ANTHONY FISHER I (ca. 1558-1640)

After what feels like forever, I came to the end of the Fisher line in New England last month when I wrote about Anthony Fisher II, my 11^th great grandfather, who emigrated from England to Massachusetts. Today I am going to write about his father, Anthony Fisher I.

There are a few sources connecting Anthony Fisher II, known as Anthony Fisher Sr in New England, and Anthony Fisher I in England. One of which is The Compendium of American Genealogy, in which it states that the elder Anthony is from Wignotte, Suffolk, England, that his wife’s name was Mary Fiske and that they had two children, Anthony (1591-1671) and Joshua (1585-1674) both of whom emigrated to New England.

The New England Historical and Genealogical Register states that Anthony Fisher married Mary Fiske, daughter of Nicholas Fiske and Johan Crispe, on October 16, 1586, however, they have the place of marriage listed as the U.S., which is very unlikely.

The Directory of The Ancestral Heads of New England tells us that Anthony II is the son of Anthony of Syleham, Suffolk, England.

Thankfully I was able to find a transcribed Parish Record for Anthony from Suffolk which states Anthonie Fisher and Marie Fiske were married in Suffolk County, England on October 16, 1586.

One of the biggest challenges I find with researching ancestors, especially this far back, is conflicting information and the lack of primary sources. However, taking each source’s information into account, and then comparing that information to a source, such as a parish record, even when it is transcribed, gives us a good indication that we are on the right track.

Coupled with information I found for his son, Anthony II, which states he was from Syleham, Suffolk, England, and emigrated with a Joshua Fisher, settling in Dedham, Massachusetts, it is very promising that this is the correct link from Massachusetts to England. Which may seem simple based on this brief outline of how I got from point A to point B, but let me assure you, there are other branches that I have worked on for a very long time, and still have been unable to confirm where they originated from prior to their arrival in New England.

I had come across the book The Fisher Genealogy by Philip A Fisher some time ago, but hadn’t referenced it too much as I was still working from records in New England at that point and I always prefer records! Now that I have confirmed the link to Anthony Fisher and Mary Fiske in Suffolk County, England and have limited access to records there, it is proving to be a wealth of information, which I - of course – still take with a grain of salt. 

I won’t go on too much about this (again), but all genealogy has to be done with a critical eye. Information can be wrong. Records can be transcribed incorrectly. You just never know and it is always best to err on the side of caution.

The Fisher Genealogy provides details from parish records relating to the Fisher family, as well as details from the will of Anthony and Mary’s son, Cornelius, and information from a nephew of Mary Fiske, Matthew Candler. According to Philip A Fisher’s book, Matthew wrote the Candler Manuscript which is in the British Museum. 

Cornelius’ will reveals that Anthony Fisher and Mary Fiske had the following six children: Joshua, Anthony, Amos, Cornelius, Marie Brigge and Martha Buckingham. It also refers to the previously mentioned estate called Wignotte, “…My part in one tenement and certain land in Sileham called Wignotte…” This book also states that Cornelius was from East Bergholt, and after he died in 1638 his widow, Elizabeth, married Rev. George Smith of Dedham, in the same county. There is speculation that the children of his two daughters also removed to New England. 

The author laments that Matthew Candler “did not draw his pedigrees with more precision” and goes on to write that Mary Fiske’s parents were probably William and Anne Fiske of South Elmham. This conflicts with the information from the New England Register which states her parents are Nicholas Fiske and Johan Crispe. I will save that puzzle for another day.

From the parish records we know that Anthony died in 1640. By this time, we know his son Cornelius had died and his other sons, Anthony and Joshua had immigrated to New England.

I stumbled upon an excellent find, a website called obliquity.com, which immediately caught my attention with one of it’s headings: The Fisher Fallacies. The authors, David Harper and Lynne Marie Stockman, write that they have access to the English county record offices. They specifically wrote about information in The Fisher Genealogy by Philip A. Fisher that I had recently read, as being incorrect; In The Fisher Genealogy, the author transcribes sections related to the Fisher family from the Syleham parish records. One of them states, “Anno Domini 1585. Joshua et Maria Fysher Gemini baptisadi fuer 25^th die Februarii ano super dicto”. According to The Fisher Fallacies this information is incorrect. They state that the original entry actually reads, “Joh[n]es Foster et Gracia Foster gemelli baptizati fuere 24te die februarii an(n)o p(re)dicto [1585]”, and it goes on to clarify that “Joshua Fisher and his sister Mary were baptised two years apart in two different parishes.”

