PENROSE, JOHN, 1778-1859.
John Penrose letter, 1844

Restrictions on Access

Unrestricted access.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

All requests subject to limitations noted in departmental policies on reproduction.

Citation

[after identification of item(s)], John Penrose Letter, Archives and Manuscript Dept., Pitts Theology Library, Emory University.

Processing

Processed by Aimee Morgan, 2005.

Biographical Note

John Penrose was born on December 15, 1778 in Cardinham, Cornwall. His father, also named John, was vicar of that parish at the time of his birth. Penrose began his formal education at Exeter College, Oxford, but switched to Corpus Christi College, Oxford, after three months. He received a BA in 1799 and an MA in 1802. In 1814 Penrose married Elizabeth Cartwright, a teacher and author of children’s books under the name Mrs. Markham. The couple were the parents of three sons.

Penrose was ordained at Exeter in 1801. He held a number of ecclesiastical positions throughout his lifetime, including Vicar of Langton, Vicar of Poundstock, and Vicar of Bracebridge. In 1837 he was awarded perpetual curacy of North Hykeham, Lincolnshire.

While serving as Bampton lecturer at Oxford in 1805, Penrose wrote Attempt to Prove the Truth of Christianity. His other significant published works include An Inquiry into the Nature of Human Motives (1820) and Of Christian Sincerity (1829).

Penrose died on August 9, 1859.

Biographical Source: Jessica Hinings, ‘Penrose, John (1778-1859)’ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004.

Scope and Content Note

This collection consists of a three-page letter from John Penrose to an unnamed bishop, dated November 24, 1844. In the letter, Penrose comments on the character of Thomas Arnold.