Line 3.4 Mary Fisher Clapp; Living the Dream

Mary Fisher was born in America, grew up in America and although we don’t know when or where (but probably Dedham, Massachusetts), she died in America. Her heritage may have been English but her life was American. Living on a firm Christian foundation, Mary’s faith may have been as strong as her parents or it may have weakened or strengthened in a different direction. The generations following the first was less strict in their faith but they were still believers; living their lives in the shadow of the church and giving what would become the United States of America, it’s Christian favor for generations to come.

Mary Fisher was born 02 April 1621 in Dedham, Norfolk, Massachusetts

Married 10 November 1662 in Dedham, MA to Thomas Clapp who was born 15 March 1638/39 in Weymouth, MA and died 07 August 1689 in Dedham, MA

Mary’s death date is unknown

The children of Thomas Clap and Mary Fisher were:

1.      Thomas Clapp born 26 September 1663 married Mary ?

2.      John Clapp born 28 February 1664/65

3.      Joshua Clapp born 1667 married Silence  Bird

4.      Mary Clapp born 13 December 1669

5.      Eliezer  Clapp born 04 November 1671

6.      Abigail Clapp born 12 December 1674

7.      Hannah Clapp born 28 March 1679 married William  Robbins

8.      Samuel Clapp born 21 August 1682; married Elizabeth Fisher

I only know a few details of Mary fisher’s life. She was born 23 March 1643/4 in Dedham, Massachusetts where her parents, Joshua and Mary (Aldis) Fishers had meet and married. Her baptismal record in that same town reads, "Mary ye daughter of our Brother and sister Joshuah Fisher and his wife Mary was baptized 31d 1 m 1644." We know Mary survived her husband, Thomas Clapp, as he left her household goods, one end of the dwelling-house and 8 pounds a year while she remained his widow. She was a young widow and had children to rise. There is no indication that she remarried. Thomas had been the son of Thomas Clapp Sr. and probably his first of three wives, Abigail whose maiden name is unknown. Thomas Sr. came from Sidbury, Co. Devon, England. While not extremely wealthy men, both Thomases left estates that suggested a middle class comfort created from a strong work ethic.

Mary and her husband Thomas Clapp were of the first generation born in the New World. They probably never knew England except in their parent’s reminiscences. Their world was made up of the forested New England, full of new world ideas and dreams. They never saw the castles or cathedrals of England. The England they knew was through their parents’ stories. They were separated from the Old World by a three months sea voyage and a wilderness stretching west into the unknown. Their parents were bent on creating a City on the Hill, a shining beacon of the true way to worship and live. But it was a rigid “city” that had little room for individuality or a spirit of seeking a bigger more complicated God. Mary Fisher and Thomas Clapp’s generation lead a quiet rebellion, not losing their Puritan spirit but become less ridged in their beliefs. Mary and Thomas were also bent on creating a comfortable living, in a land between wilderness and the open sea that lead to far away England. They were still bound them in the English thought patterns and traditions. However they were the first generation to truly create an American ideal. Their “puritan work ethic” would persist through many generations, coloring the American people. The importance of education, faith and a representative government was established in the hopes and faith of these people so saturated in a need to purify their religion that they would uproot their families and seek out a place where they could be independent and express their beliefs in all aspects of life. Mary and Thomas’ generation was less fanatical about their “religion” their parents. While their parents were intent on witnessing to the native population, Mary and Thomas’ generation and that of their children, was more intent on owning a piece of the dream through land ownership and moving up in the world. The zeal of the puritans was not quit so obvious in proceeding generations. But it was still there, coloring not just New England but all of what would become the United States of America. In our age we, in our sophistication, we tend to laugh and sneer at the simple faith of the early New England settlers, jeering at their witchcraft trials, their exiles of dissenters and hanging of Quakers and their ridged belief system. We don’t need to whitewash Puritan New England, but we need to be fair in judgment. These were men and women of uncommon faith and courage who, indeed, built a foundation that has stood strong for many generations. Mary and Thomas Clapp’s generation and the ones that preceded them ebbed and flowed with the need to worship God; each new generation created men and woman of exceptional faith just as it created villains.

***SOURCES****

1. The Record of Baptisms, Marriages, and Deaths in the Town of Dedham, Mass.  Edited by Don Gleason Hill

3.  "Ancestry of Nathan Aldus of Dedham" New England Historical and Genealogical Register Vol 150, page 489

Line 3.4 Joshua Fisher Jr. -- Living the Dream

Joshua Fisher Jr. was born in England but left as a young boy/man to live out the dream of John Winthrop and the Puritans in the City on the Hill. Faith, bravery and a sense of adventure must have filled this young man’s heart as he left the familiar landscape of Syleham, England for the unfamiliar forest of Massachusetts.

Joshua Fisher was born 02 April 1621 in Syleham, Suffolk, England

Married 1. Mary Aldis was the daughter of Nathan and Mary Aldis and the mother of his eight children.

      2. Lydia, the widow of Samuel Oliver

Died 10 August 1672 in Dedham, Hampshire, Massachusetts

The children of Joshua Fisher and Mary Aldis were:

1.      Mary Fisher born 23 March 1643/44 in Dedham, Massachusetts; married Thomas Clapp

2.      Joshua Fisher born 30 October 1645 in Dedham, Massachusetts where he died as an infant on 14 January 1645/46

3.      Hannah Fisher born 14 February 1646/47 in Dedham and died young

4.      Abigail Fisher born 28 February 1648/49 and married John Houlton

5.      Joshua Fisher born 09 January 1650/51, married Esther Wiswell and had at least seven children.

6.      John Fisher born 18 February 1651/52 in Dedham and died 1727 in Medfield, MA. He married Hannah Adams in Dedham

7.      Hannah Fisher born 19 January 1652/53, died young

8.      Vigilance Fisher born 21 November 1654 in Dedham, Massachusetts. He married Rebecca Partridge

Joshua Fisher was born sometime shortly before his baptism on 02 April 1621 in Fressington His baptismal record reads: “Joshua Fysher, the sonne of Joshua Fysher, was baptized on the ii daye of Aprille“.

