Fenton Whalen

Birth Name Fenton Whalen
Gender male
Age at Death about 62 years

Narrative

The Whalen/Whelan family might have come from Co Laois, formerly known as Co. Leix and Queens County, Ireland. The emphasis is on might. This is assuming that the given name, Fenton, was a family name passed on from one generation to another. There were only two Fenton Whelans in Ireland in Griffith's Valuation of Ireland, and both of them were in Ballyadams Civil Parish, Co. Laois. Also, I have seen references online to two other families, Knowles and Wilde, from Laois who spent some time in Lockport NY. This is where our Fenton Whalen eventually settled, and where there were other Whalen families.

More research is needed to say for sure that Laois was their county of origin. Obituaries of Fenton and his wife Jane would help, as well as burial records, naturalization records, or possibly local histories from Lockport.

----------------
Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1801-1928 Record for Fenton Whelan, at ancestry.com
Bridegroom: Whelan, Fenton
Bride: Hughes, Jane
residence of both: The Gore
Witnesses: Patrick Cearney and John McMonacle
Married at Gore Church in the county of Peel on 2nd day of Sept 1844, by Eugene O'Reilly, denomination: R.C.

---------------
1860; Census Place: Lockport, Niagara, New York; Roll: M653_823; Page: 881;

Fenton Wheelen 40, laborer, born in Ireland
Jane Wheelen 35, born in Ireland
Martin Wheelen 14, all children born in New York
John Wheelen 12
Joseph Wheelen 9
Ann Wheelen 7
Jane Wheelen 2

------------
1866-7 Lockport City Directory, at heritageQuestOnline.com
Whalen, Fenton, laborer, h Clinton nr Jackson

----------
1870; Census Place: Lockport Ward 2, Niagara, New York; Roll: M593_1054; Page: 222A

Finton Whalen 60, laborer, Real Estate: $3500, Personal estate: $500, born in Ireland
Jane Whalen 56, born in Ireland, cannot read or write
John Whalen 22, works in sash factory, born in Canada
Joseph Whalen 20, works in sash factory, born in Canada
Jane Whalen 12, born in New York
Maria Whalen 8, born in New York
Finton Whalen 6, born in New York

 

------------
The 1880 Lockport Census says his wife Jane was widowed.

Events

Event Date Place Description Sources
Birth about 1810 Ireland   1
Death about 1872     1 2
Event Note

In August 2012, the Reference Department of the Lockport, NY, Library said: "A Finton Whalen was found in the 1871 city directory with no death date listed. The name was not found in the 1872-1880 directories."

A guardianship case regarding his wife and children Maria and Fenton was heard 18 Aug 1873 in Lockport Surrogate Court. Guardianship was granted to John Whalen, possibly the older brother of the two minor children. So Fenton most likely had died by then. See his wife's notes for details.

Families

Family of Fenton Whalen and Jane Hughes

Married Wife Jane Hughes ( b. about 1814 d. October 3, 1896 )
   
Event Date Place Description Sources
Marriage September 2, 1844 Gore (Roman Catholic) Mission, Peel County, Ontario, Canada    
General

This marriage record seems to have been recorded later. The image at ancestry.com has a "boilerplate" date ______ 191_, like it was printed after 1900. The 191 is scratched out and 1844 is entered next to it. Also the signature of the priest, Eugene O'Reilly, does not look like his signature in the original baptisms and marriages book at familysearch.org. And I couldn't find it in that book--on the images it looks like a page is missing between 1842 and October 1844.
But I do not doubt that they were married in Gore R.C. Mission Church on Sept 2, 1844, as stated. Their son Martin's baptism in Gore on Sept 22, 1845, by E. O'Reilly, does appear in the original records.

  Children
Name Birth Date Death Date
Martin WhalenSeptember 1845
John Whalenabout 1848
Joseph Andrew WhalenJuly 3, 18491918
Ann Whalenabout 1853
Jane Whalenabout 1858
Maria Whalenabout 1862
Fenton WhalenSeptember 1865