Stone Gardens: From Muncaster Castle in England to an Arkansas grave-The Pennington-Cornett lineage
- Dennis McCaslin
- May 2, 2025
- 4 min read
In Antioch Cemetery #2 in the rustic community of Barber in Logan County, a simple headstone marks the grave of John Monroe Cornett, a farmer who died in 1881.
This unassuming site in rural Arkansas holds a remarkable secret: it connects, through 12 generations, to John Pennington Esq., born in 1573 in Hawkshead, Lancashire, England, and tied to the historic Muncaster Castle.
The proven and verifiable lineage spans over 300 years, from English gentry to American pioneers, ending with a farmer in Logan County, revealing a family’s role in shaping two nations.
The Pennington family, whose ancestors still reside at the estate, has ties to the propery streching back over 800 years.
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The story begins with John Pennington Esq. (1573–1652), a gentleman of Hawkshead, Lancashire, linked to Muncaster Castle, a Pennington stronghold since the 13th century.
The castle, a key defensive site during England’s border conflicts with Scotland, housed the family’s wealth and influence.
John married Ellen Leigh in 1594, and their son, William Ephraim Pennington (1594–1652), was born in Wigan, Lancashire.
William’s life coincided with the English Civil War (1642–1651), a period of royalist-parliamentarian conflict that disrupted Lancashire.
His son, Ephraim Pennington I (c. 1620–1660), born in Muncaster Parish, inherited this turbulent legacy.
In 1643, Ephraim I sailed to New Haven, Connecticut, joining the Puritan Great Migration. He swore allegiance to the New Haven Colony on August 5, 1644, and was admitted to the First Church of New Haven, as recorded in colonial records.
Married to Mary Ggausheigh, he had two children, including Ephraim Pennington II (c. 1645–1693). Ephraim I died around 1660, leaving his family to navigate the colony’s strict theocratic governance.
Ephraim II, baptized in New Haven on October 22, 1648, married Mary Brockett on November 25, 1667. By 1666, he joined a group of Puritans to found Newark, New Jersey, signing the town’s Fundamental Agreements.
His land on Lot 34 bordered the Passaic River, per Newark’s early records. Ephraim II died in 1693, survived by his son, Ephraim Pennington III (c. 1668–1694).
Ephraim III, born in Newark, married Johanna Davis around 1710 and had Ephraim Pennington IV (c. 1689–1750). Ephraim IV relocated to Rowan County, North Carolina, by 1720, a frontier region contested by Native American tribes and European settlers.
His son, Benajah Pennington (1724–1792), born in Salisbury, North Carolina, served as a Justice of the Peace in Wilkes County during the 1770s.
He witnessed the Regulator Movement (1765–1771), a rebellion against corrupt colonial officials, and signed deeds recorded in Wilkes County court minutes.
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Benajah’s son, Micajah Pennington Sr. (1743–1815), born in Wilkes County, served in the Revolutionary War under Capt. Enoch Osborn’s Company in Montgomery County, Virginia, in 1780, as documented in Virginia militia records.
Married to Rachel Jones in 1761, Micajah died in Ashe County, North Carolina, leaving a son, Edward Mitchell Pennington (1769–1860).
Edward Mitchell Pennington, born in Wilkes County, moved to Lee County, Virginia, marrying Martha Flanary around 1793.
Their daughter, Celia Pennington (1793–1874), born in Lee County, married Reuben Cornutt in 1812. The couple settled in Grayson County, Virginia, where their son, John Monroe Cornett (1832–1881), was born on October 28, 1832.
John Monroe married Sarah Ann Doane on April 1, 1858, in Independence, Grayson County.
By the 1870s, they relocated to Barber, Logan County, Arkansas, a post-Civil War frontier drawing settlers for its fertile land. John farmed, raising three sons--Jefferson Davis, Homer, and Sidney Sylvester—until his death on December 19, 1881. He was buried in Antioch Cemetery #2 in Barber,
The Pennington-Cornett line spans 12 generations, each tied to pivotal historical moments:
John Pennington Esq. (1573–1652): Lived in Muncaster Castle during England’s Tudor-Stuart transition.
William Ephraim Pennington (1594–1652): Navigated the English Civil War.
Ephraim Pennington I (c. 1620–1660): Founded a Puritan life in New Haven.
Ephraim Pennington II (c. 1645–1693): Helped establish Newark, New Jersey.
Ephraim Pennington III (c. 1668–1694): Bridged northern and southern colonies.
Ephraim Pennington IV (c. 1689–1750): Settled North Carolina’s frontier.
Benajah Pennington (1724–1792): Governed during pre-revolutionary unrest.
Micajah Pennington Sr. (1743–1815): Fought for American independence.
Edward Mitchell Pennington (1769–1860): Pioneered in Virginia.
Celia Pennington (1793–1874): Linked Penningtons to Cornutts.
Reuben Cornutt (1790–1875): Father of John Monroe.
John Monroe Cornett (1832–1881): Farmed in Arkansas’ frontier.
The contrast is stark: John Pennington Esq. lived among England’s elite, his castle a hub of power, while John Monroe Cornett toiled as a farmer in a remote Arkansas community. Yet both were shaped by their eras--John Pennington by feudal loyalties, John Monroe by the promise of the American West.
Muncaster Castle, still a Pennington landmark, hosted King Henry VI in 1461 and survived Border Reiver raids. The Penningtons’ colonial descendants helped build New Haven’s theocratic society and Newark’s Puritan community.
Their southern heirs faced Native American conflicts, the Revolution, and westward expansion. John Monroe Cornett’s Arkansas life reflected the post-Civil War migration to the the Arkansas wilderness, where families like his cultivated land opened by the Homestead Act of 1862.
The lineage from John Pennington Esq. to John Monroe Cornet traces a family’s adaptation across three centuries.
In Antioch Cemetery #2, a farmer’s grave holds the echo of an English castle, a testament to 12 generations of endurance.
