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.

Ragland - Porter Marriage

In an earlier post, I wrote about Robert W. Ragland, one of Winiford Ragland Branch's brothers, who was married to Sarah Jane Porter on March 24, 1848.  As I mentioned in the post, some Ragland family research has shown that Sarah Jane Porter was the daughter of William Porter, Sr. and Louisa Anastacia Porter, William's second wife whom he married on January 29, 1826. My own research, at least so far, has not validated this information.  In fact, my review of the transcription of the will of William Porter, Sr. found no provision for a daughter named Sarah Jane. More about this relationship later.....

John Patrick Netherland, b. circa 1804 in Scotland

According to the U. S. Census recorded in 1850 in Warren County, Mississippi, John Patrick Netherland, a 46-year old carpenter, was living with his wife, Mary, 30, and a three-month old son, William.  John's place of birth was recorded as Scotland, and Mary's birthplace was Kentucky. By all accounts, John Patrick was married first to Elizabeth Jane Smith, second to Mary Denkins, and third to Abigail Valentine.  His marriage to Elizabeth Jane produced one child, a son named William Bailey Netherland, my maternal great-grandfather.  Ironically, as the 1850 census shows, John Patrick's second marriage to Mary (Denkins) produced another son named "William." If John Patrick Netherland was born in Scotland, as the census record indicates, it seems certain that neither of his parents, Rachel Fenner and William Neatherlin, Sr., were born in Tennessee nor Georgia, as most family researchers have written. Maybe they were, indeed, born in Holland, as other researchers have suggested.

Dicy Netherland and John Saul, Jr. - "Gone to Texas"

The term, "Gone to Texas", or "G.T.T.", was quite common during the early to mid-1800s, when so many settlers moved further west to claim unsettled land.  Much has been written about Texas migration, including my own post on this blog over a year ago, in which I mentioned another blogger, Vickie Everhart. The author of BeNotForgot, Vickie is the administrator of a website for those who are researching ancestors who allegedly migrated to Texas from Mississippi and other states.

Recently, when I began researching the Fenner, Neatherlin/Netherland, and Pettus families, I discovered that they, too, were among the families who were said to have "Gone to Texas."  I can't imagine what these families experienced when they left their homes in wagons for an unknown area and an often unsafe frontier known as The Republic of Texas.  Among these families was one headed by John Saul, Jr., whose wife, Dicy Ann Netherland, was a daughter of my third great-grandparents, Rachel Fenner and William Neatherlin, Sr.

Yesterday, I wrote a post on Cemeteries of Dancing Rabbit Creek about the Saul family.  Around 1824, John Saul, Jr. left the Mississippi Territory with his wife, children, and his parents, John Saul, Sr. and Rachel Saul, settling in the Nacogdoches District of Texas around 1826.  Most researchers agree that John Saul, Jr. was born in Georgia before his parents moved into the Mississippi Territory and that he married Dicy Netherland in Mississippi around 1817. Interestingly, Neatherlin child, Dicy's brother, William Neatherlin, Jr., married the sister of John Saul, Jr., Easter Saul. Eventually, John Saul, Jr. moved his family to Williamson County, Texas, where he and Dicy later died and are buried. Yesterday's post includes photos of the grave stones of Dicy and John Saul, Jr., in Bagdad Cemetery, near the town of Leander, Texas.  According to a profile included in "Daughters of the Republic of Texas, Volume I, Patriot Ancestor Album," Dicy and John Saul, Jr. are memorialized as early pioneers and patriots of The Republic of Texas.

My research is only beginning, and it certainly looks as if I have much more to do.  But I have already found one thing for sure - the trail for many of the Fenner, Neatherlin/Netherland, Pettus, and Saul families seems to end in Texas.

Stay tuned for more......

Resources:  
1.  Daughters of the Republic of Texas, Volume I, Patriot Ancestor Album; Turner Publishing Company, Paducah, Kentucky, 1995. GoogleBooks, accessed on August 28, 2010.
2.  Find-A-Grave, Bagdad Cemetery, Leander, Williamson County, Texas, website accessed online August 27, 2010

Life in Schrock, Mississippi - 98 Years Ago Today

Today's post is an excerpt from,"The People of Shrock, 1895 - 1922," edited by Attala County native, Duncan C. Covington. The article, written under the pseudonym "Daisy" was originally published on Friday, August 25, 1911, in the Kosciusko Herald, Vol. 12, No. 28.

"Mr. and Mrs. J. E. Stingley spent several days with relatives in Leake County recently. Mr. M. D. James is spending awhile at Hot Springs. Messrs. Joe Shrock and Wirt Williams, Mrs. Mabel Fulmore and Lula Williams attended quarterly meeting at Salem last Tuesday. Several of the young people attended an ice cream supper at Shiloh for the benefit of the church. Mrs. Walter Laureman of Aberdeen is visiting relatives here. Mr. McCauley, a veterinarian from Lexington, was here a few days ago. Mrs. Bertha Ellis of Memphis is visiting her father, Mr. W. T. Clower. Mr. and Mrs. C. L. Dickerson have returned from a trip to Colorado where they spent several days visiting many points of interest. Miss Ida Hearst and Mr. Harvey Hearst went to Goodman Thursday to hear Rev. Holcomb who is holding a meeting at the Baptist church. Mr. E. B. Parker, Sr., Mrs. John Fallen and children, and Miss Estelle Jenkins are visiting relatives in St. Louis. Miss Rossie Hearst is visiting her daughter, Mrs. Burnie Pressly, at Vaughn. Miss Carrie Campbell of Yazoo City visited home folks recently. Mr. Walter Mabry and wife visited at Camden Sunday. Miss Mabel Fulmore, who has been visiting Miss Lula Williams, for her home in Water Valley. Miss Ruby Shrock has returned from a pleasant visit to relatives in Georgetown. Mrs. G. W. Thomas is spending awhile with her daughter, Miss Eula Hammett, at Schlater. Mr. Elmer Dickerson left Monday for Parkin, Arkansas, where he has a position. Miss Lee Davis of Camden is teaching the Shrock School."

"Daisy"