PRINTER'S NO. 2205
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
246
Session of
2023
INTRODUCED BY KAZEEM, PROBST, HILL-EVANS, HOHENSTEIN, BOROWSKI
AND DELLOSO, OCTOBER 24, 2023
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, OCTOBER 24, 2023
A RESOLUTION
Designating the month of October 2023 as "William Penn Landing
Site in Chester Month" in Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, William Penn, son of Admiral Sir William Penn, was
born in London on October 14, 1644; and
WHEREAS, William Penn shocked his contemporaries by
converting to the beliefs of the Society of Friends, or Quakers,
which was then a persecuted sect; and
WHEREAS, William Penn used his wealth and status to benefit
and protect his fellow believers; and
WHEREAS, King Charles II owed William Penn £16,000, which was
money his late father lent to the king; and
WHEREAS, William Penn requested that the debt be settled with
land in the New World to provide a safe haven for his fellow
Quakers; and
WHEREAS, William Penn requested land between Lord Baltimore's
province of Maryland and the Duke of York's province of New
York; and
WHEREAS, With the Duke's support, Penn's petition was
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granted; and
WHEREAS, King Charles II signed the Charter of Pennsylvania
on March 4, 1681, and it was officially proclaimed on April 2;
and
WHEREAS, The colony was named in honor of William Penn's
father; and
WHEREAS, The colony included lands between the 39th and 42nd
degrees of north latitude and from the Delaware River westward
for five degrees of longitude; and
WHEREAS, The Duke of York also deeded to Penn his claim to
what is now the state of Delaware; and
WHEREAS, William Penn set sail for Pennsylvania on a ship
called the Welcome; and
WHEREAS, After 57 days, the Welcome arrived in New Castle,
Delaware; and
WHEREAS, However, William Penn did not disembark until he
docked in Chester, Pennsylvania, on what is believed to be
October 29, 1682; and
WHEREAS, William Penn marveled at the place and found the
land good and the air serene; and
WHEREAS, William Penn renamed the area, which was called
Upland by Swedish settlers, Chester after the city in Cheshire
County, England; and
WHEREAS, Chester became Pennsylvania's first incorporated
municipality and William Penn had grand visions for the area;
and
WHEREAS, William Penn summoned the settlement's largest
landowner, James Sandelands, to negotiate a deal to establish
Chester as the capital of Pennsylvania; and
WHEREAS, William Penn and James Sandelands were unable to
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reach a deal and William Penn looked elsewhere and eventually
founded Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, Chester continues to celebrate the anniversary of
William Penn's landing but its unique place in this
Commonwealth's history has been neglected and overlooked;
therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designate the
month of October 2023 as "William Penn Landing Site in Chester
Month" in Pennsylvania; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives commemorate this
significant event and recognize Chester's unique place in this
Commonwealth's history.
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