Joshua emigrated from Syleham, co. Suffolk to Dedham, MA about 1637 or 1638 with his uncle Anthony Fisher and his family. As a teenager of about 16 or 17 years, he began life in the New World with the big responsibility of creating a working post for his father. "The First of ye 11th Month (1638) Jan 1, 1638/9 Joshua Jr. entered upon the lot granted the smith and is to hold it and make improvements for the behalfe of his Father who is expected this next somer”Dedham Massachusetts record of 1 January 1637/8: "vpon a motion made by ant Fisher it is condescended that Josua Fisher [nephew of Anthony and son of Joshua] may enter vpon the Smithes Lott & ther fitt himselfe ye building & otherwise for to doe some worke of ye trade for ye Towne in the behalfe of his Father wth is expected this next somer. Provided yt yf he cometh nto insuch a tyme as may be conceived fitting by our sayd society Then the syd Josua shall leave ye sayd Lott & ye Towne to be at liberty to put in another Smith; aloweing vnto the sayd Joshua his whollCharges vpon the same to be alowed by 2: Judicious men." Joshua had to relinquish his “job” as his father did not arrive before the set date. His father and new wife arrived soon after though and the Fisher family continued to have influence in Dedham. The third Joshua of the Fisher line was among the 18 men who signed the Dedham Covenant. In 1639 he joined the Dedham Church where he probably married Mary Aldis, daughter of Deacon Nathan (or Nathaniel) Aldis and his wife Mary . Joshua Jr. became a freeman of the town in 1649. Joshua was a talented man who was a draughtsman, mapmaker and eventually a state surveyor. He was a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Co., a town selectman, clerk of the court of writs and for twenty-one years representative. This busy man became a lieutenant of the Military Company of Dedham in 1643, one of the commissioners who laid out the boundary between Plymouth colony and Massachusetts (for which he was granted three hundred acres of land) and on the commission to lay out the boundary between Sudbury and Watertown.

In between all this activity, Joshua ran the “Fisher Tavern” or “publicke house” in Dedham, on the corners of High and Court Streets. The town “publicke house” was an important building in a small New England town. It was here that many business and town meetings were held as well as well as being a social center. It is not hard to imagine Joshua as a sociable, energetic man. He seems to never to have stopped running, living the Puritan ideal of being a successful businessman but also having strong religious ties. Joshua was the picture of the ideal Puritan; educated, churched, and a successful businessman. He portrays the puritan work that permeates so much of the American culture.

Joshua and Mary had eight children, five of whom lived to marry and have children of their own. Mary died in 1653. The following year Joshua married Lydia, the widow of Samuel Oliver of Boston. Joshua died in 16 72. Lydia survived him by a number of years, dieing on 02 February 1682/83.

Joshua did not leave a will. Public reads records the following: "10, 6 mth in 1672; Lieut. Joshua Fisher, Late of Dedham, dyeing without a will wee whose Names are under written, being the only Children of the said Joshua our deare Father, doe agree as deviding the Estate as follows... Noting the estate was in 'a considerable Same in Debt," the children agreed together to sell property to pay the debts. Their mother [Lydia] should have her thirds of the house and lands or ten pounds annually, whichever she choses, and the remainder of he estate to be divided into seven equal parts, 'each child to take one part and the eldest Sonne to have two parts.” The distribution agreement was signed by Joshua Fisher, William Avery for John Fisher; Thomas Fuller for Vigilance Fisher; Thomas Clapp, John Holton and Daniel Fisher for Hannah Fisher.

***SOURCES****

1. "The Dedham Historical Register," 1890 by Dedham Historical Society

2. The Records of Baptism, Marriages and Deaths in the town of Dedham Edited by Don Gleason Hill

3. Dedham Historical Register, Vol I, "The Fisher Family" page 24-26 and page 58

4. Brother, John Fisher's Will of July 4, 1668

5. Vital Records of Dedham, Mass., Vol 3: Marriages 1638-1844, Edited by Robert Brand Hanson

6. "English Records of Joshua Fisher of Dedham, Mass." by Robert Charles  Anderson from the American Genealogist, Vol 66, No. 3 July 1991

7. English Ancestry of Joshua and Anthony Fisher by Myrtle Stevens Hyde and John Plummer, New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Vol 151, April 1997

8. Towns of New England and old England, Ireland and Scotland ..., Part 1 By Allan Forbes, State Street Trust Company (Boston, Mass.)

9. Transcript of Parish Records, Sylehame, Suffolk, England

10. Dedham Massachusetts record of 1 January 1637/8

Line 3.3 Joshua Fisher Sr.; Following the Winthrop Fleet

The mighty Winthrop Fleet consisted of a fleet of eleven ships, arriving in Massachusetts in 1630. Anthony Fisher’s sons were among the puritans that followed in the later 1630s, up until Cromwell and the Commonwealth took over the government of England. The Fishers belonged to a movement of faith, looking to build that “city on a hill” that would proclaim the glory of God.

Joshua Fisher was baptized 24 March 1587/8 at Fressingfield, Suffolk, England the son of Anthony Fisher and his wife Mary Fiske.

Married 1. Elizabeth (maiden name unknown)

      2. Anne Orfor on 7 February 1638/9

Died 18 October 1674 in Dedham, Massachusetts

The children of Joshua and Elizabeth Fisher were:

1.      Elizabeth Fisher baptized 4 Jun 1618 in Syleham, Suffolk, England and probably died young.

2.      Joshua Fisher baptized 2 April 1621 in Syleham, Suffolk, England. He married Mary Aldis and died 10 August 1672 in Dedham Massachusetts

3.      Mary Fisher baptized 1623, in Redenhall with Harleston, Norfolk, England married Thomas Battle and died 06 August 1691 in Dedham, Massachusetts

4.      Hester Fisher baptized 1625 in Redenhall with Harleston, Norfolk, England where she died days later

5.      Sarah Fisher born and died 1627 in Redenhall with Harleston, Norfolk, England

6.      Amos Fisher buried 05 September 1630 Redenhall with Harleston, Norfolk, England

7.      John Fisher baptized 26 January 1633/34 Redenhall with Harleston, Norfolk, England; married Elizabeth Boylston. He died 03 July 1668 in Medfield, Suffolk, MA

8.      Samuel Fisher baptized 11 October 1635 at Redenhall with Harleston, Norfolk, England and died there in 1638.

Joshua Fisher was baptized as “Joseph Fysher” in the church at Fressingfield on 24 March 1587/8.  A baptismal record reading "Anno Domini 1585, Joshua Fysher et Maria Fysher, Gemini, baptized fuer 24th die Februarii" confused genealogist was a long time. This turned out to be another Joshua when it was realized that “Joseph” had been written instead of Joshua in the 1587/8 record. This was one of the few times, Joshua would be confused about just who he was. In later years he would have the strength of will and faith to travel to the New World in order to live out his faith as he felt was proper.

