I'm fortunate enough to have some old family photographs, and have included a few of them on this page to help illustrate the history of my family. A small ancestry chart is located at the bottom of this page to assist in tracing the various inter-relationships between the people depicted in these photos.

John Fenton (my 5^th great-grandfather) served with the Northampton Company of Associators, Bucks County Militia, during the Revolutionary War. In 1786 he was elected to the rank of Major. He now rests in the Old Addisville Graveyard, near Richboro, Pennsylvania.

 Ned and Ellen Roddy with daughter Nellie, about 1896.

Edward "Ned" Roddy and Ellen Theresa Fannon were born in neighboring villages in county Roscommon, Ireland. Although cousins, Ned and Ellen did not meet until after both had come to America. The couple was soon married and had thirteen children. Sadly, only their last born, Nellie (my great-grandmother) survived to adulthood.

 Bill Wilson & Nellie Roddy, about 1908.

Bill Wilson and Nellie Roddy were married in 1908. The couple had five children: Edward, William, Helen (my grandmother), Jeanette and John.

Tim and Delia Kenny and children, about 1921.

Timothy Patrick Kenny and Delia Bridget McGowan were natives of county Mayo, Ireland, who came to America in the early part of the last century. Although married in Baltimore, they eventually settled in Philadelphia. The above family photograph was taken after the birth of John, the fourth of the couple's six children. Delia died of child-birth fever in 1925, just 10 days after giving birth to her youngest daughter, Catherine (my grandmother). In order to ease the burden on the widowed Tim Kenny, several of his children were taken in raised and by other family members.

 Pvt. John McGowan, US Army, about 1918.

Delia's brother, John Joseph McGowan, had also immigrated to the United States from Ireland. Upon America's entry into the Great War (WWI), he enlisted in the US Army and returned to Europe as a member of the American Expeditionary Force.

Wedding of John McGowan and Mary Philbin, 1921.

Returning from the war with American citizenship in hand, John married fellow county Mayo native Mary Philbin, in 1921. After the death of his sister Delia, John and Mary were entrusted with the care of their newborn niece, Catherine, whom they took in and lovingly raised as their own. As she grew older, Catherine became known as "Cass."

Catherine Kenny, (right), as "Little Miss Ringold", about 1927.

Thomas Loftus and Mary Barrett were among the many nineteenth century Irish immigrants to settle in Philadelphia. Their American born son, John Francis Loftus, married Mary Elizabeth McGinnis, herself an Irish immigrant. Among John and Mary Loftus' twelve children was Raymond Ignatius Loftus (my great-grandfather).

John Loftus, date unknown.  

Mary Loftus, along with six of her children, about 1895.
The children (l to r) are Mary Loretta, Katherine, John, Veronica, Francis and Joseph.

A talented song and dance man, Ray Loftus made his way into Vaudeville, where he performed with the Keith Circuit and J.C. Mack Co., ...and, the story goes, sold bootleg hooch distilled by his brother-in-law! He later entertained troops in Australia during the Second World War.

Ray Loftus, date unknown.

Ray married Grace Genevieve Lynch, and in 1920 she gave birth to the couple's only child, John Francis Loftus (my grandfather). Although named after Ray's father, the boy was soon nicknamed "Jack." Ray later had five more children, all daughters, from two other marriages.

Grace and Jack Loftus, about 1940.

Jack Loftus and Cass Kenny were married in 1942. The following year Cass gave birth to the couple's only child, Maureen Ellen Loftus.

Jack and Cass Loftus, about 1942.

Hopefully the following five-generation ancestry chart, tracing the direct ancestors to the Fenton-Loftus family of today, will more clearly illustrate the relationships between the people in the photographs on this page. In addition to most of those people pictured above, this tree also includes other Fenton-Loftus ancestors for whom no photographs are available.

Five Generations of the Fenton-Loftus Family

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