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THE FAY FAMILY PAGE GENEALOGIES |
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| Franklin Fay (1832 - 1899) And his Descendants |
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| Research into this line started with an obituary notice for Harold R. Fay, Jr., 1959-2007. At first I was doubtful that I could trace his ancestry, but because his father had the same name, and, as it turned out, was born before 1930, it proved possible to track the family back to Franklin Fay, who appears in Orlin. As the entry in Orlin shows, Orlin knew the names of Franklin's three wives, but he did not list children of the third marriage. The marriages to Eliza and Ellen are both reported in the vital records of Massachusetts, as is the third marriage to Isabella. Harold was a descendant of that third marriage. |
| Franklin was born in Worcester, married there, and lived there, or in neighboring Shrewsbury. The census of 1870 finds him in Shrewsbury, the 1880, in Worcester. In 1883, Franklin married Isabella in Worcester; Clara, Esther and Rachel were born in Worcester. Clara was born 8/31/1885 (parents Frank and Isabelle Harroway). Esther was born 10/4/1887 (she is listed as Eliza E. and her parents given as Franklin and Isabella). Rachel was born 5/17/1892 (parents Franklin and Isabella). In fact, it was Rachel's birth record that first gave me the name of Franklin as parent. Although I have not been able to find a birth record for John, it is probable that he also was born in Worcester, and that is supported by his WWI registration card (see below). |
| By 1900, there is no sign of either Isabella or of Franklin. I have not been able to find a record of Isabella's death, but it seems likely that it was shortly after the birth of Rachel. Franklin's death seems to have occcurred in 1899 in Shrewsbury. There is a record of such a death at NEHGS, but I have not been able to see the actual record, so I cannot be positive that this is Franklin the son of William. |
| In 1900, the three younger children, Esther, John and Rachel, are living in Belchertown. Only a few dwellings away is a "Clara B. Nettin", born 1885; she is boarding with a different family. I believe that this is Clara Fay; the census taker wrote over an earlier entry, and I think made a mistake. Clara did not marry until 1905 (in Belchertown), and in 1910, she is living next to the family with which her siblings had boarded. The family name "Nettin" is not known--NEHGS does not have ANY entries for a "Nettin." This census record seems to be less carefully made than most; I suspect there are several mistakes. John's date of birth, for example, given here as March 1890, is given on his WWI registration as March 1887. Esther was born 10/4/1887, not September 1888. The date on the WWI registration often seems to be off by a year and John might have been born 3/1888. Between March 1887 and November 1887, there is little time. The relationship within the family seems established; exact dates cannot be proved. |
| 1900 Belchertown |
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| The WWI registration card gives us John's full name and his place of birth, as well as the birthdate. The two children mentioned would be John S. and Mabel. |
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| There is a question raised by the census of 1920 about John's line. In that year, John's family consists of wife Adeline, and children Rachel, John and Katherine. Rachel is said to be 6 and what looks to be 11/12; since the census was taken at the beginning of January, this would place her birthday in February or late January 1913. In May 1930 Rachel is not listed, but she would be 17, and old enough to have married. However, I believe that the 1920 made a mistake, and that the child born in 1913 was NOT Rachel (who never existed) but rather Mabel. I base this conclusion on the obituaries. Mabel I. (Fay) Ely was born January 24, 1913. Her obituary does not mention her parents, but it mentions her brother and sisters - Harold, Carrie, Elsie. All of these names are known to us from the other obituaries. Mabel herself is specifically mentioned in the obituaries of Donald and Roy. Mabel is definitely one of the children of John and Addie, and she was born at exactly the same time as Rachel is supposed to have been born. There is no evidence at all that Rachel and Mabel were twins, and there is no other evidence other than the one mention in the 1920 census for the existence of Rachel. I have eliminated her from the list. |
| 1920 Belchertown |
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| 1930 Belchertown |
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| By 1930, Harold has been born and the line is clear. |
| One last comment: while there is no doubt that the John David who registered for the draft is the same as the John D. of the 1920 and 1930 censuses, and hence the father of Harold, there is a very slight chance that this is not the same John who was the son of Franklin. I am convinced that he was Franklin's son and the brother of Clara, Esther and Rachel. There is no absolutely conclusive evidence in the absence of John's birth record, but it is supported by the evidence we do have, and it seems most probable. |
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