 Joshua Fisher married twice. His first wife is only known by her first name, Elizabeth. His second wife, who also cause some debate among later generations of genealogists, was finally determined to be Anne Orfor whom Joshua married the 7th of February 1638/9 in Syleham.

By 1621 Joshua and his family, which consisted of wife, Elizabeth and possibly two children, if daughter Elizabeth was still alive, move across the river to Harleston, Norfolk, England. Four young Fisher children (and possibly Elizabeth Jr. as well) would be buried in the Harleston churchyard. Elizabeth Sr. would be buried there in 1638. Joshua, a widower with three living children, one of whom had left for New England, married Anne Orfor only five months later.

We don’t know if Elizabeth Sr. was already ill in the summer of 1637, but she was about to “lose” another child. Her sixteen-year-old son, Joshua Jr. left England with his Uncle Anthony Fisher for the colonies. Maybe the family was already planning to join young Joshua and his uncle’s family in the New World but they delayed long enough for Elizabeth to die and for Joshua Sr. to remarry. Anne was most certainly a Puritan herself and a kind person. She had no children of her own but her stepchildren certainly respected and loved her. Stepson, John Fisher called her “my mother Anne Fisher” in his will. Anne and Joshua Sr. had deeded property in Medfield [Massachusetts] to “our Sonne John.” Anne herself, named “daughter Battlie” [Mary Fisher Battle] and grandsons and granddaughters as well as “my late Son Lieftenant Joshua Fisher whom I brought up from his Childhood” in her 8 April 1675 will. The stiff, cold stereotype of a Puritan woman just doesn’t fit the little we know about Anne. Joshua Fisher was fortunate indeed to have married so loving wife who loved his children as well. He most certainly had known Anne long before he married her. It is possible that he was planning to go to the colonies to join his son when his wife Elizabeth died. As winter drew near, he may have decided it would be better to bring a wife to the colonies with him, rather then to see who was available there. Anne, herself, may have been planning to leave for the colonies but having no husband and possibly losing family at the same time that Elizabeth died, may have realized that she could not now go. While the marriage may have been for convince, documents suggest (as noted above) that it was a happy marriage.

Puritans followed the Calvinistic doctrinal thought. They believed in God’s absolute sovereignty and man’s total depravity and hence man’s total dependency on God’s grace and the hope of salvation. Puritans believed in predestination; that some were chosen or “elected” to be saved by God. Those chosen reflected the teachings of Scripture in their actions and lifestyle. Joshua and his brother, Anthony, and their siblings, were born during the reign of Elizabeth I. James of Scotland succeeded Elizabeth in 1603 when Joshua and Anthony were still boys. There must have been some hope of better reform in the Church of England from a king who came from a strongly puritan country. The “Puritans” in England felt that Elizabeth’s Church of England was too full of rituals and pomp and wanted change. James came from a Scotland heavily under the influence of John Knox’s theology and the Puritans must have hoped for the continuance of this influence by James.

However, James I found it easier to stay with the church that Elizabeth had established. In January of 1604, shortly after James became King of England as well as of Scotland, the Hampton Court Conference was held to hear the two dominate sides of the protestant movement in England; the Church of England and the Puritans. The Puritan idea of replacing bishops with “presbyteries” didn’t set well with James. This type of church government was made up of pastors, elders and other theologians, rather then having the church headed by a bishop who didn’t know the congregation.  James saw this as exclusion of his role as the head of the Church of England and didn’t like it. While the Puritans were able to co-exist in a somewhat civil way with the Church of England, the divide grew with the years and by the end of James’ reign there was much persecution of the Puritans and the Exodus to the New World gained momentum. The Fisher brothers, Joshua, Anthony and Cornelius became a part of the 17^th Century Exodus.

With young Joshua already in New England, Joshua Sr., his wife Anne and daughter, Mary, and young son, John, probably set sail for Massachusetts in the spring or summer of 1639. The younger Joshua Fisher had been given the right to be Dedham’s blacksmith until his father arrived from England. Joshua senior, however, had not arrived by 28 August 1638 when Edward Kempe was given half of the “smith” lot. Joshua Sr. was first mentioned in Dedham, Massachusetts record on 23 March 1639/40. "Joshua Fisher" is signer number 78 on the "Covenant of Dedham, Massachusetts" first signed on August 15, 1636. Also listed were Anthony Fisher, John Eaton, Nathan and John Aldus, Cornelius Fisher, and Samuell Fisher.

The Joshua Fisher family settled in Medfield sometime after Joshua Fisher was mentioned in the Dedham records in 21 September 1650. Medfield was not far from Dedham but was far enough to be considered a new village. Joshua died there on 18 October 1674.

WILL of Joshua Fisher: "In the Year of our Lord one thousand six hundred seventy four the second daye of May, 1. Joshua ffisher of Medfield Senior...brought to old age and being thourby with the inffirmities...wife Ann...the bed with all belongings in the little chamber next to the stairs and all soe two good blankets more and two payres of sheets and two pillows and that trunke now standing in the bed Chamber below marked A.F. with what soe ever is now in it and all hir wearing apparrell as well linen as wooling and one payer of andirons...and payier of tongs one trammel...and two heaters one payere of pothookes two brass vesselles...bellows...two chairs two  fouer ffooted stolles two chushings such as she shall chuse and three puter dishes two of the..and one...and three bushels of Endian corne and forty pound wayt of butter and forty pound of chese and fifty pound wayght of porke and one cow such as she shall chuse and all my fire wood that is cut out when god shall take me away whether in the woods or in my yard and soe much more of my moveable goods as shall be vallued at ten pound in such as she shall chuse or also soemuch in good and merchantable wheat as com to ten pound, and fifteen pound in good and curant ne England mony and further my will and desire is that my above said wife may live in that end of the house that I live in according to the will of my son John ffisher deceased untill such time as the heirs shall cum of age (and then to injoy...with the benefit of any one now of the apple trees in the orchard) and then too live in the other end and there to injoy During the terme of her naturall life all such Liberties and prevelidges as are enjoyed in my deed of gift fformerly made to my son John ffisher...

