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- Published on Monday, 15 September 2008 02:39
- Written by Administrator
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This is a reprint of an article from the printed edition of The FIG Tree News, May 2000
Compiled by Marvel G. Swan & Donald P. Swan, Edited by Dawn D. Hance (Only the Fenton/Finten portion of this information is included in this article)
Samuel Fenton (William, John, Manasseh) died circa January 1754 at Rutland, Massachusetts. He married Jane Barr October 10, 1745 at Hardwick, Massachusetts. She was daughter of Matthew and Margaret (Davidson) Barr. Jane married (2) George Nye April 26, 1764 at New Braintree, Massachusetts. They had a daughter, Sarah Nye, born February 12, 1765 who married Simeon Gilbert and moved to Pittsford, Vermont. Jane died before June 25, 1785 when George married for the fourth time.
Children
I. Joseph born circa 1746, died March 29, 1780 in the Revolutionary War. He enlisted while a resident of Greenwich, Massachusetts. He married Sarah Steel February 23, 1769 at New Braintree.
Child
A. Anna, born April 12, 1772, died September 17, 1848 at Michigan. She married Ethiel Cushman.
II. Anna, born circa 1748, died February 15, 1823 at Rutland ae. 75 years. She married Adam Willis December 14, 1785 at New Braintree, Massachusetts.
III. John, born circa 1750, died February 22, 1818 at Rutland ae. 68 years. He married Joanna Torrence November 19, 1772 at New Braintree. He married (2) Silence Willis September 26, 1776 at Worthington, Massachusetts. She died September 14, 1844 at Rutland ae. 94 years. John, a Revolutionary War veteran, came to Rutland about 1787 and bought the Eleazer Davis farm. His home was located on North Grove Street a little north of the McKinley Avenue intersection. Unfortunately, John’s life was plagued by fires. The July 29, 1799 Rutland Herald reported that his barn filled with hay was hit by lightening on July 19 and destroyed. In just five days his friends and neighbors built him a new one. On a cold February night in 1818 John’s house caught fire from a tray of ashes, which had been placed in a back room, but the occu pants awoke in time to escape. Silence ran to her son Seth’s for help but upon return found that her husband had entered the burning building and had perished in the flames.
Children by First Wife
A. Samuel, born August 25, 1774 at Rutland, Massachusetts, died July 25, 1854 at Pittsford, Vermont. He married Cynthia Woods January 9, 1798. She was born April 1, 1774 at New Braintree, Massachusetts, died April 25, 1857.
Children
1. Dulcina, born circa 1798, died June 9, 1852 ae. 54 years. She married John H. Lincoln of Pittsford July 12, 18212. Joanna Torrance, born September 25, 1800 at Georgia, Vermont, died March 14, 1872 at Boston. She married Thomas A. Palmer of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 8, 1822 at Rutland. They were residing in Pittsford in 1850.3. John died November 12, 1819 at Rutland ae. 19 years.4. Lydia5. Sarah died February 9, 1831 ae. 23 years.6. Samuel T., born August 25, 1810 at Rutland, died July 25, 1887 at Pittsford. He married Amorilla R. Hall, October 26, 1831 at Chittenden.7. Anna W.
Children by Second Wife
B. Joanna, eldest daughter of John, married Guy Beebe November 18, 1794 at Rutland. She may have died December 30, 1831 at Milton ae. 55 years. (Obituary says 35 years).C. Ginnet/Jane (possible). She married Elisha Williams December 29, 1803 at Rutland. This Elisha Williams may also have gone by the name of Elisha Himes.D. Seth, born June 17, 1781, died February 20, 1858 at Bradford County, Pennsylvania. He married Jane Keeler December 1, 1803 at Pittsford. She was born April 5, 1786 at Chittenden, died June 2, 1855 (Rutland Herald says July 2, 1858).
Children
1. Horace, born October 6, 1804. He married Rheumma Abbott February 4, 1827 at Rutland.2. Seth Wyllys, born August 23, 1806. He married Eliza M. Barker of Rutland June 15, 1828.3. Bigelow Clarence, born November 26, 18084. Mary Ann, born September 14, 1810. She married _____ Skinner and moved to Horseheads, Tioga County, New York.5. Matthew Hubbels, born prior to July 20, 1817, died February 13, 1836 at Keelersville, Michigan, by fall of a tree.6. Clarissa Ursula, born prior to July 20, 1817.7. Emily, born prior to July 20, 1817. She was transferred to the church in Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1837.
E. Submit, born circa 1784, died February 5, 1871 at Cuttingsville ae. 86 years 6 months. She married Silas D. Willis May 6, 1804/7.F. Patty, born circa 1787 (She was ae 63 years in 1850 census.) She married Ira Bliss May 2, 1813 at Rutland. He died April 25, 1855 at Rutland ae. 68 years.G. Minerva (possible), born February 10, 1790, died December 16, 1826 ae. 37 years. She married Ezra Himes August 8, 1813 at Rutland. He married (2) Lucinda Barker of Brandon December 28, 1826.H. Alvira, she married _____ Whittaker.IV. Samuel, born circa 1752, died October 12, 1801 at Rutland ae. 49 years. He married Martha Crossett December 7, 1773 at Pelham, Massachusetts. They lived at Greenwich, Massachusetts, before coming to Rutland. Martha married (2) Anthony Goffe of Burlington, New York, August 21, 1803 at Rutland.
Children
A. Eunice, born before May 23, 1802, died November 1802 at Rutland ae. 17 years.B. Clarissa, born before May 23, 1802. She married _____ Dean.C. Anna, born before May 23, 1802. She married _____ Barr (possibly William Barr, Jr.).D. Samuel Crossett, born before May 23, 1802. He resided at Lawrence, New York.E. Mary. She married Erastus Dean of Otsego, New York, February 23, 1806 at Rutland.
V. Matthew, born circa 1755, died on Sunday, January 23, 1813 at 10:00 a.m. at Rutland ae. 58 years. He married (1) Lavinia Bigelow December 7, 1779 at Northampton, Massachusetts. She was born 1758 at Hartford, Connecticut, died March 13, 1787 at Rutland in her 29th years. His intention to marry Mrs. Hannah Woods was published December 3, 1792 at New Braintree, Massachusetts. She was born circa 1761, died Sunday January 23, 1813 at 8:00 p.m. at Rutland ae. 52 years. Both died the same day in the epidemic, which was fatal to many Rutland citizens and are buried in North Main Street Cemetery. Their gravestones, purchased from Asa Hale, cost $76.54.
Matthew moved to Rutland prior to 1787 when his first wife died here. In 1797 he bought the Nathan Perry farm from Issachar Reed.
This property was located on the west side of North Main Street just north of Field Avenue. In the spring of 1811 he was named deacon in the East Parish Church.
Children
A. Joseph Seneca, born January 21, 1781 at Worthington, Massachusetts, died November 14, 1851 at Flint, Michigan. He married Sarah Thompson Brush at Ferrisburgh, Vermont, February 16, 1809. She was born February 8, 1783, died October 5, 1845 at Fentonville, Michigan.B. Bugelow Clarence. He resided at Norwich, New York, in 1813.C. Lavina, born before November 4, 1810. She married Reverend Josiah Hopkins of New Haven, Vermont, August 31, 1813 at Rutland.D. Matthew. He married Lucretia Clark at Middletown, Vermont, February 11, 1810. He resided at Ellisburgh, New York.E. Loring, born before October 23, 1803, died 1836 at Norwich, New York, ae. 35 or 36 years.
- Details
- Published on Monday, 15 September 2008 02:05
- Written by Administrator
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This is a reprint of an article from the printed edition of The FIG Tree News, May 2000
A portion of this article was never printed in the newsletter, but has been included below.
Information Provided By Barbara Marvin
Through the agency of The FIG Tree News, Jeremiah Fenton Sr. of Burlington County, New Jersey (The FIG Tree News, Volume 4 Issue 2) has suddenly acquired a wife and daughter hitherto undreamed-of.
