Edward Fenn[1, 2]
1657 - 1732 (~ 74 years)
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Name Edward Fenn - Many online family trees have Edward Fenn descended from Benjamin Fenn of Milford, Connecticut, but there are no records supporting this claim. The eminent genealogist Donald Jacobus Lines actually rejected this claim in his work on the 19th century genealogies of New Haven families. Edward is not mentioned in the same town (Milford), has no baptism recorded, and Benjamin's extensive will makes no mention of Edward.
Instead, we have connected Edward of Wallingford with Edward Fenn born in 1657 in Limehouse, Middlesex, England. There are several persuasive factors in favor of this selection:
* The founders of the New Haven colony sought settlers from fellow religious and the circle of wealthy London merchants. Edward was from this stock as evidenced by his apprenticeship to the tallow chandlers livery company.
* Records for British Edward close out in the mid 1680s, which is when the records for Wallingford Edward start in America.
* Wallingford Edward named a son Theophilus, and British Edward's father, Anthony, appears to have been born to a Theophilus. Several of the names that Wallingford Edward used are also found in British Edward's.
* Anthony was a ship's master and piloted ships on behalf of the East India company plus at least one ship to the Virginia colony (Happy Adventure). As a merchant and son of a mariner living in Limehouse, Edward would have been knowledgeable of seafaring and a good candidate for emigration.
* One would expect Wallingford Edward to have named his first son Edward as was custom unless he already had a son Edward (which he did).
Challenges:
* What happened to his first wife, Abigail? Assuming that she died in London or even en route to or in America.
* What happened to his sons, William and Edward? They were mentioned in Edward's mother, Elizabeth's, will in 1695. Perhaps they were raised by Edward's sister Anne or his mother. Or they came to America.
Some important timeline events to help with giving context to Edward:
1638 - founding of New Haven colony
1664-1665 - New Haven colony absorbed into Connecticut colony
1667 - founding of Wallingford
1670 - incorporation of Wallingford
1688 - Edward Fenn marries Mary Thorpe (first record of him in America)
1689 - Edward Fenn owns lot 8 in the Falls Plain division of Wallingford
Amazingly, there appears to be a DNA marker for descendants of Edward and Mary's immediate children -- chromosome 1 between 85-102 million. There are at least 7 profiles in GEDMatch with that common segment.
Christened 7 Jun 1657 St. Dunstan and All Saints, Stepney, Tower Hamlets, London, UK 
[3] Gender Male Education 1673 Limehouse, Stepney, Tower Hamlets, London, UK [4] Registered as apprentice to John Newporte in the company of Tallow Chandlers. Anthony Fenn is listed as father, and Limehouse, Middlesex is listed as home. Event 12 Aug 1680 London, UK [5] Marriage license for Edward Fenn to marry Abigail Geoffries. He was from Limehouse, and she from Mile End, both in Stepney. Died Between 1728-1732 Wallingford, CT, US [6] Buried Center Street Cemetery, Wallingford, CT, US Person ID I2156 Smithwick Family Tree | Fenn Family Last Modified 27 Oct 2026
