Wordy Wednesday With Photos - Tryon Palace and Gardens, New Bern NC

Many Mississippians have ancestors who were born in the State of North Carolina, or at least lived there for a while before migrating further south. My own family tree includes the Fenner surname, a family with strong ties to that state. Here on Mississippi Memories, I have written several recent posts about the family of Richard John and Anne Coddington Fenner, who lived in New Bern, North Carolina in the mid-1700s. 

Earlier this summer, we had the opportunity to visit dear friends who live in New Bern.  Our friends had planned several activities for us during our stay in this quaint, historic town they now call home, and one of these was a Sunday afternoon visit to see the gardens of Tryon Palace. Located within walking distance of New Bern's historic downtown, Tryon Palace is a lovely Georgian style building built between 1767 and 1770 that served as the first permanent capitol of the Colony of North Carolina.  

Open to the public, free of charge on the first Sunday of each month, the gardens of Tryon Palace cover 16 acres that contain magnificent trees, shrubs, and flowers reminiscent of the colonial era.  We entered the gardens through a walkway covered with arches of Yaupon Holly, aptly named the "Pleached Allee."

Digital Photo Collection (2009 - 2011) - Privately owned by J. Tracy

Day Lilies with Old Brick Wall in Background

Digital Photo Collection (2009 - 2011) - Privately owned by J. Tracy

A View of Latham Garden

Digital Photo Collection (2009 - 2011) - Privately owned by J. Tracy

Unique and Colorful Bloom of the Hibiscus Family
 

Digital Photo Collection (2009 - 2011) - Privately owned by J. Tracy

The Pleached Allee

Click here to read more about Tryon Palace and the North Carolina History Center in historic New Bern, North Carolina.

Found - Historic Fenner House in New Bern NC

Digital Photo by A. Vaupel

Old Fenner House 
217 Hancock Street
New Bern, NC

Wow!  With the help of someone who works in the City of New Bern's GIS and mapping office, I now know the physical location of "Lot 89," the site of the old Fenner house.  The house on Hancock Street in New Bern, North Carolina, was purchased about 1769 by Richard John Fenner and Anne Coddington Fenner, my fifth great-grandparents.  I descend through their granddaughter Rachel Fenner, who married William Neatherlin and eventually migrated around 1800 to Amite County in the Mississippi Territory.  After finding the lot number of the property in an online excerpt of the book, The Fenner Forebears, I set out to find the actual house. And thanks to a very dear friend of mine who lives in New Bern, I also have a photo of the house itself.  The house is a rather large frame structure built in the colonial style and located on a street where the remnants of train tracks down its center can be seen.  Currently, the house is undergoing some renovation, including a new coat of paint that closely matches the red metal "storm" roof commonly seen on historic houses in New Bern. According to my contact in the GIS office, the property is currently owned by the Fenner Family Fund Partnership.

Fenner Family of New Bern NC - The Search Continues

Last week, I ran across the name of a book about the Fenner Family, The Fenner Forebears.  Privately published in 1987 by Ruth Leslie Barrett, the book is currently out of print. So on a whim, I called the New Bern Historical Society in New Bern, North Carolina to see if the organization might have a reference copy.  A helpful person who answered the historical society's phone quickly referred me to the Kellenberger Room of the New Bern-Craven County Public Library.  Although the library has a well-organized web site that includes includes online access to reference materials in the Kellenberger Room, I decided to phone the library rather than research online.  Not only did I want to locate an actual copy of the book, I wanted to ask a researcher some direct and specific questions about Richard John Fenner and his wife Anne Coddington Fenner, since I strongly believe these early residents are my Irish-immigrant ancestors. 


My phone call to the Kellenberger Room was promptly answered by a pleasant male voice identifying himself as "Victor Jones."  (According to the website, Victor T. Jones, Jr. is the Department Head.)  Not only did Mr. Jones  confirm that a copy of the Fenner book mentioned earlier in this post is located in the reference room, he volunteered to photocopy pertinent pages of the book and provide me with the copies. Also, Mr. Jones promised to contact me by email within a few days to provide me with answers to the questions I asked, including the actual street address of the old Fenner house (allegedly Lot 89 of the Town of New Bern) and the burial locations for Richard John Fenner and Anne Coddington Fenner.  

Fenner Family of New Bern, NC

Source:  Digital Photography Collection (2009 - 2011)
Privately owned by J. Tracy

Fireworks Over Harbor in New Bern, North Carolina

Recently, we were fortunate to be able to visit with some dear friends who moved out of state a few months ago.  Spending some time with them and watching our nation's birthday celebrated with fireworks has become a tradition for our families, one that we immensely enjoy.  But this year's Fourth of July celebration was even more spectacular than ever, since we watched the enormous fireworks display with our friends as we sat beside the beautiful harbor of New Bern, North Carolina. Not only does my best friend now live in this quaint and historic town that is the cradle of North Carolina's colonial and early government, but it is also the town in which one of my maternal ancestors settled. During the next few weeks, watch here for photos of New Bern and posts about the Fenner family of North Carolina and its early American beginnings.