William Evander Penn (1832 - 1895)

Born 11 Aug 1832 in Old Jefferson, Rutherford County, Tennessee

Ancestors

Husband of Corilla Frances (Sayle) Penn — married 30 Apr 1856 in Tennessee

Died 29 Apr 1895 at age 62 in Eureka Springs, Carroll County, Arkansas

Biography

William Penn is Notable.

Major William Penn served in the United States Civil War.
Mustered out: 21 June 1865
Side: CSA
Regiment(s): 16th Regiment Tennessee Cavalry;

Civil War Veteran, CSA, Wilson's 16th Regiment Tennessee Cavalry

William Evander Penn bears significance in Baptist history as the first to devote his life to full-time evangelism in Texas.

"William Evander Penn, Baptist evangelist, was born to George Douglas Penn and Telitha Patterson, in Rutherford County, Tennessee, on August 11, 1832. He married Corrilla Frances Sayle on April 30, 1856. They adopted two girls and a boy. One of the girls died as a child. Captain Penn was assigned to Andrew N. Wilson's Regiment, Sixteenth Tennessee Cavalry, in the Confederate Army, and was captured on February 18, 1864, in Hardiman County, Tennessee. He was in a group that was exchanged for captured Union soldiers on April 7, 1865, after which he was assigned to a regiment and promoted to Major. After the Confederate surrender, Penn signed his parole at Shreveport, Louisiana, on June 21, 1865. He and his family moved in January 1866 to Jefferson, Texas, where he opened a law office. The Penn's joined the Baptist church at Jefferson, and later Penn was ordained a deacon. Penn wrote hymns and published Harvest Bells, a hymnal with J. M. Hunt in 1881. A second edition was published in 1886, and H. M. Lincoln and Penn published a third in 1887. Penn has been called the "Texas Evangelist," but he also led revivals in other states and in Scotland and England. The Penn's moved to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, about 1887. Penn's health began to decline in 1892. He wrote the autobiographical part of The Life and Labors of Major W. E. Penn in 1892, but the book was not published until 1896, after his death. He died at his home on April 29, 1895, and was buried in Eureka Springs Cemetery, Eureka Springs, Arkansas."^[1]

"William Evander Penn was a Texas Baptist evangelist and well known minister who preached widely in America and Europe. His visit of castles in Europe inspired him to build a castle of his own in 1888 where he and his wife Corrilla Frances Sayles Penn lived for several years. "Penn Castle" still stands in Eureka Springs, Arkansas and was featured on the HGTV show If Walls Could Talk. The First Baptist Penn Memorial Church of Eureka Springs was named in his honor. He authored an enduring hymn, The Sheltering Rock

21 September 1870: Jefferson, Marion Co., Texas; William E Penn, Lawyer, 38 Tennessee; Corilla F Penn 36. Tennessee; Elton Penn Male 7 Texas; Maggie Penn Female 4 Alabama; Clyde Penn Female 1 Alabama; https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXGQ-6DD

Sources

1. ↑ https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/penn-william-evander

1860 Residence: 10th Civil District, Henderson, Tennessee "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8T6-7RB

1880 Residence: Houston, Harris, Texas "United States Census, 1880", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MFNN-4PD

BURIAL: IOOF Cemetery in Eureka Springs, Carroll County, Arkansas

Find A Grave: Memorial #5522146 William Evander Penn

Secondary Source: Family Tree https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/GM15-SB5

https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/penn-william-evander

https://www.thefreelibrary.com/William+Evander+Penn%3a+Texas+Baptist+evangelist.-a0111014970

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Evander_Penn

https://www.wideopencountry.com/penn-castle-arkansas/