I was really happy to come across such information. I can’t tell you the amount of literature and documents I read that repeat the same information, and when you read the same information over and over in different sources, it begins to stick as truth in your mind simply because you’ve read it so many times that is becomes incredibly familiar to you, and it is compounded by the fact that they are from different sources. However, this doesn’t make it true. 

The other great thing about obliquity.com is they state their sources. Thank you! This is the bane of my existence when doing genealogy research (and why I always try to stick to primary sources when possible!). So, in no small part to obliquity.com, here is a summary of information on Anthony Fisher I: 

Anthony Fisher was baptized on February 1, 1558/9 in Stradbroke, Suffolk. His sister, Agnes, was baptized on the same day. Their father’s name is William Fisher. 

Anthony married Mary Fiske in Fressingfield, Suffolk County, England on October 16, 1586 and they had the following children: 

·        Joshua Fisher (bp. 1587/8-1674)

·        Mary Fisher (bp. 1589-)

·        Anthony Fisher II (bp. 1591-1671)

·        Amos Fisher (bp.1594-)

·        Martha Fisher (bp.1595/6-1659)

·        John Fisher (bp.1597-1636)

·        Cornelius Fisher (bp.1599-1641)

Anthony was buried on April 11, 1640 in Syleham, Suffolk County, England.

As well, in the Stradbroke, Suffolk County, England Parish Records, there is a record of marriage for a William “ffisher” and a Margaret Bert. They married on October 15, 1551. I believe it is highly likely that this is the marriage record for Anthony Fisher’s parents.

Well, that seems a good way to round out the year: finishing off with the Fisher line in England. I have been researching in New England for so long, I feel excited to shift focus to something else. I haven’t quite yet decided which line to focus on next, but it feels good to end the year linking the last New England ancestor to his roots in the old country.

Happy New Year! And as always, happy hunting, fellow gene geeks!

SOURCES:

·        Directory of the ancestral heads of New England Families, 1620-1700

·        Millenium File, ancestry.ca

·        North America, Family Histories, 1500-200, ancestry.ca

·        www.obliquity.com

·        Suffolk, England, Extracted Church of England Parish Records, ancestry.ca

·        The Compendium of American Genealogy

·        The Fisher Genealogy: A Record of the Descendants of Joshua, Anthony, and Cornelius Fisher, by Philip A. Fisher

·        The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 1847-2011, Vol: 151

·        U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s, ancestry.ca

·        U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current, ancestry.ca

Fishing For Even More Fishers In Colonial America ~ Anthony Fisher II

This month I am continuing on with the Fisher family. Last month I focused on Anthony Fisher Jr. Today, I am writing about his father, Anthony Fisher Sr.

There are five separate entries for Anthony Fisher in the U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s on ancestry.ca. I’ve broken each one down by original source below:

1.     Emigrants: Anthony and Joshua Fisher, arrived in Dedham, Massachusetts from Syleham, Suffolk, England. Source: BANKS, CHARLES EDWARD. Topographical Dictionary of 2885 English Emigrants to New England, 1620-1650.

2.     Primary Immigrant: Anthony Fisher, arrived in Massachusetts in 1637. Source: COLKET, MEREDITH B., JR. Founders of Early American Families: Emigrants from Europe, 1607-1657.

3.     Primary Immigrant: Anthony Fisher, arrived in Dedham, Massachusetts in 1637. Source: HOLMES, FRANK R., COMPILER. Directory of the Ancestral Heads of New England Families, 1620-1700.

4.     Primary Immigrant: Lydia Fisher, Name: Anthony Fisher, arrived in Dedham, Massachusetts in 1637, Family Members: Daughter Lydia; Wife Mary. SOURCE: KING, CAROL TYLER. Our Second Boat Ship List. In Second Boat (Downeast Ancestry, Machias. ME), vol. 16:4.

