. She lived in great style, both in Philadelphia and at Pennsbury Manor, a beautiful estate located in Bucks County, on the Delaware River.
When William Penn died at age 73 on 30 July 1718, his will gave Hannah Penn full control of the Province of Pennsylvania and his fortune.