Descendants of Captain Arthur Fenner

William H. Fenner

Ink portrait, published the day of his death [unknown newspaper]: “The well-known ex-councilman died at an early hour this morning,” 14 Nov. 1896.

Providence Directory, 1889.

[b 16 Aug. 1820; d 14 Nov. 1896] William Henry was a leading businessman in Providence. He was raised in part by his grandfather, who owned the Providence Bleaching, Dying, and Calendering Co. Following his grandfather’s entrepreneurial lead, he established William H. Fenner & Co. in 1849. In 1856, he is listed as a member of the Providence Association of Mechanics and Manufacturers and his business was classified under “Provisions” and “Tin, Copper, and Sheet Iron Workers, Stove Dealers, &c.” An 1889 advertisement in the Providence Directory billed the company as “Manufacturers of and Dealers in First-Class House Furnishing Goods,” among other things. He sold the company in 1888 to another local merchant, Thomas Phillips. 

He m Ellen Taylor Wardwell, daughter of Josiah Wardwell, on 19 Sept. 1842. 

  1. William Henry Jr. [b 1843; d 24 Nov. 1929] m Ella Keep.

  2. Josiah Smith, m — Pettis, no children.

  3. Nellie Frances [b ca. July 1854; d 13 Feb. 1856, age 19 mos.].

Lineage:
Arthur | Thomas | Thomas | Daniel | Daniel | Thomas | Thomas | William

Sources:
1. Martha Benns, Notes on the Fenner Family of R.I. (1941), pp. 49.
2. Rhode Island Register (Providence: Gladding & Brother, 1856), pp. 62, 159, 167.
3. Providence Directory (Providence: Sampson, Murdock & Co., 1889).