Minnie Dixon was born in Illinois on March 18, 1865, to William A. and Catherine Dixon. The family moved to Iowa in 1870. She married Cyrus Richmond Fenwick (1860-1935) in Perry, Iowa, in 1882. The couple moved to Illinois a year later, but soon moved back to Iowa. Both Minnie and Cyrus became ordained ministers in the Congregational Church around 1900 and served several congregations separately while in Iowa. In 1907, the family, which now included 4 children, moved to a homestead near Luther, Wyoming, (later renamed Burns) and later moved to Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Both Fenwicks preached and officiated marriages and funerals in the area and Minnie served as pastor-in-charge of three local preaching circuits and as president of the Laramie County Sunday School Association. Cyrus left the ministry to pursue various business endeavors, including carpentry and photography, while Minnie served in behalf of the Christian Church in Burns and outlying communities in Laramie County. Minnie was very involved in the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union of Wyoming, serving as its treasurer and state organizer. She campaigned strongly for prohibition and traveled around Wyoming lecturing and preaching. She was also lecturer of the New Wyoming State Grange. Minnie died on March 8, 1937 in Cheyenne. The couple moved to Cheyenne in 1925, where they lived out the remainder of their days.