Simon FENN [4534]

  General Notes:

Fenn Simon son of Robert Fenn and Sarah his wife, late Sarah Brook was born June 4 publicly baptised June 26, 1791
Hemingstone Register 1791

Name: Simon Fenn
Marriage Date: 14 Sep 1815
Marriage Place: Suffolk, England
Spouse: Sarah Brooke
IGI

Simon Fenn Farmer put his name to a Loyal Address to the King putting their trust in him, the Law, and the Constitution Ips Journal 24 Dec 1821 pg 3 col 5

Henly Tithe Apportionments 2 Nov 1842 (also from 1843 to 1848)
Simon Fenn occ. Smith Esq owner Land & Buildings 121 acres
Rental Value L114. Assessed L105. Tax set at L212/6d
Ips RO Ref FB49/G2/1
Apportionment Book Ref FB 49/C3/5 - had no reference to Fenn's

Conveyance 29 July 1853.
Simon Fenn of Henley, Farmer, to Robert Fenn of Hemingstone, Butcher, Messuages or tenements situate at Somersham Suffolk
Ref: Ipswich R/O HA 41/52/26/24

A Deed of Transfer of part or whole of his fathers lands from Simon and others, executors, was executed 29 July 1853, in respect of a Mortgage to Miss Elizabeth Hayward secured against such lands dated 20 July 1853.

Notice dated 25 Nov 1858, addressed to Mr Robert Fenn demanded immediate repayment of a Mortgage of £200; a note to the notice by Robert Hayward reads "This party to me appears very poor, the houses he said must be sold, the money he cannot raise. The paper was served about 7 oclock in the evening after he came home from work"
Ref Ips; HA41/52/26/24-29

Needham Market Petty Sessions.
Simon Fenn and Edward Charles Andrews, overseers of Henley, were convicted in the sum of 12s 6d, costs, for non-payment of contribution money to the Treasurer of the Bosmere and Clayton Union.
Ref: Ipswich Journal Saturday 7 January 1860.

Simon Fenn
Estimated birth year: abt 1791
Registration Year: 1876
Registration Quarter: Jul-Aug-Sep
Age at Death: 85
Registration district: Bosmere Suffolk
Volume: 4a
Page: 350

Simon was shown as a resident of Henley, his headstone at Henly records: Simon Fenn of Henly bur 28 Sept 1876 85 yrs

The Will of Simon Fenn late of Henly SFK farmer who Died 23 Sep 1876 at Henly was proved 9 Oct 1876 at Ipswich by Simon Fenn of Hemingstone farmer and Robert Fenn of Magdaline St Norwich grocer sons of the deceased and Executors at under £1500.
National Probate Calendar.

Will ref: Ipswich RO 1876 R146/409 not searched.

  Research Notes:

From Colin Fenn:
Hi,
I'm just catching up with my emails after a busy week - this latest piece of information seems a very interesting link as we have a few Fenns who had "disappeared" from the younger branches of Simon Fenn & Sarah Brooke's family.
By all means share my research, but with the usual provisos.

Ontario mopped up quite a few English people - I recently researched one family who came over to Ontario, tempted by the offer of cash and discounted farmland. The mid 1850s witnessed a bad recession in Britain, partly brought on by bank failures and the bursting of a stock market bubble in railway stocks (sound familiar?)

I therefore took a look at the census records for Ontario in 1901.
Coincidentally the area has many towns named after Suffolk coastal towns. See:
http://automatedgenealogy.com/census/View.jsp?id=48571
The actual image shows Mary Ann Garnham and her Anglo-American husband George to be "Brethren", which I presume refers to Mennonites.
Mary Ann Garnham is shown with a birthday of 1 Dec 1835, in England.

We can also see them in the 1881 Canadian census on the LDS site: they are still in Bayham, Elgin East, with 7 children, but later Mary Ann is Church of England. The rest of the family are Methodist. Next door is another slightly older Garnham family, also English in origin.

I've never encountered them before, but a quick Google for Elgin Brethren suggests that they started there around the late 1870s, under a few very charismatic preachers (but in more recent years became Pentacostal or United Missionary Churches). So it seems quite feasible that they changed churches. (We have seen Garnham families in Ipswich, Suffolk over the years.)

However, I see no reference to a Minnie or Ida as their children in the census. I see that there appears to be a definitive work by Jesse Middleton called "Province of Ontario -- A History 1615-1927" which is probably the origin of the story. Can we get any more information that confirms the marriage and parents, and help us confirm these links?

With best regards,
Colin Fenn
London

  Other Records

1. Census: England, 7 Jun 1841, Henly SFK. Simon is described as an Agricultural Labourer aged 50 born SFK

2. Census: England, 30 Mar 1851, Henley SFK. Simon is described as head of house married aged 59 farmer of 120 acres born Hemingstone

3. Census: England, 8 Apr 1861, Isle of Wight Farm Henly SFK. Simon is recorded as head of house married aged 69 farmer of 120 acres employing two men and a boy born Hemingstone SFK

4. Census: England, 2 Apr 1871, Isle of Wight Farm Henly SFK. Simon is described as father-in-law (To John Frost) a widower aged 79 late a farmer born Hemingstone SFK

Simon married Sarah BROOKE [4875] [MRIN: 1674], daughter of Robert BROOKE [26220] and Unknown, on 14 Sep 1815 in Henly SFK. (Sarah BROOKE [4875] was born on 4 Jun 1791 in Hemingstone SFK, died on 3 Mar 1863 in Henly SFK and was buried on 9 Mar 1863 in Henley SFK.)