Name: Penelope Van Princis
   Born: c1622
  Place: Noord, Holland
   Died: c1732
  Place: Middleton, NJ
 Buried: 

http://genforum.genealogy.com/cgi-bin/pageload.cgi?penelope::nj/monmouth::1106.html

--quote--
PENELOPE VAN PRINCES STOUT & Her Legendary Ordeal

Posted by: Bobby J Chamberlain (ID *****2796)
Date: August 20, 2005 at 20:57:04

The life of Penelope Van Princes Stout (c1622-1732) is steeped in romantic legend. So well-known and seemingly fanciful is the traditional account of her violent ordeal and subsequent rescue that it is often not easy to ascertain what is indeed fact and what belongs more properly to the realm of fiction.

Some claim she was of Dutch origin, while others assert that she was of English stock, the daughter of a Baptist preacher from Sheffield who had fled to Holland, perhaps for reasons of religious persecution. All seem to agree, however, that she was born in Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, though there is still some divergence with regard to her date of birth (1602? 1620? 1622?). The very name "Van Princes" is controversial. Variously rendered as "Van Princes," "Van Princis," "Van Princess," "Van Prinzis," "Van Prinzen," "Van Princen"and even "Prince," it is thought by some to have been her maiden name, while others assume it to be the surname of her first husband. The former, however, is sometimes identified instead as "Thompson" or "Thomson," while others insist that she was born a "Kent" or "Lent." Still others maintain that "Kent Van Princes" was instead the legal name of her ill-fated first spouse.

The facts of Penelope's life are hard to come by for another reason as well. Unlike her husband, who was a public figure and, by virtue of his gender, much more visible with regard to legal questions, Penelope Van Princes Stout, except in the matter of her fabled tribulations, appears to have been an essentially private individual. According to the subsequent accounts of family members who knew her, she always wore a scarf or headdress to cover the marks of her terrible head wound. Nonetheless, it is reported that she did not hesitate in later years to display the prominent scars she bore on her abdomen to many a family member who professed interest in her predicament.

I do not feel it necessary here to recount in detail the facts of Penelope's shipwreck, assault, and captivity. Suffice it to say that there are a number of regional and local historians who have taken it upon themselves to do so throughout the years with varying degrees of success. Most of them, indeed, do a much better--and more thorough--job in that regard than I could hope to accomplish within the confines of this posting. Several such works are even available on line, in full or in part, as are likewise numerous websites that quote or paraphrase them. One such website is http://helpokc.com/penelope-stout.shtml. Another is http://genealogy.patp.us/penelope.shtml [dead link, see http://genealogy.patp.us/bio/penelope_prince.aspx -Michael]. There are many, many more. Following is a tentative chronology of the life of Penelope Van Princes Stout that, I think, will at least provide an outline of the various events that have been proven to have occurred, along with those that have been attributed to her but remain undocumented. For it, I have relied heavily on on-line sources but have drawn as well from a number of published works. Admittedly, it is sometimes difficult to tell fact from fiction in any given case. Perhaps we shall never be able to do so with any degree of certainty. (A separate posting will be devoted to the life of husband Richard Stout.)

Penelope Van Princes Stout: Chronology
(c1622-1732)

