If you have a PENLEY ancestor in or from Maine, you are urged to contact us. If you can provide your direct line back to your PENLEY ancestor(s), it will be a great help in placing you in the correct branch. There are known lines from Mississippi to Canada to California and many other states. The Maine PENLEY family is primarily the descendants of the children of the progenitor, Joseph 1 PENLY, who was born in England in 1755, arrived in Freeport, Maine, in 1770, and died in 1844. Joseph was first married to the widow, Esther FOGG JOHNSON, and they had 10 children. Following Esther's death in 1796, Joseph second married Thankful MOODY and they had six children. However, there was an earlier Sam(p)son PENLEY who was living in Falmouth (now Portland), Maine in 1658. He was later associated with House Island, Cape Elizabeth, and Long Neck. He was a fisherman and jail keeper. When he died in 1688, he was survived by his wife, Rachel; a son, Sampson; and 3 daus: Jane or Ann who married Dennis MURROUGH (MURROW ?) Dorcas who married Hugh WILCOTT Mary who married Henry BAILEY His son, Sampson PENLEY, was a mariner who is believed to have died without issue. How or if these two PENLEY families may have been related is not known, but the PENLEY family genealogists welcome the participation of Sam(p)son's descendants in hopes that future research will give us some resolution to these questions. I have recently heard from a descendant of one of those daughters. The Maine PENLEY family has an annual reunion, at 2 PM every 2nd Sunday in July. The special service is held at PENLEY Corner Church, state route 136, 3 miles south of the Auburn - Lewiston, Maine bridge (same as Riverside Dr on the Auburn side of the river). If numbered, the church would be at about 1301 Riverside Drive, on the west side of the road. There is a family cemetery next to the church. This year the meeting will be Sunday, July 10. "This Old House" will be the topic of the address that will be given by the guest speaker, Rev Nathan COLSON, pastor of the Turner Village Church, Turner, Maine. Audrey COLSON, wife of Rev COLSON, will be the soloist and song leader. Mrs. Wilbur Monroe PENLEY (Jean Marie Hedrick) of Maryland will be the accompaniest. Family genealogists will be available both before and after the service to receive information from descendants and discuss your line with you. If you have new England PENLEY's, the chances are very good that you are a descendant of Joseph 1 PENLY. We need everyone's help, especially in our effort to follow the daughters, gdaus, G gdaus, etc as we do not know who a number of them married, if they died before marrying, or died with or without issue. If you are unable to be at the reunion on July 10th, PLEASE contact me. And if you know of other PENLEY descendants, please let me know how to contact them by sending an e-mail directly to me. This does include those who may be living in other states. Thank you for your help. It is only thru the collaboration and cooperation of our entire family that we will be able to approach bringing the genealogy of the PENLEY family of Maine up to date Janice