Fenton Family Land Records, Wexford County, Michigan Liber 100 page 342

I am posting information gleaned from land records in the areas where our family’s ancestors resided. You can read more about this project in the overview. You may also check my deed record listing, which I will update frequently, but probably not every day. This group pertain to Papa’s Fenton ancestors who resided in Wexford County, Michigan.

This is one of the “80’s” that Papa’s family always refers to. Papa says that his grandfather, Ross P. Fenton, purchased the land from Cummer and Diggins.

The complicated history of the various lumber and lumber processing firms which operated in Wexford County, Michigan between 1875 and the early 1900’s is beyond the scope of my investigation.  I do know that there were a number partnerships and corporations, and the Cummer family were involved in many of them. It seems, however, from viewing the 1908 Atlas¹, that the firm of Murphy & Diggins owned the property prior to Ross Fenton’ purchase.

You may enlarge this thumbnail by clicking on it. The land described in this deed is outlined in blue, the E 1/2 of the SE 1/4. It is  known as “the south 80”, in Papa’s family, even though the family has not owned the property for many years. The corresponding land in the NE 1/4 of section 17 is called “the north 80”. I may not have recorded information from Ross Fenton’s purchase of the two 80 acre parcels. Or, perhaps the transactions will come up later.

From this deed, it appears that Ross was behind on his taxes, and paid his 1922 taxes on 24 February 1927, receiving a tax deed for his payment.

1. Geo. A. Ogle & Co., Standard atlas of Wexford County, Michigan : including a plat book of the villages, cities and townships of the county…patrons directory, reference business directory…/ assisted in record work and platting by E. A. Losie. Geo. A. Ogle & Co. (Chicago, IL : Geo. A. Ogle & Co., 1908), page 45, The University of Michigan. Michigan County Histories and Atlases. http://name.umdl.umich.edu/3928168.0001.001 : accessed 2 November 2009.