Simeon S. Pennewill - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Simeon Selby Pennewill was an American farmer and politician from Dover, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the Republican Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly and as Governor of Delaware.

Early life and family

Pennewill was born near Greenwood, Delaware, son of Simeon and Ann Curry Pennewill. The elder Simeon was one of the larger peach growers and owned the land that later became the town of Greenwood. He was also active in the Republican Party and served in the Governor's Guard during the Civil War. Simeon, the younger, was educated at Wilmington Conference Academy, now Wesley College in Dover. He married, later in life, after he served as Governor, first in 1920, Lydia Wright Elder, and second in 1927, Elizabeth Halsey. There were no children by either marriage. They lived at 228 North State Street in Dover and he was a member of the Methodist Church.

Professional and political career

Pennewill inherited and continued to operate his family's peach orchards in Greenwood and Bridgeville

Bridgeville, Delaware

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,436 people, 570 households, and 381 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,768.6 people per square mile . There were 636 housing units at an average density of 783.3 per square mile...

. Pennewill was elected to two terms in the Delaware State Senate and served from the 1899/1900 session through the 1905/06 session.

Governor of Delaware

He then was elected Governor of Delaware by defeating Rowland G. Paynter, the Democratic Party candidate and served one term from January 19, 1909 until January 21, 1913. Like his predecessor, Pennewill began his career as an Addicks Republican, but was dedicated to reuniting the party.

The Delaware General Assembly at this time approved the sale of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal

Chesapeake and Delaware Canal

The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal is a 14-mile long, 450-foot wide and 40-foot deep ship canal that cuts across the states of Maryland and Delaware, in the United States. It connects the waters of the Delaware River with those of the Chesapeake Bay and the Port of Baltimore...

to the Federal government, and passed the Boulevard Corporation Act, which provided the legal authority for T. Coleman du Pont

T. Coleman du Pont

Thomas Coleman du Pont was an American engineer and politician, from Greenville, Delaware. He was President of the of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, and a member of the Republican Party who served parts of two terms as United States Senator from Delaware...

to begin to build his privately funded highway the length of the state.

Delaware's antiquated whipping post again received embarrassing national attention. Out of state pressure forced Pennewill to reduce the number of lashings given in one sentence, but the pressure seemed to only intensify local opinion in favor of the use of the whipping post. He also made a controversial appointment to his elder brother, James Pennewill, the position of Chief Justice of Delaware. His brother served until his death 26 years later in 1935. It was during Pennewill's term that the DuPont Company lost its anti trust suit and was forced to divest itself of what became the Hercules Powder and Atlas Powder Companies.

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=12 style="background: #ccccff;" |Delaware General Assembly

Delaware General Assembly

The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 Senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 Representatives...

(sessions while Governor)
|-
!Year
!Assembly
!
!Senate Majority
!President
pro tempore
!
!House Majority
!Speaker
|-
|1909-1910
|95th

Delaware General Assembly

|
| |Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

| |Thomas O. Cooper
|-
|1911-1912
|96th

Delaware General Assembly

|
| |Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

Republican Party (United States)

| |Denward W. Campbell
|-

Death and legacy

Pennewill died at Dover and is buried in the Bridgeville Methodist Cemetery at Bridgeville, Delaware.

Almanac

Elections are held the first Tuesday after November 1st. Members of the Delaware General Assembly take office the second Tuesday of January. State Senators have a four year term. The Governor takes office the third Tuesday of January and has a four year term.

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
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!colspan=7 style="background: #ccccff;" |Public Offices
|-
! Office
! Type
! Location
! Began office
! Ended office
! notes
|-
|State Senator
|Legislature

Legislature

A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

The city of Dover is the capital and second largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County, and the principal city of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Kent County. It is located on the St. Jones River in the Delaware...

Legislature

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

Executive (government)

Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

|January 19, 1909
|January 21, 1913
|

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=7 style="background: #ccccff;" |Delaware General Assembly service
|-
! Dates
! Assembly
! Chamber
! Majority
! Governor
! Committees
! District
|-
|1899-1900
|90th

Delaware General Assembly

|State Senate

Delaware Senate

The Delaware Senate is the upper house of the Delaware General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. State of Delaware. It is composed of 21 Senators, each of whom is elected to a four-year term, except when reapportionment occurs, at which time Senators may be elected to a two-year term....

|Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

|Ebe Tunnell
|
|Sussex 1st

Sussex County, Delaware

Sussex County is a county located in the southern part of the U.S. state of Delaware. As of 2010 the population was 197,145, an increase of 25.9% over the previous decade. The county seat is Georgetown. The Seaford Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Sussex County.Sussex County is...

|-
|1901-1902
|91st

Delaware General Assembly

|State Senate

Delaware Senate

|Republican

Republican Party (United States)

|John Hunn

John Hunn (governor)

John Hunn was an American businessman and politician from Camden, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the Republican Party who served as Governor of Delaware.-Early life and family:...

|
|Sussex 1st

Sussex County, Delaware

|-
|1903-1904
|92nd

Delaware General Assembly

|State Senate

Delaware Senate

|Republican

Republican Party (United States)

|John Hunn

John Hunn (governor)

John Hunn was an American businessman and politician from Camden, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the Republican Party who served as Governor of Delaware.-Early life and family:...

|
|Sussex 1st

Sussex County, Delaware

|-
|1905-1906
|93rd

Delaware General Assembly

|State Senate

Delaware Senate

|Republican

Republican Party (United States)

|Preston Lea

Preston Lea

Preston Lea was an American businessman and politician from Wilmington, in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a member of the Republican Party who served as Governor of Delaware.-Early life and family:...

|
|Sussex 1st

Sussex County, Delaware

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=12 style="background: #ccccff;" |Election results
|-
!Year
!Office
!
!Subject
!Party
!Votes
!%
!
!Opponent
!Party
!Votes
!%
|-
|1908
|Governor
|
| |Simeon S. Pennewill
| |Republican

Republican Party (United States)

| |24,905
| |52%
|
| |Rowland G. Paynter
| |Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

| |22,794
| |48%

Images

Hall of Governors Portrait Gallery ; Portrait courtesy of Historical and Cultural Affairs, Dover.

External links

Places with more information

Delaware Historical Society
Delaware Historical Society
The Delaware Historical Society began in 1864 as an effort to preserve documents from the Civil War. Since then, it has expanded into a state-wide historical institution with several venues and a major museum in Wilmington and the historic Read House & Gardens in New Castle.The society...

; website; 505 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801; (302) 655-7161
University of Delaware
University of Delaware
The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...

; Library website; 181 South College Avenue, Newark, Delaware 19717; (302) 831-2965

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