Fann Name Study

Profile managers: Porter Fann [send private message] and One Name Studies WikiTree [send private message]

Goals, Progress and Identification Accomplishments

This Fann Project One Name Study aims to collect together in one place everything about the Fann surname and may also discuss and better document the variants of that name. The hope is that other researchers like you will join our study to help make it a valuable reference point for people studying lines that cross or intersect. Please submit your suggestions for improvements to this project page through the Comments section or by writing directly to the profile manager.

A Note on Fann Origins

Some experts on the origins of surnames suggest that Fann^[1] referred to persons with origins in fens, defined as one of the four main types of wetland (the others being grassy marshes, forested swamps and peated bogs).^[2] As a locational surname, it was one of the earliest usages of calling a person by the name of the nearest feature to his or her home.

For the project manager's line of Fann ancestors, the oldest entered thus far on WikiTree is William Fann (bef.1635-abt.1719); however, he may be the son of Moses Fanne, who was baptised on 20 Dec 1635 in Frant, Sussex, England.^[3]

A Partial List of Variants (not included in this Fann Project)

SurnameDB lists these variants:

• Fenn
• Venn
• Vaun
• Vaune
• Vance
• Vanns
• Van
• Fenning
• Fanning

Note that connections of the Fann lines to the above variants excludes at least one other:

• Fannin

Fann in History

SurnameDB^[1] reports that the earliest recorded use of del Fan appeared in the Essex County Memoranda Roll charter of 1199 that named John del Fan. SurnameDB indicates that Alice Fann was recorded in the Norfolk County church register upon her 8 Oct 1593 marriage at St Gregory, Norwich to Thomas Preston. A more recent usage was recorded for Robert Fenn, son of William and Ann Fenn, who was christened at St Mary Coslany, Norwich 13 Jan 1705.

NSSAR Patriot Ancestors category

• William Fawn / Fann (abt.1755-1809)

Fann Soldiers from Sampson County, North Carolina in the Civil War

Sons of John Carney Fann I (abt.1803-abt.1900) of Sampson County, North Carolina, who served or died during the Civil War are shown.^[4] Those sons who died during the war were buried at Oakwood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia.

1. John Carney Fann (abt.1834-1862), Enlisted 1 Aug 1861, Confederate States of America (CSA), Company H, wounded at Malvern Hill, died 16 Jul 1862 in Richmond, Virginia
2. Richard H Fann (1836-1922), Enlisted 1862
3. Wiley Fann (abt.1839-1864), Enlisted 11 Oct 1862, CSA, Company K, who died 23 Jun 1864 in Stuart Hospital, Richmond, Virginia
4. Owen Fann (abt.1839-1862), CSA Corporal at the Battles of Mechanicsville and Cold Harbor, who died 26 Jul 1862 in Wayside Hospital, Richmond, Virginia
5. James D Fann (abt.1842-1862), Enlisted Jun 10 1861, CSA, Company I, who died 23 Jul 1862 in Richmond City, Henrico, Virginia after the Peninsula Campaign
6. Doctor Alsworth Fann (1846-1921), Enlisted Apr 1864, CSA, Company A

Notable Fanns

• James D Fann, of Fann Instrument Company, Houston, Texas
• Fann Farms of Sampson County, North Carolina: The Sampson Independent. Fann Farms Earns Golden Honor. 25 Feb 2019.
• William Fawn / Fann (abt.1755-1809), NSSAR Patriot Ancestor

Fanns attending Sampson County Fann School in 1925

• Presently unknown is who the Fann was after whom the school was named.
• From Table Showing White Schools of Sampson County: Name of School: Fann. Edition 1. 23 Apr 1925, image 11. Clinton, North Carolina: The Sampson Independent.

The Fann school was located on the Dunn public road, Salemburg, Sampson County, North Carolina, which later renamed Fann School Road. In 1925, eighty pupils were enrolled in the two-room schoolhouse, and seven grades were taught. Only those with the surname Fann are below listed. Bettie Fisher was intermediate teacher and principal. It might be speculated that Bettie could be Bettie (Fann) Fisher. Any reader with any information about The Fann School is encouraged to contact Porter Fann, the Fann Name Study project manager, using the Comment below or the email contact link. Thank you.

• • Office Board of Education (Clinton, North Carolina) 25 May 1926 minutes indicate that the Fann School was among those consolidated with Salemburg, Belvoir and part of Carverdale and Piney Green districts within Honeycutt Township. Also as part of the consolidation, students of Butler district were to be assigned to Salemburg or Piney Green for the upcoming six months term.

1. Grady Stewart Fann (1918-1996), son of Radford Fann (1887-1964) and Lena Carrie (Honeycutt) Fann (1889-1973),^[5][6] primer
2. Berthat Fann primer
3. Roland Nixon Fann (1915-1980) son of Radford Fann (1887-1964) and Lena Carrie (Honeycutt) Fann (1889-1973),^[7][8] 1st grade
4. Oleva Fann 1st grade (possibly Eva Kate (Fann) Spell, sister of Grady Stewart and Roland Fann)
5. John Alton Fann (1914-1974), son of William Erastus Fann (1878-1948) and Georganna (Knowles) Fann (1876-1967)^[9] 1st grade
6. Alvin Fann 2nd grade
7. Brilla Fann 4th grade (pre-Salemburg high school)
8. Rovanie (Fann) Grantham (1909-1984), daughter of William Erastus Fann (1878-1948) and Georganna (Knowles) Fann (1876-1967)^[10] 6th grade (pre-Salemburg high school)
9. Bula Fann 4th grade
10. Graham Dixon Fann (1912-1961), son of Radford Fann (1887-1964) and Lena Carrie (Honeycutt) Fann (1889-1973),^[11] 5th grade
11. Paulina (Fann) Herring (1913-1981), daughter of William Erastus Fann (1878-1948) and Georganna (Knowles) Fann (1876-1967)^[12] 6th grade

Other Fanns attending Sampson County Schools

1. Paul Fann 3rd grade (Piney Green School)
2. Seavey Fann 4th grade (Piney Green School)
3. Howard Fann 7th grade (Piney Green School)

Other Ways to Participate

Please contact the Study's coordinator Porter Fann or post a comment at the foot of this Fann Project page. If you have any questions, just ask. Thanks!

