Emmett Martin Fenlon (1909-1985)

My paternal grandfather Emmett Martin Fenlon was born on this day 108 years ago.  I believe he was born at the Fenlon homestead at 2501 Falls Road (below).  He and his twin brother Edward John Fenlon, Jr. were the first born children of Edward John Fenlon and Elizabeth Frances Kilcoyne. 

Fenlon Family Homestead. 2501 Falls Road, Marcellus, NY.

He had three sisters: Clara Elizabeth Fenlon (b 1911) and twins Marcella Anne and Mary Agnes Fenlon (b 1913).  I like to call the five children the Fab Five.  Here are family photos of them from the early 1920s and late 1930s. 

The Fab Five Fenlons. Women (L to R): Mary, Clara, Marcella. Men (L to R): Emmett, Edward

Emmett graduated from Marcellus High School and Potsdam Normal School (now SUNY Potsdam) in 1935 with a degree in general elementary teaching.  He then took courses at Albany State College for Teachers (SUNY Albany) and taught in a one-room school house in Watson, NY. 

Emmett at Potsdam in the early 1930s. 

Emmett married Anne Laurentine Treacy at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Syracuse, New York on 28 May 1938. The reception was held at the Treacy home at 123 Woodland Ave. in Syracuse. 

(L to R): Mary Treacy Degnan, Frank Kelly, Anne Treacy Fenlon, Emmett Fenlon, Milo Lacy, Edward Fenlon, Jr. 

(L to R) John Treacy, Janet MacDonell Treacy, Anne Treacy Fenlon, Emmett Fenlon, Elizabeth Kilcoyne Fenlon, Edward Fenlon, Sr. 

Emmett and Anne had five children between 1939 and 1948 and eight grandchildren between 1968 and 1981.  Emmett taught high school science and math in Copenhagen, NY and in Syracuse.  He died on 19 Mar 1985 in Copenhagen. 

Anne and Emmett Fenlon ca. 1974 with their descendants.  

Emmett and Anne Fenlon's Grandchildren in 1986