Charlotte (Fall) Fanning (1809 - 1896)

Born 10 Apr 1809 in England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Wife of Tolbert Fanning — married 22 Dec 1836 in Davidson County, Tennessee

Died 15 Aug 1896 at age 87 in Nashville, Davidson, Tennessee, United States

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Biography

Charlotte (Fall) Fanning is Notable.

Charlotte was born in 1809, the daughter and seventh child of James Slater Fall and Catherine Barratt. ^[1] She was christened on 23 Mar 1810 at St. Luke, Chelsea, London. ^[2]

She married 22 Dec 1836 in Davidson County, Tennessee to the Rev. Tolbert Fanning ^[3] and they resided at Nashville, Tennessee. ^{[4] [5] [6] [7]} They had no children.

Charlotte contributed to most of her husband's publications, usually pithy articles directed at children on the various means to a better life. As W. Woodford Clayton said, "Though certainly a superior man, mentally and physically, we must record the fact that many of the achievements of Tolbert Fanning are due to the energy and ability, the devotion and co-operation of her whom he delighted to call wife." ^[8]

During several periods of her life, Charlotte ran schools for girls. The Hope Institute, the most famous of these, flourished during the 1870s on the site of Franklin College, which had been forced to close during the Civil War. Later Mrs. Fanning honored her husband's memory by establishing the Fanning Orphan School at the same location. There she spent the last years of her life. The Fannings had no children but many of their students remembered them with affection, as represented by a letter dated in 1895, the year before Charlotte's death. It was written to the editor of the Gospel Advocate by pupils of the school: ^[9]

Fanning Orphan School

Dear Brother [David] Lipscomb,

We school girls want to express our sincere and hearty thanks to our friends for the following Christmas presents:

... And Dear Aunt Charlotte send right to the land of flowers for two boxes of oranges, which she has not ceased to pass around yet, although there are quite a number of us, and each one likes an orange.

We all love Aunt Charlotte very dearly. She has done so much for us. We can only repay her and all our friends for their love and kindness to us by being good and useful while we live. We hope we may be.

Charlotte passed away on 15 Aug 1896 and is buried at the Mount Olivet Cemetery in Nashville. ^[10]

Sources

1. ↑ Fall family record compilation, by Philip Fall Taylor and Elizabeth Fall Taylor, undated, transcribed 08 Jan 1943 by Sarah McIntosh Taylor
2. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NP71-WVY : 11 February 2018, James Slater Fall in entry for Charlotte Fall, 23 Mar 1810); citing SAINT LUKE,CHELSEA,LONDON,ENGLAND, index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 585,471, 585,472.
3. ↑ "Tennessee State Marriage Index, 1780-2002," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VNHX-YZY : 4 December 2014), Tolbert Fanning and Charlotte Fall, 22 Dec 1836; from "Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2008); citing p. 502, Davidson, Tennessee, United States, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville, Tennessee.
4. ↑ "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCDC-QNS : 12 April 2016), Charlotte Fanning in household of Tolb F Fanning, Davidson county, part of, Davidson, Tennessee, United States; citing family 837, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
5. ↑ "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8TB-2N4 : 12 December 2017), Charlotte Fanning in entry for Tolbert Fanning, 1860.
6. ↑ "United States Census, 1870," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MD8L-GDC : 12 April 2016), Charlotte Fanning in household of Tolbert Fanning, Tennessee, United States; citing p. 3, family 20, NARA microfilm publication M593 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 553,020.
7. ↑ "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MDQ1-R59 : 15 July 2017), Charlotte Fanning, District 2, Davidson, Tennessee, United States; citing enumeration district ED 62, sheet 8D, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 1251; FHL microfilm 1,255,251.
8. ↑ History of Davidson County, by Prof. W. Woodford Clayton, J. W. Lewis & Company, Philadelphia, 1880
9. ↑ "Descent from Watford" -- Something on the English-born Offspring of The Rev. James Fall, a paper by James Edward (Jef) Fall, January 1979
10. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #14683530 for Charlotte Fall Fanning (10 Apr 1809–15 Aug 1896), citing Mount Olivet Cemetery, Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee, USA; Maintained by Ron Crabtree (contributor 46848039).

See also:

• The Life Work of Mrs. Charlotte Fanning, by Emma Page Larimore, McQuiddy Printing Company, 1907.
• Wikipedia: Charlotte Fall Fanning
• History of the Restoration Movement: "The Life of Charlotte Fall Fanning (1809-1896)", by Emma Page
• Reflections: Charlotte Fall Fanning, A Woman of Notable Character, by Al Maxey, 02 Feb 2011
• University of Tennessee Knoxville Digital LIbrary: "Volunteer Voices" entry for Charlotte Fall Fanning
• "Charlotte Fall Fanning - A Woman of Noble Character", from Reflections, Issue #474, by Al Maxey, 02 Feb 2011.