Joel's Ancestors

Joel M. Fellows was the grandson of John G. Fellows, who was also sometimes called John G. Fellers. John G. Fellows was born in about 1755.

At some point prior to the Revolutionary war, John lived in eastern New York or Connecticut. John may be the John Fellers who fought with the 6th Regiment of Dutchess County (Land Bounty) during the Revolutionary War.¹ After the war, John moved first to Saratoga County, New York and then to Onondaga County, New York. John was one of the first settlers in Otisco.² Onondaga County did not see significant settlement by Europeans until after the war.

John had nine children: David, Benjamin, Hiram, Daniel, John, Ephraim, Betsey, Sally, and Electa.

John G. Fellows died on April 13, 1813.³ He is buried at Clark cemetery in Otisco. At the time of his death, John G. was married to Desire. Desire was probably John’s second wife and it is unknown whether she is the mother of his children.⁴ Desire Fellows and Joseph Arnold served as the administrators for John’s estate on August 30, 1813. An article in the Tully Independent, February 27, 1975, p 11, noted that the descendants of John G. Fellows still lived in Onondaga County:

John G. Fellers of the 6th Regiment of Duchess County pioneered to Otisco. He died on April 19, 1813 at age 59. He was the great great grandfather of Adelia Fellows, who married Edward Eibert (parents of Donald Eibert of Vesper), Jessie Fellows, who married Grant Jones, Mildred Fellows and Ethel Fellows, who married Abe Walberger. The Fellows/Fellers burial plot is in Otisco East Hillsdale or Clark Cemetery.

John's fourth child, Daniel Fellows, was born September 1, 1800 in Saratoga County, New York. Daniel married Jerusha Fuller, who was born in about 1801. Daniel and Jerusha had seven children: James, Joel Madison, John W., Pierce, Mary C., Huldah, and Elizabeth J. Jerusha died in 1840.

After Jerusha’s death, Daniel married his second wife, Almeda. Almeda was born in about 1803 and died in Tully on December 22, 1875. The 1860 census for Tully, New York shows Daniel with his wife, Amita, who is 56, and Elisa (Elizabeth?), who is working as a domestic. Daniel and Amita neighbor Daniel’s son Pierce and his family.

Daniel died on November 17, 1864. Daniel had a will, dated October 19, 1864, which mentions each child. Daniel is buried at Tully. The following images are of Daniel's will, which has been digitized on the Family Search website under the probate records for Onondaga County, Book M, page 525 (page 377 on the actual file):

The 1870 census lists Almeda (age 66) living with Elizabeth (age 27). It is unclear whether Elizabeth was born later than 1838. If she were born after Jerusha’s death, she might be Daniel’s child with Almeda. Almeda died on December 22, 1875 and is buried in Tully.

Daniel's daughter, Mary, married Robert Haynes, and Huldah married Andrew Spence.

Mary (Fellows) Haynes and Robert Haynes had a son, Henry Haynes (b February 1867). According to the 1900 census for Tully, New York, Mary (then 68) is living with her son, Henry, Henry's wife, Myra Haynes, and her grandson Robert Haynes, who was 4. Robert Haynes married Clara L. Haynes and had several children: Robert Haynes, Jr., Myra Haynes, Adelbert Haynes, and Charles D. Haynes. The Haynes branch of the family continues to own and operate a farm in Tully, New York to this day.

Daniel's daughter Elizabeth J. Fellows (possibly Joel Fellows' half-sister) married Orry A. Bailey. The 1870 census for Tully shows Elizabeth living with Almeda (listed as her mother) and an Orra Bailey (age 32). The 1880 census shows "Lizzie" and Orry living in Olive Township, Michigan, near Joel Fellows. The census showed that they had two children: Myra and Julie. Elizabeth and Orry had a son Floyd R. Bailey in March 1882. Elizabeth died of dropsy on April 13, 1888. Orry married his second wife, Lillie Wiggins Green in 1889. I have not been able to locate any members of this family.

1- See Beauchamp, Rev. W.M., Revolutionary Soldiers of Onondaga County New York (1933). However, the compiler of this record has assumed that John J. Feller was John G. Fellers, which may be incorrect.

2- See Bruce, Dwight H. (Ed.), Onondaga’s Centennial, Boston History Co. (1896), Vol II, p 303.

3- Fellows, Erwin W., The Fellows Families of Onondaga County, New York and Their Ancestry (1991). However, a picture of the marker shows his death date as April 19.

4- Id.