The early Dutch settler Penelope Van Princis Kent Stout, dubbed the "Mother of Middletown", may also be New Jersey's most famous survivor. The daughter of Baron Van Princis (a.k.a. Van Prinzen), she was born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in 1622. After her marriage to John Kent c.1640, bride and groom set sail for New Amsterdam (present day New York), but near the end of the journey their ship ran aground near what is now Highlands in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Although the other stranded passengers resumed their journey on foot, Penelope stayed behind in the Navesink woods with Kent, who had become too ill to travel. There the couple fell prey to hostile Indians who, after killing her husband, left Penelope to die. Partially scalped and bleeding from an abdominal wound, she was rescued by friendly Indians and eventually recovered from her injuries. After her return to the European settlements, Penelope married an English-born colonist, Richard Stout, with whom she had a large family. In time the Stouts came to settle in Middletown, NJ, where Penelope lived to the ripe old age of 110. Several of the Stouts' colonial era descendants are interred in the Presbyterian Burial Ground off King's Highway in Middletown, and while the exact location of Penelope's grave is unknown, she, too, was buried in this Monmouth County town.
The early Dutch settler Penelope Van Princis Kent Stout, dubbed the "Mother of Middletown", may also be New Jersey's most famous survivor. The daughter of Baron Van Princis (a.k.a. Van Prinzen), she was born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in 1622. After her marriage to John Kent c.1640, bride and groom set sail for New Amsterdam (present day New York), but near the end of the journey their ship ran aground near what is now Highlands in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Although the other stranded passengers resumed their journey on foot, Penelope stayed behind in the Navesink woods with Kent, who had become too ill to travel. There the couple fell prey to hostile Indians who, after killing her husband, left Penelope to die. Partially scalped and bleeding from an abdominal wound, she was rescued by friendly Indians and eventually recovered from her injuries. After her return to the European settlements, Penelope married an English-born colonist, Richard Stout, with whom she had a large family. In time the Stouts came to settle in Middletown, NJ, where Penelope lived to the ripe old age of 110. Several of the Stouts' colonial era descendants are interred in the Presbyterian Burial Ground off King's Highway in Middletown, and while the exact location of Penelope's grave is unknown, she, too, was buried in this Monmouth County town.
Bio by: Nikita Barlow
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See more Stout or Van Princis memorials in:
- Stout Farmland Cemetery Stout or Van Princis
- Holmdel Stout or Van Princis
- Monmouth County Stout or Van Princis
- New Jersey Stout or Van Princis
- USA Stout or Van Princis
- Find a Grave Stout or Van Princis
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