Joanna Penry was born about 1766 in Lisbon, New London County, Connecticut. She was the second of four children born to Ezra and Sarah (Wentworth) Penry of Lisbon. On November 25, 1789, Joanna married Comfort Eames, the twenty-six year old son of John and Elizabeth (Longbottom) Eames of Norwich, Connecticut. The record of this marriage, listed in Lisbon, CT. Vital Records as:
"Comfort Eames & Joanna Penury were married 25 November 1789".
Comfort Eames was a sea captain. Record of his occupation appears in Lisbon town records, where Comfort is listed among nineteen men, including his brothers Cyrus, Gideon and Rufus Eames as seamen of Lisbon. Joanna and Comfort Eames had the following children:
- George Anderson Eames
- William Henry Eames
- Thomas Eames
- Alonzo Eames
- Rosetta Eames married Mr. Parmelee
- Emeline Eames married William Lawrence.
- Julia Eames married John Marsh.
- Joanna Eames, born August 14, 1802, married Asher Palmer of Griswold, CT.
This portrait of Joanna Penry was passed down in my family and is in my possession.
By 1810, Joanna and Comfort had moved to New York City, where Comfort appears in 1810 and 1820 census listings. By 1828, Joanna was probably living in Dedham, Massachusetts, because I have a bible given to her by Martin Marsh of Dedham in 1828. A scan of Martin Marsh's book label and Joanna's inscription appear, below, left. It's very likely that Joanna lived beyond 1828, because she gave this bible to her granddaughter, Julia Elizabeth Palmer (born October 3, 1826, daughter of Joanna and Asher Palmer). See the scan of Julia Palmer's inscription, below, right.
[Note: Martin Marsh, age 73, appears in the 1850 census for Dedham, MA. with wife Elizabeth, 72, son Francis, 43, daughter-in-law Elizabeth, 43, grandson Francis,8, granddaughter Julia, 3, and grandson Martin, 11 months.]. Martin Marsh would have been born about 1777. I have no idea what the relationship might be, however, Joanna's daughter, Julia Eames, married a man by the name of John Marsh, who may have been related to Martin Marsh.
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My New England AncestryContact me, Sally, at cscox@gci.net
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