The daughter, Mary “Polly” Fenton of Pennsylvania, was married in 1792 to William Ratcliffe of Baltimore, Maryland. William Ratcliffe’s purchase of 1000 acres in Mason County, Kentucky was witnessed by Jerimiah’s son, Samuel Fenton, June 17, 1794, indicating that the Ratcliffes had probably come down to Kentucky with her brothers Samuel and Michael Fenton in the fall of 1793 or the spring of 1794.
The Ratcliffe family tradition tells us that Mary Fenton’s mother also came down to Kentucky. She must probably have come with the third brother, Jeremiah Fenton, Jr. and his family in 1799, after the presumed death of Jeremiah Fenton Sr. in Pennsylvania in 1796. The mother would live with William and Mary Ratcliffe until at some time after son, Jeremiah Fenton, Jr. had moved from Mason County across the river to Winchester, Adams County, Ohio in 1806. He came and fetched the mother to live with him. In 1820, William and Mary Ratcliffe moved from Mason County to Greenup County, Kentucky, where they settled on Tygarts Creek at the mouth of Leatherwood.It seems possible that Mary Fenton’s mother was Jeremiah Fenton, Jr.’s stepmother. The main printed source on the Fentons, William B. Brown’s 1910 Family History of Jeremiah Fenton, asserts that Jeremiah Jr. was the first cousin of his wife Rosanna Lawrence. As both Rosanna’s parents were born in Germany, her mother could not have been a sister of Jeremiah Sr. This means that Jeremiah Jr.’s mother was either the sister of Rosanna’s mother, Catherine Lawrence (maiden name unknown), or the sister of Rosanna’s father John Lawrence and his sister Sarah (Lawrence) Reeves, great-x-3-grandmother of the late Speaker of The House Carl Albert.This conflicts with the Ratcliffe family tradition, which says that Mary “Polly” Fenton’s mother “came from Germany when a young child. She remembered that 5 wagons had brought them to the ship in Hamburg, as she sat on her grandfather’s lap. Her father, mother and three of their five children died on the ship and were buried at sea. The little boy died soon after landing and she was too young to tell her last name. Therefore we never knew who she was. In America, she was taken by strangers to raise. She had a bag of valuable trinkets given her and it was thought that they indicated that her family had been wealthy. She would live with her daughter in Kentucky until she was very old and then her son, Jeremiah Fenton, Jr. came back and took her to live in his home in Ohio until her death, circa 1812-1815. She lived to be 115 years old. In her last years she lost her mind, but would sit and read her German Bible and pray in German for hours at a time.
This information was recently sent to me by Eugene Ratcliffe, 1199 Manner Drive, Mansfield, OH 44905-1541. He got my name from The FIG Tree News, so no doubt he has already sent you the list of the ten children of William and Mary (Fenton) Ratcliffe and other relevant information about his branch of the Fenton descendants.
The following is additional information that Barbara has provided me with concerning Jeremiah Fenton, Sr.:
Jeremiah Fenton, Sr. was born in Burlington County, New Jersey or England. He was married in 1753-56(?) to a Miss Lawrence (or Lorenz). He came to Frederick County, Virginia in 1735 and remained until 1784. James Monroe Eylar of Doniphan County, Kansas, grandson of Jeremiah Jr. said the older Fentons had told him that Jeremiah Sr. came from England. However, a professional genealogist, Warren S. Ely of Doylestown, Pennsylvania believed that Jeremiah Sr. was the son of Jeremiah Fenton (1691-1732) of New Jersey, who had brothers named Enoch and Samuel and had descendants in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. When much of the population of Frederick County, Virginia fled to safety during the French and Indian War, the Fentons were probably staying with these Bucks County cousins when Samuel was born there circa 1755.Jeremiah Fenton, Jr. was the first cousin of his wife, Rosanna, daughter of John and Catherine (maiden name unknown) Lawrence. Catherine was born in Germany, so cannot have been the sister of Jeremiah Sr.. This means that Jeremiah Sr.’s wife was of German origin: either the sister of Catherine or the sister of John Lawrence and daughter of Michael Lawrence. Michael Lawrence is thought to have been the Frederick Michael Lorentz who arrived in Philadelphia on November 20, 1753 on the ship Friendship from Hamburg. This would not have given his daughter much time in which to meet & marry Jeremiah Sr. and have the children. The Washington D.C. genealogist Nettie L. Major, who found this arrival, also found a John Lawrence who served in the Maryland forces in the Revolutionary War; but I prefer Brown’s hypothesis that he was the John Lawrence who was a Sergeant in Captain Jack’s Company, 8th Battalion, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania militia; since his putative nephew Samuel Fenton is also thought to be the Samuel Fenton who was in the Cumberland Militia.
Jeremiah died circa 1796 at Luzene Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania. The tax assements in Luzene Township were made the preceding fall. There were two Jeremiah Fentons on the list 1788-1796, but only one for 1797. Brown surmised that Jeremiah Sr. may have died before fall 1796 and may have been buried at Hopewell Chapel two miles from Jeremiah’s farm, where in 1908 Brown found many tombstone inscriptions effaced.
Jeremiah’s children were Michael, Samuel and Jeremiah Jr. (however their birth order is unknown). Michael was born at Apple Pie Ridge, Frederick County Virginia before 1765. He married Catherine Dicks and died at over 80 years of age. Samuel was born 1755/56 at Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He married Elizabeth Dixon Dicks around 1772-1778 (believed to be in Buck County). He died March 7, 1842 at Monroe Township, Adams County, Ohio. He was buried at the Fenton Family Burial Ground, Gift Ridge, Monroe Township. Jeremiah Jr. was born in 1764 at Apple Pie Ridge, Frederick County, Virginia. He married Rosanna Lawrence circa 1789 at Luzerne Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania. He died in October 5, 1841 at Winchester Township, Adams County, Ohio (age 76). He was buried at Winchester Cemetery, Winchester Township, Adams County, Ohio.Michael was over 45 at the 1810 census of Mason County, Kentucky and did not appear in the 1820 census there. But the story was handed down that at age eighty Michael plowed in one day 5 acres of corn, three times to the row. If born after 1753, he could not have been over 76 in 1820. Perhaps “eighty” was a slight exaggeration; or perhaps he had moved from Mason County before 1820, or no longer headed his own household.
John Lawrence, who came to settle in Luzerne Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania in about 1784 and remained there until his death in 1817, is one of the links between the Reeves, Fenton and Dicks families. His sister Sarah Lawrence married Stacy Reeves, son of John Reeves. His daughter Rosanna Married Jeremiah Fenton Jr., who was her first cousin. This means that Jeremiah Fenton Sr. had married either the sister of John Lawrence or the sister of his wife, Catherine (maiden name unknown).
Rosannah Lawrence (1768-1845), Wife Of Jeremiah Fenton
Concerning Rosannah Lawrence, his wife, little is known. At her death she left a paper, now yellow and faded, on which was written the following:
“Rosannah Laurence, the daughter of John Laurence and Catherine Laurence, his wife, was born October 3rd in the year of our Lord 1768.” This paper was very carefully kept by her son, George Fenton, then after his death by her daughter, Delilah, and after her death by her granddaughter, Aunt Cal Baker, and is now in the custody of the latter’s surviving husband, Henry N. Baker.
The name is generally spelled Lawrence, but occasionally, both in Pennsylvania and Ohio, Laurence.
John Lawrence, Father Of Rosannah
Her father, John Lawrence, was a well to do man. He was a neighbor in Fayette County to the Fentons and to William Horner, whose descendants intermarried with both the Fentons and Lawrences. In the “History of Fayette County”, page 638, it is stated: “In 1792, John Lawrence located land west of William Hammond.” This does not mean he first settled in Fayette County in 1792, for he was one of those who in 1784 petitioned for a public road, and the road, as laid out, passed his land. Furthermore he was taxed for 150 acres of land and for valuable personal property in 1785. The records also show he received two land warrants from the State of Pennsylvania dated July 11, 1792, one for 218 1/2 acres and the other for 210 1/4 acres, the price of the land being “ten pounds per 100 acres, payable in gold, silver, paper money of this state or certificates.” These land warrants of 1792 are no doubt the foundation for the statement in said history that he located in 1792.John Lawrence made his will in 1809, but it was not probated until March 10, 1818. A copy of this will is set out on another page herein. It is likely that he died late in 1817 or very early in 1818.