5.     Primary Immigrant: Anthony Fisher, arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1637. Source: VIRKUS, FREDERICK A., editor. Immigrant Ancestors: A List of 2,500 Immigrants to America before 1750.

I then searched each book online to see if I could find more information. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to read the full text for all the sources. For source #2 I was able to view a snippet window when I searched it on Google Books and it stated:

“ FISHER Fisher genealogy (Thomas only mentioned) 1898

ANTHONY Probably came on “Rose” 1637 Dedham (Mass.) d. Dor-

chester 18 Apr 1671. Deputy. Brother of Joshua. Cranberry 1964.

JOSHUA Dedham (Mass.) 1640, Medfield 1650, d. Medfield 9 Nov 16(illegible)4.”

I was able to read the full text for source #3 on archive.org:

“FISHER       ANTHONY, son of Anthony of Syleham, Suffolk, Eng.,

was baptized at that place 1591, settled at Dedham, Mass., 1637.

ANTHONY was a freeman at Dorchester, Mass., 1645…

JOSHUA, brother of the first Anthony, came to N.E.,

1640, settled at Dedham, Mass., afterwards at Medfield, Mass.”

I also found the following information from other sources:

1.     Marriage: Anthony Fisher, b. 1591, d. 1671, m. Mary unknown, 1620, in England. Source: U.S., N.E. Marriages Prior to 1700, ancestry.ca.

2.     Anthony Fisher, d. 18 Apr 1671, Dorchester, Mass. Source: Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988, ancestry.ca.

3.     Anthony Fisher, bp. 23 Apr 1591, Syleham, England, d. 18 Apr 1671, America, m. England; wife: Mary; parents: Anthony Fisher and Mary Ffiske. Source: North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000, ancestry.ca.

4.     Anthony Fisher, bp. 23 Apr 1591, Syleham, Suffolk, England, d. 18 Apr 1671, Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts. Source: Millenium File, ancestry.ca.

5.     Anthony Fisher, b. 23 Apr 1591, Syleham, Mid Suffolk District, Suffolk, England, d. 18 Apr 1671, Dorchester, Suffolk Co., Massachusetts. Source: U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current, ancestry.ca.

6.     “Anthony Fisher/Fischer…Yr. 1671, case: Administration, No. {mis’l docket”, Source: Suffolk Co, MA: Index to Probate Records, 1636-1893, p396, americanancestors.org

Compiling the above findings, it reads:

Anthony Fisher was baptized on April 23, 1591 in Syleham, Suffolk County, England. He married Mary in 1620 in England. He immigrated to Massachusetts, probably on board the ship Rose in 1637, arriving at Boston and settling in Dedham. Anthony had a brother, Joshua, who also immigrated to New England in 1640, first settling in Dedham, Massachusetts, then removing to Medfield, Massachusetts.

Anthony was a freeman at Dorchester, Suffolk, County, Massachusetts in 1645. Unlike Plymouth County, Massachusetts Bay Colony required a man to be a member of the Church to be a freeman. Therefore, we also know that Anthony Fisher was a member of the Church.

Anthony died in Dorchester on April 18, 1671.

Although I could only access the index for Anthony’s probate record, in the Early New England Families Study Project it states that the surviving children of “late Anthony Fisher Sen” of Dorchester divided his estate among them on July 25, 1671. It was signed by Daniel Fisher, Nath Fisher, Cornelius Fisher, Daniel Morse and Joanna Fisher. Daniel Morse was the husband of Anthony’s daughter, Lydia, and Joanna, I am assuming, is the widow of Anthony Jr, since he had died prior to his father. However, it also states in this document that Anthony and “Alice (-----) Fisher” came with three of their children to New England in 1637, settling in Dedham. I then found another record, the U.S. New England Marriages Prior to 1700, which also has Alice as Anthony’s wife: “Alice _____, 1/wf (c1594-1662/3); m. c1614 Syleham, Suffolk.” So, which one is correct?