     Unto my daughter Marcy Battle the wife of Thomas Battle and her heires ffor ever thirty pound...to grandson Joshua 60 pounds it being already in his hands payd to him out of that Estate which I had in his fathers hands...to Mary Clap my grand daughter and wife of Thomas Clap 5 pounds...John ffisher grand child, son of Joshua ffisher 5 pounds...to Hannah B...grand child 5 pounds...John ffisher son of my son John ffisher all land in Medfield, etc....further that John ffisher son of my son John ffisher within the space of two years after he shall com to one and twenty years of age shall pay 40 pounds to his brother Jonathan ffisher...Vigilance ffisher my grand child son of my son Joshua ffisher 40 shillings...and I constitute appoint and ordain my trusty and well beloved cosen Daniel ffisher of Dedham and Joshua Fisher my grand child

executors of this my last will...

Joshua ffisher

John Wilson

Ralph Wheelocke

***SOURCES***

1. Dedham Historical Register, 1890, Vol. 1, published by the Dedham Historical Society

2. John Fisher's (son) Will

3. Transcript of Parish Records, Syleham, Suffolk, England

4. "A Genealogical Register of the First Settlers of New England" by John Farmer

5.  "English Records of Joshua Fisher of Dedham, Mass." by Robert Charles  Anderson from the American Genealogist, Vol. 66, No. 3 July 1991

6.   New England Historical and Genealogy Register, Vol. 151, April 1997 "The English Ancestry of New England Settlers Joshua and Anthony Fisher" by Myrtle Stevens Hyde and John Plummer

7.   Genealogy Research in England "The Fiske Family" by G. Andrews Moriarty

8.   Joshua Fisher's will

9.      List of signers of the Covenant of Dedham, Massachusetts

10. Dedham Massachusetts record of 1 January 1637/8

Line 4, Mary Fiske, The Female Puritan Influence

Before going on with Anthony Fisher’s son, I need to say something about Anthony Sr.’s wife, Mary Fiske. There are always two sides to each story and Mary, while not much is known about her personally, came from a family rich in Puritan influence. There definitely had to have been something about Mary as well as her husband that influenced her sons to pick up the Puritan banner and sail to the New World.

Mary Fiske was probably born in the early 1560s in Frankingham, Suffolk, England

She was the daughter of Nicholas Fiske and his wife Johan Crispe who was the daughter of William Crispe and his wife Anne Godbold.

Mary Fiske married Anthony Fisher

Died April 1640 and Buried 11 April 1640 in Syleham, Suffolk, England

The children of Anthony and Mary Fisher were:

1.      Joshua Fisher

2.      Mary Fisher

3.      Anthony Fisher

4.      Amos Fisher

5.      John Fisher

6.      Cornelius Fisher

7.      Martha Fisher

8.      Hester Fisher

Mary was born into a family that had lived in or around Laxfield, Suffolk, England since the time of the Norman Conquest. She may have descended from fishermen, as her maiden name is believed to have been the Norman version of “Fish”. While not noblemen, the Fiske family seems to have prospered over the years, producing yeomen, sheriffs, artisans, wheelwrights, clergymen and university educated sons. They also produced religious rebels who caused enough upheaval in the English religious community to produce at least one martyr and many persecutions among their family.

The most well known of the Fiske martyrs was actually the brother-in-law of Mary’s mother, Johan Crispe. Johan’s sister, Anne married John Noyes whose story is written in Foxes’ book of Martyrs. Fox wrote: “About the same time as those persons whose fate we have just recorded, suffered John Noyes, and his apprehension and death were brought about in the following manner:

Some bigoted papists, who dwelt in the neighborhood, knowing him to be a professor of the true faith, and a despiser of the mass, and other Romish superstitions, determined to bring him to punishment; and accordingly, three of them, named Thomas Lovel, Wolfren Dowsing, and Nicholas Stannard, beset his house, and he attempting to go out, Nicholas Stannard called to him and said, " Whither goest thou *" to which he replied, "To see some of my neighbors." Stannard then said, " Your master hath deceived you; you must go with us now." To which Noyes answered, " No, but take you heed your master deceive not you." And so they took him and carried him before the justices the next day. After several matters had been alleged against him, he was conducted to a dungeon at Eye, where he was confined for some time, and was then carried from thence to Norwich, and before the bishop, where he was interrogated…” John Noyes denied “the pope's supremacy, the use of ceremonies, and Christ's real presence in the sacrament.

Upon this, sentence was read by the bishop against him, in the presence of Dr. Dunning, his chancellor, Sir W. Wood- house, Sir Thomas Woodhonse, and several other gentlemen.

No further particulars of his examination are known; but we have the following account of his subsequent conduct and execution, from which we learn, in some measure, what took place on his appearance before the bishop:

In the mean time his brother-in-law, Nicholas Fisk, of Dinninpton, going to comfort him at such time as he remained in the Guildhall of Norwich, after Christian exhorCation, asked him if he did fear death when the bishop gave judgment against him, considering the terror of the same; and the said Noyes answered, he thanked God he feared death no more at that time, than he or any other did, being at liberty. Then the said Nicholas required of him to show the cause of his condemnation.”

“ The following letter was written by Noyes to his wife, while he lay in prison.

Wife, you desired me that I would send you some tokens that you might remember me. As I did read in the New Testament, I thought it good to write unto you certain places of the Scripture for a remembrance. St . Peter saith, 1 Pet . iv., "Dearly beloved, be not troubled with this heat that is come among you to try you, as though some strange thing had happened unto you, but rejoice, insomuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings, that when his glory nppeareth ye may be merry and glad. If Cbe railed on for the name of Christ, ppy are ye, for the Spirit of glory, and the Spirit of God, resteth upon you.

" It is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing than for evil doing.

