14 January 2015

Wedding Wednesday: George Fenn's Two Marriages

Wedding records are some of the easiest records to access in Michigan.  The county clerk offices that I have visited are very open with their marriage records.  Many Michigan marriage records are available online through Family Search.  The Michigan Marriages, 1868-1925 records are the ones I used for researching George B. Fenn's two marriages. (Source Citation: "Michigan, Marriages, 1868-1925." Index and images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : accessed 2015. Citing Secretary of State. Department of Vital Records, Lansing.)

George B. Fenn is the son of Daniel C. Fenn and Elizabeth Ann Fenn, nee Poor. George B. Fenn is my great grand uncle. He is the brother of my great grandmother, Hattie Fenn Glover, who I have written about a lot.


Heading and Marriage Record for George B. Fenn and Leona A. Parker.  (Click to enlarge)

I found two marriage records for George B. Fenn.  The first one he married Leona A. Parker, the daughter of Charles Parker and Martha Crumb Parker.  Don't you love it when they record the parents names on marriage records?  George and Leona were married the 26 Oct 1901 in Hersey Osceola, Michigan.  They were married for ten years before Leona died the 22 March 1912 in Hersey, Osceola, Michigan.


Heading and Marriage Record for Geo. B. Fenn and Etta L. Cline

Next, there is a registration entry for Geo. B. Fenn and Etta L. Cline.  The marriage date was recorded as 30 Sept 1914 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  If you look at the record above you will see that a line has been drawn through the record.  I don't know the significance of this.  I do know that the records on this page were mostly from Osceola county, Michigan.  Grand Rapids is in Kent county, but I can find no record of their marriage in Kent county.  For now I am using the Grand Rapids as the place of marriage.  George Fenn is listed as married at the time of his death in 1935. A deed shows George B and Etta Fenn sold their house in Hersey, Michigan to their daughter, Mary Brockett Fenn in 1936, one year after George died.

Although the entry was crossed off, I do not believe it was crossed off because the marriage never happened.  I enjoy the depth of information recorded on Michigan marriage records.  If you have Michigan ancestry be sure to check the marriage records.


2 comments:

  1. Love following what you dig up since my mom grew up in the house and lives there now. I grew up visiting the cemetery in Hersey paying our respects to family each time we visited. Do you know who Y.M Fenn is in the Hersey cemetery? Could that mean young male? Not sure if they did that by in the day. I can assume Etta buried George, a year later sold the house to their daughter Mary Brockett Fenn in 1936 for $1, and moved away. Or wonder if she might have stayed there in the home with her daughter, Mary.

    Fenn, George B., b. 1860, d. 1935, In memory Husband
    Fenn, Leona, b. 1865, d. 1912, age: 46y
    Fenn, Martha E. Parker, no dates, age: 72y
    Fenn, Y. M., d. no date
    http://www.interment.net/data/us/mi/osceola/hersey/hersey_ak.htm

    Is the Martha with no dates buried with the Fenn's, Leona's mother? Might have had the plots first.
    "The first one he (George B. Fenn) married Leona A. Parker, the daughter of Charles Parker and Martha Crumb Parker"

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  2. Thank you for all the information. I don't know who Y. M. Fenn is, but it would be interesting to research that further. Do you know if the Hersey Cemetery has an office or where the records are? The burial record might have more information. I will have to put that on my To Do list for the next time I am in that area. What newspaper covers the Hersey area? I am going to the Library of Michigan and I will look into a couple of things. I haven't been able to find Etta after George's death. Martha could be Leona's mother, that would be something that would need further research. My Fenn To Do list keeps getting longer. Thank you for the information. I will have to do a little more research and blog about it.

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