Lukens, Rebecca Webb

Lukens, Rebecca Webb (b. Pennock)

(1794–1854) businesswoman; born in Chester County, Pa. She was the oldest of nine children in a Quaker family. She married Dr. Charles Lukens in 1813; he joined her father, Isaac Pennock, in Pennock's ironworks firm in Brandywine, Pa. Following the deaths of her father (1824) and her husband (1825), Rebecca Lukens managed the commercial aspects of the iron business (1825–54). She triumphed over many difficulties and died with an estate valued at over $100,000. The Lukens Steel Company lasted long after her death.