" See that none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or an evil doer, or as a busy body in other men's matters; but if any man suffer as a Christian man, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in his behalf; for the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God. If it first begin with us, what shall the end of them be, that believe not the gospel of God i Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God, commit their souls unto him in well doing."

The letter continues with Scripture, justifying Noyes’ faith and that of the Puritans. He ends with this reminder of his faith and his willingness to die for it:

“So fare ye well, wife, and children: and leave worldly care, and see you be diligent to pray.

" Take no thought, (saith Christ , Matt . vi.) saying, What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or wherewith shall we be clothed ? (for after all these things seek the Gentiles) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things, but seek ye first the kingdom of heaven, and the righteousness thereof, and all these things shall be ministered unto you…."

John Noyes was sentenced to be burned at the stake. His last words as he was bound to the stake were: " Fear not then that can kill the body, but fear him that can kill both body and soul, and cast it into everlasting fire."

John Noyes died 22 September 1557, just a few years before Mary Fiske was born. It is not hard to imagine how influenced the Fiske and Fisher families were by this example of a faith that could not be quelched even my flames. It is certain that it inflamed the beliefs of the Fisher family as they became, at least in part, even stronger in their Puritan beliefs. It would be interesting to study some of the lines that remained in England to see if they stood strong in their beliefs and joined Cromwell in the English Civil War that began 1642, about five years after Mary’s sons Joshua and Anthony Fisher and their brother Cornelius arrived in the New World.

Mary’s father, Nicholas Fiske, died between 20 August 1569 and 28 September 1569 when his will was proved. He left his sons and daughters legacies, adding that “Wife Johane shall well and honestly educate and bring up my four children, namely Rachel, Ester, Mary, and Martha, my daughters, until they shall be of lawful age.” “Marye” and her sister Rachell, Ester and Martha were left 10 pounds each. Mary must have been a very young child as no husband was named for herself or her sisters, as was the custom in that century. There is some debate still going on about just who Mary’s mother was, but I feel the evidence strongly points to Johan Crispe who was Nicholas’ wife at the time of his dead.

In her sister, Esther Fiske’s 20 March 1578/9 will, Mary is named along with her sons, John and Cornelius.

It is not known when Mary, herself, died. Anthony and Mary Fisher's sons John named both parents in his 1636 will, as did Cornelius in 1638. Anthony Sr. was listed in the burial records of 11 April 1640 and Mary, his widow, was appointed administrator of his estate eight days later. No will has been found for Mary. It would be interesting to know if she survived to see the beginning of the English Civil War. Being born just after her Uncle’s martyrdom and living to see the Civil War could have given Mary a sense of fear and hope that her faith would be vindicated. As a mother, she probably felt relieved that her sons and grandchildren were out of war’s harm, but still have missed her children and wondered why the Puritans couldn’t have controlled England just a bit sooner.

***SOURCES***

1. Dedham Historical Register, 1890, Vol 1, Published by Dedham Historical Society

2. "Gen. and Personal Memories" Edited by William Richard Cutter

3. "The Fiske Family" from Genealogical Research in England Communicated by the Committee on English and Foreign Research contributed by G. Andrews Moriarty of Bristol, R.I. (from the NEHGR's book on "English Ancestries of New England")

4.  Fisher Facts, Vol I, 1974, No. 1, page 1/74

5.      New England Historical and Genealogy Register, Vol ___, No. ___, April 1997 The English Ancestry of New England Settlers Joshua and Anthony Fisher"

6. William Crispe of Laxfield, Suffolk Great-Grandfather of Anthony and Joshua Fisher of Dedham, Massachusetts by Clifford L. Stott, July 1997 New England Historical

and Genealogical Register, page 291

7.  Internet Derick Sibley Hartshorn III www.co.catawba.nc.us

8.  "Richard Fisk(e)'s Descendants  http://www.fiske.clara.co.uk/ffirst_ffykes.htm

9.  "Fiske Family" http://members.aol.com/gfsbrenda/Fiske.html

10.  Fressingfield, Suffolk, England Parish Records

My Fiske line:

Hugh Fiske, b. about 1370 in Laxfield, Co. Suffolk, England

Simon Fiske b. about 1399 in Laxfield, Co. Suffolk, England m. Susannah Smythe

Jeffrey Fiske b. about 1425 in Laxfield, England d. 1504 m. Maraget ? d. 1504 in Laxfield, England

Jeffrey Fiske b. in Laxfield, Co. Suffolk, England died there after 1535

Richard Fiske b. 1493 in England

Nicholas Fiske b. 1517 in Laxfield, Co. Suffolk, England; d. 1569 in Dennington, So. Suffolk, England m. Johan Crispe daughter of William Crispe 1490?-1553 and Anne Godbold daughter of

Mary Fiske 1561-?, m Anthony Fisher 1558-1640

Joshua Fisher 1585-1674 and also his brother Anthony Fisher 1591-1671

Line 3.2 Anthony Fisher; Father of a Flock of Puritans

It is a good guess that Anthony Fisher, second son of William and Margerie (Bert) Fisher, was or became a stanch Puritan as three of his sons joined the the Fleet that followed John Winthrop's initial Fleet of ships carring Puritans to Massachusetts and the City on a Hill. Swayed by the continually changing religion in England, Anthony Fisher seems to have swung toward Calvinistic ideas, shaping the theology of the next generation.

Anthony Fisher was born shortly before 01 February 1557/58 when he was baptized in Stradbrooke, Syleham, Suffolk, England

Married Mary Fiske daughter of Nicholas Fiske and his wife Johan Crispe

Died April 1640 and Buried 11 April 1640 in Syleham, Suffolk, England

The children of Anthony and Mary Fisher were:

1.                  Joshua Fisher baptized Syleham, Suffolk, England, married 1. Elizabeth ? who died in 1638 in Redenhall, Norfolk, England. Joshua married 2. Anne  Orfor. He died in Dedham, MA 18 October 1674

2.                  Mary Fisher baptized 28 November 1589, in Syleham and married Roger Briggs

3.                  Anthony Fisher baptized 23 April 1591 in Syleham. He married 1. Alice ? and 2. Isabel  Rigben. He died in Dorchester, Suffolk, MA on 18 April 1671

4.                  Amos Fisher was baptized 26 April 1594 in Syleham. He married Anne  Morrice and died in 1660 in Syleham.

