William Fenton, The Father, The Son, Which is Which? Photo Faceoff

Copyright 2017, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

William Franklin Fenton (referred here as Sr.) and his wife Margaret Catherine Haley were married in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada on May 25, 1860.

William Franklin Fenton (referred to here as Jr.) was born June 21, 1861 in Chebogue, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada.  As a young man, William (Jr.)  married a lady named Fannie Hurlburt and had 4 children.  Fannie died in 1898 and in 1900 William married Ida May Jarvis.  William (Jr.) and Ida had 5 children.

When we have  a son and a father with basically the same name, it can be easy to confuse the two in records.  

Now, we need to state right here, that to our best knowledge, William (Sr.), Margaret Haley, William (Jr.). and all the rest of William (Sr.) and Margaret's children were all white.  Ida May Jarvis, however, was not.  She was black and I have heard, but, never have been able to establish/prove it, that she may have had Indian heritage as well.

I can tell you from my research, and my interaction with family members of William (Jr.) and Ida's descendants and descendants of William (Sr.) and Margaret other sons and daughters, that racism was healthy in Nova Scotia in 1900.  I have heard stories (again, family stories, not provable via documents) that after William (Jr.) married Ida he was "cut off" from his family.  Siblings that wanted to visit would have to sneak over to William (Jr.)'s home.

There are facts I can "prove".  For example, I can tell you and prove that when William (Sr.) passed, the informant on his death certificate was William (Jr.).  It is very interesting to note that William (Sr.)'s obituary does not mention William (Jr.).  William (Sr.)'s obituary reads in part:

"Mr. Fenton, besides the daughter mentioned, leaves two others, Mrs. Emma Vickery and Mrs. Clara Huskins in Massachusetts, the latter with Mrs. Robert Fenton arrived by the Prince George this morning to attend the funeral; also one son George, a painter and decorator with R. K. Smith."

Ten years before William (Sr.) died one of his daughter's passed.  Her obituary reads in part, you will note, there is no mention of William (Jr.).

"She leaves a husband and four small children to mourn the loss of a devoted wife and mother.  She is also survived by her father, Mr. William Fenton, two brothers, George and Robert; and three sisters: Mrs. John Vickery, Mrs. Oscar Vickery, and Mrs. Clara Huskins."

The fact that William (Jr.) was ostracized by his family seems to have carried down in area of family photos as well. Even after researching this clan for well over 25 years, I have had no "verified" photo of William (Jr.).  All the photos you will see in this post came from other family members, Man and I had no Fenton ancestral photos.

Due to the kindness of other family members, I have these, which most family and family researchers of the Fenton clan agree are William (Sr.)  Let's note here that William (Sr.) was born in 1833 and died in 1922. And, let's consider those dates in reference to the photos and the clothing.  Let's call this photo # 1.

On the back of photo # 1 (copy of a photo, actually) was written in bold print :  Grandpa Fenton, Marion's Mother's Father.  Marion is Marion Vickery, her mother is Emma Stella Fenton.  Emma's father is William Franklin Fenton (Sr.).  On other photos in same group,it is written, "Marion's inscription on back",  indicating that the identifications came from Marion Vickery.

I also have this photo, also identified as William Fenton (Sr), identification provided by a great-granddaughter. This is photo # 2.  Supposedly, this is the same man as is in photo # 1.  There is, in my opinion, a resemblance, so I will accept this as being William (Sr.)

We have another photo of what appears to be the William in photo # 2.  Family has stated this is William (Sr.) and his Christie grandchildren.  This to me appears to be the same man.  Here he is in photo # 3.

Last summer Man and I traveled to Nova Scotia, specifically to research the Fenton clan and to see where they lived, loved, were born, died and were buried.  Neither of us had ever been.  It was a remarkable trip.  While there we were able to spend a few hours with descendants of William (Jr.) and his second wife, Ida.  The fact that we were able to meet up with this part of the family was a small miracle.  Man and I made the trip on a whim, with very little planning.  I did not make any attempts to contact the few family members I had email addresses for before we left. But, at a campground we stopped at along the way, we actually met some distant kin.  It was one of those "the manager of the campground had an employee who was the sister of a bride of one of the Fenton men." Far out, eh??

