Three primary documents from the Virginia-born, self-educated lawyer who moved to North Carolina, voted for independence, and completed the fifty-six signers of the Declaration of Independence.
John Penn was born May 17, 1741 near Port Royal in Caroline County, Virginia, the only son of Moses Penn. He received only two years of formal schooling before his father died, leaving him a comfortable estate at eighteen. His neighbor and distant kinsman Edmund Pendleton, one of Virginia's most distinguished lawyers and later chairman of the Virginia Committee of Public Safety, offered Penn access to his library. Penn read law under Pendleton's guidance and was admitted to the bar in Virginia in 1762.
After practicing law in Virginia for twelve years, Penn moved his family to Granville County, North Carolina in 1774, where relatives had settled. He was elected to the North Carolina Provincial Congress in 1775 and to the Continental Congress that same year, filling the seat vacated by Richard Caswell.
Penn was present in Congress when Richard Henry Lee moved the resolution for independence on June 7, 1776. He voted for independence alongside Joseph Hewes on July 2, 1776, the two North Carolina delegates present. He signed the Declaration on August 2, 1776. He also served on the Board of War from 1777 to 1780 and signed the Articles of Confederation on behalf of North Carolina in 1777.
Before independence Penn had favored reconciliation with Britain, but by 1776 he had concluded that separation was the only path available. His North Carolina background, representing a colony with deep tensions between eastern and western settlers, gave him a perspective on the Revolution different from most New England or Virginia delegates.
Penn, John · a Delegate from North Carolina · born near Port Royal, Caroline County, Va., May 17, 1741 · studied law under Edmund Pendleton · moved to Granville County, N.C., in 1774 · elected to the Continental Congress, 1775-1780 · signed the Declaration of Independence · signed the Articles of Confederation · member of the Board of War 1779-1780 · died near Stovall, N.C., September 14, 1788.
Penn retired from the Continental Congress in 1780 and returned to North Carolina and the practice of law. In April 1783, Robert Morris, the financier of the Revolution and fellow Declaration signer, appointed Penn as North Carolina's receiver of taxes for the Confederation government. Penn resigned within a month, having been given no actual authority to enforce collection. He returned to his law practice in Granville County.
He died September 14, 1788, at forty-seven, near Stovall in Granville County, North Carolina. He was buried on his estate near Island Creek. His remains were reinterred in 1894 at Guilford Courthouse National Military Park alongside fellow North Carolina delegate William Hooper. The naval ship USS John Penn was named in his honor.