5.                  John Fisher was baptized 15 September 1597 in Syleham. He married an unknown wife and had two children who survived him. John was buried 04 September 1636 in Syleham.

6.                  Cornelius Fisher born 6 August 1599 in Syleham, Suffolk, England, baptized 19 1599 in Syleham, Suffolk, England, married Elizabeth ? and died in Dedham, MA

7.                  Martha Fisher baptized 25 January 1595/96, Fressingfield, Suffolk, England, married John  Buckingham and died 31 March 1659 in Syleham.

1.                  Hester Fisher baptized 25 January 1595/96, Fressingfield, Suffolk, England and buried there 06 February 1607/08

Anthony Fisher, son of William Fisher and his wife, Margerie Bert was born shortly before his baptism on 01 February 1557/58 in the Syleham church. The family was living at "Wignotte" Syleham, Co. Suffolk, England on the south bank of the Wavenay River, which separates the county from Norfolk. Anthony was the second son and third child of William and Margerie Fisher.

Anthony was born into a Roman Catholic England in the middle of a religious “war” with itself. Mary Tudor, the unhappy daughter of Henry VIII and his first wife, the Spanish princess, Katherine of Aragon, was in poor health. She was a godly woman with a strong faith but her rule had been a blood bath of terror. The protestant church was having a baptism in blood but it was growing stronger with the persecution.  Nine months after Anthony Fisher was born in little Syleham,  Elizabeth Tudor became the Queen of England and the Puritans sighed with relief. The relief was short lived. Elizabeth took the title of Supreme Governor of the Church of England. She chose the middle road and balanced her religious ideals (what there were of them) between the Catholic and the Protestant churches with great determination. Elizabeth took a middle road but she fought a religious war with the Catholic who believed she was not the legitimate Queen of England and the Puritians who though her “religion” was watery and deluted with Catholism. The Puritians were out to “purify” the Church of England. They were unhappy with the elaberate Roman Catholic type ceremonies and creeds that the Church of England had adopted. They wanted a church that resembled a more simple faith that was based on the Bible. They were not content to sit back and have a quiet faith. They wanted their faith to make an impact on England and the world.

Young Anthony grew up in an England that was eager to get it’s religious equalibriam back. There were still many who wanted the Roman Catholic church back but there were also many who wanted more reform to the protestant church that Elizabeth represented. We can only guess at what or who it was that gave County Suffolk and the Fisher family a leaning toward puritisiam. In the Twenty-First century, we tend to think of the Calvinist as theogoically simplistic and legalistic. They may have lended towards legalism but they were educated and determined people. The printing press had opened up the Bible and the world to them. The middle class was rising because they could now be educated. The Bible-hungry masses were now able to read the Bible in their own language rather then listening to services conducted in Latin. They could now find out for themselves just what the Bible taught. Calvinism brought forth the realization of education for the masses as well as the need for “elected” preachers who could lead their flocks in the way the Calvinists (which included the Puritian movement) felt was correct. County Suffolk was ripe and ready to move ahead.

Anthony Fisher married Mary Fiske, daughter of Nicholas Fiske and his wife Johan Crispe, on 16 Oct 1586 in Fressingfield. Their marriage is recorded in the church there. They had at least eight children, including Joshua, Anthony and Cornelius who would immigrate to the New World with the Winthrop Fleet.

      

 Anthony FISHER was mentioned in several wills, including his fathers, his brother, William's who also names Anthony's children. Anthony and Mary's son John in 1636 gave annuities to his parents, as did their son Cornelius in 1638. The Fishers were wealthy enough to leave wills and prosperous enough to have felt the blessing of God that marked the Puritan movement.

Anthony Fisher was buried the eleventh day of April 1640 and his widow Mary was appointed administrator of his estate on 19 April 1640. It is not known when Mary died, but both she and Anthony were alive when their three sons joined the migration sailed for the New World to live in the City on the Hill.

***SOURCES***

1. The Dedham Historical Register, 1890, Vol 1, published by the Dedham Historical Society

2. Cornelius Fisher's Will

3. Syleham Parish Records

4. Internet Derick Sibley Hartshorn III, www.co.catawba.nc.us

5. New England Historical and Genealogy Register Vol 151, April 1997 "The English Ancestry of New England Settlers Joshua and Anthony Fisher by Myrtle Stevens Hyde and John Plummer

6.  Syleham, Suffolk, England Parish Records

7. Excerpts from the Parish Records of Stradbroke, Suffolk, http://www.obliquity.com/family/parish, Anglicised version of the original entry which was written in Latin

8. Excerpts from the Parish Records of Fressingfield, Suffolk, http://www.obliquity.com/family/parish

Line 3.1 William Fisher, Surfing the Wake of the Puritian Wave

Robert Fisher lived through the reign of Henry VIII, though his son, Edward VI’s reign and through his daughter Mary I’s reign. He probably died early in the reign of Elizabeth I, the daughter of Henry VIII. William was born about the time Henry VIII became infatuated with Anne Boleyn and his life was most assuredly colored by the changing religious ideals of the English Reformation, begun because of a lack of a male heir and the infatuation of a king for a young maiden.

William Fisher was born about 1527 probably in Syleham, Suffolk, England

Married Margerie Bert daughter of William Bert and his wife Johan Godbold

Died 1591 in St. James South Elmham, Suffolk, England

The children of William and Margerie Fisher were:

1.   Johanna Fisher who married George Bugge

2.   William Fisher who married Alice Anne Aldous

3.   Anthony Fisher who married Mary Fiske

4.   Agnes Fisher who died young

5.   Jane Fisher who married Francis Wolnaugh

                    

Genealogists like “just the facts” but it is nearly impossible to not wonder what sort of dreams and hopes our ancestors had. We can follow the facts and make some guesses, just as I have with Robert Fisher. His son, again, provides little personality to his records but his children and grandchildren give us an idea of the leanings of the Fisher family and in later Tudor and Stuart generations, these leanings are puritanical.

