Descendants of Captain Arthur Fenner

Elisha Potter Fenner

 

Elisha Potter Fenner, courtesy of Rick Buckingham.

[b 31 July 1834 at Alfred, NY; d 31 Dec. 1919 at Shinglehouse, PA] Elisha P. Fenner m 1st Elizabeth Hall [b 1835; d 17 Apr. 1858 at Alfred, NY] on 1 Jan. 1857. Elizabeth Hall died seven days after giving birth to Elery.

Elisha served in the Civil War. He enrolled as a private in Capt. Ellsworth’s Company of Steuben Rangers, 10 Sept. 1861, later known as Company D, 86th NY Infantry. From 28 Feb. 1862 to 28 Feb. 1863, he served with the Signal Corps. He was promoted to Sgt. Major on 20 Mar. 1863. Elisha re-enlisted as a veteran on 20 Dec. 1863 and was made Hospital Steward 14 Nov. 1864. The 86th NY Infantry was present at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, on 9 April 1865, when General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant. Elisha was commissioned as 1st Lieutenant 1 June 1865, but was decommissioned as an officer 27 June 1865. His only lingering injury from the war was deafness, which he had acquired as a result of exposure to continuous cannonading. Although he fought in many battles, the Gettysburg campaign (2–3 July 1863) made the most vivid and lasting impression on him.

Elisha m 2nd Harriet Smith [b 7 Apr. 1837; d 3 Apr. 1915] of Alfred, NY, on 28 Sept. 1867. In 1874, following after his father’s footsteps, Elisha went into the cheese manufacturing business, and by 1896, he was operating four cheese factories. 

He purchased the “Pleasant Valley Cheese Factory,” originally erected by Harry W. Green, which used the milk of 250 cows to produce 65,000 pounds of cheese.  In 1891, he bought Daniel T. Burdick’s thirty-year-old “Home Cheese Factory and Creamery,” located near Alfred Station, producing 50,000 pounds of cheese from 200 cows in the warmer months, and manufacturing butter during the winter.  The “Five Corners Cheese Factory,” located at Five Corners, was built by George West about 1866.  By 1895, it too was part of the E. P. Fenner Company, also with an annual production of 65,000 pounds of cheese from 250 cows.  The “McHenry Valley Cheese Factory” in Almond, New York, built in 1875 by Howlet & Reed, produced another 50,000 pounds of cheese annually, and was the fourth of the Fenner Company factories by 1896. The brand “Fenner’s Home” cheese was known throughout the region.[1]

He died at the home of his son, Henry Edgar Fenner, in Shinglehouse, PA.

Child by Elizabeth Hall:

  1. Elery Maxson [b 10 Apr. 1858 at Alfred, NY; d 24 Dec. 1897] m Myra Spiegelhalder.

Children by Harriet Smith:

  1. Albert Smith [b 22 Sept. 1868 at Alfred, NY] suffered from insanity, but was brilliant with numbers. He served as a financial officer for the asylum to which he was committed. He was recorded as living in the Willard State Hospital, Romulus, Seneca Co.., NY, as early as 1900, and as late as 1940.

  2. Eliam Elisha [b 28 Apr. 1870 at Alfred, NY; d 27 Oct. 1936] m Susan T. Babcock. 

  3. Asenath “Senie” Allen [b 22 June 1871 at Alfred, NY; d 9 Mar. 1909] m Charles Stevens in March 1907, had Marrion Harriett [b 12 Jan. 1909; d 13 Jan. 1909].

  4. Henry Edgar [b 7 Aug. 1872 at Alfred, NY; d 18 Feb. 1967] m Nina Locke. 

  5. Olin Smith [b 4 Sept. 1875 at Alfred, NY; d 20 Apr. 1945] m Marinda Isabel Reddy.

  6. Amelia “Millie” Potter [b 3 Oct. 1877 at Alfred, NY; d 27 Jan. 1966] m Frank Wallace Stevens [1877–1955] on 14 Dec. 1909, had Ellis Edward [1913–1963]. 

Lineage:
Arthur | Thomas | Thomas | William | Stephen | Isaac | Elisha

Sources:
1. Rick Buckingham, The Book of Begats (rev. 2021), Line 2; citing John Minard, Allegany County and Its People (Alfred, NY: W.A. Fergusson & Co., 1896), pp. 635, 649: Archive.org
2. Rick Buckingham, Genealogy, 7. Elisha’s detailed military service records are in Rick’s possession.
3. Elisha’s memorial and obituary at FindAGrave.com, no. 92248601