According to the The Fisher Genealogy: A Record of the Descendants of Joshua, Anthony, and Cornelius Fisher, of Dedham, Mass., 1630-1640, Anthony was the son of Anthony of Syleham, Suffolk County, England, and he was baptized on April 23, 1591. It states he and his first wife, Mary, along with their children emigrated to New England from Yarmouth on board the ship Rose, arriving at Boston on June 26, 1637, and settling in Dedham. It tells us that his wife, Mary, joined the Dedham Church on March 27, 1642, but that he was not allowed to join the church until March 14, 1645 because of “his proud and haughty spirit”.

This information lines up with a record I found on americanancestors.org and mentioned in last month’s post: “Md Anthony Fisher mentioned in ye beginning after many offences given in his conv’rsation & much means used to convince & reduce him into order, at last after god much humbled him & brought him to a  penitent co’fession therof he was co’fortably received into ye church 14d m 1645.”

The bottom line is, I have no clue which is correct, but I sure am glad I had a chance to share that church record again! I would have loved to be a fly on the wall for those meetings! It seems more likely to me, based on the information I have found so far, that Mary is the wife of Anthony Fisher. With that said, unless I find information that clearly confirms it was one or the other with solid facts, it’s one of those awesome loose ends that you have to get used in genealogy!

One thing I do know for sure is that Anthony remarried in 1663 to Isabel Breck at Dorchester, Suffolk County, Massachusetts. According to the New England Marriages Prior to 1700 Isabel was first married to John Rigby, then Edward Breck, prior to marrying Anthony. From the records I could find it seems that Anthony lived the remainder of his days with Isabel in Dorchester, where he was buried. She died June 21, 1673, outliving all three of her husbands.

Now, as I’m sure you’ve figured out by now, there is one more Anthony Fisher to discuss. We’ve talked about Anthony III and Anthony II. So, perhaps that will be next months topic… or not. Just to keep you on your toes. 😉

Until next time, happy hunting, fellow gene geeks!

SOURCES:

·        American Marriages Before 1699, ancestry.ca

·        Dedham Church Records, MA Vital Records, 1620-1850, americanancestors.org

·        Directory of the Ancestral Heads of New England, p. lxxxiii

·        Early New England Families Study Project, Daniel Morse, 1610-1688, Vol. 1, americanancestors.org

·        Massachusetts: Town & Vital Records, 1620-1988, ancestry.ca

·        Millenium File, ancestry.ca

·        North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000, ancestry.ca

·        Suffolk County, Massachusetts: Index to Probate Records, 1636-1893, americanancestors.org

·        The Compendium of American Genealogy

·        The Fisher Genealogy: A Record of the Descendants of Joshua, Anthony, and Cornelius Fisher, of Dedham, Mass., 1630-1640, by Philip A Fisher

·        The New England Historical & Genealogical Register, 1847-2011, Vol. 151

·        U.S. & Canada, Passenger Lists Index, 1500s-1900s, ancestry.ca

·        U.S. & International Marriage Records, 1560-1900, ancestry.ca

·        U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current, ancestry.ca

·        U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700, ancestry.ca

Fishing For More Fishers In Colonial America ~ Anthony Fisher Jr.

Today I’m going to talk about my 10^th great grandfather, Anthony Fisher III. He is the father of Eleazer Fisher, who I wrote about last month. I have found A LOT of information for Anthony, which is amazing, however, there is conflicting information, some of which I couldn’t find sources for. I ended up confused and overwhelmed sifting through it all. So, I decided to take a step back, take a deep breath, and keep it simple. I put aside the plethora of information from papers, books, etc., that people had written and instead just focused on information from records that I could find.

According to the record of birth for Eleazer, he was born in 1669 in Dedham, Massachusetts, and his parents names were Anthony and Johanna Fisher. Therefore, we know the Fisher family was in Massachusetts by 1669, and we know we are looking for an Anthony and Johanna Fisher.

I started with The Record Of Births, Marriages And Deaths, And Intentions Of Marriage, In The Town Of Dedham, Volume One in search of records for births of their children.

BIRTHS:

·        1648: “1648…Mehitabell, the Daughter of Anthony & Jon Fisher, was borne    the 27 of ye 4 mo.” (p.4)

·        1654: “Josiah, Son of Anthony & Joan Fisher, born May 1: 1654.” (p.7)

·        1658: “1658…Sarah, the Daughter of Anthony & Jane Fisher, was borne 27: 8 mo., 1658.” (p.7)

·        1669: “Eliezer, Son of Anthony & Johanna Fisher, was borne 18^th Sept., 1669.” (p.11)

I then moved on to marriage records and found the following possible matches.