William would have been a small child when England slit from the Roman Catholic Church and Henry VIII declared himself the Supreme Head of the English Church. The future Mary I was about ten years older then William. He was a few years older then the princess who would become Elizabeth I and a few more years older then the future Edward VI. William and his peers were of a generation very much felt the Reformation movement to it’s fullest, swinging back and forth between Catholicism and Protestantism. In 1547, as he entered manhood, young William watched as the young Edward VI took the crown and continued the Protestant movement. A few years later as a young father, he learned of the nine-day rule of the Lady Jane Grey and then the ascension of the Roman Catholic Mary I. In 1558, Anne Boleyn’s daughter, Elizabeth ascended the throne of England and again the religious order of England was changed.  One has to wonder at the bewilderment of the congregation at the little Norman church in Syleham as it slide from Protestant to Catholic and back again.

Church records record that “William ffissher and Margaret Bert” married 15 Oct 1551 in Stradbroke, Suffolk, England. According to his will William purchased properties in both Cransford, which lay nine miles from Stadboke and Swefling, which was two and a half miles beyond Cransford. Because William and Margaret’s children were baptized in both the Stadbroke and Syleham churches, they probably lived on the boundary of these two villages. Whether they lived in Stadborke or Swefling is unknown. But they did moved to the parish of St. James South Elmham, seven miles northeast of Stradbroke, which is still in county Suffolk.

                  

William died in 1591, twelve years before his queen, Elizabeth I. His will was dated 14 June 1591 and probated 9 Aug 1591. It names "welbeloved wiffe Margerie" sons Anthony and William; his sister Anne Forder and her daughter Rose “Fordr”, his grandson Cornelius Fisher and the three sons of his daughter Johannes and their sister. William Fisher Jr’s son, Anthony’s two sons and daughter and the "the childe or children that my saide dawghter Jane is now bigge wth all [if] god give her saffe delyverie" as well as "Cornelius the sonne of Francys Wolnaughe [Jane's son]”

William Fisher was living in ST. James South Elmham when he wrote his own last will and testament, 'scripte by me will'm Fisher,' 14 June 1591.” He died shortly after writing his will as it probated 9 August 1591, less then two months later. His will indicates that that he was part of the yeoman class of English citizens, but on the gentleman end rather then the husbandman end as he names no animals or grains which husbandmen usually counted in their wills. However he did name implements in his will which indicates animals that worked or grazed the land which were probably owned by renters.

William provided his "welbeloved wiffe" Margerie, for life, "all my free holde landes and Ten'tes and Indenture or lease lande lyinge and beinge in Sarlehame [Syleham],’ and after his wife's decease these properties should go to their son Anthony. Anthony was also to receive 'all suche moveable goods as are in his Witcihngham hall one fether bedde and one coveringe wth fetherbedde posted bedsteade and coveringe I give unto Margery my wiffe.' Also, 'the rest of the Evidence concerning the landes before devised to Anthonye my sonne I will that they shoulde be delyvered to him' (referrring probably to the Syleham lands, mentioned earlier in the will). Son William was to inherit the lands in Swefling and Cransford, and each year he was to pay to "Margerie his mother" an anunity ofL6. . . William also bequeathed to his son William 'all suche stuffe of howsholde as I have remayninge in his custodie and possession and all my Armor bookes and suche Evidence as I have concernynge the landes before devised to him.'...[William also bequested] to 'Anne Fordre my sister' 40s and "Rose Forder her daughter' was to receive 26s 8d at her day of marriage." William gave Token legacies to his grandchildren: 'my dawghter Joannes thre sonnes...and their sister,' 'my sonne Will'm Fishers dawghter,' 'my sonne Anthonye Fishers two sonnes....and their sister,' and 'my daughter Janes sonne...and...his siter...and the childe or children that my saide dawghter is now digge with all [if] god give her saffe delyverie.' In another part of the will William named Jane's son: 'Cornelius the sonne of Francys Wolnaughe.' Margerie and son, William were named executors."

             

Many Puritans came from the Syleham area of Suffolk, so it is very likely that William leaned toward that theology. His children and grandchildren certainly did.

***SOURCES***

1.      New England Historical and Genealogy Resgister, April 1997 “The Bert Ancestors in England of Fisher Families in Early New England

2.      New England Historical and Genealogy Register, Vol 151, April 1997 "The English Ancestry of New England Settlers Joshua and Anthony Fisher" by Myrtle Stevens Hyde and John Plummer

3.   Transcript of Parish Records, Stradborke,

Robert Fisher: Father of Many Puritans

Line 3

Robert Fisher

Father of Many Puritans

I have many Puritan ancestors from the Seventeenth Century who made the journey to the Americas in order to escape persecution and live in John Winthrop’s City on the Hill. The Fishers were just one such family, including two brothers who both contributed to my direct family line. However, I chose to start this line with Robert Fisher, not the first known Fisher but the one who saw the birth and formation of the Protestant movement in the England.

Robert Fisher was born probably in Wingfield, Suffolk, England, say about 1491, the son of John and Christian Fisher

Married an unknown wife

Died sometime before January 1563/4

Children: 1. Margaret FISHER Lawes

        2. Robert FISHER

        3. Anne Amy Fisher

        4. William FISHER

            As noted above, Robert Fisher was probably born in Wingfield, Suffolk, England, a small village even in 1491 but ever smaller now. It is in the north of County Suffolk near the Norfolk border. Several medieval buildings still stand in the village. The powerful and noble family of De La Pole directed their holdings from Wingfield until they died out in 1525, when Robert was a young man. I guessed Robert’s birth to be 1491, not because there is much evidence (although it was with in five or six years of this date) but to make him the same age as Prince Henry Tudor who became Henry the Eighth. Robert lived many years longer then King Henry, but his religious beliefs and life, as were all those in England were very much affected by that king. Robert may have caught a glimpse or two of King Henry, as the king’s sister married Charles Brandon who because Earl of Suffolk when the last De La Pole died and took over their holdings in County Suffolk. Robert’s parents seemed to have been somewhat wealthy, owning at one point Chickering Manor but losing it sometime before John Fisher’s death. He had an older brother which may be the reason he relocated to Syleham, a little north of his birthplace. He certainly wasn’t as well off as his brother, as younger brothers usually inherited much less then the eldest brother. However, the Fisher Family of Syleham seems to have flourished and Robert raised a family of at least four children.

