Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial ...

Gospel for over a quarter of a century,
and to emerge with not only the honors
of his holy calling but with the highest
regard and respect of his contemporaries
of every creed, stamps Dr. Fennell as one
of those noble souls whose lives dignify
whatever calling pursued, one whose gifts
of mind and heart were rightly used, one
who knew the truth and dared to make
it the law of his life. He had a passion
to know the truth, which sent him from
a hill country farm to work his way
through the difficulties that stood between
him and an education, a passion
which kept him keenly alive, fed him with
heavenly manna daily and made him a
Christian leader of rare balance and prac-
tical effectiveness. His sterling char-
acter was graced by a kindness that never
failed, a love which went out to all and
was as freely returned. While a man of
rare gifts and graces, his goodness made
him great. He was a thorough stu-
dent, his enthusaism for scholarship only
equalled by his accuracy. It was not an
uncommon sight to see him upon the
street with a book in his hand, and not
only was he constantly gathering but as
constantly scattering, and his influence
was felt far beyond his immediate parish.
He was a many-sided man, and his ver-
satility amazed even his nearest friends.
He was interested in all that interested
his fellowmen, and could be counted on
for service in every good cause. His
active mind was quick to grasp the trend
of events and to discriminate in all ques-
tions of moral and religious significance.
He was truly and fully a man of God, a
lover of his fellowmen, a broad-minded,
warm-hearted, sympathetic and efficient
worker in every good cause.
Rev. William George Fennell was born
in Goshen, Litchfield county, Connecticut,
November 15, 1859, son of Enoch and
Eliza (Pierce) Fennell, natives of Eng-
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
155
land, who emigrated from England, in
the year 1854, locating in Goshen, Con-
necticut. When he was seven years of
age, he removed with his family to East
Cornwall, where his father purchased the
Benedict farm, and the family resided
thereon for many years, the deaths of
Mr. and Mrs. Fennell occurring there,
after which it was purchased by the Rev.
Dr. Fennell, who was the owner of it for
a number of years. All of the boyhood
days of Dr. Fennell were spent at work
on the farm, work that he very much
disliked, because he loved to study and
longed to secure an education. At the
age of eleven he united with the Baptist
church at East Cornwall. Connecticut,
and was baptized by the Rev. D. F. Chapman,
pastor of the church. When he was
fourteen years of age, he began to think
about studying for the ministry, but did
not make his decision until two years
later. After primary and intermediate
courses, at the age of sixteen years, he
taught a country school in a nearby town
called "Hardscrabble," and with this
money he was enabled to enter school the
fall he was seventeen. This was the Connecticut
Literary Institute at Suffield, and
here he prepared for college and graduated
in 1880. Prior to this time, when
he was seventeen years of age, he was
licensed to preach by the church at East
Cornwall, and every year thereafter he
preached an annual sermon in that church
on the first Sunday in August, which day
was set apart as "Fennell Day." This
service was held for thirty-nine succes-
sive years without a break, and at the
time of his death Dr. Fennell was antici-
pating and preparing for the fortieth an-
niversary sermon in said church. In
1881 he taught school in the town of Mar-
ion, Connecticut, and in the fall of that
year he entered Colgate University in
Hamilton, New York, and during the