MARRIAGES:

·        1677: “1677…John Guild & Sarah Fisher married the 22d 3m.” (p.17)

·        1679: “James Fales and Deborath Fisher marryed the 20: 8: 1679.” (p.17)

·        1679: “Josiath Fisher and Meletiah Bulling marryed 27^th: 11: 1679.” (p.17)

·        1685: “Benjamin Coalburne & Abia Fisher was marryed March 5.” (p.20)

*There was no year for Benjamin and Abia’s marriage, however, the ones above this entry were for 1685.

I then moved on to death records and found a match for one of them.

DEATH:

·        1688: “Abia Coalburne deceased Nouemb. 18.” (p.21) Sadly, this means they would have been married less than four years when Abiah died.

I felt I was getting too far ahead for the generation I was searching for, and was about to stop when I came across a record of birth that stood out me because it was for a daughter of Josiah Fisher, named Johanah (b. 1686). Could this be our Josiah, and his daughter is named after his mother? This caused me to search some more and I found a few records.

BIRTHS:

·        1681: “Bethia, daughter of Josiah & Melitiah Fisher, was borne 10: 10: 81.” (p.18)

·        1683: “Josiah, the son of Josiah & Militia Fisher, was borne the 25: 9: 83. (p.18)

·        1686: “Johanah, ye daughter of Josiah & Mehetabell Fisher, was borne September 3, 1686. (p.22)

MARRIAGE:

·        1693: “Josiah Fisher & Joanna Morse, was married September 1, 1693.” (p.24)

The marriage record for Josiah and Joanna prompted me to look for a death record for Melitiah, which I found in the 1693 death records:

DEATH:

·        1693: “Milatiah Fisher, deceased April 23, 93.” (.p.25)

After spending hours going over the records for the time frame in question in this source, I decided it was time to look for records elsewhere. My go-to source for all things New England is, of course, the New England Historic Genealogical Society’s website, americanancestors.org. It did not disappoint!

At the top of the list for things I was hoping to find were birth records for Abia and Deborah, and I found both, as well as another child, in the Dedham Church Records.

BIRTHS:

·        1656: “Abiah ye daughter of Anthony Fisher jun. was also baptised ye same day” (record from above had the date 3d 6m 1656)

·        1660: “THE FIRST CHURCH… Deborah daughter of our br: Antony Fisher juni was baptised 24d 12m 1660.”

·        1663: “Judith ye daughter of Brother Anthony Fisher Jun: was baptised 5day 5m 63.”

I also found a marriage record for Anthony and Johanna.

MARRIAGES:

·        1647: Anthony Fisher & Johana Faxin, was married the 7 of mo.”

Then I found two church records, both for the name Anthony Fisher.

RECEIVED INTO THE CHURCH:

·        1645: “Md Anthony Fisher mentioned in ye beginning after many offences given in his conv’rsation & much means used to convince & reduce him into order at last after god much humbled him & brought him to a penitent co’fession therof he was co’fortably received into ye church 14d 1m 1645.”

·        1645: “THE FIRST CHURCH… Anthony Fisher jun. received into ye church 20d 5m 1645.”

As you can imagine, I am loving that first record! And of course, I wish I had his account of what went on! The dates are so close, it could refer to the same person, I suppose. However, I suspect that the first record is in reference to someone else, who I suspect may be Anthony Fisher Sr.

I also found two death records that are possible matches for Anthony and Johannah Fisher.

DEATHS:

·        1669: “Anthony Fisher, deceased 13^th Febr., 1669.”

·        1694: “Joannah Fisher deceased October 16, 1694.”

I also did a search on ancestry.ca and found a great record, although it is handwritten and it will take me some time to decipher what it says, however, what I can see is quite telling.

Yep, that’s all I got so far. Still, it’s pretty good. I’m pretty sure the rest of it is describing the piece of land.