Robert along with his parents and siblings most likely attended the Roman Catholic Church in Wingfield and later he and his wife and children attended the one in Syleham. This church would have been their religious anchor. Prince Henry came to the throne of England in 1509, as Henry the Eighth. He married the Catholic Princess Catherine of Aragon. Catherine had been married as a very young girl to Henry’s brother, Arthur, who died shortly after the wedding. Catherine, a pious woman, claimed that the marriage had not been consummated and a special dispensation had been obtained from Pope Julius II, so that the marriage between Catherine and her brother-in-law could be performed. Young Henry was only 17 at the time but very much in love with the lovely Spanish princess. Robert would have been about the same age if not a little younger and as a younger son would have had to have established himself financially before taking a wife. His children were born beginning about 10 years after Henry and Catherine’s marriage. Henry and Catherine, in the meantime, were producing children of their own. Unfortunately, only one child, a girl called Mary, survived infancy. About the time Robert’s second or third child was born in 1525, Henry became infatuated with a young woman named Anne Boleyn. She was a wily young woman who had seen that Henry soon lost interest in his mistresses. She also realized that Queen Catherine was approaching forty and at the end of her child bearing years. Anne would not become Henry’s mistress because she wanted to be Queen. Henry was desperate for a son and all of Catherine’s had died at or near birth. The only precedence of a woman becoming Queen of England, had ended badly (although, her son later sat on the throne of England as Henry II). Henry needed a son to insure the Tudor Dynasty, which stood on shaky ground as it was. Henry asked for a divorce, but Catherine, strong in her faith, refused as she feared for her husband’s immortal soul and her own child’s place in the line to the throne. Putting aside a queen was not really a hard job for a monarch. All Henry had to do was to get the Pope to declare the marriage invalid because of his wife’s marriage to his brother. But Catherine’s nephew, Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire and King of Spain, had control of Rome and held the Pope a prisoner. The Pope’s decision, of course, was not going to make a decision in Henry’s favor, while Catherine’s nephew was holding a knife at his throat.

Heads began to roll, as Henry realized that he was going to have to take matters into his own hands. Anne Boleyn was no longer the young woman she’s been and she was becoming impatient. Henry declared himself the Head of the Church of England and thus was able to declare his own marriage to Catherine void and null. Many people profited from Henry’s move, not the less Anne Boleyn, who did become queen but for only three years. Churches, monasteries and nunneries were closed and ransacked. The ruins of some of these buildings still stand in England but many were turned into estates for the supporters of Anne Boleyn.

There are no writings telling how the Fisher family reacted to upheaval of the church in England. However, as with all Englishmen, they were affected by what was happening. To some, it meant political breaks from a church government that controlled from afar but understand little of the English hearts. To others it meant damnation and a break from their very religious roots and spiral safety. To many it meant freedom from a church that demanded outrageous tithes; to other it meant the lose of an well known and well trusted institution. It affected everyone, even if it affected them in different ways. Many Englishmen and women remained faithful to the Roman Catholic church, but at risk of their lives. Others were eager to try out a home-based church structure and adopted readily. Still others were pulled by the political factors and turned to the Church of England because it was safer and easier. The Fisher Family was probably part of the latter and later became disillusioned with state run church and turned to the puritan movement. Most likely, there wasn’t much change in the worship and running of the church at Syleham, at least at first. The church there is among a rare few Saxon or Norman churches left in England after the reign of Henry the Eighth’s son, Edward VI, whose advisers ran wild destroying what remained of the Catholic parish churches in England.  The church itself includes a Saxon or Norman round tower. It is made of stone and while not exactly beautiful, it is an interesting looking building and on the outside is mostly the same church building that stood there in the day of the Robert Fisher. It’s history protected it. It was here that the Earl of Bigod “surrended his loyalty” to King Henry II and handed over some of his castles. Nearby, a memorial commemorates this event.

Robert Fisher witnessed the will of Thomas Fulcher of Fressingfield in January of 1547/8. The Fisher family would have other connections with Fressingfield and it’s church. The Fressingfield church is a beautiful old church with a medieval sanclus bell turret, commemorative memorials to the de la Pole family and their old enemy, King Henry V.

Robert Fisher died after Henry the VIII’s daughter, Elizabeth I, took the throne. The last known evidence of Robert Fisher’s life and death is a Syleham deed with information about Robert and his son, William. It is a lease between Emery Tylney of Weybread, Esquire, Lord of the manor of Monks Hall and William Fisher of Stradbroke, yeoman. It is dated 15 January 6 Elizabeth I [1563/4] reading in part: 'Winesseth, that where the said William Fysher  hath the day of the making hereof and holdeth to him and to his heirs of the said Emery as of the said manor o Monks hall by copy of court roll, according to the custom of the said manor, one acre and half of land lying in WygnottsCroft in Syleham aforesaid and the tenement and croft called Wygnotts on teh south part, adn one acre of meadow be it mroe or less lying next the Town meadow otherwise called Tunmanmeadow in Syleham aforesaid between the meadow of the said manor on the east part and the meadow late John carter on the west part, two acres and half of meadow be it more or less in Syleham aforsaid lying in West meadow, one pightle called Pyggis pightle otherwise Pogs pithtell in Syleham aforesaid containing by estimation one acre be it more or less, one piece of med in Syleham aforesaid contianing by estimation half an acre and fourteen perches be it more or less, and one piece of meadow in Syleham aforesaid called Samll doole contianing by estimation half a rood be it more or less, which said premises late were in the tenure of one Robert Fisher Father of the said William Fisher, deceased.” Mr. Tylney leased, for the sum of L9 3s 4d, the abovesaid lands for one thousand years to William Fisher, for the yearly rent of 6 1/2d.

.

My Fisher line:

Robert Fisher born and died in Syleham, England married unknown woman

William Fisher b. abt 1527; d. 1591 m. Margerie Bert daughter of William Bert & Johan Godbold

Anthony Fisher 1558-1640 m. Mary Fiske 1561-?, daughter of Nicholas Fiske and Johan Crispe

Joshua Fisher 1585-1674 and also his brother Anthony Fisher 1591-1671

***SOURCES***

1. New England Historical and Genealogy Register, Vol. 151, April 1997 "The English Ancestry of New England Settlers Joshua and Anthony Fisher" by Myrtle Stevens Hyde and John Plummer

2. Syleham deed dated 15 Jan 1563/4