OUR CHAPTER'S NAMESAKE, PENELOPE TERRY ABBEY

Penelope Terry was born in Enfield on February 5, 1729/30, and died in Enfield, Connecticut, on December 2, 1817, at age 87.  She is the fifth of nine children of Dr. (or Captain) Ebenezer Terry (1696-1780) and Mary (Helms) Terry (1702-1764).

Penelope is a direct descendant of Samuel Terry (1632-1731) and his wife Ann Lobdell (1632- ), who, along with William Pynchon, were the first settlers of Springfield, Massachusetts.

Penelope married Captain Thomas Abbey on June 22, 1749, in Enfield, Connecticut.  She was age 20 and he was age 18. Thomas was the son of Thomas Abbey Jr. and Mary (Pease) Abbey. Her husband Thomas was born in Enfield, Connecticut on April 11, 1731, and died there June 1, 1811, at age 80.

Penelope's father, Ebenezer Terry, was Enfield's earliest physician. Penelope was her father's pupil and assistant, and Enfield's first woman doctor. When the Lexington Alarm was raised in April 1775, Penelope's husband, Thomas Abbe left with the other men from Enfield to engage the British, and thus begin his long and distinguished service to the American Cause. Penelope remained at home to provide medical care to the community. Penelope practiced obstetrics for 33 years and assisted in 1,389 births. She welcomed into the world an entire generation of the town's inhabitants and is well worthy of commemoration.

Her obituary in the Hartford Courant on January 6, 1818, records that at the time of her death on December 2, 1817, Penelope was the mother of 11 children, 5 of whom were living; and she had 45 grandchildren, 52 great grandchildren, and 2 great great grandchildren, leaving a total of 104 living descendants.

Our chapter has nine past or current members who are descended from Captain Thomas Abbey and his wife Penelope Terry Abbey, and three past members who are descendants of Penelope's parents, Ebenezer Terry and Mary Helms Terry.

Penelope Terry Abbey is buried in the Enfield Street Cemetery on Route 5 in Enfield, Connecticut. If you enter the cemetery by the middle driveway, go in a short distance (15 rows). Just before the downgrade, on the left (north) side of the road, you will see the Marble Seat under a tree which marks Penelope's grave. It is of the same Greek style as the seats around her husband's monument, the Captain Thomas Abbey Memorial located in front of the Congregational Church on Enfield Street. Both monuments were installed in November 1916 by Alden Freeman, great great grandson of this couple.  

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