Here is a time line of the information I found possibly relating to Anthony Fisher and his family:

·        1645: Md Anthony Fisher received into the church, Dedham, MA

·        1645: Anthony Fisher Jr. received into the church, Dedham, MA (May 20^th)

·        1647: Anthony Fisher and Johana Faxin/Faxon were married (July)

·        1648: Daughter, Mehitabell, was born (Apr 27^th)

·        1654: Son, Josiah, was born (May 1^st)

·        1656: Daughter, Abiah, was baptised (June 3^rd)

·        1658: Daughter, Sarah, was born (Aug 27^th)

·        1660: Daughter, Debora, was baptised (Dec 24^th)

·        1663: Daughter, Judith, was baptised (May 5^th)

·        1669: Anthony Fisher died (Feb 13^th)

·        1669: Son, Eliezer, was borne (Sept 18^th)

·        1677: Daughter, Sarah, m. John Guild (Mar 22^nd)

·        1679: Daughter, Deborah, m. James Fales (Aug 20^th)

·        1679: Son, Josiah, m. Meletiah Bulling (Nov 27^th), had ch. Bethia (1681), Josiah (1683) & Johanah (1686), wife, Milatiah, died (1693)

·        1685: Daughter, Abiah, m. Benjamin Coalburne (Mar 5^th)

·        1688: Daughter, Abiah, died (Nov 18^th)

·        1693: Son, Josiah, m. Joanna Morse (Sept 1^st)

·        1694: Joannah Fishar died (Oct 16^th)

·        1698: Son, Eleazer, m. Mary Lane Avery (Oct 13^th)

·        1722: Son, Eleazer, died (Feb 6^th)

By no means is this a completed project for me. I have a few documents regarding land grants that I am trying to decipher the handwriting on, plus I hope to continue to discover more records pertaining to Anthony Fisher Jr and his immediate family. I also intend to share findings relating to Anthony Fisher Sr in a future post.

Until next time, happy hunting, fellow gene geeks!

SOURCES:

·        Dedham Church Records, MA Vital Records, 1620-1850, americanancestors.org

·        The New England England Historical and Genealogical Register, 1847-2011, ancestry.ca

·        The Record Of Births, Marriages And Deaths, And Intentions Of Marriage, In The Town Of Dedham, Volumes 1 & 2. (1635-1845), Edited by Don Gleason Hill, Town Clerk, Dedham, Mass., 1886.

Fishing for Fishers in Colonial America ~ Eleazer Fisher (1669-1722)

Last month I shared my findings about Mary Fisher, my 7^th great grandmother. Once I was able to establish her identity, her record of birth gave me the first clue to her parents’ identities. It reads, “Mary, ye daughter of Eliezer & Mary Fisher, born Augt. 29, 1731.”

At first, I did a broad search for Eliezer. Finding multiple hits for men with that name living in Massachusetts during this time frame I decided to pare down my search to Dedham. I was comfortable doing this because I had already found records revealing that Mary and her siblings were all born there. Therefore, we know Eliezer and Mary Fisher resided in Dedham between 1725 and 1732.

I came across a record for a Sarah Fisher who was recommended “into full communion” on May 2, 1742. It states she is the daughter of Captain Eleazer Fisher. This would make her too young to be the daughter of Eleazer Junior, but a possible daughter of my 8^th great grandfather. If this is a match, we find out two things: the family is still in Dedham in 1742, and Eleazer is a Captain.

I then found a death record for Captain Eleazer Fisher. It states that he died on November 4, 1745, about 46 years of age “soon after his return from Cape Breton”. He was “buried at Boston, where he died.” Although the death and burial took place in Boston, I found this information in the Dedham Church Records, establishing a link for this Eleazer between Dedham and Boston.

Based on his approximate age at death, Captain Eleazer Fisher would have been born about 1699, and in the Dedham records there was a birth recorded for an Eleazer Fisher, born September 29, 1699. He was the son of Eleazer and Mary Fisher.

Knowing that my 8^th great grandparents’ names are Eliazer and Mary Fisher, I searched for records between 1600 and 1700 in Dedham. I found a record of marriage for Eleazer Fisher and Mary Avery on October 13, 1698. This fits well with a firstborn son bearing the same name as his father being born just under a year after their marriage.

