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James Fenlon

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Birth	:	3 Oct 1826 County Wexford, Ireland
Death	:	7 Aug 1916 Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa, USA
Burial	:	Saint Joseph Cemetery, Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County, USA
Coordinate	:	41.2722015, -95.8208008
Description	:	Omaha Daily Bee, August 9, 1916, Page 5: OLDEST TRAVELER IN COUNTRY DIES James Fenlon, Pioneer Citizen of Council Bluffs Succumbs to Heat in Des Moines James Fenlon, the oldest traveling man in the United States, and a pioneer citizen of Council Bluffs, died yesterday at his home in Des Moines, after an illness of only a few days. The body will be brought to Council Bluffs for burial, and a public funeral will be held at St. Francis Xavier's Catholic church tomorrow morning. Mr. Fenlon would have been 90 years old in October, and his... Read More	Omaha Daily Bee, August 9, 1916, Page 5: OLDEST TRAVELER IN COUNTRY DIES James Fenlon, Pioneer Citizen of Council Bluffs Succumbs to Heat in Des Moines James Fenlon, the oldest traveling man in the United States, and a pioneer citizen of Council Bluffs, died yesterday at his home in Des Moines, after an illness of only a few days. The body will be brought to Council Bluffs for burial, and a public funeral will be held at St. Francis Xavier's Catholic church tomorrow morning. Mr. Fenlon would have been 90 years old in October, and his death was due more to the extreme heat of the last few weeks than to the natural infirmities of age. For more than seventy years he had been a traveling salesman, all the time in the farm implement trade. His territory was the central west, and no climatic conditions were ever sufficient to prevent him making all parts of his territory. Blizzards that tied up railroad trains were frequently overcome by appeals to hardy liverymen. His reputation for being always able to "get there" during the whole of the three score and ten years of his commercial activity made him a national figure in commercial trade life, and last spring the American Magazine published a story on his life on the road. For the last twenty-five or more years Mr. Fenlon represented the Woodmansee company of Freeport, Ill., selling windmills and farm motors. Twenty-five years ago Mr. Fenlon was in the implement business in Council Bluffs, with office and warehouse where the Chamber of Commerce building now stands, but during that time he was covering his territory as a commercial traveler. The business was a branch of the factory he represented. When he closed it he went to Des Moines and made that city his home. Evening Times-Repubican (Marshalltown, Iowa), August 8, 1916, Page 3: Des Moines, Aug. 8 -- James Fenlon, Iowa's oldest traveling man and probably the oldest in the United States passed into a peaceful sleep that proved to be his last, yesterday at the residence of his daughter, Mrs. J. H. Quigley, 645 Polk boulevard. If Mr. Fenlon had lived until Oct. 3, he would have been 90 years old and still actively interested in "selling Implements." Up to the 14th of July, he was on the road for the Woodmansee Implement Company of Freeport, Ill. For twenty years he had been with that firm and for sixty years he had been on the road selling farm machinery. Last month he was taken ill but recovered enough to dress. Then a relapse came when he was in the yard one day. Heart trouble brought on complications which caused him to pass from this life quietly this morning. Mr. Fenlon was born in County Wexford, Ireland, Oct. 3, 1826. When he was 7 years old his parents moved to Canada. Later they settled in Durand, Ill., where Mr. Fenlon was married to Mary Stapleton, Nov. 6, 1850. They moved to Council Bluffs in 1869. About twenty years ago the family moved to Des Moines. Four years ago Mrs. Fenlon died. Thirteen children were born in the Fenlon family. Of these, five are living. All are here for the funeral. They are besides Mrs. Quigley, Mrs. J. J. Shay of Bartlesville, Okla.; Mrs. O. P. Wickham, of Council Bluffs; T. S. Fenlon, of Massena; J. P. Fenlon, of Des Moines. Mr. Fenlon's long life of almost constant traveling had thrown him into contact with many people and he made friends everywhere and constantly. A notebook has been found among his possessions, containing in closely written script, the names and addresses of hundreds of people he met on trains and in hotels. Last March, the American magazine contained his picture and a sketch of his life. After this was published he received hundreds of letters from people he had met and others who were interested in him. Every one of these letters he answered carefully, altho the task was not completed until a few weeks ago before his last illness. Mr. Fenlon was a charter member of the I. S. T. M. A.

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is James Fenlon's memorial?
James Fenlon's memorial is located at: Saint Joseph Cemetery, Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County, USA.
When did James Fenlon death?
James Fenlon death on 7 Aug 1916 in Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa, USA
Where are the coordinates of the James Fenlon's memorial?
Latitude: 41.2722015
Longitude: -95.8208008

Family Members:

Spouse

Mary Stapleton Fenlon

(1834 - 1912)

Children

Jennie Fenlon Wickham

(1851 - 1943)

Ellen Gertrude “Nellie” Fenlon Shea

(1861 - 1891)

James M. Fenlon

(1867 - 1901)

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Saint Joseph Cemetery
Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County, USA
Coordinate: 41.2722015, -95.8208008

2. Bikhor Cholim Cemetery
Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County, USA
Coordinate: 41.2703670, -95.8229350

3. Oak Hill Cemetery
Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County, USA
Coordinate: 41.2700900, -95.8226400

4. Green Valley Cemetery
Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County, USA
Coordinate: 41.2743988, -95.8225021

5. Cedar Lawn Cemetery
Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County, USA
Coordinate: 41.2694016, -95.8182983

6. Walnut Hill Cemetery
Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County, USA
Coordinate: 41.2719002, -95.8255997

7. Ridgewood Cemetery
Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County, USA
Coordinate: 41.2694016, -95.8272018

8. Memorial Park Cemetery
Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County, USA
Coordinate: 41.2644005, -95.8261032

9. Clark Cemetery
Pottawattamie County, USA
Coordinate: 41.2551610, -95.8223390

10. Fairview Cemetery
Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County, USA
Coordinate: 41.2703018, -95.8480988

11. Garner Cemetery
Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County, USA
Coordinate: 41.2956161, -95.8001709

12. Stoker-Graybill Cemetery
Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County, USA
Coordinate: 41.2532620, -95.7751770

13. Maple Grove Cemetery
Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County, USA
Coordinate: 41.2265560, -95.8187100

14. Evans Cemetery
Crescent, Pottawattamie County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3255997, -95.8368988

15. Lewis Township Cemetery
Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County, USA
Coordinate: 41.2117004, -95.7938995

16. Gregg Cemetery
Weston, Pottawattamie County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3330000, -95.7931000

17. Council Point Cemetery
Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County, USA
Coordinate: 41.2110830, -95.8788610

18. Hazel Dell Cemetery
Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3489723, -95.7939911

19. Trinity Cathedral Columbarium
Omaha, Douglas County, USA
Coordinate: 41.2603900, -95.9393660

20. Saint Columbanus Cemetery
Weston, Pottawattamie County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3429440, -95.7435260

21. Crescent Cemetery
Crescent, Pottawattamie County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3664894, -95.8566208

22. Prospect Hill Cemetery
Omaha, Douglas County, USA
Coordinate: 41.2780991, -95.9593964

23. First Central Congregational Columbarium
Omaha, Douglas County, USA
Coordinate: 41.2563456, -95.9658365

24. Saint Pauls Evangelical Country Church Cemetery
Dumfries, Pottawattamie County, USA
Coordinate: 41.1748352, -95.7492371