Author: Fenn, James
Biography:
FENN, James (1764-1817?)
S&W give his dates as 1766-1816 but the archive that holds some of his papers--Special Collections, Stanford University Library--is more authoritative, and they say 1764-1817. Fenn was a Baptist minister in England who broke with his church over the doctrine of universal salvation (which he believed in) and emigrated to Schenectady NY, where he preached and published hymns, poems, and pamphlets advocating his theological views. Public records and newspapers provide next to no information about him. He must have married and had at least one child; the best available evidence is that he was the great-grandfather of Jane Lathrop Stanford, co-founder of Stanford University. He is presumably not the James Fenn of Schenectady who was involved in property and estate sales, and who died in Schenectady on 2 Nov. 1824 at the age of 79 years, five months, and 20 days. (oac.cdlib.org 1 Dec. 2018; S&W; ancestry.com 2 Sept. 2025; The Cabinet [Schenectady NY] 9 Nov. 1824) HJ
Other Names:
- J. Fenn