The Genealogy of one Vermonter, Darrell A. Martin

Allen Downing Felch

(16 February 1852 - 9 May 1927)

Great-great-grandfather of Darrell Allen Martin.

Allen D. Felch

Allen was born in Morgan, Orleans County, Vermont, on 16 February 1852.^1,2,3,4,5 He was the son of George Carlton Felch and Thankful Waters. He married Eliza Belle Gardner in Newbury, Orange County, Vermont, circa July 1871.^6,7,8,9 He was a head of household in the 7 June 1880 census taken in Newbury a farmer age 28; Eliza Belle Gardner resided in the same household, as "Lizzie B. Felch" keeping house age 24, his wife; as did Eliza Rebekah Felch, age 8 at school, his daughter; Katie Jane Felch, age 5 at school, his daughter; Abbie Adeline Felch, age 2, his daughter; Eliza Nelson, as "Eliza Gardner" age 64, his widowed mother in law; Hannah Nelson, as "Hannah Wheeler" age 74, likely Eliza Gardner's widowed sister; and Samuel Wheeler, age 28, single and probably Hannah's son or grandson.¹⁰ He was a head of household in the 21 June 1900 census taken in Newbury a carpenter, widowed and living alone in a house he owned free, age 48.¹¹ Allen Downing Felch appears in a photograph taken circa 1906 in Newbury.

He married Lula E. Bailey in Newbury on 9 April 1906.^12,13,14 He was a resident in the household of Edwin Frank Bailey in the 21 April 1910 census taken in Newbury a carpenter age 48, Edwin's widower son in law.¹² He married Bertha M. Stanhope in Haverhill, Grafton County, New Hampshire, on 20 May 1915.^15,16 He was a head of household in the 7 February 1920 census taken in Newbury a house carpenter living in a rented home on Chappel Street, age 67; Bertha M. Stanhope resided in the same household, as "Bertha M. Felch" age 38, his wife; as did Lula M. Felch, age 1y 2m, his daughter.¹⁵ Allen died on 9 May 1927 in Newbury at age 75.¹⁷ He was buried in the Bailey lot in Newbury.¹⁸

My uncle, Marshall Dutton, told me in 1993 that "Gramp Felch" was over 6 feet tall and could lift a full barrel with his teeth. Whoever told him the story did not say whether it was a half-barrel or what the contents were (flour? apples?). I was told many times that he had died before 1920, but eventually found him in the census of that year -- with his 38 year old wife and their 14 month old daughter. There was still fire in the old stove, it seems.

According to a family tradition, his full name was "Ethan Allen Darwin Felch". He supposedly hated the name Ethan and never used it. That he did not use it, at least, I can affirm; "Ethan" appears in none of the documents I have seen.¹⁹

Appears on these charts: Pedigree of Darrell Allen Martin
Descendants of Allen Downing Felch

Children of Allen Downing Felch and Eliza Belle Gardner

Eliza Rebekah Felch+ (26 Apr 1872 - ca 8 Apr 1941)
Katie Jane Felch+ (24 Sep 1874 - 8 Oct 1928)
Abbie Adeline Felch (26 Nov 1877 - 1918)
Lillie Mae Felch+ (4 May 1881 - 24 Nov 1931)
Mary B. Felch (died young) (11 Nov 1883 - 7 Jun 1886)
Margaret Dora Felch+ (3 Oct 1890 - 16 Oct 1973)

Child of Allen Downing Felch and Bertha M. Stanhope

Lula M. Felch (Dec 1918 - )

Cited documentation

[S5] Felch, Allen D., 1900 US Census, Newbury, Orange County, Vermont; NARA T623 Roll 1692, pg. 12A, "Felch, Allen D" b. "Feb 1852 ... Vermont" age 48.
[S11] Dutton, Herbert W., 1910 US Census, Springfield, Windsor County, Vermont; NARA Roll 1618, father of Lillie M. Dutton, b. V[ermont].
[S12] Dutton, Herbert W., 1920 US Census, Springfield, Windsor County, Vermont; NARA Roll 1873, father of Lillie F. Dutton, b. Canada, mother tongue English.
[S4] Felch, Allen, 1880 US Census, Newbury, Orange County, Vermont; NARA T9 Roll 1345, pg. 15, age 28 b. "Vt."
[S221] Olavene Haas, to Kathelyn and Clifton Martin 26 July 1996. The contents are mostly genealogical, relating to descendants of Allen D. Felch of Newbury, Vt. There is some discussion of where information came from. Olavene had compared notes with a cousin before writing. The arrangement is pretty straightforward, but some material is duplicated, or summarized in one place and in full in another. "Allen Downing Felch born in Morgan, Vt Feb 16, 1852."
[S4] Felch, Allen, 1880 Census Newbury, VT, Allen Felch head of household, "Lizzie B. Felch" wife.
[S11] Dutton, Herbert W., 1910 Census Springfield, VT.
[S167] The July 1871 date is a guess based on the date of birth of their daughter Eliza Rebekah Felch, who was born 26 April 1872.
[S221] Haas, 26 Jul 1996, "Grampe Felch was married three times. Eliza Belle Gardner was his first wife".
[S4] Felch, Allen, 1880 Census Newbury, VT.
[S5] Felch, Allen D., 1900 Census Newbury, VT.
[S6] Bailey, Edwin F., 1910 US Census, Newbury, Orange County, Vermont; NARA Roll 1615.
[S221] Haas, 26 Jul 1996, "He later married Lula Bailey (I think??)" -- the author has put Allen's second and third wives out of order.
[S167] The evidence that Lula Bailey was Allen's second wife, and Bertha his third, is undermined but not overturned by Allen being buried in "the Bailey lot."
[S8] Felch, Allen D., 1920 US Census, Newbury, Orange County, Vermont; NARA Roll 1873.
[S221] Haas, 26 Jul 1996, "Allen Felch then" [after Eliza Belle Gardner's death in April 1895] "married a Bertha _____ who I assume was the Bertha Henman you mention" -- the author has put Allen's second and third wives out of order.
[S221] Haas, 26 Jul 1996, "died May 9, 1927".
[S221] Haas, 26 Jul 1996, "Gramp Felch is buried in the Bailey lot in Newbury".
[S167] I have recently discovered an apparently unrelated family in the 1860 census of Springfield, VT, in the Dutton District (where Allen's daughter Lillie later lived), that included an "Ethan A[llen?] Damon and an older woman named Felch. The coincidence seems remarkable, and I suspect stories have become confused and conflated. The investigation goes on.