Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Canada General Service 1866-70, 1 clasp, Fenian Raid 1866 (Cr. Sgt. F. J. Grenny, 1st Brantford R. Co,) Canadian style impressed naming, dark toned, good very fine £300-£400

Francis (Frank) James Grenny was born in Brantford, Ontario, on 13 October 1840. He was employed as a general merchant and assistant postmaster at the general store at Cainsville, Ontario, run by his mother Margaret who was also Postmistress. He served as a Colour-Sergeant in the 38th Brantford Battalion during the Fenian Raid on Fort Erie in 1866, for which he subsequently received the medal and clasp issued in 1899. In 1870 Grenny was appointed Quartermaster of the 38th Regiment, or Dufferin Rifles, and in 1875 was appointed Paymaster; he eventually retired from the Dufferin Rifles as a Major in 1888. In addition to his interest in the postal service, Grenny seems to have had a successful business as a poultry breeder and by 1882 was Treasurer of the Ontario Poultry Association. Grenny also appears to have taken up an early interest in numismatics and philately, and was a Charter Member of the American Philatelic Association in 1886 (no. 107), a Founding Member of the Canadian Philatelic Association in 1887 (No. 2), and a Charter Member of the American Numismatic Association in 1891 (No. 21). In 1893 in New York was sold the collection of Canadian Coins and War Medals formed by F. J. Grenny. In 1896, his marriage of 1869 having broken up, Grenny moved to Los Angeles where he ran a business selling eggs for hatching and had an interest in agriculture. He died in Los Angeles on 4 November 1923.