The English surname Penn is well known if not particularly common. Like other family names, it fans out over a long time and a wide geography.

The Penn Family of Virginia focuses solely on the lineage to spring from this locale. It gives strong evidence for the Immigrant's origins and arrival in the colony. Interweaving social history with the public record, this book sets about to awaken the lives of the American-born progeny. The narrative documents specific instances of participation by Old Dominion Penns at crucial moments in the nation's history. First generations, yet British subjects, chafing for independence, to the time cousins, now scattered, taking up arms against the other in the Civil War, The Penn Family mirrors the story of many another family with colonial roots.

Apt illustrations, a long list of descendants and extensive source notes enhance this presentation's aim also to be a valuable reference for genealogists.