Fisher Family Descendancy Report The Fisher Families of Truro, Stewiacke and Musquodoboit, Nova Scotia Prepared by H. Douglas Goff 7748 Wellington Rd. 22 Guelph, ON N1H 6J2 goff.doug at gmail.com www.gofffamilyhistory.ca (a descendant of Eddy Whidden and Sarah Fisher (#69), d/o Samuel Fisher (#17) and Mary Tupper) Nov. 12, 2020 William James Fisher (#3) and his nephew Samuel Fisher (#17) both emigrated from New Hampshire to Truro, William in 1762, Samuel in 1767 with his half- sister Janet (Fisher) Archibald. Their families established some of the original pioneering families in both the Stewiacke and Musquodoboit Valley’s. Please note that this is not a complete genealogy! I have borrowed heavily from already- published sources, so I am just putting it out there for the benefit of anyone who finds it. It will be a work-in-progress. Where possible, I have truncated it and referred to other of my published reports (website above). Corrections or additions are always welcome! Index, page 211. Major Sources 1. Jennings, Byron. 2004. People of the Musquodoboit Valley, a Community Genealogy. 2. Miller, Thomas. 1873. Historical and Genealogical Record of the first settlers of Colchester County. Halifax, NS , A. and W. MacKinlay, Publ. Facsimilie Edition by Mika Studio, Belleville, Ont., 1972. 3. Creelman, Charles D. 1902. Genealogical Record of Upper and Middle Stewiacke. Stewiacke Centenary Celebration. News Publ. Co., Truro, NS. 4. The Sprague Project, http://www.sprague-database.org 5. Wile, Jane. Fisher Family. https://colchesterhistoreum.ca/book-mart/ 6. Manning, Jack. https://novascotiaroots.ca/names/FISHER 7. Gibson, Helen (#484). Rootsweb Database, https://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi- bin/igm.cgi?op=SRCH&db=hgibson&surname=A 8. Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics (NSHVS), b,m,d data - www.novascotiagenealogy.com 9. Nova Scotia census data- http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/Pages/census.aspx 10. United States b,m,d and census data - www.familysearch.org Page 1 Fisher Family Descendancy Report First Generation -------------------------------------------------- 1. James Fisher, son of James Fisher (1611-) & Elizabeth (abt 1611-). Born in 1636 in Glen of Antrim, Ireland. James died in Londonderry, Ireland. Occupation: Weaver of Fine Irish Linen. Religion: Saint Columb’s Church of Ireland, Londonderry. Residence: Queen St. (Now Bishop St.), Londonderry, Ireland. James’ father came from Ayrshire Scotland to Glen of Antrim, Ireland. Baptismal dates of James and Jennet Fisher's 12 children from Saint Columb's Church of Ireland Cathedral, Londonderry, in the following order: Child's Name Baptismal Date Elizabeth 10 September 1661 John 24 October 1662 Kathren 09 October 1663 James 22 November 1664 Margrat 08 September 1665 Mary 04 December 1666 William 04 December 1666 Samuel 23 February 1668 Rebeca 30 May 1669 James 06 August 1670 Mathew 20 June 1671 John 06 December 1675 It is interesting to note that there are two Johns and two James. We are reasonably assured that the father of William James and Samuel, John Fisher, was the youngest child of James and Jennet. I can only assume that the older John and James may have died young. From the Hearth Money Rolls of 1663, a tax for every hearth or fireplace in Londonderry at the time, James Fisher is recorded as living on Queen Street, which is now known as Bishop Street, not far from the church which recorded his children's baptisms. (Chris Fisher) James married Jennet. Born abt 1636 in Northern Ireland. Jennet died in Londonderry, Ireland. They had the following children: i. Elizabeth. Born in 1661. At the age of <1, Elizabeth was baptized in Saint Columb’s Church of Ireland, Londonderry, on 10 Sep 1661. ii. John. Born in 1662. At the age of <1, John was baptized in Saint Columb’s Church Of Ireland, Londonderry, on 24 Oct 1662. iii. Kathren. Born in 1663. At the age of <1, Kathren was baptized in Saint Columb’s Church Of Ireland, Londonderry, on 9 Oct 1663. iv. James. Born in 1664. At the age of <1, James was baptized in Saint Columb’s Church Of Ireland, Londonderry, on 22 Nov 1664. v. Margaret. Born in 1665. At the age of <1, Margaret was baptized in Saint Columb’s Church Of Ireland, Londonderry, on 8 Sep 1665. vi. Mary (Twin). Born in 1666. At the age of <1, Mary was baptized in Saint Columb’s Church Of Ireland, Londonderry, on 4 Dec 1666. vii. William (Twin). Born in 1666. At the age of <1, William was baptized in Saint Columb’s Page 2 Fisher Family Descendancy Report Church Of Ireland, Londonderry, on 4 Dec 1666. viii. Samuel. Born in 1668. At the age of <1, Samuel was baptized in Saint Columb’s Church Of Ireland, Londonderry, on 23 Feb 1668. ix. Rebecca. Born in 1669. At the age of <1, Rebecca was baptized in Saint Columb’s Church Of Ireland, Londonderry, on 30 May 1669. x. James. Born in 1670. At the age of <1, James was baptized in Saint Columb’s Church Of Ireland, Londonderry, on 6 Aug 1670. xi. Mathew. Born in 1671. At the age of <1, Mathew was baptized in Saint Columb’s Church Of Ireland, Londonderry, on 20 Jun 1671. 