While visiting two Fenton elders Man noticed a 8 X 10 piece of paper with the photos of 5 men printed and identified. It was one of those kismet moments in research.  He asked and was graciously granted permission to take a cell phone photo of that sheet of paper.

Below are 3 of the men, the other two have been edited out since they are both still living. This is photo # 4.

You will note that the photo on the left side of this group is the same as the one I have already shown in Photo # 1 above. It is identified as William (Sr.) dates of birth and death the same as I have indicated.

In the middle, this man is also identified as William. From the dates of death and birth this is William (Jr.), note the dates agree with my research and documentation I have obtained.

The man to the right is the son of William (Jr.) and Ida.

Tonight, when working on my consolidation project, I re-discovered a photo, with names/identities.  You will note the second man from the left is the same man that is identified as William (Jr.) in photo # 4.  

This is photo # 5.

The people identified in this photo # 5 were named as: George Fenton, William Fenton, Sr., Emma Fenton Vickery, Annie Fenton Vickery, John Vickery.  This photo has been dated as 1921, place, Rockville, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Wait!  Hold everything.

Photo # 4 he is William (Jr.)

Photo # 5 he is William (Sr.)

I have stared at these photos for years, on and off, I revisit, I stare, my eyes cross, and I move on to something else. And, return again at some point, repeat for years and years.

There are strong family resemblances, eh??  Between all these Williams.

That's why it is so difficult.

Tonight, my opinion is that # 1 is William (Sr.)

# 2 - - I'll say he is also William (Sr.), especially when we compare it to # 3, which has been identified by family members.

# 4, is William (Jr.), as is of course, # 5, since that is the same photo, just cropped a bit.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

And, ohhhhh, yea, photo # 5 seems to disprove the rumor/family story that siblings had to sneak off to see William (Jr.) after his marriage to Ida.  Except, for that interesting/questionable identification the William in this photo as William (Sr.) 

What tangled webs were woven.  

* William (Jr.) and his first wife, Fannie Hurburt, are Man's great-grandparents.  William Henry Fenton, see photo # 4, was Man's grandmother's half brother.

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Happy St. Patrick's Day, Still Wondering - - Are They Really Irish?

Copyright 2014, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all!!

The researcher in me always wonders, how can I tie a holiday to my data base?  Holidays tend to bring forth some hints, new data bases, maybe stories. 

Many of Man's and my lineages go back to Germany, France, England, Wales.  Off the top of my head (through the early AM fog), I can only think of one lineage that might have ties to Ireland.  The Fentons. And, I don't know much of the early generations, here it is:

David Fenton, of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada and his wife, almost nothing is known of David, and quite honestly, I am not sure that his given name might not be Dennis.

William Franklin Fenton, born July 5, 1933 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, died March 4, 1922 in Rockville, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada. The 1871 and 1881 census reports state he was of English origin, the 1901 census states he is of Irish origins.

William married Margaret Catherine Haley. She was born August 27, 1838 in Nova Scotia Canada and died January 18, 1903 at Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada.

That's it. My Irish brick wall.




First presented here at Reflections on March 17, 2010

* Shamrock courtesy of Lee Hansen Graphics.
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Paul Wilson Fenton, Memories at His Passing

Copyright 2011, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

Late last evening a distant cousin of Man's contacted me.  We usually chat about the history of the Fenton clan and our frustrations at the brick wall we share.  Sadly, last evening, he had the news of the passing of another cousin, Paul Wilson Fenton.

Paul was born 5 Apr 1936 in Yarmouth, Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia, Canada. He died 2 March 2011 at the Yarmouth Regional Hospital, Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia, Canada.

