George Fanning (1814 - 1897)

Born 10 Oct 1814 in Wolfe Island Township, Frontenac, Upper Canada

Ancestors

Husband of Sarah (Ostrom) Fanning — married 25 Feb 1836 (to 1874) in Sidney, Ontario, Canada

Husband of Elizabeth Ann (Gilbert) Fanning — married 21 Sep 1874 in Kankakee, Illinois, Estados Unidos de América

Descendants

Died 22 Mar 1897 at age 82 in Chebanse, Iroquois, Illinois, United States

Biography

Paraphrased from W.F. Brooks' History of the Fanning Family, p.515:^[1]

• George Fanning was born on Wolfe Island, facing Kingston, Ontario. He settled in the 2nd Concession of Sidney (where his father Frederick had purchased land and taken the family in the 1820s) and "engaged in the tannery business" (taking over one of his father's occupations) until 1865, when he moved to Chebanse, Illinois, farming on a part-time basis until his death in 1897 at age 82.

George Fanning outlived both of his wives. 8 of his children with Sarah Ostrom (she lived 1814-1874) survived to adulthood. Only one of his 4 children with Eliza Ann Gilbert (she lived 1844-1890) survived to adulthood. He became a father for the last time (of twins) at age 68.

1840s: LAND GRANT Lot 21, Con 2, Sidney. Michael Smith, Jacob Smith, Richard Smith all receive 200 acres each, [lots 20, 21, Con 2 in Sydney and lot 1, Con 5 in Thurlow respectively].^[2] This lot was patented to Jacob Smith on 17 May 1802. The lot is sold by Jacob Smith Sr on 2 Feb 1818 and registered 6 Feb 1822 to John Row who sells to Daniel M. Dean. In 1823, Dean sells 100 acres to Robert Smith, whose wife Agnes releases her dower as a widow in 1848. The lot appears to have ended up being settled by Frederick Fanning and then given to [son] George Fanning.^[3][4]

1848: Active in Sidney Township government.

1855: His eldest daughter, Hannah Ellen Fanning (b. 1836), married Jacob Hogle in Sidney, Ontario.^[5]

1860 Hastings County directory: Listed (p.24) as an officer of the South Hastings Agricultural Society. He is also recorded as a yeoman in the 2nd Concession of Sidney, Ontario, adjacent to his brother Sylvester.

1860s: George moved the family from Ontario to Illinois ca.1860 (the Brooks book says 1865), gauging from his children's birthplaces on the 1870 Illinois census. George's mother Hannah Davis Fanning lived with them in Illinois until her death in 1874.^[6]

Sources

1. ↑ https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:History_of_the_Fanning_Family
2. ↑ Source: Land Books, Quebec Book, 20 Jan 1790, pp. 165 and 166, C-100. See also Index to Upper Canada Land Books, OGS, 2007, 2138/9
3. ↑ Source: Abstract Index to deeds, Sidney, GSU197974
4. ↑ From the profile of "George Smith, son of Jacob Smith", information compiled by genealogist Randy Saylor (Ontario) for the website Bay of Quinte Records:
   • https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~saylormowbray/genealogy/smithgeorge.html
5. ↑ https://www.ontariogenealogy.com/uppercanadamarriages.html
6. ↑ See W.F. Brooks, "History of the Fanning Family" (1905), p. 515-6, for names and birthdates of all 12 children and some of the grandchildren.

• W.F. Brooks, "History of the Fanning Family" (1905), p.515

• "Canada Census, 1851," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MWT7-6TC : 3 August 2016), George Fanning, Sidney, Hastings County, Canada West (Ontario), Canada; citing p. 132, line 27; Library and Archives Canada film number C_11727, Public Archives, Ontario. Image: http://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.redirect?app=census&id=22891517&lang=eng
• "United States Census, 1870," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M6WC-7XK : 12 April 2016), George Fanning, Illinois, United States; citing p. 20, family 130, NARA microfilm publication M593 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 545,737.

• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/31172077/george-fanning
  • Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 05 September 2019), memorial page for George Fanning (10 Oct 1814–22 Mar 1897), Find A Grave Memorial no. 31172077, citing Evergreen Cemetery, Chebanse, Iroquois County, Illinois, USA ; Maintained by joe harrington (contributor 46996935) .