Father Captain Anthony Fenn, c. 8 Dec 1611, St. Martin in the Fields, London, UK , d. Between 1684-1695 (Age ~ 83 years) Mother Elizabeth Graves, c. 2 Feb 1627/1628, St. Dunstan and All Saints, Stepney, Tower Hamlets, London, UK , bur. 12 Jul 1695, St. Dunstan and All Saints, Stepney, Tower Hamlets, London, UK (Age ~ 67 years) Married 26 Dec 1644 St. Dunstan and All Saints, Stepney, Tower Hamlets, London, UK [7] Family ID F4231 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family 1 Abigail Geoffries, b. Abt 1661, MIle End, Stepney, Tower Hamlets, London, UK Married 12 Aug 1680 St. Dunstan and All Saints, Stepney, Tower Hamlets, London, UK [8] Children 1. William Fenn, c. 1 Jan 1681, St. Dunstan and All Saints, Stepney, Tower Hamlets, London, UK 2. Thomas Fenn, c. 26 Dec 1682, St. Dunstan and All Saints, Stepney, Tower Hamlets, London, UK , bur. 7 Aug 1684, St. Dunstan and All Saints, Stepney, Tower Hamlets, London, UK (Age ~ 1 years)3. Edward Fenn, c. 26 Jan 1685, St. Dunstan and All Saints, Stepney, Tower Hamlets, London, UK Last Modified 11 Oct 2026 Family ID F4233 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family 2 Mary Thorpe, b. 31 Oct 1666, New Haven, CT, US , d. 24 Jul 1725, Wallingford, CT, US (Age 58 years) Married 15 Nov 1688 Wallingford, CT, US Children + 1. Mary Fenn, b. 27 Sep 1689, Wallingford, CT, US , d. 20 Dec 1760, Waterbury, CT, US (Age 71 years)+ 2. Elizabeth Fenn, b. 29 Apr 1692, d. 2 Nov 1751 (Age 59 years) + 3. Sarah Fenn, b. 24 Nov 1694, Wallingford, CT, US 4. Hannah Fenn, b. 4 Feb 1698, d. 17 Feb 1698 (Age 0 years) + 5. Theophilus Fenn, b. 31 Jan 1699, Wallingford, CT, US , d. 18 Dec 1748, Wallingford, CT, US (Age 49 years)+ 6. John Fenn, b. 23 Mar 1702, Wallingford, CT, US , d. Plymouth, CT, US + 7. Hannah Fenn, b. 13 Dec 1704, d. 9 Sep 1760 (Age 55 years) + 8. Thomas Fenn, b. 13 Sep 1707, Wallingford, CT, US , d. 25 Apr 1769 (Age 61 years)+ 9. Naomi Fenn, b. 10 May 1712, d. 5 Apr 1746 (Age 33 years) Last Modified 20 Jun 2020 Family ID F746 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family 3 Abigail Williams Married 26 Jan 1726 Wallingford, CT, US Last Modified 31 Jan 2017 Family ID F779 Group Sheet | Family Chart
- Many online family trees have Edward Fenn descended from Benjamin Fenn of Milford, Connecticut, but there are no records supporting this claim. The eminent genealogist Donald Jacobus Lines actually rejected this claim in his work on the 19th century genealogies of New Haven families. Edward is not mentioned in the same town (Milford), has no baptism recorded, and Benjamin's extensive will makes no mention of Edward.
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Documents Map of Falls Plain division in current south Meriden in late 1600s
This development was created by planters of Wallingford seeking more land to cultivate.
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Sources - [S218] The Descendents of Edward Fenn of Wallingford, Conn. 1688, Rev. Father Ara Fenn Walker and Mrs. Elizabeth V. Fenn Balduc, (1972).
- [S1013] Families of ancient New Haven, (Rome, N.Y. : C. Smith, 1923.), Page 598. https://archive.org/details/familiesofancien00jaco_0/page/598/mode/2up.
- [S326] London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812, (ancestry,com), https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1624/images/31280_194794-00007.
- [S337] Records of London's Livery Companies Online, Institute of Historical Research, Center for Metropolitan History, (www.londonroll.org), https://www.londonroll.org/event?company=tch&event_id=TCMM5155.
- [S1011] London and Surrey, England, Marriage Bonds and Allegations, 1597-1921, (Ancestry), https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2056/images/32515_1831101881_0029-0009.
- [S289] The History of Wallingford, Conn, p. 743.
- [S326] London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812, (ancestry,com), https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1624/images/31280_194795-00307.
- [S326] London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812, (ancestry,com), https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1624/images/31280_194795-00411.
- [S218] The Descendents of Edward Fenn of Wallingford, Conn. 1688, Rev. Father Ara Fenn Walker and Mrs. Elizabeth V. Fenn Balduc, (1972).