The name Penston has been traced to the Norman invasion of England in 1066. The Normans 
identified themselves by reference to the estates from which they came in northern France. 
Following the invasion, they continued this practice by taking the names of places they 
occupied.

Penston refers to a coal mining village located in the Parish of Gladsmuir in Scotland. 
Included in the Stories section of this website is an item entitled 'Penston, East Lothian, 
Scotland'. This story includes some maps and descriptions of the area.

An interesting anecdote is that near the end of the 13th century the village of Penston was 
located in the barony of Penston and belonged to William de Balliol, who was the nephew of John 
Balliol of Barnard Castle. John Balliol was the father of King John Balliol, who acceded to the 
Scottish throne on November 17, 1292.

A number of members of the original Penston 'family' subsequently moved from Scotland to 
England, mostly locating in the area surrounding London. A significant number of 'Irish  
Penstons' later relocated to Ireland, some future generations emigrated elsewhere and many have 
stayed in England.

The eldest Penston documented in this family tree is Alexander (1740 - 1813). He and his wife 
Mary Oddy lived in the outskirts of London, England in the district of Surrey.

This family tree traces ten generations of Penstons from Alexander and Mary, including numerous 
branches and twigs bearing other surnames. 

Research has not been completed on all the generations of Penstons, so a number of 'blanks' are 
present in this family tree.

The family tree includes many  surnames other than 'Penston'. As of December 9, 2017 the most 
common surnames in the family tree were: Penston (292), McDonald (203), Kastner (190), Armson 
(132), Lindsay (128), Warren (93), Smith (83), Ive (73), Ferguson (60), McCrea (67) and 
Pellerin (67).