Person:Nathaniel Fish (1)

Biography

Nathaniel Fish was baptized 20 June 1619 (same day as his brother John) in East Farndon, Northamptonshire, England, son of Thomas and Mary [Sprigge] Fish.^[1]

He emigrated with his two brothers, John and Jonathan, initially settling in Lynn, Mass., in 1635, before being among those who helped settled Sandwich, MA in 1637. Two elder brothers stayed in England, including a brother Ambrose (bapt. 18 Oct 1613), who has been occasionally confused with Nathaniel's presumed (but yet to be proven) son by the same name.

Nathaniel was granted meadow land in Sandwich 17 Apr 1641 with his brothers John and Thomas.^[2]

Nathaniel married first probably in Sandwich, some say (without documentation) Mehitable, who was NOT the daughter of Rev. John Miller; she died by 1663 when he m2 Lydia Miller, who was the daughter of Rev. John Miller.^{[3] [4]}

He died before 14 March 1694 in Sandwich, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, when an inventory of his estate was made:^[5]

The real estate was "house five acres of upland and 3 acres of meadow. L20." His widow Lydia made oath to the inventory on 4 Oct 1694, the same date the court settled probate... Administration was granted to "Sd Lydia Fish vid and her Brother John miller of yarmouth."

Children

1. Mehitable Fish, b abt 1645 (based on marriage year); m 6 Aug 1677 in Dartmouth, Joseph Tripp
2. Nathaniel Fish, b Sandwich 27 Nov 1648^[6]
3. Ambrose Fish [speculative], b abt 1650, d 1691 Sandwich; m Hannah^[7] NOTE: There is no definitive proof that Nathaniel had a son Ambrose.
4. John Fish b 13 Apr 1651^[8]; d 8 Mar 1729/30; children included John Fish (1675) and Josiah (1681)
5. Thomas Fish, b abt 1653; d 24 Aug 1664.^[9]
6. Jonathan, b abt 1655^[10]
7. Lydia Fish b by 1658 (an adult [was she?] in a civil court case, Oct 1677) (last child born 1703, say age 45)
8. Thomas Fish, b abt 1665.^[11]
9. Samuel Fish b 10 Aug 1668; d unm 2 Feb 1691/2; will proved 22 Mar 1691/2 bequests to his aged father; mentions brother Jonathan

Sources

1. ↑ John Dean Fish, "The FISH Family of Great Bowden in Leicestershire, England," in The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. 53 (1922):53-68
2. ↑ Robert G. Aldrich, "In Pursuit of the Elusive Miller Fish," in Connecticut Nutmegger, 22 (1989):196. NOTE: This author does not cite his sources.
3. ↑ Thomas Bellows Wyman, compiler, The Genealogies and Estates of Charlestown, (etc), MA, 1629-1818, Boston, MA: David Clapp and Son (1879), Vol. 2, p. 1015.
4. ↑ Suffolk Co. Probate, (FHL #584130), docket #1537, (o.s.) 11:66-68
5. ↑ "Abstracts of Barnstable County Probate Records," in Mayflower Descendant, 23:66, citing p. 104: "Nathaniel Fish's Estate"
6. ↑ Connecticut Nutmegger, 22:196
7. ↑ Connecticut Nutmegger, 22:196
8. ↑ C.L. Kardell, Vital Records of Sandwich MA to 1885, Boston, MA: NEHGS (1996), p. 6, citing PCR 8:14, "1651 Sandwidge Regester of beirths of children"
9. ↑ Connecticut Nutmegger, 22:196
10. ↑ Connecticut Nutmegger, 22:196
11. ↑ Connecticut Nutmegger, 22:196

See also:

• P. William Filby, ed., Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s, Farmington Hills, MI, USA: Gale Research, 2009.
• Frederick Freeman, The history of Cape Cod : annals of thirteen towns of Barnstable County, Boston: W.H. Piper & Co., 1869, c1862.
• Connecticut Nutmegger 7 (1974):477-479
• C.L. Kardel & R.A. Lovell Jr (compilers), Vital Records of Sandwich MA to 1885, Boston, MA: NEHGS, 1996
• Vital Records of Rowley, Massachusetts to the end of the year 1849; Essex Institute, Salem, MA, 1928-1931
• Lester Warren Fish, The Fish Family in England and America, Rutland, VT: Tuttle Pub. Co., 1948
• Sandwich Archives & Historical Center, 145 Main Street, Sandwich, Massachusetts