Task List

1. To place the category on surname Fann profiles, thus including them in the Fann Project Study
2. To narrow down these categories geographically so that we can group and distinguish, e.g., Sampson County, North Carolina Fanns, Wayne County, North Carolina Fanns, or if the state of origin alone is all that is known, Virginia Fanns, etc. [ [Category:Sampson County, North Carolina, Fann Name Study] ] is an example
3. To better document the meaning and origin of the Fann name
4. To map out migration of the surname Fann
5. To locate Fanns in all United States census records, all records in England & Wales, and other national census records as warranted

DNA Study

Please refer to Fann & Fenn Study at FamilyTreeDNA Fann & Fenn.

Resources

Family Histories that Feature Fann

• Bizzell, O M. The heritage of Sampson County, North Carolina. 1984.
• Versions of Doyle Fenn's work:
  • Fenn, Doyle (Marion Doyle). Footprints and wagon tracks : a family history. 1991. Manvel, Texas: D Fenn. Descendants of Jesse Fann from Virginia, Robert Brasseur from France, John Wesley B Brashears from Virginia, William Burch from Virginia; a family history with the history & geography of the era & area.
  • See also: (Fenn) 1992: Footprints & wagon tracks : addendum to part III, Brasseur, & part IV, Brashears. 1992. Manvel, Texas: D Fenn; and, of an unknown date, a 2nd edition.
  • Fenn, Doyle. Footprints and Wagon Tracks: Descendants of Jesse Fann from Virginia, Robert Brasseur from France & John Wesley B. Brashears from Virginia, William Burch from Virginia: A Family History with the History & Geography of the Era & Area. 1991, p. 47-49. Manvel, Texas & Bountiful, Utah: Author & Family History Publishers. This may be the most up-to-date version.
• Rosser, John C Jr. Coharie to Cape Fear: The descendants of John Williams and Katharine Galbreth of Sampson and Cumberland Counties in North Carolina (1740-1990). Vol I. Apr 1990. Marceline, Missouri: Walsworth Publishing Company.

WikiTree Resources

• Feed of Genealogist to Genealogist (G2G) questions tagged Fann
• List of Fanns on WikiTree
• Unconnected Fann profiles on WikiTree
• Orphaned Fann profiles on WikiTree
• Unsourced Fann profiles on WikiTree
• FANN Genealogists on WikiTree (members following the category FANN genealogy content)

Contributions by Year from the Project Manager

1. 24 Fann profiles in year 6, 2023 (#1 Fann contributor that year)
2. 16 Fann profiles in year 5, 2022 (#3 Fann contributor that year)
3. 13 Fann profiles in year 4, 2021 (#1 Fann contributor that year)
4. 41 Fann profiles in year 3, 2020 (#1 Fann contributor that year)
5. 17 Fann profiles in year 2, 2019 (#3 Fann contributor that year)
6. 30 Fann profiles in year 1, 2018 (#1 Fann contributor that year)

• Number includes both new Fann profiles created or updates to existing profiles.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Last name: Fann. SurnameDB: The Internet Surname Database © Copyright: Name Origin Research 1980 - 2017. Accessed 29 Apr 2020.
2. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Fen," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Accessed 29 Apr 2020.
3. ↑ Baptism of son William Fanne: "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975"
   citing Digital film/folder number: 004427301; FHL microfilm: 1067357
   FamilySearch Record: N291-VLF (accessed 11 April 2024)
   Moses Fanne's son William Fanne baptism on 20 Dec 1635 in Frant, Sussex, England.
4. ↑ Bizzell, Oscar M, ed. The Heritage of Sampson County, NC. Article 619: John C Fann Family; See also Article 368F: Confederates Soldiers from Sampson County for the sons who died (4) or served (+2) in the Civil War. 1983, p. 405-6 & 226. Newton Grove & Winston-Salem, North Carolina: The Sampson County Historical Society & Hunter Publishing Company.
5. ↑ "North Carolina, Center for Health Statistics, Vital Records Unit, County Birth Records, 1913-1922", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:CD7L-DBW2 : 6 March 2020), Grady Stewart Fann, 1918.
6. ↑ "United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6KS8-WZ12 : 10 February 2023), Grady Stewart Fann.
7. ↑ "North Carolina, Center for Health Statistics, Vital Records Unit, County Birth Records, 1913-1922", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:HYDZ-3PPZ : 10 February 2020), Roland Nixon Fann, 1915.
8. ↑ "North Carolina Deaths, 1931-1994", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FGKY-GX4 : 29 September 2022), Roland Nixon Fann, 1980.
9. ↑ "North Carolina Deaths, 1931-1994", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FP4Z-T78 : 29 September 2022), John Alton Fann, 1974.
10. ↑ "North Carolina Deaths and Burials, 1898-1994", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:H4YH-C4PZ : 21 January 2020), Rovanie Fann Grantham, 1984.
11. ↑ "North Carolina Deaths, 1931-1994", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FGYS-Y27 : 29 September 2022), Graham Dixon Fann, 1961.
12. ↑ "North Carolina Deaths, 1931-1994", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FGLX-N3F : 29 September 2022), Paulina Fann Herring, 1981.