Josiah Penfield

In 1808, Penfield was baptized at Savannah's First Baptist Church,^[3] where he became a deacon.^[8]

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.^[3]

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.^[2]

Penfield died in the second half of 1828, aged 43, in Rye, New York.^[3][9] Upon his death, he bequeathed $2,500 to the Georgia Baptist Convention, with the stipulation that they match the amount.^[10] The funds helped establish, in 1833,^[11] the Mercer Institute in Penfield, Georgia, which was named for him.^[3][12] In 1950, the Convention installed a bronze plaque on Broughton Street in Savannah, outside Penfield's former business.^[13]

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.^[8][10] It existed for twelve years.^[14]