Except for two grandsons who moved in the circle of George Henry Lamson, an American doctor and drug addict executed in 1882 for poisoning his English brother-in-law, Jane's descendants led conventional, respectable, honorable lives of service. Her daughter Eliza, stayed single and became a schoolmistress; Jane's son Charles became a Free Church minister and her son George a Poor Law Officer in London. Charles's daughter, Jane Cumming Tulloch (later Arthur), volunteered with the British Red Cross during World War I. Two of Mrs. Arthur's sons enlisted; one died in battle. Other descendants went into banking, business, insurance, and medical practice.

Jane's uncle William was debt-ridden and had fourteen children to support and three mansions to maintain, but apparently shared his brother George's propensity for living above his means. On one day in August 1831, William spent over £114 in London on cologne, soap, tea, coffee, Carolina rice, and assorted condiments. In September, he spent over £36 at a shop in Soho on commodes, silver cups and saucers, a porcelain elephant and packing cases for the commodes. The next month he spent over £123, also in London, on earrings, a ring, a broach, an antique necklace and matching ring. In today's terms, he spent $18,800 in two months on luxury and consumer items.

Penrose's lawful descendants maintained a connection with India. Three grandchildren and one great-grandchild spent time there. Louisa Forbes's second son, Alexander Penrose Forbes, joined the East India Company as a writer in 1837 and held several positions in the Madras Establishment before resigning in 1844. Sir William's second son, Roualeyn, entered East India Company service a year later as a cornet in the Madras Light Cavalry; he too resigned. In the late 1850s, Roualeyn's sister Constance Frederica spent some seasons there painting and socializing with friends. She published two books about her experiences in India, From the Hebrides to the Himalayas in 1876 and In the Himalayas and on the Indian Plains in 1884. The great-grandchild was also a William. He became the fourth baronet in 1866 but found time to engage in big game hunting in India. In 1871, his vade mecum of hunting in India, Wild Men and Wild Beasts, appeared in print.