We learn from this will that he had four sons: William, born October 23, 1775; John, born August 8, 1778, George and Samuel, and three daughters: Rosannah, who was married to Jeremiah Fenton, Jr.; Catherine, who was married to Ephraim Horner, and Mary, who was married to Amos Frost. The records do not show the maiden names of the wives of the sons, but deeds of record show their given names as follows: Wife of William, Patience; wife of John, Elizabeth; wife of George, Sarah. Samuel Lawrence died, in testate, January 1, 1820, and there is no record of his having a wife.
The reader may wonder if John Lawrence was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. The writer believes that he was. The records of that war show that John Lawrence was a sergeant in Captain Jack’s Company, Eighth Battalion, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, Militia, but the proof is circumstantial that John Lawrence, soldier, is the same as John Lawrence, Ancestor. Circumstances, however, strongly indicate this identity.
In the first place John Lawrence was related by marriage to Jeremiah Fenton, father of Jeremiah, Jr. and Samuel Fenton. We know that this Samuel Fenton was in the Revolutionary War and the records show a Samuel Fenton was a soldier in the Cumberland County Militia.
Shortly after the close of the war, John Lawrence and Jeremiah Fenton, Sr., with his sons, Samuel and Jeremiah, Jr., settled in Luzerne Township in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. This was about the year 1784. In this same year Jeremiah Fenton, Sr., Samuel Fenton and John Lawrence signed a petition for a rod and their names appear close together on said petition.These Fentons and John Lawrence were close neighbors in Fayette County at this time and their land joined. On the Fayette County tax roll of 1785, for which the assessment was made in 1784, taxes are assessed against John Lawrence on 150 acres of land and against Samuel Fenton on 200 acres of land. This may be land that these men received for war service. Jeremiah Fenton, Sr., was too old for Revolutionary War service and did not own land at this time, or at all so far as is known.
The association of the names of John Lawrence and Samuel Fenton in the Cumberland County Militia and the known relationship between John Lawrence and Samuel Fenton in Fayette County and the other facts herein stated lead to the conclusion that John Lawrence, soldier, was indeed John Lawrence, ancestor. In this connection the following statement from George Aeklin, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who is a student of such matters, is of interest:
“I have conferred with a number of descendants of John Lawrence, and am satisfied that the Luzerne John Lawrence is the Cumberland County man, but am unable to get a hold of any documentary proofs.”
John Lawrence must have been an ambitious, clever and respectable man. It is common tradition among the Horners, many of whom still live in that locality, that in order to have a good neighbor, he sent to Baltimore for his old friend. William Horner, to move out to Fayette County and reside beside him. In new countries there are always many undesirable citizens, and it is greatly to the credit of John Lawrence that he took such pains to insure good neighbors for himself, his wife and child to associate with. That he was one of Fayette County’s most respected citizens is the tradition among Horners even to the present day.
The records show that John Lawrence deeded part of his land to William Horner, March 3, 1798, and the “History of Fayette County” recites that “William Horner was an older settler on the river.”
It is also known among the Horners that John Lawrence was a fine grower of fruit. He specialized in cherries and succeeded so well that one kind of cherry he raised was named the “John Lawrence” cherry.
Catherine Lawrence, Mother Of Rosannah
Rosannah Lawrence was born in this country, but her mother, Catherine, was born in Germany, being of German descent. The story is told that when her mother set sail, peach trees were in bloom and on her arrival in this country, so slow was the voyage, that peaches were already grown and ripe. She took passage on a sailing vessel with five hundred on board. One-half of the passengers died on the way over and were buried at sea and the vessel landed with only two hundred and fifty of her human freight.
Catherine Lawrence had but little education, for the deed records show that she could not write her own name, and signed by mark. She died some time after the death of her husband, John Lawrence, and prior to 1822. In the letter of William Lawrence to Jeremiah Fenton of January 1, 1818, set out hereinafter, he says: “Our aged mother is poorly, she has a sick spell every day or two.” In a letter written October 30, 1822, he makes no mention of his mother. He would have mentioned her name had she been still living.
It is not known when or where John Lawrence and his wife, Catherine, were wed, nor is her maiden name known. It is supposed he also was of German descent; but there is no proof of this, except that his name is sometimes spelled the German was, “Laurence.” (Actually, the German spelling is Lorenz or Lorentz, which may also be a Dutch name.)
It is from the will of John Lawrence we are able to locate the land occupied by the Fentons. In his will he gives his son William that part of his lands which said son then occupied which is called “Fenton’s old place”. This land was later deeded to Horners and their descendants are still in possession thereof. Anyone can easily drive to the very land. It is about eight miles out from Brownsville.
Could this James Lawrence of Burlington, N.J. have been a brother or cousin of John and Sarah Lawrence?
The four page walking tour of Burlington and a descriptive write-up of the Society’s properties are available free. Booklets on Burlington and souvenir items are for sale.
James Lawrence House (c. 1742, with later additions) 459 High Street
The famous Navy Captain of the War of 1812. James Lawrence was born here in 1781. His dying cry on the deck of the Chesapeake, enshrined in Naval history, was “Don’t give up the ship.”
The front portion of the house dates from 1742 and the back section was added about 1767. The front of the house was remodeled about 1820 and the side porch was built on. Still later the house was stuccoed.
The four rooms visited contain memorabilia of Captain Lawrence and some period furnishings. The Windsor chairs in the living room belonged to the Lawrence family. An old medical chest dating from the War of 1812 is also of interest. The bottles in the chest contain some old spices and drugs used for medication.
The interior and exterior of the house, which is a New Jersey Historic Site needs painting and restoration.
DRIVING DIRECTIONS: Same as for the Cooper House. The two houses are attached.
Open: Tuesday-Saturday 10 A.M.-12 P.M., 1 P.M.-5P.M.
Sunday 2 P.M.-5 P.M.
Closed Monday, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day
Admission: Free
The tour is guided and lasts about ten minutes. A four-page brochure is available free.
((Groff, Sibyl McC. New Jersey’s Historic Houses. N.Y.: A.S. Barnes, 1971. p. 44.))
If you have any information that coincides with Barbara’s information, you can contact Barbara Marvin at the following address:
