I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!

MR FENTRESS IS MY COUSIN! Sort of? 

 

 

I should start at the beginning but where is the beginning?

The Fentress' in front of our house, well ... their house.

In my blog post on March 31st, The Original Owners, part 2, I had started a Fentress Family Tree on ancestry.com. William Kilby Fentress and his wife had our new/old house built between 1919 and 1922 when they moved in. I was curious about the family and I hoped to make contact with some of their descendants. Which I did.

In that post I wrote:

Before I go further I should mention that at this point it occurred to me that I have Fentress' in my own family tree but I don't remember any details.  I do know that Fentress was a common name in Princess Anne County, Virginia which today is the city of Virginia Beach.

So, that was the beginning. At least, the beginning for me.

Starting the Fentress family tree and checking on my own Fentress families on ancestry.com didn't yield much. Then I had a light bulb moment! A few years ago I purchased some family histories researched by a local genealogist, Melinda Jones Lukei. She has specialized in the original families of Princess Anne County, Virginia (today Virginia Beach). Bingo! Why didn't think of her before ... ?

So I trotted down to the main Virginia Beach Library because I already knew they have a copy of everything Mrs. Lukei has published. Sure enough, there is a The Fentress Family edition.

My disclaimer to what I'm about to tell you is this:

• I didn't do most of this research myself and I have not seen all the primary documents
• No matter how thorough a researcher is, sometimes they get it wrong
• On the other hand, most of this is probably bankable research!

I say all that because what I found at the library was different than what was posted on ancestry so somebody is wrong. Anyway ...


My Bowden grandparents in the back with my Capps great-grandparents in front at their
50th Wedding Anniversary party. Mr. Capps looks disinterested, doesn't he?
He was probably wondering when he could get his next smoke?

My grandmother on my Dad's side was Edna Estelle Capps Bowden. Her father was Stewart Henry Capps. Stewart died in 1963, before I had turned 3 years old, and I don't remember him ... at all.

But, as an aside, Stewart Capps was a railroad man. Interesting because our neighborhood is adjacent to the rail yard where it meets the port in Norfolk. My great grandfather supervised a crew that operated a "puddle jumper" and family lore has it that they were instrumental in laying the first railroad tracks from Norfolk to Virginia Beach, that reached it's terminus in the state park. I think that is where part of a nice running trail is now?


Stewart Capps, front right, with the puddle jumper

A puddle jumper was a rail car that propelled itself - didn't need an engine.

Back to the Fentress part of the story. Stewart Capps' grandfather was William Newton Capps. William married a woman named Jacamine Ann Fentress or "Jakey". Jakey's 2nd great grandfather was John T. Fentress, Sr. born 1706 and died 1784 in Princess Anne County.

As it turns out, our Mr. William Kilby Fentress, the first owner of our house, is also the descendant of John T. Fentress, Sr. John T. Fentress, Sr. is Mr. Fentress' 5th great grandfather! Yes way!

Okay, I'm done celebrating and I gotta come clean ...

I have since figured out that Jakey Fentress was William Newton Capps third wife and not my ancestor afterall. She was my great great grandfather's step mother. But, my enthusiasm is not dampened - I have other Fentresses in my family tree to pursue!

So close ...