Loretta Merrell Ekis

Penelope - A Woman of Courage Loretta Merrell Ekis

This is a book of survival and strength against all odds when a young married woman and her husband along with others are shipwrecked at Sandy Hook, New Jersey about 1640. Penelope Van Princin's husband was ill and had to be carried off the ship where they were left while the other travelers made their way to New Amsterdam, their destination. Penelope's husband was killed by Indians and Penelope was left for dead, half scalped, stomach opened and passed out. But the strength and fortitude of this young woman is legend and she is fondly referred to as the First Lady of Middletown, New Jersey, because of being the first White woman to settle in Monmouth County. Her descendants number in the thousands easily, and all who have traced their ancestry back to Penelope and Richard are proud to claim her as their own.