I never had the pleasure of meeting Paul in person, but, we had chatted several times on the phone.  Wonderful conversations.  I came away from those conversations with the impression of a compassionate, warm, kind, loving individual.  When you read part of his obituary, it becomes evident I was not far off in my impressions:

"He was a member of the Salvation Army, Yarmouth. He worked with Family Service helping people. Paul was very active in his church. He worked as a nurse in Toronto, Montréal and Digby. He was a graduate of Faith Bible College in Rhode Island."

Rest in Peace Paul.  Till we meet again.




*Photo courtesy of cousin Mary Bates.
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The Rest of the Story, Sapper Percy Fenton

This post is offered with some trepidation because some may judge my choice of words.  I hope the truth, presented in the most honest and caring way I know of, will suffice.

For the CoAAG 3nd Edition I wrote about Percy Fenton. The question has been asked, how is it that I came to know about Percy? The answer is, Percy is in my data base, he is a half great-uncle to Man.

I chose NOT to go into the relationship in my post for the CoAAG 3nd Edition because it may have over shadowed Percy’s story. He deserved a post all to his own, paying honor to his service.

So, here is a bit of the back story.

Man’s great grandfather was William Franklin Fenton (1861-1939). William married first, Fannie Hurlburt (ca 1865- 1898). When William was left a widower, he married again, Ida May Jarvis (1875-1959). Nothing different here, except for one small fact, Ida was of black heritage. I have been told she was of black and Indian heritage, but, my research is a bit thin here, someday, I really need to do some more.) William and Ida had 5 children, Percy was their first born.

Place this in the time frame, around 1900. Even though this family lived in Nova Scotia, there was racism there too.

From what I can tell in my research and talking to living family members, this marriage created a huge chasm in the Fenton clan. The truth of it is simple, not nice, but, simple. William Franklin Fenton was cut off from the rest of his family. I have proof of some and stories of more. Telling them here in this format, will not change things, and may only create more friction for the some of family, so, I choose not to tell them at this time. They are ugly and this family deserves better. That said, the story is spelled out quite extensively in my data base, because I don’t want to ignore it either, and I don’t.

Man and I have been aware of this half of his family for a number of years, our children know about it, and have not expressed any opinions other than, WOW, that is pretty interesting. I have shared phone calls and letters and email with a number of Ida’s descendants. They are such interesting wonderfully warm people. Man and I are delighted to have made their acquaintance and the ability to share their common ancestry.

We are after all, family!

* I have also been asked how Percy's medal ended up on EBay, and, I have to say, I am not quite sure, but did find this quote, "The seller of Fenton's medal, who lives in Nova Scotia, refused an interview with CBC News", at one of the news stories I quoted in the original blog post.

**Percy left no heirs when he died, as far as I know, he never married.

Copyright 2010, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

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Relatively Speaking, Cousins That Blog, Man Has Cousins That Blog Too

Leah of the Internet Genealogist and Heather Wilkinson Rojo of Nutfield Genealogy are related to Man, ok, it is distant, but cousins are cousins, and finding links because you are a blogger is just pure fun!  Leah and Heather have been cooperating on some posts and having a great time of it.  The stories are wonderful, I urge you to have a look at their blogs and enjoy the read.

In the meantime, I thought I would use today's Relatively Speaking, Cousins That Blog issue to post Man's lineage back through to the Haley connections.  I mean, they are cousins after all, and 2 out of the 3 blog!  LOL

I have color coded the direct lines and have used Ahnentafel numbering.

1. Man

2. Arthur Norman Stevens Jr.: born on July 1, 1919 in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan; married on May 24, 1947 in Calvary Lutheran Church, Lincoln Park, Wayne County, Michigan; died on April 13, 1979 in Taylor, Wayne County, Michigan.

3. Man's mother

4. Archibald Norman (Archie) Lashbrook: born on April 9, 1879 in Holt Township, Fillmore County, Minnesota; married on May 20, 1918 in Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio; died on July 13, 1952 in Wyandotte, Wayne County, Michigan.

5. Edna May Fenton: born on March 20, 1888 in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada; died on July 3, 1954 in Eloise, Wayne County, Michigan.

