Descendants of Captain Arthur Fenner

Howard Irving Fenner Sr.

[b 13 Jan. 1875 in Johnston, RI; d 27 Aug. 1971 in RI] Howard Irving Fenner entered military service as a young adult on 18 April 1894. In 1900, he was a private Battery G, 7th Artillery, stationed at Fort Warren, Suffolk, Massachusetts. He fought in both the Spanish-American War (1898–1901) and the Philippine-American War (1901–1902). After being discharged from service on 12 Feb. 1904, having served as Corporal of Company D, 7th U.S. Infantry, he secured a position with the Hughesdale Ice Company, which had stations in Olneyville and Scituate, RI. Howard m 1st Cora Wade Harris [b 19 Feb. 1888 in Providence; d 8 Apr. 1918 in RI], daughter of Henry B. Harris and Elizabeth Hopkins, on 20 Aug. 1904 in Providence, RI.

A couple of months after marrying Cora, on 23 Oct. 1904, Howard was involved in a grisly accident involving a young boy, Eli C. (“Charlie”) Beaudery, who had climbed on Howard’s horse-drawn ice carriage, fell, and shattered his arm, requiring several surgeries. Cora’s brother, Ira Harris, was riding with Howard and was a witness. A year later, the boy’s family sued the Hughesdale Ice Company for $20,000, claiming negligence by Howard, but Howard prevailed in the suit, dismissed in December of 1905, because he had urged the boy to stay away from the wagon. In the middle of all this, Howard and Cora had their first child, Howard Jr., on 8 Apr. 1905.

On 8 Apr. 1918, Cora died from pneumonia and complications of a miscarriage. When Howard Sr. registered for the World War I draft on 12 Sept. 1918, he was living at 6 Mercy Street, Providence, RI, still working in the ice business.

In 1922, when Howard Jr. was only 17, he became involved with a friend of the family, Eva Viola Howarth [b 10 Dec. 1904 in RI; d Apr. 1954], daughter of Wilfred James Howarth and Ellen Berry. She came to be pregnant by Howard Jr. In an effort to be honorable to the young woman, Howard Sr. sent his son away to join the military and proposed to marry Eva and raise the child. Howard Sr. and Eva married 6 June 1922, and Irving was born 6 Jan. 1923. They would go on to have nine more children together.

In the 1924 Providence directory and the 1925 Rhode Island census, the Fenners and the Howarths were neighbors on Collyer Street in the city of Providence, but in the 1926 directory, the Howard was listed as a lineman living at 922 Plainfield St. In the 1930 U.S. Census, Howard was described as a farmer, and the family was living in Smithfield Township, Providence Co., RI. In 1940, they were living in Johnston Township, Providence Co., RI, and Howard was described as a laborer for a road construction company.

Children of Howard and Cora:

1. Howard Irving Jr. [b 8 Apr. 1905 in RI; d 26 May 1946 in Fort Lewis, WA].

2. Ruth Amy [b 9 May 1907 at Providence, RI; d 8 July 1958] m William Lariviere.

3. Dorothy Wade [b 24 March 1910 at Providence, RI; d 20 January 1912].

Children of Howard and Eva:

1. (Irving A. [b 6 Jan. 1922; d 5 May 1985])

2. Ellen Berry “Dolly” [b 15 July 1925 at Providence, RI; d 2 Sept. 1961 at Providence, RI] m William Clarence Duffy [1921–1996].

3. Viola May [b 1 Mar. 1926 at Providence, RI; d 23 Nov. 2005 at Johnston, RI] m Alphonse F. Dionne [1918-1981].

4. Charles Henry [b 28 June 1927 at Providence, RI; d 12 May 1970 at Ashford, CT; bur Johnston, RI] m 1st Helen, m 2nd Mary (“Gloria”).

5. Emma [b 17 July 1930].

6. Doris Eva [b 23 June 1933; d 4 Feb. 2003], at age 15 had Henry Warren Fenner [b 20 Oct. 1948; d 6 Sept. 2021]; she m Frank Llewellyn Penney [1917–1984].

7. Amy [b 14 June 1935].

8. Thomas [b ca. 1939].

9. Ernest Leroy [b 30 Mar. 1941 at Johnston, RI; d 10 Apr. 1998 at Corinth, VT] m Sandra Drew.

10. MaryAnn m Don Kirby.

Sources:
1. Material from Richard Arthur Fenner, 3 Mar. 2016.
2. Material from MaryAnn (Fenner) Kirby via Facebook, 15 June 2016.
3. U.S. Census, 1920, Providence, RI.
4. Death certificate of Ernest Leroy Fenner, Vermont Vital Records, 1760–2008: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KN99-Z5B
5. U.S. Census, 1940, Johnston, RI.
6. Howard’s memorial at FindAGrave.com, no. 46796840
7. Charles Henry Fenner, Connecticut Death Index, 1949–2001: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VZPZ-QTJ
8. Email from Richard Arthur Fenner, 3 Sept. 2019.
9. “For $20,000 Against Hughesdale Ice Company,” The Evening Bulletin (Providence, RI), 14 Dec. 1905, p. 6.
10. “Hughesdale Ice Company Won $20,000 Damage Suit,” The Evening Bulletin (Providence, RI), 15 Dec. 1905, p. 13.

Lineage:
Arthur | Arthur | Edward | Stephen | James | Stephen | Henry | Howard