[3] Margaret Reike, her foster mother, ensured Fenton got an education beyond what her parents might have afforded.
[3] Fenton began her journalist career in 1886 as a Toronto correspondent for the Northern Advance, a daily newspaper in Barrie, Ontario.
[3] Fenton wrote columns at night, travelled to work as a journalist during the summer, while remaining a teacher during the day.
[2] As a writer, she interviewed famous people of the day like Susan B. Anthony, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Catherine Parr Traill,[3] Pauline Johnson and Emma Albani.
[6] Fenton took up residence in Dawson City and began to send reports of the gold rush back to eastern Canada.