Barbara Marvin
4629 Tilden Street, N.W.
Washington D.C. 20016-5617
- Details
- Published on Saturday, 13 September 2008 01:35
- Written by Administrator
- Hits: 803
This is a reprint of an article from the printed edition of The FIG Tree News, May, August & November 1999 & February 2000
Information Provided By Harriet L. Nolan
The information provided below was mailed to me by Harriet Nolan. This may be a repeat of some information that we have printed before regarding Robert Fenton and Dorothy Farrar, but I believe this leads us to some information on this line that we may not have covered before. Family History - 15 April 1999 Notes: Robert Fenton was born in Great Britian, probably Wales, date unknown, date of death unknown. Bonded passengers to America Volume IX Midland Circuit 1671 - 1775 Fenton, Robert of Birmingham r for America July 1682 (Warwickshire) (notes: reprieved from capital punishment on condition of transportation to the colonies, followed by date on which the reprieve first noted). Research: (the first man by the name of Fenton who visited the U.S. was Captain Edward Fenton of the British Navy in the reign of Queen Elizabeth on an exploring expedition which visited St. Augustine, Florida in 1585). Robert was the first on record in Woburn, Massachusetts in 1688. He remained in Woburn a few years and tradition says he came from that place to Windham, Connecticut. Between May 30, 1693 and April 19, 1694, he was received as an inhabitant of the town, but the exact date is not given. Residences: Fenton notes: By Judith M. and John M. Plummer (1983) Robert Fenton was first heard of in Woburn, Massachusetts in 1688. He was the common ancestor of the Connecticut Fentons. Records in Woburn are meager; not taxed in 1687, but in August 1688 he was taxed 2s.6d - perhaps a personal tax. He was listed as a taxpayer in 1688,1689,1690,1691, but the amounts were not given. Precisely the time of his move to Windham, Connecticut is not ascertained, but between May 30, 1693 and April 19, 1694 he was received as an inhabitant. He evidently located in what was then the “north end” of the town, being that part of ancient Windham which became Mansfield, where he was living in 1694. December 1694, Robert Fenton was appointed, with Joshua Ripley (the first town clerk and magistrate of Windham), to lay out the lots on the west side of the river, that belonged to Willimantic. At the same town meeting he was chosen “fence viewer” for the north end of the town, an office sometimes held by the wealthiest planters. At another time, he was appointed with Mr. Ripley, to oversee those who were selected to lay out sundry lots. Robert Fenton built the first bridge over the Natchaug River, according to the following record: “June 13, 1895 Robert Fenton, engaged to the town to build & make a sufficient bridge over the Natchoge Falls, suitable for man and horse to pass with a load. The bridge to be made by October next (the first of). The said Fenton also engaged to maintain the bridge three years.” For this he was to have “four pounds in money” from this we judge that he was a mechanic, and probable a Carpenter. Robert Fenton bought of James Elderkin of Norwich the second lot of 1,000 acres, lying at the “ponds”, September 16, 1696. The “home lots of raw 1,000 acres rights, into which the town was divided, were generally twenty rods on the front. This lot was near what is now known as the “town pond” at Mansfield Center. On December 28, 1702, Robert Fenton’s property was priced as follows: The housing, home lot, with apple tree and fences thereupon, forty pounds in money the first division of land, six pounds in money the pasture lot, four pounds in money the ten acre lot, with the eight acres and half of meadow and fence thereupon, twenty-five pounds in money, the hundred acre lot, ten pounds in money and all the land to be laid out, belonging to a thousand acre right, ten pounds in money” “Perhaps a word may be said here in regard to the descendants of Robert Fenton, particularly those families that remained in Mansfield and Willington. They have occupied the middle walks of life, being mostly farmers and mechanics, and as a general thing, having neither riches nor poverty. We have found, in our genealogical investigations each family characterized by some peculiar traits, which, to a greater or less degree, extended to this rule. The family the Fentons are no exception to this rule. Some of their traits have been mechanical ingenuity, skill in music, courage and patriotism, good sense and especially a pleasant, genial disposition. Their kindness and cordiality as friends and neighbors, and their good humor, have been proverbial.” Spouse Notes: Dorritty Farrar’s family traced their lineage to Robert Farrar, Bishop of St. Davids, who suffered at the stake for his religion March 30, 1555. Her father, Jacob was killed at the King Phillip’s war and she was a granddaughter of Jacob Farrar who came to Lancaster, Massachusetts in 1632. He was one of the founders of the town. They were descendants of Gualkeline de Ferraruus, his son, who was the first of the family who settled in England, and whose name is on the “Roll of the Battle of Abbey” J.G. Palfrey The first congregational church of Mansfield started recording baptisms in the Fenton family in 1710. Some of the children were being baptized and becoming members as young adults. Perhaps this is the time the church was being formed. Marriage Date: February 27, 1688 Notes: He was an early settler of Willington, Connecticut. He located in the southern part of town. His homestead being about 3/4 of a mile north from Mansfield “Four Corners” he was known as the “money maker” In 1759, listings for Francis, Sr. are Francis, Jr., Lydia Fenton and Samuel Fenton were all found in Willington, Tolland County, Connecticut.
Spouse: Ann BerryChristen Date: September 7, 1718Christen Place: same as son Francis 1st CongregationalChurch of Mansfield, Connecticut.Marriage Date: 1714Children: FrancisNathanielAnnMaryElizabethAbigailEleaserElijah (Revolutionary War)
(3) 1.2.8 Elijah (Revolutionary War) FentonBirth Date: February 6, 1735Birth Place: Willington, ConnecticutDeath Date: October 10, 1776Death Place: And Abiel Pease was appointed of 22ndBurial Place: Major - ConnecticutOccupation: appointed Captain of the 22nd regiment ofConnecticut. Military
Notes: Called into service April 17, 1775 as British retreated from Lexington. Minutemen were assembled by authority of the assembly or provincial congress subject to the call of the committee of safety. Zoeth Eldredge served under Major Elijah Fenton
Notes: John Fenton, Sr. was a veteran of the Revolutionary War. Spouse Notes: Lucy Scott a resident of Willington, Connecticut, County Tolland appeared before Eber Dunman, Justice of the Peace on August 16, 1848 to obtain benefits for widows of the Revolutionary War. Widow of John Fenton a private in the war of the revolution (and since the death of John Fenton has become the widow of Joseph Scott) she had received the pension of 20 dollars per annum and was now requesting pension still as a widow. She stated that Fenton was private soldier in the Connecticut Line of the Continental Army and served 6 months in Sherman’s Regiment. Later documents show she was not given the pension. (Index of Revolutionary War Pension applications in national archives 1976 - National Genealogical Society, Washington, D.C.). After Lucy Eldridge Fenton Scott’s second husband died, she applied for a pension from her first husband John Fenton’s service in the Revolutionary War from Connecticut. Issued $20 issued September 10, 1848 Tolland Probate District, Connecticut Stephen Smith & late Marilla Fenton, wife of said Stephen of Stafford. Residences: In 1833 John and Susan, his wife, sold property to Benjamin Leonard. The same property that her stepfather, Jonathan Langdon had. Pt. Lot 3 in 8th Range (92 acres). Spouse Notes: Susanna’s father, Titus Sykes married a Polly. When Titus died she remarried a Jonathan Langdon, April 13, 1815 (St. Lawrence County Records, Surrogate Court records. Deed book no. 12, page 66, March 13, 1830. Jonathan Langdon (husband of the widow of Titus Sykes) and Sartell Prentice, guardians of the minor children of Titus Sykes, deceased, Peter Langdon of Canton, to David c. Judson of Ogdensburg; $670.00; in Township Canton; Pt. Lot 3 in 8th range (92 acres). (In 1833, John Fenton & Susan, his wife, sold property also in Lot 3, 8th Range to Benjamin Leonard. This is further evidence that Susan/Susanna was the same person. (6) 1.2.8.2.1.2 Ephraim S. Fenton Notes: 1850 St. Lawrence County, New York State Federal census: 1860 New York Federal census In 1861 Leonard was born 1870 Federal New York State census Edwards Ephraim, age 43, farmer Spouse: Pamelia Dickinson Spouse Notes:Military records: Had enlisted in the state of Connecticut, but requested veterans help from the state of New York. John Fenton, 5th infantry, Private, December 24, 1811 requested for bounty land. (No. 1014 found him eligible, but the warrant was delivered to E.L Boardman who never gave the land to John Fenton. His service records state 4th infantry in 1813. He was discharged at Sackets Harbor, New York July 1815 and transferred to the 5th regiment a few days before discharged. He reenlisted under Captain Larrabee and under Captain Stephen Romney. 2nd part of letter: land warrant number 1914 November 31, 1815 to John Fenton, a Sargent of fosters company of the 5th infantry and delivered to E. Boardman, his attorney. More information was supplied by the research Calvin Fenton did in the archives. Some how the land was eventually found to be in the hands of a man by the name of Whelock McConnick, so poor John Fenton never did receive his bounty land to which be was entitled.
