Listed as a mill operator at age 17 in 1850 census, with his parents. The 1860 census for Orwell, Ashtabula Co OH lists Charles Fenton, age 28 and born in Ohio, which appears to be be him. He is a farmer with $2,500 of land and $1,000 of personal property.
Charles and his brother, Henry Fenton, enlisted in Wagoner Co H, 2nd Reg Ohio Vol. Cavalry on 25 Aug 1861. The regiment was organized in Cleveland, 8 Oct 1861. In Dec they were ordered to Camp Dennison, about 16 miles from Cincinnati. In Jan, 1862 they were ordered to report at Fort Leavenworth, that being on the Western Frontier then. While stationed there, went on an expedition thru indian territory, fighting both the whites and indians. Many of the men were sick, some died, others were discharged, so that by 1 Dec, 1862 they were reduced from 1300 to 150 men. In Dec they returned and went to winter quarters at Camp Chase, Ohio. In Jan 1863 he married Mary Hott in Ashland Co, OH. On April, 1863 they were ordered to Kentucky, where they were in active service raiding, skirmishing, and fighting some battles. In June they started on the noted Morgan raid, and after 4 weeks of hard marching, succeeded in capturing one of the greatest raiding commanders of the South. In Aug went to eastern Tennessee where they saw hard service in fighting Gen. Longstreet's troops, and the siege of Knoxville. In Jan 1864 they re-enlisted as veterans and returned to Camp Chase where they had a furlough for 30 days. In March 1864 they went to Annapolis, MD and joined the Army of the Potomac; going from there to Washington and then into Virginia. Henry was wounded there and sent home on furlough. Charles was the more fortunate, and was not wounded or taken prisoner. He was with the regiment all through the service, and was promoted to Full Wagoner on 2 Jul 1865. They were attached to Gen. Sheridan's Cavalry Corps through "the Wilderness", around Petersburg, City Point, and then to Washington, D.C. They went thru all the Shenandoah Valley campaign, capturing the last of Gen. Early's army at Yorktown (where his "Grand Sire" Solomon Fenton had served under Gen. George Washington in 1776), and in front of Gen. Lee's army, when the surrender was made to Gen. U. S. Grant. He was in the Grand Review at Washington, D.C. then ordered to Springfield, MO. and mustered out with the regiment as a Private at St. Louis, MO on 11 Sept, 1865.
According to his application for his invalid (military) pension, he had an accident in Holmes Twp, Medina Co OH while chopping wood in November of 1865. The axe bounced off a tree and struck him in the right foot, severing all the tendons to the toes. This crippled him for several years and caused a permanent injury.
He must have returned to his wife, Mary, after the war as they had their first child, Burton, in June 1866 in Franklin Co, OH. In 1869 they moved to Albion, Michigan. The 1870 census lists him there as a carpenter, age 36, with Mary and their two sons, Burton and Charlie. Their daughter Jennie was born there in 1871. His wife (Mary) died in Springfield, MI in April 1872. In Sept, 1873 he was married again to Louany Armstrong in Sibley, Iowa (where his parents lived). He signed an affidavit for his brother’s military pension on 6 Mar 1876 in Oceola Co, IA, which lists him as a resident there. They remained in the area thru at least August of 1876, during which time their first 2 sons were born, but then moved prior to the death of their second son, Freddie in April 1877 at Clay Center, Kansas . The birth of their daughter Mabel was also there in March of 1879. In 1880 he is listed on Sherman St in Clay Center, KS. He was a carpenter (age 47) unemployed 5 months of the year, with his wife Luana (37) and children Wm A. (17), Otis (13), Irvin (5) and Mable (1). The two older boys (Wm & Otis) living with them are listed as born in New York, where Luana was from, rather than Ohio like the rest of Charles children from his previous marriage. This, plus the fact that they are not mentioned in the Fenton family history, indicates that they are her children from her prior marriage who had taken the Fenton name. It is not clear where Burton and Jennie (9 & 14 yrs old), children from the first marriage were at this time. They may have been living with his family. Charlie (12) was with his sister, Maryette Stone. She and her husband lived in Clay Center, Kansas for only 5 years. Charles and Luana left in the fall of 1881 to visit her mother and friends east because of her poor health, hoping a change would help (according to family history and her obituary). She died there in 1882.
Charles returned to Kansas, and is recorded there in 1883 on the Phil Sheridan Post report for the Kansas Grand Army of the Republic in Clay Center at age 49 and born in Willington, CT. A photo of the family is dated 5-1-86 shows Charles with 3 of his children: Irvin, Charley and Mabel. It has the logo of Howard's studio in Clay Center, Kas. on the back. This plus the apparent ages of the children (Irvin~10, Charley~18, Mabel~6) would imply that they were still with him in May of 1886. His son Charles (Jr) and daughter Mabel subsequently were taken in and "adopted" by his sister Maryette and her husband Stephen Stone when Charles moved from Kansas to Ohio in 1887. He stayed in Ohio only two years, and moved to New York in 1889.
Subsequent to the Military Pension Act of 1890 he filed for his military pension on 26 Aug 1891, when he lived at Richmond Hill, Queens Co, NY; and again 11 Mar 1892 in Brooklyn, NY.
Charles married again (#3) on Long Island, NY in Sept, 1892 to Ellen W. Simpson. They are listed in Hempstead, Nassau Co, NY in the 1900 census without any children. She is listed as having 1 child (previous marr?) and being born in England.
The Pension Act was amended in May 1900, and on 1 Oct 1900 and 27 June 1904 he signed additonal affidavits to increase his $10/mo pension while living in Bellmore, Nassau Co, NY. He also signed an Affidavit for his brother Henry’s widow on 18 Dec 1901, which stated that he was then living at Wantagh, town of Hempstead, Nassau Co, NY.
The Pension Act was amended again in Feb 1907, and he immediately filed again on 26 Feb 1907 at age 73 and a resident of Wantagh, Nassau Co, NY. This affidavit lists his places of residence after he left the army (Ohio to 1869, Mich to 1872, Iowa to 1876, Kansas to 1887, Ohio to 1889, New York to date). His death certificate lists him as a resident of Richmond Hill, NY where he lived since at least 1891.
He died in April 1907 of shock after an operation for a strangulated hernia, combined with senility. (The death certificate index incorrectly lists him as Chas N. Fenton, born 1814)
He was described as 5’ 8 1/2”, with light brown “sandy” hair and blue eyes.