Thursday, 30 November 2017

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

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