(7) 1.2.8.2.1.2.3 Samuel J. Fenton Notes: The funeral will be at twelve o’clock at the home Saturday and 2 o’clock at the White Church at East Pitcairn. Rev. Smith of the Disciple Church at Harrisville will officiate the service. October 14, 1927, Natural Bridge Newspaper In the article, Bertrum, a brother was not mentioned. It also related that Samuel J. Fenton was born in Pitcairn in 1852, the son of Ephraim and Pamelia Dickinson Fenton. He had spent his entire life in Pitcairn and until about six years ago operated his farm there. Spouse Notes: In the 1860 census (August 15, 1860) J. P. Morgan, Assistant Marshall, St. Lawrence County, Morristown m 653 r 854 Page 38, Dwelling No. 4, Family No. 359 Charles Davis, male, age 27 farmer, born New York Value of property $50 Ann, female, age 21, born New York Horace, male, age 4, born New York Alice, female, age 3, born New York (later wife of Samuel Fenton) (8) 1.2.8.2.1.2.3.1 Bertrum Fenton Notes: Courier-Express Niagara Falls Bureau: Bert Fenton Dies Under Roller Foreman in paper plant squeezed to death Niagara Falls, January 9, (1936) every bone in the body of Bert Fenton, 163 67th street, was broken when he was carried between a dryer roll and a dryer felt at the International Paper Company plant early today, it was reported tonight. Mr. Fenton, who was a foreman, was standing on one of the rolls when the dryer machine started suddenly. The body was sent from the McSweeney undertaking rooms tonight to Carthage, where burial will be made tomorrow. Surviving him are two daughters, Mrs. John L. Nolan, whose husband is superintendent of the paper company (International Paper Co., Niagara Falls, New York), and Mrs. Willis Wendell of Watertown; a sister, Mrs. Edward Wood of Watertown, and three brothers, Ephraim, Charles, and Frank all of Watertown, New York.” Actually the sister was from Natural Bridge and the brothers from the Pitcairn, New York area. Spouse Notes: Clifton records: (9) 1.2.8.2.1.2.3.1.1 Lucille Marie Fenton Notes: A wonderful woman loved dearly by all. This is a copy of the marriage announcement: Residences: Spouse Notes: John L. Edward Nolan and Vernon Shean performed in Vaudeville... March 23, 1912 bulletin gave their address as Permanent Box 1137, Harrisville, N.Y. Description as “doing doubles and one and a half somersaults, head flip flaps and whirlwind tumbling using originality in a stand point of comedy tricks and make-up.” Spouse Residences: We will finish this article from Harriet in the next edition of The FIG Tree News. I hope to add this data to the Robert Fenton database that is currently on-line at The FIG Tree News website. If you have information that might relate to Harriet’s line, you can contact her at the following address: Based on my review of this information it looks like we may not have finished this article. I will look thru the files I still have around and see if I can find the rest of this information. Once I find it I will ammend this article with the remaining information. Newspaper article: “Death occurred at the home of his daughter Olive Wood. Death was due to chronic heart disease. He was a farmer in the Pitcairn, New York area all his life. He and his wife had gone to his daughter’s home to spend the winter. Besides his widow, his survivors are his daughter, Mrs. Edwin Wood, and four sons; Frank of Fine, Ephpraim of Copenhagen and Charles of East Pitcairn; three brothers, Homer of Pitcairn Forks., Ashable of Couth Edwards, Lemuel of Black River; three sisters, Mrs. Jerome Powers of Gouverneur, Mrs Horace Barnes of Russell and Mrs. John Newcomb of Los Angeles, California.
- Details
- Published on Saturday, 13 September 2008 23:35
- Written by Administrator
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This is a reprint of an article from the printed edition of The FIG Tree News, August 1999
By Mary Ann Peterson
DANIEL ROSA FAMILY
Need information on Daniel Rosa, born ca. 1786-92 (according to ages on census reports) in New York.
Occupation: shoemaker. His first wife is unknown, but believe her surname to be Cushman, most likely related to Ethiel Cushman who married Anna Fenton March 31, 1790 in Rutland Vermont, and who later moved to Covington, New York.
Between 1840 and 1846, Daniel Rosa and family moved to St. Charles, Kane County, Illinois, from Madison County, New York, where he married secondly, Mary Dutton, on March 16, 1847 in St. Charles. There were no children from his second marriage.
Known children of Daniel Rosa and his first wife are Matilda, born ca. 1823, who married William King of Sarasota, New York, Mary Ann, born January 21, 1832, Madison County, New York, who married Nathan C. Walters on July 3, 1851 at Geneva, Illinois and Ethiel Cushman Rosa, born 1838, Madison County, New York. Ethiel Cushman Rosa married Anna S. Andrus on March 21, 1857, in McHenry, Illinois. Ethiel served in the Civil War from Jan. 1865 to July 1865, and his occupation on his enlistment papers was shown as shoemaker.
Other possible children of Daniel Rosa and his first wife are Dock C. Rosa, born 1837, Madison County, New York, who married Sarah Jane Sullivan on December 20, 1866 in McHenry County, Illinois. Sarah Jane Sullivan was also born in New York. According to Dock C. Rosa’s Civil War military files from the National Archives, he enlisted at Joliet, Illinois on February 23, 1864 for a period of 3 years, but he deserted three times after receiving his bounty payment at time of enlistment. He first deserted in Springfield, Illinois and was arrested in Wilmington, Will County, Illinois where he stated he had a wife, Mary. He later deserted in Savannah, Georgia and then in Alexandria, Virginia on July 8, 1865. After the war, Dock C. Rosa returned to Lake County, Illinois and married Sarah Jane Sullivan. He became a productive and respected citizen, however, he changed his identity! From 1870 on, he used the name, Charles Rosa, which was probably his middle name, and stated he was born in Holland! He was a stone mason and contractor by trade and spent most of his remaining life in Waukegan, Illinois. Sadly, Dock and Sarah lost 3 children in December 1886 due to diptheria croup. There was a son, Charles, age 20, daughter Carrie, age 17, and a son, William E., age 5. Their other children were Hattie Grace who married George Berney on June 27, 1891; Jennie E. who married Edward S. Veach on March 20, 1893; and sons, Ethiel Cushman Rosa, who married Clara May Magden on June 1, 1900; Fred, born April 1886, and George born March 1891. The fact that Dock named a son Ethiel Cushman Rosa would indicate a close relationship to Daniel Rosa.Another possible child of Daniel Rosa and his first wife is Charles Rosa born ca. 1829 in New York who married Almira Willey on March 21, 1857 in McHenry County, Illinois the same date that Ethiel Cushman Rosa married Anna Andrus. This would indicate a close relationship. Neither Charles Rosa nor Ethiel C. Rosa appeared in the Illinois census after 1870, so they evidently moved elsewhere.
Other possible children of Daniel Rosa and his first wife were Diana Rosa who married Metcalf Wilkinson in St. Charles, Illinois on January 11, 1846, and Johanna Rosa who married John B. Schober in St. Charles, Illinois on January 9, 1866.
In 1867, Matilda (Rosa) & William King, and Mary Ann (Rosa) & Nathan Walters moved to Lawler, Chickasaw County, Iowa, and Daniel Rosa also moved to Iowa with them. In the 1870 census in Iowa, Daniel is shown as 84 years of age and living at William King’s hotel in Lawler. Since Daniel did not appear in the 1880 census, he died between 1870 and 1880. His second wife, Mary Dutton, died sometime between 1865 and 1870.
If anyone can identify with these Rosa families, or have any information whatsoever, would you please contact me. Your help would be greatly appreciated.
Mary Ann Peterson10 N. Adams StreetHinsdale, IL 60521Telephone (630) 323-6791- Details
- Published on Saturday, 13 September 2008 00:21
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This is a reprint of an article from the printed edition of The FIG Tree News, February 1999
By Kathleen D. Fenton
Adonijah4 FENTON was born 9 June 1754 in Willington, Tolland County, Connecticut, third son of Samuel3 Fenton (Samuel2, Robert1) and Lydia4 Lee (Jedediah3, David2, John1). Willington is in the northeast corner of Connecticut, still the “Quiet Corner” of small villages and sparse population.
He died February 4, 1844, nearly 90 years old, at Chautauqua Township and County, New York, and is buried there at Magnolia Cemetery, in Magnolia Springs.
With an older brother, 6 younger siblings, and innumerable cousins residing in the Willington/Mansfield area, Adonijah undoubtedly had a typical colonial childhood, filled with the usual farming chores that fell to the lot of a young lad and with all the pleasures and dangers of rural life. His older brother Ambrose died at age 3, before Adonijah’s own birth, and his next younger sibling, brother Amariah, would die in 1774 before the age of 18, so he did know pain and loss. Though much can be supposed, little is known about his life during those years when tension between the colonies and mother England built to a crescendo. It is the resulting conflict that gives us our first real glimpse of Adonijah.
