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
