Finding the Fenners - An Update

Over two years ago now, I ran across the name of a book about the Fenner Family, The Fenner Forebears.  Privately published in 1987 by Ruth Leslie Barrett, now deceased, the book is currently out of print. So on a whim, I called the New Bern Historical Society in New Bern, North Carolina, where I knew the family had lived at one time, 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. I chose to call rather than use the research room's online resources, since I wanted to ask a researcher some specific questions about Richard John Fenner and his wife, Anne Coddington Fenner. Richard and Anne Fenner, early New Bern residents, are likely my Irish-immigrant ancestors. Although the book was not available, Victor T. Jones, Jr., the research department head, gave me the legal description (Lot 89 of the Town of New Bern) for the old Fenner House. 

I told a friend of mine who lived in New Bern at the time about the house, and she offered to take a photo and send it to me. At the time the photo was taken, the owners, who are Fenner family descendants, were in the process of restoring the house. The town of New Bern, with three separate historical districts that contain some beautifully restored properties, takes preservation of historical structures seriously. And it shows throughout this beautiful old town. 

Digital Photo by Amy Vaupel

The Fenner House, located at 217 Hancock Street, is within an easy walk of downtown shops and sightseeing adventures that include historic cemeteries, Tryon Palace, the Territorial House of North Carolina, Its lovely gardens, and a waterfront with comfortable benches for people watching and restaurants that overlook the water. One can only imagine how New Bern looked in the mid 1700s when the Fenner family occupied this colonial residence. Missing its original small front porch, the remodeled/restored structure now resembles a New England salt box styled structure. According to various historical accounts, Richard John Fenner may have been appointed to a position in the North Carolina territorial government, a position he occupied until his death in 1756. 

During the past two years, I continued to search for a copy of Mrs. Barrett's book so that I might learn more about my maternal third grandmother, Rachel Fenner, who married William Neatherlin in Wilkes County, Georgia. My search finally paid off when John T. Leslie, a distant cousin contacted me by email and told me he owns a copy of the book. It seems that John T. (as his family calls him) and I are descended through two of the three sons born to Richard and Anne Fenner. Later, we talked by phone, and John T. generously offered to scan and email digital copies of the book's pages, which he has now done. And sometime soon, we plan to meet and further discuss our Fenner connections.

What a way to start off the New Year.....meeting a new cousin and getting to read a much-searched-for family history book! 

Finding the Fenners

Sometimes we stumble upon something simply by chance.  As it has been said so many, many times that one often finds romantic love when one least expects it, maybe finding the name of a previously unknown ancestor falls into this same category of happenstance.  My recent discovery was actually the result of searching for Joseph Fenner, whom I had deemed to be the oldest of three Fenner males enumerated on early census records for Wilkinson County, Mississippi. Joseph Fenner, Sr., an early settler of Wilkinson County, died on August 30, 1840 and left a widow, Rachel, and eight children, most adults. One of these children, William Fenner, through his daughter Rachel Fenner, most likely named for her grandmother, is my maternal fourth great-grandfather.

What I found in my search for Joseph Fenner was really quite unexpected.  I found Fenner surnames in a place that I had not previously searched - Providence, Rhode Island.  My discovery came about while I was reading through references to Fenner surnames in early Rhode Island records, including the Annals of the town of Providence: from its first settlement to the organization of the city government in June, 1832.  An imaged version of this publication, printed in 1843, is available for reading on ancestry.com.  In that publication,  I found that Arthur Fenner served as one of the first four representatives to the Providence General Assembly in 1664. The list of representatives also included the names of two other Fenner men, Thomas and Richard, whose relationships to Arthur and to each other are unclear to me at this time. According to the Annals, Arthur Fenner also served as the Town Treasurer in 1662. As I continued to research the Fenner family of Providence, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Rhode Island's fourth governor was Captain Arthur Fenner, a descendant of Arthur Fenner the assemblyman.  


Although finding the Fenner family members in Providence (Rhode Island) was an unexpected and quite unique experience, I now have more unanswered questions than when I began the search. Are Joseph Fenner, Sr., Joseph Fenner, and William Fenner descended from the Fenners who were involved in early Rhode Island politics?  And if so, how are these individuals related to my ancestors who lived in early Wilkinson County, Mississippi?  


Watch for more here as the search continues.