His older brother Asa Fenton’s name appears on the Lexington Alarm List of April 1775, among those from Willington who answered the call. Asa and both of his wives are buried at the old Willington cemetery, but there are no dates on Corp. Asa’s tombstone, just the words “Lexington Alarm.” Younger brother Solomon also served in the Connecticut Line. Both also applied for pensions, and descendants of both Asa and Solomon have applied for DAR membership. Adonijah himself soon enlisted, serving from 7 May to 17 December 1775 in Company 5 of the Second Connecticut Regiment, under Capt. Solomon Willis and Col. Joseph Spencer. A company list (kept by Comfort Carpenter, and filed with his own 1832 pension application, and later included in Loren P. Waldo’s The Early History of Tolland County, p. 50) shows both Asa and Adonijah as members of this company. Like most volunteer armies at that early date, this one disbanded for the winter, but in June 1776, Adonijah reenlisted in Company 6 of the Third Battalion (Wadsworth’s Brigade of Connecticut troops), serving until December of that year. This battalion was formed in response to Washington’s call for reinforcement and assigned to various posts at New York. The troops saw much service that summer and fall. Some were engaged in the battle of Long Island, the retreat from New York, the battles of Harlem Heights and White Plains, or at time of the fall of Fort Washington.Again the following year (earlier, this time, in March 1777), Adonijah reenlisted, for a period of three years. This time he served in Capt. Hinckley’s company of the Second Regiment, which would become known as the “Connecticut Line” of the Continental Troops. Assembled in Danbury, Connecticut in April 1777, the regiment went into camp at Peekskill and served that summer and fall along the Hudson River, under General Putnam. In November, the regiment was ordered to join Washington’s army in Pennsylvania, and in December was engaged in the battle of Whitemarsh, where a number of officers and men were killed and wounded. Along with the rest of Washington’s army, the Connecticut Line spent that difficult winter of 1777-78 at Valley Forge, and the next July fought at the battle of Monmouth. Reassigned to Huntington’s (Second Connecticut) Brigade, they wintered 1779-80 at Morristown, New Jersey, where they were stationed on the outposts — with this winter being almost as hard on the troops as the earlier one at Valley Forge. A National Park Service guide to the Morristown National Historical Park says that
With the “Cold Backward Spring” of 1780, a congressional committee came to inspect the army. It found that the commissaries could barely feed the troops from day to day and that the men had not been paid in five months. It found the army critically short of horses and equipage and without forage for the animals on hand. It reported the army destitute of money and with “not even the shadow of Credit left.” Few of the recruits ordered up by Congress had arrived. Finally, the committee, more perceptively than it could have imagined, predicted, “The patience of the soldiery who have endured every degree of conceivable hardship and borne it with fortitude and perseverance... is on the point of being exhausted.”
A near-mutiny, led by soldiers who had gone with out food for several days, was averted only because, as one of them wrote “We were unwilling to desert the cause of our country, when in distress… we knew her cause involved our own.” We don’t know if Adonijah was involved.The unit reorganized after the three-year enlistment ended, but apparently Adonijah did not reenlist, leaving when his enlistment was up in March 1780. He had survived the winter at Valley Forge (when nearly one in five died of typhus, “putrid fever,” or smallpox), and the hard, cruel winter at Morristown’s Jockey Hollow, plus any number of battles and skirmishes. There is no record or claim of injury, but he could well have been ill in body as well as in mind and returned to his Connecticut home to recuperate. In 1780, the Connecticut Line served the main army along the Hudson river, wintered 1780-81 at Camp “Connecticut Village” above the Robinson House on the Hudson river, and the following year moved south for the campaign culminating in the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, VA in October 1781. There is no record that Adonijah served during the last years of the war. Under “remarks,” The Records of the Connecticut Men in the Military and Naval Service during the War of the Revolution 1775-1783 (p.159) says about Adonijah that he was “Prom. Serjt. Oct. 1, ’78, disc Mar. 18, ’80.”
At some time during those five years of service, Adonijah might have seen a bit of action that should have entered the history books (though at this point, I’ve found no record of it). His obituary in a Utica, New York paper (19 February 1844) says he “was among eight patriots who in the Revolutionary War captured a British armed schooner In the Hudson near Fishkill.” Obviously, this must have been a story that he told, and retold, so that his children remembered it. It would be wonderful to find some verification of this event!
Returning to Willington, Adonijah married there, on 13 December 1781, to Drusilla HINCKLEY, almost certainly, a daughter of John4 Hinckley (Ichabod3, Ensign John2, Samuel1) and Susannah Harris. E. Charles Hinckley, in Hinckley Heritage & History (third edition, September 1982, p. 62) reports, that John and Susannah had a daughter “Drusilla” born 27 October 1757 in Willington. The printed town records of WiIIington (at the Connecticut State Library in Hartford) do not show such a child or birth date (though there is a gap in the births that this date would fill). I can only hope that Mr. Hinckley was able to search the original records, and there found the data. (Noting, though, that he has made errors in his books!) However, there is no other Drusilla possible among the Willington Hinckleys, so we will accept this identification — conditionally for the moment. Adonijah is listed in the 1790, 1800 and 1810 federal census Willington. The 1800 Willington census indicates the presence in the household of two females, both over 45 (that is, born before 1755), one is obviously Drusilla (as is one of the 2 females living there in 1790), and the other is probably her mother. [In 1790, Adonijah’s father Samuel was still living; Lydia (Lee) Fenton died in July 1810, and Susannah (Harris) Hinckley lived until 1818, but did not reside with Adonijah and his new wife in 1810, although she probably did in 1790 and 1800.]Adonijah and Drusilla would have seven children born at Willington between 1782 and 1798, and Drusilla would see her youngest son die in 1802 and the oldest son Amariah married there in 1806, about 14 months before her own death, which occurred on 16 April 1807. Adonijah married again later that year, on August 25, this time to Ann Marcy Fellows; nothing is known of her parentage. (There are only a few Fellows records at Willington, the remaining ones being for the marriage of one Eleazer Fellows and the births of three children. It is possible that he was a brother or brother-in-law of Ann Marcy). An affidavit in Adonijah’s pension record indicates that in 1820, his (unnamed) wife was aged 52. So Ann Marcy was probably born about 1768; the 1810 Willington census gives her an age between 60 and 70 (born between 1760 and 1770). Adonijah and Ann Marcy (she is called by both names in the Willington records) would have two children, a daughter who died about a month after-birth, and a son living with them in 1810-1830.
Oldest sons Amariah and Ambrose had moved on to Washington County, New York, by 1810, but Adonijah and his new family are still listed in the 1810 Willington census (together with a 16-26 year old female who might have been daughter Aurelia or Asenath). Some time between then and 1818, however, Adonijah had joined his oldest son Amariah in Paris township, Oneida County, New York, while Ambrose, accompanied by his younger brother, Thomas, had moved on again, this time to Morgan township, Ashtabula County, Ohio. As a resident of Oneida County, Adonijah (age 63) first made application for pension based on his Revolutionary War service in an affidavit dated 15 April 1818; he was awarded a pension (#23,217) of eight dollars per month ($96 per annum). In September 1820, age 66 and a resident of Paris Township, he submitted further affidavit detailing his three periods of service. He provided the additional information that he was farmer, and that his household consisted of himself (aged sixty-six years, healthy for a person this age), his wife (unnamed, aged fifty-two years, healthy) and his son Lothrop F. Fenton (ten years old, not healthy). At the same time he submitted an inventory of his estate and income, with a total value of $86.00, and debts of $198 00. [It’s interesting, but almost always true, that the Revolutionary War soldiers whose history we’ve explored rarely cumulated any wealth and often lost much of what they had before the war began - at least, if one is to believe the papers filed with their pension applications!]