I then found a record of birth for Eliezer, the son of Cornelius and Leah Fisher. He was born on July 8, 1663. When I found this record I was super excited. It seemed like a perfect match (not to mention, the family was well documented making this match a genealogist’s dream!). However, when I jovially opened my tree on ancestry.ca to enter the information I realized I had already entered Eleazer’s parents and they were NOT Cornelius and Leah!

The SAR application states: Eleazer Fisher, b. Sept. 18, 1669, d. Feb. 6, 1722, m. Mary Avery (b. Aug. 21, 1674, d. Mar. 25, 1717) on Oct 13, 1698; and that he is the son of Anthony Fisher, d. Feb. 13, 1670, m. Johann Faxon (d. Oct. 16, 1694) on Sept. 7, 1647; and that he is the son of Anthony Fisher, d. Apr. 18, 1671, m. Mary ---.

I had totally forgotten about this! Thankfully, I had made a note of where I found the information. It was from a U.S. Sons of the American Revolution Membership Application for Hugh Gaylord Fisher in 1941. Although this is not a primary source, they don’t take these things lightly, and the application had been approved. So, assuming their information is correct, I continued searching and found another record. This one was for the birth of Eliezer Fisher, son of Anthony and Johanna Fisher, born September 18, 1669.

Although I was very happy to have that settled, I was still interested in how Anthony and Cornelius are related. It seems highly likely that anyone with the Fisher surname at that time and in such a small area are likely family. So, I continued to search. In the New England Historical Genealogical Register there was a document titled English Ancestry of Joshua and Anthony Fisher. It states that Anthony Fisher and Cornelius Fisher are brothers, and that they had five other siblings: John, Daniel, Lydia, Leah and Nathaniel. They were all born in England, and arrived in New England with their parents, Anthony and Alice Fisher, by July 18, 1637 (first record of Anthony Fisher in the colonies). An excellent find that opens up a new avenue to research! But I’ll save that for another day.

Until next time, happy hunting, fellow gene geeks!

SOURCES:

·       English Ancestry of Joshua and Anthony Fisher, New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume: 151, pp.182, 183 (americanancestors.org)

·       Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1620-1850, Volume: Dedham – V1&2, pp.30, 59 (americanancestors.org)

·       Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1620-1850, Volume: Dedham Church Records, pp.89, 162 (americanancestors.org)

·       New England Marriages to 1700, Volume: 1, p.545, Torrey’s New England Marriages (americanancestors.org)

·       U.S. Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970, SAR Membership #58904 (ancestry.ca)

Happy 286th Birthday, Mary Fisher! (My 7th Great Grandmother)

Let me introduce you to my (ours?) 7^th great grandmother: Mary Fisher. Mary was born on August 29, 1731, which makes it very fitting that I should write about her this month. In researching Mary, I found documents for a Mary with the same parents around the same time period of her birth. Once I was able to suss it out a little more, I came to the conclusion that she must have had an older sister, with the same name that died shortly before “my” Mary was born.

My 8^th great aunt was bon on December 29, 1726 in Dedham, Norfolk, Massachusetts, and was baptized on January 10^th, 1727 (the record says 1726-7, but since she was born at the end of 1726, it must be 1727). The record states she was baptized “in private ye child being apprehended to be nigh its end”. She died February 10, 1730 in Dedham.

Searching further, I found records on americanancestors.org that appear to be siblings of the two Marys:

·        Eleazer, born January 3, 1726, Dedham, Norfolk, MA

·        Ebenezer, born January 28, 1732-3, Dedham, Norfolk, MA

The records for Mary and her siblings reveal their parents’ names: Eleazer/Eliezer and Mary Fisher. a record of marriage in the database Boston, MA: Marriages, 1700-1809 (americanancestors.org) provides the following information: “OUT-OF-TOWN-MARRIAGES. …Eleazer Fisher & Mary Penniman. (Married by) Mr. Joseph Marsh (Location) Brantrey, Nov. 19, 1724.” I believe Brantrey is a misspelling of Braintree. I have seen it on other early records for Suffolk County, which Braintree was a part of until the formation of Norfolk in 1793. Assuming Brantrey is Braintree, the location of their marriage still doesn’t put them in the same location as their children’s births so it’s difficult to say that this marriage record is a match for our Eleazer and Mary. Back to researching... I found a birth record for Eleazer in the vital records for Dedham: “Eleazer, the son of Eleazer & Mary Fisher, was born September the 29^th, 1699.” Although it is great to have record of his birth, it still doesn’t connect us to Braintree. I was unsuccessful in trying to find a record of birth for Mary Penniman, however, there were multiple records for Pennimans in Braintree. So, this is our possible connection to Boston, and why Eleazer and Mary were married there. Hopefully further research will confirm or correct this information, but what we do know is that Mary’s parents’ names are Eleazer and Mary Fisher.

