Grandson of Abraham
The will of Isaac Pennington (Berkeley County, South Carolina 1760) lists two sons: Jacob and Isaac. Both were presumably adults as they were given land on the Enoree River. Most researchers believe that the Jacob Pennington who later died in Logan County, Kentucky is the Jacob of Isaac's will. If so, then he is probably the Jacob Pennington who served as a "spie" for the patriots during the American Revolution [Note: many descendants of Jacob Pennington of Lawrence County, TN believe their ancestor to be the Jacob of Isaac's will, click here for more detail on the "Jacob Controversy"].
Around 1774 Jacob Pennington married Mary Prince, daughter of Francis Prince of the Spartanburg District of SC. Frances Prince is believed to have served with Jacob in the same regiment during the Revolution and was a leader in settlements near Clarksville in what is now Montgomery County, Tennessee [see article by Kerry Ross Boren, PP 9-1, pps. 32-40]. Jacob and his (presumed) brother Isaac joined the Princes and others in these early TN settlements. On 18 August 1787 Jacob received a grant on Spring Creek, a branch of the West Fork of Red River which descends from KY south towards Clarksville. At the time of the deed, this land was part of North Carolina [see PP 14-1, p. 20].
Isaac was killed by Indians near Clarksville in 1792 [PP 9-1, pps. 34-36] and around 1795 Jacob moved his family just north into Logan County, Kentucky where he died in 1801. He was survived by his wife Mary and by children Isaac, Rebecca Woodfork, Francis, Edward, Jacob, Sarah, and Mary.
Around 1818, Mary and several of her children including Jacob G. and Isaac, moved to what was then Lawrence County, Arkansas, where Mary died in 1820. Jacob G. and Isaac were both active in Arkansas Territorial affairs in the 1820s and 30s and established the Pennington Settlement in what was then Hempstead County in the southwest part of the state. The area later became Bradley County and the Pennington Settlement (located on the Saline River) became the town of Warren. Many descendants of these Penningtons still live in the Bradley County area as well as in Logan and Christian Counties in KY.