In 1830, Adonijah (age 70-80), his wife Ann Marcy (age 60-70), and son Lathrop (age 20-30) were living in Kirkland Township, Oneida County, New York. Ann Marcy (Fellows) Fenton apparently died between 1830 and 1840, and Adonijah went to live with daughter Aurelia and her husband Whitney, in Chautauqua Township and County, New York. He is listed on that census as a military pensioner, age 86, in the household headed by son-in-law Henry. He would survive a few more years, dying in Mayville on 4 February 1844, age 89. This date is confirmed by three sources:
1) Fred Q. Bowman, 10,000 Vital Records of Central New York 1813 - 1850 (1986, p. 84), says #3047, Fenton, Adonijah, 89, formerly of Oneida County, died 2/4/44 in “Maysville,” adding that he “was among eight patriots who in the Revolutionary War captured a British armed schooner in the Hudson near Fishkill.” The obituary was in a Utica paper, dated 19 February 1844.
2) There is a tombstone in the Magnolia Cemetery, Magnolia Springs, Chautauqua township and county, NY, which reads “Adonijah Fenton, died Feb. 4, 1844, 91 years.” A biographical sketch is also included in a 1925 DAR publication of Soldiers of the American Revolution who at one time were residents of, or whose graves are located in Chautauqua County, New York (p.29):
FENTON, ADONIJAH - Born 1754. Died February 4, 1844 aged 90 years. Grave in Magnolia Cemetery, town of Chautauqua. Enlisted May, 1775, at Connecticut, served 3 years and 6 months, with rank of Corporal and Sergeant. Date of application for pension, April 15, 1818, at which time he was residing Oneida County, New York. Claim allowed. He is mentioned in the census pension list of 1840 as aged 86 and residing with Henry Whitney in the town of Chautauqua. He married Drusilla Hinckley of Westmoreland, New York, who was born 1768. [Note this is obviously an error, as the compilers did not know of his second marriage to Ann Marcy Fellows, and the Westmoreland residency was long after his first marriage.] Their daughter, Aurelia Fenton, born at Willington, Connecticut, August 11, 1794, married Henry Whitney, a brother of Thomas Whitney, who was a son-in-law of Samuel Davis, Revolutionary soldier. In 1820, his wife [Anne Marcy] was 52 years of age and a son, Lathrop, 10 years of age. His wife preceded him in death and at his death in 1844 he left the following children: Amariah, of Jackson, Washington County, New York, and Ambrose of Windsor, Ohio. [Note, actually in 1854, when Amariah filed for back payments, Thomas, Lathrop, and Aurelia were still living in 1844.]a. Alexander H. Whitney, born 1819 New York (age 20-30, 1840; 31 1850, Chautauqua Township and County); married Mary Ann _____ (born @ 1824 New York)b. (?) Caroline E. Whitney, born @ 1820 (age 10-15, 1840), died 18 December 1848, age 28 year 6 month 28 days, buried Magnolia Cemetery.c. Ruth Ann Whitney, born @ 1823 (died 15 May 1839, age 16 year 2 month 26 days, buried Magnolia Cemetery as daughter of Henry and Aurelia).Another sketch, in Kates’ Patriot Soldiers of Chautauqua County, New York (pp. 65-66) repeats much the same information, embellished with a bit more data from his pension record.
3) In June 1854, Amariah Fenton, of Jackson Township, Washington County, New York filed a request for any back payments on his pension owed to Adonijah, stating that he and Ambrose, of Windsor, Ashtabula County, Ohio, were then the only surviving children. Accompanying papers verify that Adonijah Fenton died February 4, 1844 in Chautauqua Township and County, New York. A document by an examining clerk says that Adonijah was pensioned under the Act of 1818 at $96 to his death February 4, 1844. “The rolls, of the Conn. Continental Line and his appointment show that Adonijah Fenton was a Sergeant as much as 17 mo. 5 days and a Corporal the remainder of his three years service.” He apparently never received (possibly never applied for) an increase in pension based on the Act of 1832, by which he should have received $110.88 per annum, from 4 March 1831 to “Feb. 4, 1844, when he died, deducting former payments at $96 per annum, under the Act of 1818.” A certificate for the balance was drawn, payable to Amariah Fenton and Ambrose Fenton, “his only surviving children.”
It is not often that we are able to locate this much information on a relatively undistinguished person of the Revolutionary period. It seems that finding this much on a man who served in the greatest event of his lifetime, married twice, moved at least four times, lived to the ripe age of almost 90, surviving both wives and most of his children and some grandchildren —well, we wish we knew more about what kind of man he was. That he was able to read and write we know because he signed his pension papers (and, even allowing for age, his signature is neat and sharp). That. (at the age of 60 or so) he was able to leave his lifetime home and move to frontier areas in central New York surely speaks for the same courage and strength of body and character shown in his wartime service. As the inventory he filed in 1820 shows, he was never a wealthy man, and so far as we can learn, he held no public office. What he did leave behind is a legacy of honor, courage and hard work — and many children and innumerable grandchildren.
CHILDREN (b Willington) by Drusilla:
1. Ameriah Fenton, b 3 Aug. 1782; d 24 Feb. 1866, in 84th year, Erie, PA, m 15 Feb. 1806 Tolland CT, Martha Cushman (d 15 Aug. 1832, age 58 year; baptism 3 Sept. 1820 Congregational Church); both buried Old Clinton Cemetery, Oneida County, NY; married 2nd) probably 28 Oct. 1848 Washington County, NY, Zina Rice (age 63 in 1850. 73 in 1860), lived Oneida (1820-40) and Washington County, NY (1850-60); carpenter (1850), farmer (1860); 1810 census shows (in addition to Ameriah and wife) 2 females under 10 (2 of the 4 daughters baptized Oct. 1821?); 1820 shows 1 male under 10, 2 females under 10 and 2 females 10-16; 1830, 1 male 10-15, 2 males 20-30 (boarders or servants?); 1 female under 5, 1 female 5-10, 2 females 15-20
KNOWN CHILDREN (4 of them baptized. Congregational Church, Clinton, Oneida County);
a. Mary Ann Jane Fenton, b ?; baptized 1 Oct. 1821 Clinton, Oneida County; m June 1837 Westmoreland, Oneida County, Joseph B. Cushman of Utica; res Utica 1850b. Martha Jennett Fenton, b ?; baptized 1 Oct. 1821 Clinton, Oneida County; m 30 June 1841 Warren PA, Jerome B. Carverc. Elizabeth Thompson Fenton, b ?; baptized 21 Oct. 1821 Clinton, Oneida County; m 8 Oct. 1841 Clinton, John B. Loomis (formerly of Utica)d. Drusilla Hinckley Fenton, b?; baptized 21 Oct. 1821 Clinton, Oneida County.e. Eleanor G. Fenton (youngest daughter), m. July 1846 Vernon, Oneida County, to Thomas H. Pond of Rome, NY (son Fred Fenton Pond, only child, d 12 June 1868 Rome, age 17 years); res Madison County, NY 1850, carriage makerf. Orin LeRoy Fenton, b @ 1818; d 5 June 1843 Westmoreland Township, Oneida County, NY, age 25 (accidental discharge of his rifle; “only son of Ameriah of Westmoreland”)2. Ambrose FENTON, b 5 Aug. 1784 Willington; d 27 Sept.