According to one of the SAR Applications, Mary married Daniel Robbins on May 1, 1751, however, according to two separate transcribed records by the New England Historic Genealogical Society (americanancestors.org), Mary and Daniel were married May 7, 1751 in Walpole, Norfork (misspelling of Norfolk?), Massachusetts. There is also a handwritten document of “Intentions of Marriage Entred” that states, “Daniel Robins of Walpole and Mary Fisher of Dedham, Jan. 23d 1750/51”, also in the americanancestors.org database.

Mary Fisher and Daniel Robbins daughter, Mary, is my 6^th great grandmother. She was born February 2, 1752 in Norton, Massachusetts, married Isaac Marshall May 6, 1772 in Walpole, “Norfork” and died January 7, 1817.

While searching through the databases at americanancestors.org there was a list of births in Walpole, Norfolk, Massachusetts. This list contained the following entries, all very likely siblings of Mary Robbins:

·        “Hanah, d. Daniel and Mary, Dec. 15, 1754.”

·        “Daniel, s. Daniel and Mary, Feb. 27, 1757.”

·        “Asa, s. Daniel and Mary, May 5, 1759.”

·        “Azube, d. Daniel and Mary, Apr. 7, 1761.”

·        “Kezia, d. Daniel and Mary, Mar. 30, 1766.”

·        “Mehitable, d. Daniel and Mary, Nov. 19, 1768.”

·        “Eleazer, s. Daniel and w., Jul. 16, 1771.”

Unfortunately, Eleazer’s record doesn’t include his mother’s name. However, since her father’s name is Eleazer, I wonder if this is a correct match for being her son, named after her father. At this point, I can’t confirm this theory, but he is in the right location at the right time to be a match. As well, there are no other entries for children of a Daniel on this record of Walpole Births besides the ones I’ve listed above. Therefore, it is likely “my” Daniel is the only one in Walpole at this time and therefore Eleazer would be his son. As well, according to the gravestone for Daniel and Mary, located in Lakeview Cemetery, Kennebec County, Maine (see last month’s post), she didn’t die until 1804, therefore, Daniel’s wife on Eleazer’s record of birth in 1771 would be Mary Fisher.

In comparing the SAR membership applications to records I’ve found on americanancestors.org and findagrave.com, there are some discrepancies that I will have to look into further. For example, SAR applications have Mary’s date of death as February 25, 1805, and Daniel’s date of death as March 4, 1804, however, in a photo of their gravestone that a user on ancestry.ca uploaded to their tree, it has Mary’s year of death as 1804 and Daniel’s year of death as 1803.

The photo was taken by M Shearer at Lakeview Cemetery, 

Kennebec County, Maine on June 24, 2011.

It also has differences in Daniel’s lineage. I will definitely look into this and hopefully find some clarity.

In the meantime, happy hunting, fellow gene geeks!

SOURCES:

·        Boston, MA: Marriages, 1700-1809, Vol: 1, p.309 (americanancestors.org)

·        Photo by M Shearer, Lakeview Cemetery, Kennebec County, Maine (ancestry.ca)

·        Massachusetts: Compiled Marriages, 1633-1850 (americanancestors.org)

·        Massachusetts: Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 (americanancestors.org)

·        Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1620-1850, Vol: Dedham – V1&2, p.59 (americanancestors.org)

·        Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1620-1850, Vol: Dedham Church Records, pp.41,46 (americanancestors.org)

·        Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1620-1850, Vol: Walpole-V1, p.71 (americanancestors.org)

·        Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications (#60475 & #28324), americanancestors.org (americanancestors.org)