Simeon S. Pennewill
53rdGovernor of Delaware
In office January 19, 1909 – January 21, 1913
Lieutenant	John M. Mendinhall
Preceded by	Preston Lea
Succeeded by	Charles R. Miller
Member of theDelaware Senate
In office January 10, 1899 – January 8, 1907
Personal details
Born	(1867-07-23)July 23, 1867 Greenwood,Delaware, U.S.
Died	September 10, 1935(1935-09-10) (aged 68) Dover,Delaware, U.S.
Party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Lydia Wright Elder Elizabeth Halsey
Residence(s)	Dover,Delaware
Occupation	farmer

Simeon Selby Pennewill (July 23, 1867 – September 10, 1935) was an American farmer and politician fromDover, inKent County, Delaware. He was a member of theRepublican Party, who served in theDelaware General Assembly and asGovernor of Delaware.

Pennewill was born nearGreenwood, Delaware, son of Simeon and Ann Curry Pennewill. The elder Simeon was one of the larger peach growers and owned the land that later became the town of Greenwood. He was also active in the Republican Party and served in the Governor's Guard during theCivil War. Simeon, the younger, was educated at Wilmington Conference Academy, nowWesley College in Dover. He married, later in life, after he served as governor, first in 1920, Lydia Wright Elder, and second in 1927, Elizabeth Halsey. There were no children by either marriage. They lived at 228 North State Street in Dover and he was a member of the Methodist Church.

Pennewill inherited and continued to operate his family's peach orchards in Greenwood andBridgeville. Pennewill was elected to two terms in theDelaware State Senate and served from the 1899/1900 session through the 1905/06 session.

He then was elected Governor of Delaware by defeating Rowland G. Paynter, theDemocratic Party candidate and served one term from January 19, 1909 until January 21, 1913. Like his predecessor, Pennewill began his career as an Addicks Republican, but was dedicated to reuniting the party.

The Delaware General Assembly at this time approved the sale of theChesapeake and Delaware Canal to theFederal government, and passed the Boulevard Corporation Act, which provided the legal authority forT. Coleman du Pont to begin to build his privately funded highway the length of the state.

Delaware's antiquatedwhipping post again received embarrassing national attention. Out of state pressure forced Pennewill to reduce the number of lashings given in one sentence, but the pressure seemed to only intensify local opinion in favor of the use of the whipping post. He also made a controversial appointment to his elder brother, James Pennewill, the position ofChief Justice of Delaware. His brother served until his death 26 years later in 1935. It was during Pennewill's term that theDuPont Company lost its antitrust suit and was forced to divest itself of what became theHercules Powder and Atlas Powder Companies.

Pennewill died at Dover and is buried in the Bridgeville Methodist Cemetery at Bridgeville, Delaware.

Elections are held the first Tuesday after November 1. Members of the Delaware General Assembly take office the second Tuesday of January. State Senators have a four-year term. The governor takes office the third Tuesday of January and has a four-year term.

• Carter, Richard B. (2001).Clearing New Ground, The Life of John G. Townsend, Jr. Wilmington, Delaware: The Delaware Heritage Press.ISBN 0-924117-20-6.
• Hoffecker, Carol E. (2004).Democracy in Delaware. Wilmington, Delaware: Cedar Tree Books.ISBN 1-892142-23-6.
• Martin, Roger A. (1984).History of Delaware Through its Governors. Wilmington, Delaware: McClafferty Press.
• Martin, Roger A. (1995).Memoirs of the Senate. Newark, Delaware: Roger A. Martin.
• Sobel, Robert; J. Racino (1988).Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States 1789-1978. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.ISBN 0-930466-00-4.

• Hall of Governors Portrait Gallery;Portrait courtesy of Historical and Cultural Affairs, Dover.

• Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States
• Delaware’s Governors
• Simeon S. Pennewill atFind a Grave
• The Political Graveyard

• Delaware Historical Society;website; 505 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801; (302) 655-7161
• University of Delaware;Library website; 181 South College Avenue, Newark, Delaware 19717; (302) 831-2965

• 1867 births
• 1935 deaths
• Methodists from Delaware
• People from Dover, Delaware
• Farmers from Delaware
• Republican Party Delaware state senators
• Republican Party governors of Delaware
• Burials in Sussex County, Delaware
• Wesley College (Delaware) alumni
• People from Greenwood, Delaware
• 19th-century Methodists
• 20th-century Methodists
• 19th-century members of the Delaware General Assembly
• 20th-century members of the Delaware General Assembly

• Articles with short description
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