Penwell Family History & Genealogy

La Roy M. Penwell, the well known and popular funeral director of Topeka, Kan., represents that type of a self-made man who is ever ready to share his own prosperity with the upbuilding of the community. He comes of sturdy Welsh ancestry who were New England pioneers, and was born at Buchanan, Mich., Nov. 25, 1862. His parents were Eli W. and Mary L. (Rouse) Penwell, the former a native of Elkhart, Ind., and the latter of Tonawanda, N. Y., being the daughter of Capt. Pardon Rouse, noted in his day as a boatman on the Erie canal. He removed to Buchanan, Mich., when Mary L. was a small girl and resided there until his death. Eli W. Penwell was the son of John Nelson and Jerusha (Ives) Penwell, the former a native of Wales and the son David and Jerusha (Hyde) Penwell, the founders of the family in America. David Penwell was born and reared in Wales, and married Miss Jerusha Hyde, of London, England. She was one of the famous Hyde heirs to a $20,000,000 estate in England that has been in course of litigation for over a century. David Penwell and family immigrated to America and located in New Hampshire, where he and his wife spent the remainder of their lives. John Nelson Penwell accompanied his parents to this country when a boy and grew to manhood among the hills of New Hampshire. He chose for his wife Miss Jerusha Ives, who bore him two sons, William Nelson and Eli William, the latter of whom became the father of La Roy M. Penwell of this review. Soon after his marriage, John M. Penwell removed from New Hampshire to Elkhart, Ind., where he resided until after the death of his wife, when he removed to a wild tract of land located about half way between Buchanan and Niles, Mich. After residing in Michigan several years, he removed to a farm near Ottumwa, Iowa, where he ended his days. Eli W. Penwell and wife became the parents of seven children, of whom four grew to maturity: La Roy McClellan, of this sketch; Frank S.; Apheus A., superintendent of the Los Angeles & Pacific railroad shops located at Los Angeles, Cal.; and Alva J., who is farming near El Reno, Okla.
Frank Sheridan Penwell, father of Dennis Lee Penwell, father of Mary Elizabeth Penwell. He was named after Eli Sheridan Penwell, a great uncle.