Fenner,Edward, 1736-

Town treasurer of Johnston, Rhode Island.

After the death of his first wife, Edward Fenner, Jr. married Welthian Colegrove on March 30, 1786 in Foster, RI.

He was President of the Johnston Town Council (in 1795) and also the town treasurer (dates unknown). He died on May 31, 1813 in Cranston, RI.

The first Fenner to arrive in Rhode Island was Captain Arthur Fenner, who immigrated to Providence in 1649. He and his wife Mehitable Waterman were Edward Fenner, Jr.'s great grandparents. The house Captain Arthur and his son Thomas built in 1677 still stands in Cranston, RI.

Among Edward Fenner, Jr.'s relatives was a cousin once removed named Arthur Fenner whose wharf was used to launch the attack on the Gaspee on June 10, 1772. Known as the Gaspee Affair, this burning of a British Royal Naval Ship and the first intentional shooting of a British military man was Providence's equivalent to the Boston Tea Party.

Edward Fenner, Jr. was a second cousin to Rhode Island Governor Arthur Fenner whose son James Fenner was also a governor of Rhode Island. Governor James Fenner was the top-ranked student in the 1789 graduating class at Brown University.

Sources of information: Richard Arthur Fenner and Brown University Archives.