The Penn-Gaskell family collection (18 items) contains correspondence, documents, and other items related to the descendants of Christiana Gulielma Penn, a great-granddaughter of Pennsylvania founder William Penn, and her husband, Peter Gaskell. Many of the items concern Thomas Penn-Gaskell and Peter Penn-Gaskell, grandsons of Christiana Penn and Peter Gaskell.
The materials pertain to topics such as real estate, genealogy, and finances. Documents include 2 copies of Thomas Penn-Gaskell's will (October 9, 1823); marriage certificates for Peter Penn-Gaskell and Louisa Heath (February 15, 1825) and for Peter Penn-Gaskell and Mary Kathleen Stubbs (July 7, 1869); and Peter Penn-Gaskell's appointment as a justice of the peace for County Cork, Ireland (November 20, 1880). The collection also includes a book containing copied documents pertaining to Peter Gaskell's affairs in Ireland in the 1760s, compiled by Thomas Penn-Gaskell in November 1785. The copied documents and financial records largely concern land ownership.
Christiana Gulielma Penn (1733-1803), a great-granddaughter of Pennsylvania founder William Penn and a resident of London, England, married Peter Gaskell in 1761. Their children, who were later formally permitted to use the surname Penn-Gaskell, were Thomas (1762-1823), Peter (1763-1831), Alexander Forbes, William, Elizabeth, and Jane.
Peter Penn-Gaskell lived in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, and married Elizabeth Edwards (1772-1834) in 1793. They had seven children: William (1794-1817), Thomas (1796-1846), Eliza (1798-1865), Alexander Forbes (ca. 1800-1829), Peter (1803-1866), Christiana (1806-1830), and Jane (1808-1852).
The younger Peter Gaskell married Louisa (or Louise) Heath on February 15, 1825; they had five surviving children: Elizabeth (1823-1869), Louisa (d. 1853), Gulielma (d. 1852), Hetty, and Mary (d. 1877). Members of the Penn-Gaskell family inherited tracts of land in Pennsylvania and the Shanagarry estate in County Cork, Ireland.