10. William Franklin Fenton: born on June 21, 1861 in Chebogue, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada; married on November 8, 1883 in Salem, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada; died on March 14, 1939 in Yarmouth, Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia, Canada.

11. Fannie Hurlburt: born about 1865 in Tusket Lakes, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada; died on December 12, 1898 in Arcadia, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada.

20. William Franklin Fenton: born on July 5, 1833 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; married on May 25, 1860 in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada; died on March 4, 1922 in Rockville, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada.

21. Margaret Catherine Haley: born on August 27, 1838 in Nova Scotia, Canada; died on January 18, 1903 in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada.

42. John Haley II: born on February 2, 1805 in Chebogue, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada; married in 1828.

43. Mary Owen.

84. Comfort Haley: born in 1754 in Brimfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts; married in December 1795; died on May 13, 1821.

85. Hannah Ellis: born on February 4, 1765 in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada; died on January 17, 1862.

168. Ebenezer Haley: born in 1709 in Rehoboth, Bristol County, Massachusetts; married in 1748 in Brimfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts; died on February 14, 1777 in at sea.

169. Grace Bullen: born on October 13, 1727 in Brimfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts; died about 1790.

Leah's, Heather's and Man's common ancestor is Comfort Haley, born 1754.

By the way Leah and Heather, that Hawaii connection, Man's grandfather, well, ya, he grew up in Kauai, German laborer family, sugar plantations.  Great grandparents and children arrived Lihue in 1888, lived there during the overthrow of Queen Lili'uokalani in 1893.  Man's great-grandfather, the patriarch of this line, in fact, was awarded the "Special Rights of Citizenship" certificate in 1894.  The way I understand it, this document did not grant naturalization, however, I suspect that the family thought it did make them naturalized citizens of the United States.

Anyone got those oooooeeeee genie moment chills yet??

*Graphics courtesy of VintageKin.com  (Link not functional in February of 2019)

Copyright 2010, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

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Wondering, Are They Really Irish, on St. Paddy's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all!!

The researcher in me always wonders, how can I tie a holiday to my data base?  Holidays tend to bring forth some hints, new data bases, maybe stories. 

Many of Man's and my lineages go back to Germany, France, England, Wales.  Off the top of my head (through the early AM fog), I can only think of one lineage that might have ties to Ireland.  The Fentons. And, I don't know much of the early generations, here it is:

David Fenton, of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada and his wife, almost nothing is known of David, and quite honestly, I am not sure that his given name might not be Dennis.

William Franklin Fenton, born July 5, 1933 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, died March 4, 1922 in Rockville, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada. The 1871 and 1881 census reports state he was of English origin, the 1901 census states he is of Irish origins.

William married Margaret Catherine Haley. She was born August 27, 1838 in Nova Scotia Canada and died January 18, 1903 at Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada.

That's it. My Irish brick wall.

Copyright 2010, CABS for Reflections From the Fence.
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91st Carnival of Genealogy, A Tribute to Women! The Biography

Edna May Fenton was born on May 20, 1888, or 1889 in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada.  Documents containing her birth information differ, and I am sure Edna would have approved, she maintained a certain amount of secrecy about her early days.  The age on her marriage certificate is pretty hard to read, it might be 22 or 24, of course, that gives us a birth year of 1896 or 1894.  Her death certificate states she was born in 1893.

Her parents were William Franklin Fenton and Fannie Hurlburt Fenton,  Edna was the youngest of 4 children born to this couple.  Edna's was only about 10 years old when her mother died in 1898.  If she were born in the mid 1890's, she would have been even younger. Note:  Edna does appear on the 1891 census with her father, mother and three siblings, as a 1 year old babe, so that pretty much puts her birth year before 1890, not the mid 1890's.

By 1901 her father had remarried and had a second family in the making.  Edna appears on the 1901 census with her father and step-mother, Ida (nee Jarvis).  She does not appear on the 1911 census.  In fact, from 1901 until 1918 we have no idea where Edna is or what she is doing.