Source:
Ancestry.com. Annals of the town of Providence : from its first settlement to the organization of the city government in June, 1832 [database on-line]. Provo, UT: The Generations Network, Inc., 2005.  Original data:  Staples, William R., Annals of the town of Providence : from its first settlement to the organization of the city government in June, 1832. Providence: Printed by Knowles and Vose, 1843.

Fenner Family of Mississippi - Beginning at the End

I now know that my great-great-great-grandmother, Rachel Fenner, is descended from the Fenner family that lived in the early-mid 1700's in Bertie and Craven Counties in North Carolina.  It appears that Rachel's family followed in the footsteps and wagon trails of so many others who left that area searching for new lands and a better way of life in places west and south.  From all accounts, Rachel was born after the family left North Carolina.  Some researchers believe Rachel was born in Tennessee, where some of the Fenner family eventually settled, while others believe she was born in Georgia, as her family traveled further south.  Most researchers, however, agree that Rachel Fenner married William Neatherlin in Georgia, and several of their children were born there before the family moved to the Mississippi Territory after 1790.  Since the family eventually included several more children, it seems likely the younger ones were born after Rachel and William arrived in the territory. The presence of both Fenner and Netherland families in the Mississippi Territory in the early 1800s is validated by territorial census information that shows William Netherland, Joseph Fenner, Sr., Joseph Fenner, and William Fenner enumerated as heads of households in Wilkinson and Lawrence Counties.

Source:
Ancestry.com. Mississippi State and Territorial Census Collection, 1792-1866[database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. Original data: Mississippi State and Territorial Censuses, 1792-1866. Microfilm V229. 3 rolls. Heritage Quest.

Surname Saturday....And The List Includes........

The term "Surname Saturday" is a term that describes a blogger's Saturday post that contains a list of all family surnames the blogger is researching. When I think about  the names that could appear on any of these lists, I recall something I once read - that each of us is related to 1,000,011 other individuals.  So you can see that a "Surname Saturday" list could morph into many pages. Recently, I added several names to my own surname list as a result of some Fenner family research.  That having been said, here is my current list:

BALDRIDGE

BASCOM
COGGINS

FENNER

GARRARD
GIBSON

MARBLE
MERIWEATHER
MIDDLETON

NEATHERLIN/NEATHERLAND/NETHERLAND

PINKSTON

PORTER 

RAGLAND

SMITH
STAMPLEY
THORNTON

TINSLEY
TRIGLETH

WILLIAMS

If one of the surnames above appears in your family tree, I would love to hear from you.  Who knows?.....We may be related!

The Order of the First Families of Mississippi: 1699 - 1817

Several months ago, I stumbled upon a website for The Order of the First Families of Mississippi 1699 - 1817, an organization that will celebrate its 42nd anniversary next month.  As stated on the organization's website, membership is open to "anyone who can prove lineal descent from a person who lived in what is now the State of Mississippi between 1699, when the French established the settlement of Old Biloxi, and December 10, 1817, when Mississippi was admitted to the Union." One of the Order's purposes is "To collect and preserve records, documents, and relics relating to the history and genealogy of Mississippi prior to its statehood."

Among the pages maintained on the Order's website is one entitled "Ancestor Roster." Four individuals on the list bear surnames of some of my ancestors:  Fenner, Gibson, Middleton, and Stampley.  And at least two more of my surnames, Baldridge and Porter, most certainly will be included on a future list. In fact, I am likely eligible for membership and plan to apply at some point in the near future.


It appears the Order works like this:  Once an individual applies for membership and has been recommended by two current members, the new member works to develop the lineage of his/her ancestor (s).  The website also includes some wonderful old photographs and biographies of early Mississippi settlers submitted by members who are descendants of the settlers. Of special interest to family researchers throughout the country is that genealogical records for over 1200 members can be obtained, for a fee, by contacting the OFFM Office, Post Office Box 821, Natchez, MS 39121-0821, or by contacting the Order through its website.
  

Fenner Family Research

Today, as I began researching the ancestry of my third great-grandmother, Rachel Fenner, I stumbled upon an online genealogy book that chronicles the Fenner Family in America.  Now in its 4th Edition, the digital book is well-researched and documented by a number of Fenner descendants.  Included among chapters in the book are those entitled Fenners in England, Swiss-American Lines, German-American Lines, and Irish-American Lines. Also included is an extensive list of deceased family members and the cemeteries in which they are buried. If you are researching your connections to the Fenner Family, this is a site you must visit.