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This
is the only poem where Fenerty mentions something
about his life. Though this poem is considered
a typical 19th century ballad, it might contain
some facts about Fenerty. So far no one really
knows when Charles Fenerty was born. Records
listing his name have not surfaced yet. The
church where he was baptized and married are
missing those records. No newspaper, so far,
mentions his birth date. Family records are
extremely limited; almost nothing on Charles
Fenerty himself. One person, though, did mention
in a letter to Dr Bruce Fergusson that Charles
Fenerty was born in 1820. On his tombstone it
says that he died on June 10, 1892 at the age
of 71. This means that he could have been born
in either 1820 or 1821. This poem does suggest
that he was born in 1820. At the end of each
stanza he says, "In the year eighteen hundred
and two." I don't take that as 1802, that
wouldn't be very poetic. I think he means 1800
plus two decades more, thus 1820. Research still
continues to help prove this theory. The rest
of the poem sounds very similar to his life.
His father did died and leave him and his brothers
a fairly nice estate. His father did go from
a farmer to a saw mill owner operator, they
had a small home with cattle, and Fenerty did
die poor. His father died just before he left
for Australia. Fenerty probably took his inheritance
and left on his adventure, consuming everything
in his journeys. |
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