Josiah Penfield
{{Infobox person
| name = Josiah Penfield
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = June 6, 1785
| birth_place = Fairfield, Connecticut, U.S.
| death_date = 1828 (aged 43)
| death_place = Rye, New York, U.S.
| other_names =
| known_for =
| occupation = Silversmith
}}
Josiah Penfield (June 6, 1785 – 1828) was an American silversmith based in Savannah, Georgia. Penfield, Georgia, is now named for him.
Early life
Penfield was born in Fairfield, Connecticut, in 1785,Savannah in the Old South, Walter J. Fraser (2003), p. 196{{Cite web |title=Letters to J.T. Thomas regarding Josiah Penfield |url=https://7063.sydneyplus.com/archive/final/Portal/Default.aspx?component=AABC&record=e4ad999b-5ac7-4fbd-b6b6-60a3d239ae1e |access-date=2025-01-24 |website=Georgia Historical Society {{!}} ArchivEra (Final) |language=en}} to Nathaniel and Rachel Marquand Penfield. He was the middle child of three brothers."[https://gcaam.org/wp-content/uploads/HRCGA-Penfield-Baptist-.pdf Historic Rural Churches"] – Georgia Backroads (Winter 2021)
Career
Penfield moved to Savannah, Georgia, around the turn of the 19th century. He worked with the firm of his uncle, Isaac Marquand (1800–1801);{{Cite web |title=Josiah Penfield (1785-1828) |url=https://sterlingflatwarefashions.com/silvermiths/josiah-penfield/ |access-date=2025-01-24 |language=en-US}} Marquand and (Cornelius) Paulding (1801–1810); Marquand, Paulding and Penfield (1810–1816); Penfield (1816–1820); and J. Penfield and Company (1820–1828). He worked with his cousin Frederick Marquand{{Cite web |title=Teaspoon |url=https://collections.telfair.org/objects/4572/teaspoon |access-date=2025-01-24 |website=collections.telfair.org |language=en}} from around 1821 to 1825 and with Moses Eastman from 1826 to 1828.{{Cite web |title=Works – J. Penfield and Company – People – Telfair Museum |url=https://collections.telfair.org/people/1810/j-penfield-and-company/objects |access-date=2025-01-24 |website=collections.telfair.org}}Cutten, George, The Silversmiths of Georgia From around 1813, Marquand, Paulding and Penfield operated locations in Savannah, New York City and New Orleans.
Personal life
In 1808, Penfield was baptized at Savannah's First Baptist Church, where he became a deacon.{{Cite book |last=Kverndal |first=Roald |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Seamen_s_Missions/cFAP8LxhtLQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=josiah+penfield+1828&pg=PA452&printsec=frontcover |title=Seamen's Missions: Their Origin and Early Growth |date=1986 |publisher=William Carey Library |isbn=978-0-87808-440-1 |pages=452 |language=en}}
He married Sarah B. Pettibone in 1813. She died around a year into their marriage. He married again, a decade later, to Elizabeth Letitia Russell.
A letter dated 1873, by Penfield's nephew, wrote a short biography of his uncle, while in 1874, Frederick Marquand wrote about Penfield's life in Savannah.
Death and legacy
File:Old Mercer Chapel now Penfield Baptist Church, Penfield, Greene Co., Georgia.JPG]]
Penfield died in the second half of 1828, aged 43, in Rye, New York.{{Cite web |title=Savannah Biographies {{!}} Special Collections at Lane Library (Armstrong) {{!}} Georgia Southern University |url=https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/sav-bios-lane/index.7.html |access-date=2025-01-24 |website=digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu}} Upon his death, he bequeathed $2,500 to the Georgia Baptist Convention, with the stipulation that they match the amount.{{Cite book |last=Cathcart |first=William |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Baptist_Encyclopaedia/JpDVYXtSxiAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=josiah+penfield+1828&pg=PA782&printsec=frontcover |title=The Baptist Encyclopaedia: A Dictionary of the Doctrines, Ordinances, Usages, Confessions of Faith, Sufferings, Labors, and Successes, and of the General History of the Baptist Denomination in All Lands: with Numerous Biographical Sketches of Distinguished American and Foreign Baptists, and a Supplement |date=1883 |publisher=Everts |pages=782 |language=en}} The funds helped establish, in 1833,{{Cite web |title=Greene County |url=https://www.georgiahistory.com/ghmi_marker_updated/greene-county/ |access-date=2025-01-24 |website=Georgia Historical Society |language=en-US}} the Mercer Institute in Penfield, Georgia, which was named for him.{{Cite web |title=Penfield Project |url=https://kingcenter.mercer.edu/penfield-project/ |access-date=2025-01-24 |website=Spencer B. King, Jr. Center for Southern Studies |language=en-US}} In 1950, the Convention installed a bronze plaque on Broughton Street in Savannah, outside Penfield's former business.{{Citation |last=Nelson |first=Dagmar |title=Josiah Penfield Plaque |date=2007-07-15 |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/milkaway/861317065 |access-date=2025-01-24}}
He also provided funds for the erection of a "House for the religious worship of seaman in the city of Savannah." In December 1832, a brick-built Penfield Mariners' Church was consecrated on Bay Street. It existed for twelve years.https://www.freemansrag.com/historical-ruminations/savannah-a-sailors-home-away-from-home
References
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Category:American silversmiths