2 xii. John (1675-) Second Generation -------------------------------------------------- Family of James Fisher (1) & Jennet 2. John Fisher (James1). Born in 1675 in Londonderry, Ireland. At the age of <1, John was baptized in Saint Columb’s Church Of Ireland, Londonderry, on 6 Dec 1675. John died in Londonderry, Ireland. Occupation: Weaver. Abt 1700 when John was 25, he married Sarah in Ireland. Born abt 1675 in Londonderry, Ireland. Sarah died in Londonderry, Ireland. They had the following children: i. James. Born abt 1701. ii. John. Born abt 1703. 3 iii. William James (1716-6 Jun 1777) iv. Janet. Born in 1718. v. Martha. Born in 1720. 4 vi. Deacon Samuel (24 May 1722-10 Apr 1806) vii. Hannah. Born in 1724. Page 3 Fisher Family Descendancy Report Third Generation -------------------------------------------------- Family of John Fisher (2) & Sarah * 3. William James Fisher (John2, James1). Born in 1716 in Londonderry, Ireland. William James died in Truro, Colchester Co., NS, on 6 Jun 1777; he was 61. Occupation: NS House of Assembly, Rep For Truro (1770-1775). Residence: Hew Hampshire (1743), Truro (1762). William Fisher was among the early settlers of Truro, arriving from New Hampshire with the Archibald’s and others in December, 1762. He was a Grantee of the Township. He was the first Town Clerk of Truro after it was settled by the British. He was one of the seven elders of the Church who were elected in the summer of 1770. He took his seat in the House of Assembly June 6, 1770, and represented Truro five years. He resided on the interval of Salmon River (Miller). Most of this family migrated to the Musquodoboit Valley or the Stewiacke Valley. In 1743 when William James was 27, he married Eleanor Archibald, daughter of John Archibald (1671-10 Aug 1751) & Margaret Wilson (?) (abt 1678-abt 1735). Born on 25 Jun 1724 in Londonderry, New Hampshire. Eleanor died in Musquodoboit, NS. They had the following children: 5 i. John (4 Mar 1744-2 Mar 1818) 6 ii. James (1746-1812) 7 iii. Margaret (1747-12 May 1809) 8 iv. Samuel (1750-) 9 v. David (1752-18 Mar 1834) vi. Elizabeth. Born in 1754. Elizabeth married James Hughes. 10 vii. William (1756-1811) viii. Hannah. Born in 1758 in Londonderry, New Hampshire. Hannah married Stewtly Horton. Residence: Musquodoboit (1784). 11 ix. Sarah (1760-) 12 x. Ruth (7 Feb 1763-8 Aug 1825) 13 xi. Alexander McNutt (2 Jul 1765-) 14 xii. Eleanor (23 Aug 1767-1792) 4. Deacon Samuel Fisher (John2, James1). Born on 24 May 1722 in Londonderry, Ireland. Deacon Samuel died in Londonderry, NH, on 10 Apr 1806; he was 83. Buried in Forest Hill Cemetery, Londerry. Residence: Roxbury, MA (1740), Londonderry, NH (Ca1742). Occupation: Linen Weaver, Farmer. Deacon Samuel Fisher was born in the North of Ireland, of Scottish descent. His father was a weaver. He came to America in 1740, aged 19. The ship in which he came was usually spoken of as the "Starved ship". The vessel was * The Nova Scotia immigrant. Page 4 Fisher Family Descendancy Report so scantily supplied with provisions that, long before the voyage was completed, one pint of oatmeal for each individual on board, and a proportionate allowance of water, was all that remained. Mr. Fisher once went to the mate with a tablespoon to obtain some water, which was refused him, there being but two-thirds of a bottle-ful on board. Mr. Fisher's customs was to take a spoonful of meal and having moistened it with salt water, to eat it raw. The passengers and crew, having subsisted in this manner for 14 days, were at length reduced to the necessity of eating the bodies of those who died. Even this resource failed them; and at length, Mr. Fisher was selected to give up his life to preserve the lives of the rest. Providentially, however, a vessel hove in sight; and their signals of distress being observed, they obtained relief, and he ws saved. So deep an impression did the horrors of that passage make upon the mind of Mr. Fisher that, in after life, he could never see, without pain, the least morsel of food wasted, or a pail of water thrown on the ground carelessly. On his arrival in this country, he was bound by the Captain to a man in Roxbury for the payment of his passage. He came to Londonderry, NH, about one or two years after, and became a member of the family of Mr.