• About 1622: Born, Amsterdam, Holland
• About 1640: Married; sailed with husband for the Dutch colony at New Amsterdam (later NY), but the ship was stranded at Sandy Hook, off the coast of what is now Monmouth Co., NJ; attacked by hostile Indians; husband was killed, along with the ship's crew, while some passengers managed to escape; Penelope was partially disembowled and a portion of her scalp was removed; she was left for dead but survived by taking refuge in a hollow tree for several days; found alive by passing Indians, with whom she subsequently lived for a yr. or two; befriended by her rescuer, an elderly Indian man, who had nursed her back to health; eventually taken by her captors to New Amsterdam and released, or found and ransomed by European settlers who had heard of her plight and resolved to save her from captivity
• 1644/1645: Married Englishman Richard Stout, Gravesend, Long Isl., New Amsterdam
• 1645: Birth of son John, Gravesend, Long Isl., New Amsterdam
• 1645/1646: Birth of son Richard, Jr., Gravesend, Long Isl., New Amsterdam (10 Mar.)
• 1648: Birth of son James, Gravesend, Long Isl., New Amsterdam
• 1648: A "Pennelloppey Prince" mentioned in conjuction with the household of one Thos. Applegate (Sep., Gravesend Town Bk., vol. 1); this is also the yr. when some sources claim that Richard, Penelope, and children were among those who made an early (but ultimately unsuccessful) attempt to colonize the NJ coast
• 1649/1650: Birth of daughter Mary, Gravesend, Long Isl., New Amsterdam
• 1651/1654: Birth of daughter Alice Deliverance, Gravesend, Long Isl., New Amsterdam
• 1654: Birth of son Peter, Gravesend, Long Isl., New Amsterdam
• 1655: Received a furtive visit from her elderly Indian friend who warned her to flee with her family immediately to the safety of the New Amsterdam fort as there were plans for an impending Indian attack on the outlying settlement where they lived (mid-Sep.; this account is offered particularly by those who claim that the Stouts had been part of an earlier attempt [about 1648] at colonizing the NJ coast, which most instead put at the later date of 1663/1664)
• 1656: Birth of daughter Sarah, Gravesend, Long Isl., New Amsterdam
• 1660: Birth of son Jonathan, Gravesend, Long Isl., New Amsterdam
• 1663/1664: Moved with husband and children from Gravesend to what is today Monmouth Co., NJ, where, with others, they founded the first permanent European settlement at Middletown
• 1667: Birth of son David, Middletown, Monmouth Co., NJ
• 1668: With husband and others, met to organize the first Baptist church in NJ
• 1669: Birth of son Benjamin, Middletown, Monmouth Co., NJ
• 1690: Lot on Hop River, Monmouth Co., deeded by husband Richard to son Benjamin "for the Joynture of my Loving wife Penelope" (30 Aug.)
• 1732: Died, Middletown, Monmouth Co., NJ

--endquote--

This theory regarding Penelope's parentage is gathering steam. But I'm not familiar enough with the evidence to know how well is stacks up. It should be pointed out that other researchers disagree with this theory. In any event, mtDNA results--should anyone agree to test--could determine her true heritage.

Parents of Penelope Stout

Posted by: Florence Mumford (ID *****8562)
Date: January 17, 2004 at 07:29:23

There is little doubt that Penelope was the daughter of Rev. Mr. Prince, who was banished from his church in Sheffield, England and who lived for a time in Holland, where Penelope was born in about 1622, in Amsterdam. According to popular legend, Penelope may have been married to a young Hollander who name was unknown.

Matrilineal Descendants of Penelope Stout

A person of matrilineal descendant can be described as the child of a mother's mother's mother's mother, etc--someone, in other words, who is descended from a given woman directly through the maternal line. People having the same matrilineal descent from an individual share the same mitochondrial DNA. If several living mtDNA descendants of Penelope's were to test, we would know the makeup of her mtDNA and might be able to determine which part of Europe her heritage belongs to. But since mtDNA works best for deep ancestry, it may not be possible to know just which country she was born in. It would, however, be a worthy endeavor. Please contact me if you believe you're a likely candidate for testing.