1856, age 71 years 1 month 22 days, buried Windsor Center Cemetery, Ashtabula County, OH; m before 1810 Willington, Tolland County, CT or Washington County, NY, Betsy NICHOLS, b l785, CT (census), 16 Nov. 1784 (tombstone); d 3 Jan 1869, age 84 years 1 month 17 days, buried Windsor Center Cemetery; Betsy living with daughter Aurelia Fenton Bailey in Geauga County, OH, 1860 census, age 75, b CT (1850, age 65, b CT), lived Washington County, NY (1810), Morgan and Windsor Townships, Ashtabula County, OH (1820-50). On 26 Aug. 1820, Ambrose, then of Morgan Township, for $200 bought 50 acres in Lot #6, Range 8 of Windsor Township from Timothy and Sally Alderman; on 1 May 1852, Ambrose Fenton and Betsy Fenton his wife, of Windsor Township, sold 47 acres of that land for $1000 to John C. Fenton of New Haven County, CT, John C. Fenton and wife Amelia on 27 Sept. 1858 sold the same land for $1000 to Elijah B. Bailev of Montville Township, Geauga County, OH; on 9 May 1870, Elijah B. Bailey and Aurelia W. Bailey His wife sold the land (except 1/8 acre in the SW corner leased to the school district) to Linus C. Faulkinburg. An 1856 land ownership map shows John Fenton on lot 6, Range 8 — not quite a mile west of Windsor Mills, on the north side of the road. That land, today, is unfarmed and covered with young scrub trees.KNOWN CHILDREN (1810-1850 census);
a. Son, born 1800-10 NY (under 10, 1810 census); possibly died before 1820 (not listed 1820)b. Son, born 1810-1815; possibly Solomon Fenton, born 1810 NY; died in the fall of 1885 or spring of 1888; married Emily Crarnpton; resided 1850 Ransom Township, Hillsdale County, Michiganc. Daughter, born 1810-1815; ?Zelpha/Zilpha Fenton, born @ 1813; (died 4 Jan 1898, age 85 years) married 1st 16 November 1848, Windsor by S.C. Fruer, to Nehemiah Parker (died 13 March 1870/71, 62 years); married 2nd Ichabod Clapp of Windsor (born 10 September 1810; died 17 Jan 1891); 1893, resided with Daniel H. Parker (her stepson); Elijah B. and Aurelia W. (Fenton) Bailey named a daughter Zilphah; see also 1893 Biographical History of Ashtabula, Lake and Geauga County, pp. 921-2; resided in Windsor Township.d. Aurelia W. FENTON, born 23 Aug. 1817, Morgan Township, Ashtabula County, Ohio, died 23 Feb. 1890 Montville, Geauga County, Ohio, married 8 June 1834 Geauga County, Ohio, Elijah B. BAILEY (born 30 June 1807 Tompkins County, New York; died 15 January 1859 Montville, Geauga County, Ohio). Elijah was a farmer and the local justice of the peace. The large house he built in Montville still stands; the Baileys (and his parents and many descendants) are buried at the Montville Cemetery. Betsy (Nichols) Fenton lived with them in 1860, and Elijah bought the old Fenton homestead in Windsor Township from John C. Fenton in 1858.e. Son, born 1820-1825; ?possibly the John C. Fenton of New Haven, Connecticut to whom Ambrose and Betsy sold land in 1852; his wife Amelia signed 1858 deed, when he sold to Elijah B. Bailey; 1850 Waterbury Township, New Haven County, Connecticut: John Fenton (25, blacksmith, born Ohio) living with Samuel Wilkinson (blacksmith, born Rhode Island) and family; no information on where the family moved or any children; no further informationf. Daughter, born 1820-1825 (?) Tarsey Fenton, married 26 February 1841 Ashtabula County, William Brown (Ambrose had an aunt, Thirsa/Thirza Fenton, born 1771 Willington, Connecticut); 1850 census Windsor Township shows William Brown (32, laborer, born Massachusetts ) wife “Therizie” (26, born Ohio) and 3 children.g. Charles W. Fenton, born 1820-1825 (1850 census); died 15 April 1880 Claridon, Geauga County, Ohio, age 52 years 4 month 5 days (age 51 years 4 months in death record), buried Windsor Center Cemetery; married 1st Flava [-] (born @ 1829 in Ohio; died 5 April 1864, age 36 years 1 month 28 days, buried Windsor Center Cemetery); married 2nd Irene M. [-] (born @ 1837 Ohio; ts, no dates, Windsor Center Cemetery; still living August 1880); probate record shows as heir at law; Flora (?) Fenton, married Ed Barber; resided 1880, Bundysburg, Parkman Township, Geauga County.Fenton Family Newsletter, Winter 1983-Spring 1984, p. 4; Solomon FENTON, born 1 June 1810, New York/8 June 1819 Ohio. He died in the fall of 1885 or spring of 1888 Michigan. He married Emily Crampton, daughter of Gurden Crampton/Rhetse Bradley. She died March 29, 1884 or spring of 1885. They were both buried at Doty Cemetery, Ransom Township, Hillsdale County, Michigan. They lived in Ransom Township in 1850, Burr Oak, St. Joseph County, Michigan, 1860. A Solomon Fenton, of Windsor Township, bought 56 acres in lot 4, range 2, Windsor Township in March 1832 and sold it in November 1833; no wife signed the deed of sale. Note that Ambrose had a brother Solomon, for whom he might well have named a son.
3. Solomon Fenton, born 20 December 1786; died 20 May 1808 Willington, Connecticut.
4. Thomas Fenton, born 25 March 1788, probably the Thomas Fenton who died 8 November 1848, age 59 years 8 months 17 days, Windsor, Ashtabula County, Ohio; buried Windsor Cemetery; married Ascenith/Asenath _____ (born @ 1791/3, Vermont; she, living in 1860 census, with Alfred, Ameniah, Harlow and Clarissa M.; listed first of heirs on 1849 quitclaim deeds). Thomas listed 1820 (age 26-45, wife 16-26. Son under 10); 1830 (age 30-40, sons under 5, 5-10, 15-20, wife 50-60, daughter 15-20). On 10 August 1831, Thomas Fenton of Windsor bought for $80 from Sally Loomis of Windsor, 8 acres in Lot #4, 1st Range in Windsor Township. Beginning on 22 March 1849 Thomas’ heirs (and their spouses) quitclaimed parts of this land to each other. Shown, 1856 map: Mrs. Fenton and across the road, A. Fenton — both Lot 5, Range 1 in Windsor.KNOWN CHILDREN:
a. Son, born 1815-20 (census); probably Alfred H. Fenton, born April 1818 Ohio; died 1900; married 1st Clarrisa Peck (died 26 April 1851/4 age 35 years 7 months, buried Windsor Center Cemetery); married 2nd 11 April 1860 Ashtabula County, Wealthy Ann Griffin (1840-1899)b. Son, born 1820-25; probably Ambrose Fenton, born 1824 Ohio, died 1899, buried Windsor Center Cemetery; married 27 March 1848 Astabula County, Ohio, Elizabeth J. Isgrigg (born 1828, no death date on tombstone); only child Archy A (died 20 September 1852, age 15 months 19 days) also buried Windsor Center Cemetery.c. Daughter, born 1820-25; probably Martha Fenton, married Norris Atwood; l and obtained in quitclaims from her Brothers 1849, sold 1851 for $600 to Adams & Tudor of Windsor; (?) married 2nd _____ Banner (Martha Fenton Banner, 1822-1858, buried Windsor Center Cemetery, near Thomas)d. Son, born 1825-30; probably Amariah Fenton, born @ 1826 Windsor, died 20 March 1892, age 66 Ashtabula County; unmarried; peddler; resided Kingsville, Ohio at death5. Asenath Fenton, born 9 September 1791; possibly died before 1810 as only 1 female of this age is listed in that census (this was probably Aurelia, though it is possibly Asenath was the female 16-26 living with Ambrose in 1820)
6. Aurelia Fenton, born 11 August 1794; died 3 March 1847, age 52 years 6 month 20 days, Chautauqua County, New York; married Henry Whitney (died 6 March 1847 Chautauqua County, age 61 years 1 month 20 days); both buried Magnolia Cemetery, Magnolia Springs, Chautauqua Township; 1840 Chautauqua Township and County shows Henry, 1 male (20-30), 1 male (40-50); 1 female (10-15), 1 female (40-50); resided with them; Adonijah Fenton (86, soldier of Revolutionary War).
KNOWN CHILDREN:
7. Evan Fenton, born April 1798; died 17 June 1802 Willington HILDREN (born Willington) by Anna;
8. Laura Fenton, born 20 November 1808; died 26 December 1808, Willington
9. Lathrop Fellows Fenton, born 24 April 1810; (?) died before 1854
(Adonijah’s only surviving sons that date were Amariah and Ambrose), possibly resided Batavia Township, Genesee County, New York 1850; Lathrop F. Fenton (39, born New York), wife Hannah .A (24, born New York), son Edgar M. (2, born New York).
If you would like to contact Kathleen about her information she can be reached at the following address:
Kathleen D. Fenton9459 Sargossa PlaceColumbia, MD 21045-3224