Anna Fish

Anna — Mr. Gifford. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

William's will mentions his late father, Robert Fish of Portsmouth. He does not name his wife, still living at this time. Also mentioned are sons Thomas & William Fish; daughters Mary Fry, Rebeckah Whalen (late of Swanzey) dec. leaving unnamed grandchildren, Anna Gifford, Alse Springer, Deliverance Fish, & Marcy Fish; grandsons Robert Fish & Thomas Cook; granddaughter Patience Fish.

William married Mary BENNETT 14 Jun 1716. Mary (daughter of Robert BENNETT and Anne CORY) was born Abt 1698, Portsmouth, RI; died Bef 1736. [Group Sheet]

Robert married Mary HALL 16 Sep 1686, Portsmouth, RI. Mary (daughter of Zuriel HALL and Elizabeth TRIPP) was born 1667, Portsmouth, RI; died 8 Jun 1735, Portsmouth, RI. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Robert was a farmer and miller who spent most of his life in Portsmouth. He signed a will on 10 Mar 1721. This will was proved on 13 August 1722. The will names his wife as Johanna, so I assume that she was his second wife. It also says that Job, Jonathan, and Caleb were all under 21 years of age at that time.

I have estimated the dates of the children's births. Also, I am unsure of Anne Cory's dates, and of the year of Robert's assumed second marriage.

Robert married Anne CORY Abt 1685. Anne (daughter of William CORY and Mary EARLE) was born Between 1663 and 1666, Portsmouth, RI; died Abt 1706, Portsmouth, RI. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Anne is mentioned as the wife of Mr. Bennett in her mother's will of 1717. See Portsmouth will of Mary Timberlake.

Notes:

See will dated 9 Feb 1686/87 in "RI Genealogical Register."

There is some question about the maiden name of Thomas's wife. It has been suggested that she may have been Mary Ayers. (see notes below)

From "The Fish Family in England and America," p. 33:
"Meetinge Jan. 19, 1651, 2 acres of lande adjoining to Thomas Fish were ordered layd out to Henry Eves in lieu of land given to said Henry by the Towne formerly"

"Meetinge March 20 1660, Thomas Fish received a deed of house and land from Henry and Ann Ayres, in consideration of fencing two acres said Henry and Ann to enjoy said land for their lives without paying rent."

"Meetinge September 12 1680, Voted: John Biggs is appointed to speke to Thomas Fish that he lay out that acre of land to this townes commons which was lent to Henry eves" (Ayers/Eyers).

(source: "The Fish Family in England and America, Genealogical and Biographical Records and Sketches," by Lester Warren Fish, c 1948)

Thomas married Mary Unknown 1645, Portsmouth, RI. Mary was born 1625; died 1699, Portsmouth, RI. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Her place of birth is given in some genealogies as Portsmouth, but that is impossible, since the settlement was not begun until the middle 1930s. The Portsmouth Compact, dated 1638, does have a Phillip Shearman as one of the signers. However, his daughter named Mary was born later.

Other possibilities -- Mary Sherman, May 1624 - 1673/1699 ?, daughter of Samuel Sherman 20 Oct 1601 - Oct 1644 & Hester Burgess 1604 - 14 Aug 1646. Or, someone else has suggested she may have been Mary Soule, a daughter of George Soule.

Dr. Kenneth Parker's notes indicate Thomas Fish's wife was Mary AYERS (no source documentation given; Dr. Parker has passed away). See the following note.

"I believe that this lady was Mary Ayers whose father was Henry Ayres. She was born 1615?? and died 1699 in Portsmouth, RI. Mary Ayres married Thomas Fish in 1647 in Portsmouth. He was the son of Robert Fish and Alice Fish. I got this from RootsWeb.com by a David E. Crandall, Jr. [dcrandall.jr@prodigy.net]. A note on this RootsWeb.com site says: A notation in an issue of "Second Boat" lists her maiden name as Ayres, daughter of Henry. Submission was by Mary P. Lavery, 7 Paris Ave., Corinth, NY 12822. TORREY lists her name as [?Sherman]. The FISH genealogy very tentatively assigns her maiden name as SOULE. (RIGENWEB mailing list posting from Arlene Clarke Haddock).

See notes for her husband, Thomas Fish.

See her Portsmouth will dated 9 September 1697, proved 9 Aug 1699, which mentions sons John Fish, Robert Fish, Thomas Fish (dec.), and Daniel Fish; daughters Mehittable Tripp, Mary Brayton, and Alike (Alice?) Knowles; grandchildren Preserved Fish and Mehitable Fish, of Thomas (dec.); grandchildren Thomas Fish, Comfort Fish, and Ruth Fish, of Daniel; granddaughter Mary Fish, of John; grandson Robert Fish of Robert.

Zuriel married Elizabeth TRIPP 6 Feb 1665/66, Portsmouth, RI. Elizabeth (daughter of John TRIPP, I and Mary PAINE) was born Abt 1648, Portsmouth, RI; died Abt 1701, Portsmouth, RI. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Robert came to Newport, RI, in 1639 as the colony tailor in the employment of Governor William Coddington. He was granted a "houslott contayning 4 acres lying in the Towne of Nuport & 6 acres mor or less lying on the northside of the towne, bounded on the N end by the Great Swamp & on the East by Henry Knolls Land. "

Robert married Rebecca Unknown 1643, Newport, RI. Rebecca was born Abt 1622. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

The surname is sometimes spelled Corey.

William married Mary EARLE Abt 1657. Mary (daughter of Ralph EARLE and Joan SAVAGE) was born Abt 1636, England; died 22 Mar 1717/18, Portsmouth, RI. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

See her will (Mary Timberlake) dated 12 August 1717. In this will she names all of the children except William and Margaret, who had predeceased her. However, she also mentions a daughter Sarah Jeffries, wife of Thomas Jeffries. Was she the daughter of Joseph Timberlake, or of William Corey?