Waite Fenner

Notes:

Information on Waite's marriage and children came from "The Sheldon Magazine," Vol. I, June 1855, p. 8r.

Waite married Malachi Rhodes, IV 29 Nov 1767. Malachi (son of Malachi Rhodes, III and Deborah Wightman) was born Between 15 Jun 1734 and 1749, Warwick, RI; died 12 Feb 1832, Warwick, RI; was buried , Pawtuxet Burial Yard, Post Rd., Pawtuxet, Warwick, RI. [Group Sheet]

1. Marcy Mercy Rhodes was born 30 Mar 1769; died 26 Mar 1855.
2. Peleg Rhodes was born 13 Jun 1771; died 10 Feb 1862; was buried , Pawtuxet Burial Yard, Post Rd., Warwick, RI.
3. Lydia Rhodes was born Abt 1775; died 2 Jan 1827, Cranston, RI.
4. Waity Rhodes was born Abt 1780.

Notes:

According to "The Fenner Family,", p. 16, Thomas was married first to a widow, Mary Cloyn (I have roughly estimated her dates). After she died, he married Mercy Sheldon, by whom he had a daughter, Wait. As far as we know, he had no other children. After his death, his widow Mercy (Sheldon) Fenner remarried to Stephen Remington, a widower.

I don't know exactly when Thomas died, but it must have been before 10 Feb 1755, when a Cranston deed is signed by Stephen & Marcy Remington.

Thomas married Mercy Mary Sheldon Abt 1748. Mercy (daughter of Nicholas Sheldon, Sr. and Abigail Tillinghast) was born Abt 28 Jul 1709, Providence, RI; died 24 Nov 1802; was buried , Historical Cemetery 3, Post Rd., Pawtuxet Village, Warwick, RI. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

The Boyd Scott Remington genealogy chart at RIHSL has her birth date as 28 Jan 1709. Martha A. Benns's "Remington Family" book has Mercy married to the other Stephen Remington born in 1696. However, the preponderance of evidence indicates that is most likely incorrect.

Mercy (or Marcy/Mary) is mentioned as Mary Remington in the will of her sister Lydia (Sheldon) Arnold dated 3 August 1774.

Notes from the Mary E. Rice Collection, concerning Cranston land evidence: on 18 March 1784, Stephen Remington sold one lot of land in Pawtuxet to Rhodes Greene; "Marcy Remington, wife of the above-said Stephen," surrenders her dower right. On 10 Feb 1785, Stephen Remington sold land to Capt Josiah Haines. This document was signed by Stephen & Marcy Remington. (Cranston bk 4, p10)

About her name: the name Marcy was the common pronunciation for Mercy in those days, and as such is a phonetic spelling of the name, and thus has evolved into a given variation of the name. Mary was also used frequently as an alternative for both Mercy and Marcy, possibly as a nickname or as a result of transcription errors.

She died at age 93 years, 5 months, and 27 days.

I believe the following death notice may be for her, in the Columbian Centinel of 4 Dec 1802: "Remington, Mrs., d. in Pawtuxet, aged 91."

From the RI Cemetery Database:
REMINGTON, MARCY 1709c - 24 NOV 1802, WK003

Joseph married Wait Harris Abt 1716. Wait (daughter of Thomas Harris and Phoebe Brown) was born 21 Apr 1694; died Aft 8 Nov 1737. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

According to one genealogy, Wait (Harris) Fenner died in March 1720/21. If that is true, only two of these children are hers, and the other four are by Joseph's second wife, Amy. However, the genealogy at the Fenner family web site has all the children borne by Wait. (needs more research)

Notes:

His will was proved in Jan 1747, with a notation that he died the previous November. However, at that time the year changed in March, so the will was proved in Jan 1747/48.

Nicholas married Abigail Tillinghast Abt 1692, Providence, RI. Abigail (daughter of Pardon Tillinghast and Lydia Taber) was born 30 Jun 1674, Providence, RI; died 1744, Providence, RI. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Abigail's date of birth has been given variously as March 1674, 20 Jan 1674, and 30 June 1674.

Notes:

Captain Arthur Fenner, father of Major Thomas Fenner, built Thomas a house around 1677 on the Cranston side of Plainfield Pike, on the hill near Thornton.

Roger Williams listed Thomas as one of those who stayed at home and protected his house and the town during the Indian hostilities in 1675. It is not known exactly where he lived at this time.

For a time, Thomas Fenner conducted a tavern and store in his home.

Thomas married Dinah Borden 26 Jul 1682, Providence, RI. Dinah was born Oct 1664; died 18 Dec 1761; was buried , Major Thomas Fenner Lot, Plainfield St., Thornton, Cranston, RI. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Dinah, widow of Major Thomas Fenner, died in the 98th year of her life. According to her gravestone inscription, "she died a sincere Christian."

Notes:

Thomas & Dinah were married by Joseph Jenckes, Ass't.

Thomas — Phoebe Brown. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

According to the Sheldon Family Assocation, John is first found in the Providence records in 1654.

John married Joan Vincent 1660. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

From the website of the Sheldon Family Association: "Joan Vincent is the daughter of Nicholas Vincent and Fridgeswith Carpenter, of Amesbury, England. Joan is the niece of William Carpenter, an early founder in Providence Records. Fridgeswith inherited the home in England from her brother William."

Notes:

Name Origins, by Julie Helen Otto
"Correction: A few weeks ago in Name Origins I discussed the name Pardon as a virtue name. As far as we can tell, all men named Pardon in the colonial period were descendants of Pardon Tillinghast of Rhode Island. Researcher Donna Casey recently brought to my attention her research on Pardon Tillinghast

Pardon married Lydia Taber 16 Apr 1664, Providence, RI. Lydia (daughter of Philip Taber and Lydia Masters) was born 1640, Yarmouth, Barnstable, MA; died 1720. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

The identity of Lydia's parents as Philip & Lydia was obtained from The Tillinghasts in America, the First Four Generations, by Wayne G. Tillinghast, p. 1 (pub 2006 by RI Genealogical Society).