Joseph Fenwick c1821 Durham

[rfennick]

Hello, my name is Russell Charles Fennick. My family tree traces back to the Fenwick name.

My 3rd great grandfather was Joseph William Fennick I born in England in 1821. He married Margaret Ann Newton and had 4 children. Joseph William Fenwick II was born in England in 1843, Mary Ann Fenwick was born in England in 1845. After emigrating to the USA in 1846, his third child, Jonathon was born in 1846. The spelling of Jonathon's last name was changed to Fennick, presumably due to the phonetic spelling of Fenwick, since the "w" is essentially silent. His last child, also born in the USA, was Esther Frances Fenwick, born in 1851.

I have records from my 3rd great grandfather Joseph William Fenwick I up to my children, courtesy of a cousin. I have very few records of any relatives prior to that.

An interesting and relatively unique fact about me personally: My father, William Ralph Fennick, died on board the US Navy's submarine, the USS Scorpion SSN-589, in 1968. This is how my cousin found me and linked me to the family tree using Ancestry.com.

I will have a look around the site. I have attempted to locate records before my 3rd great grandfather, but it has been difficult. If anybody can offer some insight I would greatly appreciate it. I know the Fenwick tree is very large!

Cheers!

[christanel]

Welcome to the the British-Genealogy forums Russell.
We do have many members who love to solve theirs and others family tree puzzles so I am sure it won't be too long before you start to get some help.
Do you have the family in the 1841 UK census? this will at least tell us whether the county they were living in is the county in which they were born.
Christina

[christanel]

There is this baptism
Joseph Fenwick baptised 5 Feb 1843 at Tanfield Durham Father Joseph mother Margaret Ann. Note that neither Joseph has the middle name William recorded but they could have adopted it later.

From FreeBMD names on the same page
Marriage
Dec 1/4 1842

FENWICK Joseph
NEWTON Margaret
registration district - Chester le Street vol 24 page 25

Buying this certificate will give you the names of Joseph's Father and his occupation

Christina

[rfennick]

Thank you for the reply.

Sorry, but I do not understand what you mean by buying the certificate. I am assuming a copy of the marriage certificate???

I can see the page you are referring to, where would I find the certificate in order to purchase?

My cousin told me Joseph's (the first, born in 1821) father was Sir William Fennick. This we cannot verify, so this certificate may help in determining that. She also told me he was a coal miner, and that is why he moved to Pennsylvania in the USA was to work in the mines. Although I have found another that said he was a shoemaker/cordwainer/cobbler.

I am restarting this search after a few years of putting it on the back burner. There is so much information out there, it gets tiresome and burdensome at times.

Thank you,
Russ

[christanel]

Hi Russ
This is the GRO site where you can order the marriage certificate for Joseph and Margaret.
https://www.gov.uk/order-copy-birth-...ge-certificate
Christina

[christanel]

I see that the 1850 US census has them living in Hazle Luzerne Pennsylvania, and they appear to remain in Pennsylvania.
Joseph a miner age 29,
Margaret age 27
William 7
Mary Ann 5
All the above born England
Jonathan 2
Esther 1 month.

Margaret is recorded as Mary Ann on Jonathon and Mary Ann's baptism image, probably due to the person recording it wrongly.

This is background stuff that you will have but can help others who may join in the search for Jonathan and Margaret's origins.
Christina

[rfennick]

Thank you, You make this seem so easy.

[Jomot1]

To save you the cost of the certificate, I had a few credits left for Durham Records Online, so here's the transcription:

3 Dec 1842, St. Mary and St. Cuthbert, Chester-le-Street
Joseph Fenwick, bachelor, collier, full age, of Urpeth, son of William Fenwick, collier
Margaret Newton, spinster, full age, of Urpeth, daughter of Jonathan Newton, collier
Witnesses: Mary Ann King; Alexander Fenwick

[rfennick]

Thank you very much. Durham Records Online? Perhaps that should be my go-to site for answers.

This does confirm that William would be my 4th great grandfather.

There are quite a few men with the names Joseph and William in my family tree.

[christanel]

There is also familysearch.org which is free but you have to join up.
I found this 1841 census when I was searching on there for Alexander Fenwick a witness at Joseph and Margaret's marriage. (they don't have the image just a transcription) but it interested me because of the family Alexander is living with and the fact Margaret Newton's father is given as Jonathan on the marriage record. Margaret's age could be 15 to 19 because, for the 1841 census only, ages of anyone over 15 years of age were required to be marked down to the nearest 5. Some enumerators did it some didn't but this one looks to have complied because the adults ages are all ending in a 0 or 5. Viewing the original image of the ages of the other families on the same page would confirm this but they are only available on pay per view sites such as ancestry.com and Findmypast. Your local library may have the free version of ancestry.com.

1841 HO107 Piece 302 folio 4
Whickham Gateshead Durham
Jonathan Newton 50
Ann Newton 50
Jonathan Newton 20
Margaret Newton 15
Alexander Fenwick 30
Thomas Fenwick 2
All born Durham

Thank you for the marriage record jomot1.

Christina