Above:  The 1901 Census of Canada, Nova Scotia,

4th District Yarmouth, Polling District of Arcadia

Note the confusion over Edna's age and birth year. 

The numbers just don't add up.

Above:  1911 Census of Arcadia, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada

No Edna.

According to another descendant of William Fenton and Ida Jarvis, a family story is that Edna went to the states as a maid.  We have heard she lived in Massachusetts.  Searches of passenger lists, census both in Canada and in the United States have yet to find Edna, at least as Edna Fenton.

In 1918 Edna married Arthur Norman Stevens, Sr.  Arthur has his own secrets and his story alone would be a great mystery novel.  But, alas, I don't wish to tell his story here, but the story of his Nova Scotia born bride.  I will tell you, however, that in the research on Arthur we discover that in the year 1918 he is living in an apartment house at 208 Abbott in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan.  208 Abbott was the address of the Fort Apartments, he is listed as living in apartment # 14. In that same year, 1918, we find Mrs. Edna Stewart, waitress, living in Apt 11, 208 Abbott, Detroit.  Edna married Arthur as a single lady under her maiden name, claiming she was never married before.  Is Mrs. Edna Stewart in reality Miss Edna Fenton??  

Over the next several years, Edna and Arthur become the parents of three boys, Arthur Norman Stevens, Jr., Walter William Stevens and George Elmer Stevens.  In the photo to the right, from left to right, Walter, George (standing), Arthur.

The Stevens family moved from Detroit to the suburbs, and we find them on the 1930 census living at 1566 Empire Street, Lincoln Park, Michigan.  In 1944 they lived at 4165 Coolidge, Lincoln Park, Michigan.  The family moved again, by 1947 we find them living at 1044 Farnham Avenue, Lincoln Park, Michigan.

In 1940 tragedy hit, their 2nd born son, Walter was killed in a automobile accident on the eve of his 21st birthday. World War II took both of her other sons off to war, both returned home.

In 1952 her husband Arthur died.  In 1954 Edna too passed. 


Edna lived through 2 major wars, World War I and World War II. Two of her sons fought in WWII. From the date of her birth (using the year 1888) to the date of her death, 12 American Presidents held office, starting with Glover Cleveland, ending with Dwight D. Eisenhower, noting that until sometime after the 1901 census, she lived in Canada, not the US.

Edna was an extremely private lady.  She was Man's grandmother, he has no recollections of her, the only memories are stories he has heard from his mother (Edna's daughter-in-law.)  Until I started doing research and connected with other Fenton descendants, Man had never met another Fenton.  Never.  Granted he was only a wee bit of a lad when Edna passed, but there were no aunts or uncles, no cousins, no family kin named Fenton.
 
We have been told Edna loved her garden and flowers.  We do have some photos from Edna, many of which have no names or dates.  There are no photos of  Edna's mother and father.  We have no photo of Edna before her marriage to Arthur in 1918.  We have no diaries and only a small handful of letters and cards.  Several of the letters are dated after the death of her husband, she was attempting to apply for a social security card/number, she needed a birth certificate from Canada, it appears she never obtained one. 

We know little about her life in Nova Scotia, nothing about her for almost 17 years between 1901 and 1918. After her marriage it appears she lead a "woman's life", bearing children, caring for home and family. But far from being a boring woman, to me she is a lady of intrigue.  When did she leave Nova Scotia, where did she go, how did she end up in Detroit, was she Mrs. Edna Stewart? 

Edna and Arthur are buried in unmarked graves at the Ferndale Cemetery, Riverview, Wayne County, Michigan. Somehow the fact that their graves are unmarked suits them, they were both hiding secrets.  That said, I hope someday to place markers on their graves, even if I never figure out Edna's secrets of 1901 to 1918.

What were you doing Edna, from 1901 to 1918? I want to fill in your timeline!

*Time line post about Edna appears separately.

**Thanks to Jasia of Creative Gene for hosting this 91st Carnival of Genealogy

Copyright 2010, CABS for Reflections From the Fence.

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