I have chosen to publish my research on the internet rather than as a traditional bound and published hard copy because of my desire for all the descendants of Mitch and Helen’s ancestors to have access to my research and conclusions so that it may be augmented and corrected by further research.

Little at this site should be considered a finished product, but rather as a work in progress. Interpreting documents up to 400 years old will never be an exact science; untold documents are missing and may have been permanently destroyed by the relentless march of time, negligence, fires, or the “malice toward all" of the Union Army.

The purpose of this publication of The American Penleys is to share research with others who have common ancestors. No photograph, no graphic image, and no text contained in this website may be published or used for commercial or profitable endeavors without the expressed written consent of KarenPenley. Jerry and Charles Penley of Kingsport, Tennessee are the only persons entitled to unlimited use and reproduction of anything from this website, as they have provided me with countless documents, and many hours of energetic debate on obscure points of Penley history of little interest to most mortals.

I have attempted to give credit to those who have provided key pieces of information toward this research, but I did lose track of some individual contributions that came through the Penley List at Rootsweb.com when that board was thriving. If I have failed to give an individual credit for a contribution to this research, please contact me: Karen@PenleyPearls.com

If you wish to use any part of this website in your own research, it is hoped that you will likewise give fair credit to KarenPenley with a LINK to PenleyPearls.com or the person who contributed the research to this site.

Also, please read carefully to avoid confusing documented facts with some of the theories presented here. Great care has been taken in the recording and interpreting of documents, but mistakes do happen, and interpretation of blurred documents does vary. It is recommended that each user verify all information from an original image.