Penelope m Richard Stout
  Mary Stout m James de la Boune
    Deborah Bowne
    Catherine Bowne
    Elizabeth de la Boune (1673-1760) m Henry Freeman Sr
      Anne Elizabeth Freeman (1694/95-) m John Runyon
      Mary Freeman (1702-1784) m David Dunham Jr
      Sarah Freeman (1702/3-) m Giles Worth
      Rachel Freeman (1704/5-1763) m Vincent Runyon
      Hannah Freeman (1711-) m1 Samuel Force Sr m2 Matthias Hatfield
        Damaris Hatfield
      Hester Freeman (1725-)
  Alice Stout (1652-) m1 John Throckmorton m2 Robert Skelton m3 ___ Jones
    Rebecca Throckmorton (c1673-) m John Stillwell
      Rebecca Stillwell (1693-) m1 James Cox m2  Ebenezer Slater
        Rebecca Cox m Richard Mount Jr
          Rebeckah Mount (1725-1777) m James Sexton
            Rachel Sexton (-1806) Ezekiel Cox
              Mary Cox
              Ann Cox
              Rebecca Cox
              Catherine Cox
            Patience Sexton (-1792-) unm
            Ann Sexton
            Rebecca Sexton
          Patience Mount (1722-) m Robert Gordon
            Patience Gordon
          Mercy Mount (1727-) m William Vaughan
          Rachel Mount (1731-1776) m Peter Sexton
            Elizabeth Sexton
            Rachel Sexton (1772-) m Daniel Sexton
      Mary Stillwell (1696-) m1 Daniel Seabrook m2 Daniel Corson
      Alice Stillwell (1706-) m Abraham Emans
        Cornelia Emans
    Sarah Throckmorton (c1674-) m Moses Lippitt
      Patience Lippitt (1698-) John Woolley Jr
        Catherine Woolley m James Woolley
          Patience Woolley
      Alice Lippitt (1701-)
      Sarah Lippitt (1705-)
      Deliverance Lippitt (1707-)
      Rebecca Lippitt (1709-)
      Rachel Lippitt (1711-)
    Deliverance Throckmorton (c1676-) unm
    Patience Throckmorton (c1677) m1 Hugh Coward m2 ___ Lake
      Sarah Coward (1704-)
    Alice Throckmorton (c1682-) m Thomas Stillwell
      Mary Stillwell (c1708-)
      Hannah Stillwell (c1711-)
    Susannah Throckmorton (c1683-)
    Susanna Skelton (c1692-) m Barnes Johnson
    Alice Skelton (c1694-)
  Sarah Stout (1655/6-1714) m John Pike
    Sarah Pike (1686-1704) m John Corbitt
    Mary Pike (1687-1721) m Richard Cutter
      Sarah Cutter (1707-1758) m Samuel Jacques
        Susanna Jacques (1731-1781) m Joseph Bird
          Sarah Bird (1760-1830) m Samuel Force
            Sarah Force (1784-1867) m William Connett
              Apphia Connett (1811-1858)
              Mary Connett (1816-)
              Mary Jane Connett (1816-)
              Susan Elizabeth Connett (1820-)
            Mary Force (1786-1872) m John Wainwright
            Elizabeth Force (1791-1808)
            Margaret Byrd Force (1796-1870) m Abraham Martling Williams
              Ann F Williams (1823-)
              Mary E Williams (1831-1908) m Bennett Sloan
            Susan Force (-1786)
            Susannah Bird Force (1788-) m Milen Ross
              Mary Elizabeth Ross (1831-1905) m Clancey John Dempster
              Abigail Blanch Ross
          Susanna Bird (1765-1772)
      Rebecca Cutter (1709-1792) m William Frazee
      Elizabeth Cutter (1711-1750) m John Skinner
        Ann Skinner (1736-)
        Hannah Skinner (1741/2-1772) m James Fitz Randolph
          Rebecca Fitz Randolph (1761-1841) m John Stockton
            Hannah Stockton m Caleb Jones
              Phrania Jones (1810-1896) m Robert Goudy
                Phrania Elizabeth Goudy (1846-1911) m Fielding Whipp Pattie
                  Shirly Pattie (1879-)
                  Mary Phrania Pattie (1883-)
                  Creda Pattie (1885-1962) m1 ___ Gates m2 Ernest G Montrop
                  Abigail Louise Pattie (1889-1913) m Joseph Arthur Cruise
                    Mary Phrania Cruise (1913-1996) m Edward John Hunt
                      Mary K Hunt m ___ Stohl
                      Dorothy Louise Hunt
                      Elizabeth Hunt
                      Margaret Hunt
                      Ellen Hunt
          Hannah Fitz Randolph (1765-) m1 Thomas Wood m2 David Laing
          Phebe Fitz Randolph (1769-1775)
          Elizabeth Fitz Randolph (1771-1772)
        Esther Skinner (1744-) Jonathan Dilley
          Esther Dilley (1767-) m Christopher Hibler
            Elizabeth Hibler (1805-1871) m Alexander P Drake
              Desire Drake (1825-)
              Ann Drake (1830-)
              Susan Drake (1835-)
        Elizabeth Skinner (1746-)
      Esther Cutter (1717/8-1784) m Charles Marsh
        Esther Marsh (1746-1818) m James Clark
        Hannah Marsh (1748-1830) m1 Kelsy Cutter m2 James Marsh
        Elizabeth Marsh (1750-1825) m Jeremiah Freeman Bird
          Abigail Bird (1770-)
          Susanna Bird (1773-) m Patric Brown
          Esther Bird (1789-)
          Elizabeth Bird (1794-)
      Hannah Cutter (1719-) m John Dennis
    Hannah Pike (1689-1763) m Obadiah Ayers
    Penelope Pike (1695-)