Continues from John Dean Fish's research part 1
1613-4 Dorothy Fish, daughter of Augustine 11 Feb
1616 William, son of Augustine Fish, 15 Sept
1618 Bartholomew, son of Augustine Fish, 5 July
1621 Katherine, daughter of Augustine Fish, 22 April
1622-3 Christian, daughter of Augustine Fish, 24 Feb
1625 Elizabeth, daughter of Augustine Fish, 27 Oct.
MARRIAGE, GREAT BOWDEN
1622 William HAlliacke and Agnes Fish 14 June (Anne)
BURIALS, GREAT BOWDEN
1646 Augustine Fish 29 April
1663 John, son of Augustine Fish, yeoman 15 Aug
1665-6 Thomas Fish 9 March
Here follow abstracts of the wills of Augustine and his widow Christian,
and the administration of their daughter Elizabeth. The "daughter Margery
Fish" mentioned in the will of Christian may have been the same as Katherine
baptized 22 April 1621.
WILLS, PREROGATIVE COURT OF CANTERBURY
7, April 1646. I, Augustine Fish of Bowden Magna, co. Leicester, yeoman,
being in reasonable good health, make this my last will and testament:
written by myne own hand: I give unto Thomas Fish, my second son and
to my wife during her life, and after her life ended, unto the said Thomas
and his heirs males, one farm wherein my eldest son liveth, called Royses
farm, with all that John Fish ha thereto during my life: also seven pastures
in Archarads, which sometime did belong to Palmer's house: with this proviso,
that Thomas Fish shall pay unto his youngest sister Elizabeth Fish 100
marks at her age of 23, or marriage: and if Thomas Fish die without heirs
males; the land shall return unto Bartholomew Fish: in like manner if Bartholomew
die without issue male, it shall return to William Fish , which is in New
England, if he be then living. I give to Christiam my daughter the cottage
house wherein John Warde and his sister liveth with that spot of ground adjoining,
bought of Richard Watts, to eneter at the death of John Warde. To
John Halliake, eldest son of William Halliak, after his father and mother
decease, the three acres which did belong unto Palmer farm: and to all the rest
of his children which shall be ruled by parents and grandmother, I give 5 pounds,
apiece at marriage or twenty years old. To Bartholomew Fish my youngest
son 5 pounds. item, I give unto William Fish in New England, if he return, 5 pounds.
To my son Thomas Fish, after the lease is expired which now my son John
Fish holdeth, (my land) called Waters his close. To my grandchildren at
Brigstock, to help to buy every one a sepp (word omitted) nobles apiece. To
my grandchildren at Thorpe in Rutland three ewes. I make my wife executor
of this my will, praying Thomas Fish my second son to assist her. I also wish,
if it be thought good to my executor, to give unto my eldest son's children two
nobles. Overseers, my sons Edward Marriat an Robert Sly.
Witnesses, Maurice Dix, William Whitwell
Proved 23 Sept. 1647, by Christian (Fish) relict and executrix
(Fines, 186)
WILL OF CHRISTIAN FISH OF THORPE, WIDOW
6 October, 1656. I, Christian Fish of Thorpe in the county of Rutland,
Widow, being sick in body, do make and declare this my last will and testament:
First, I commit my body to be buried in the chancel of Liddington
church. I give to my daughter Ann Holioke twelve pence: to my daughter
Christian Inchley twelve pence: to my daughter Dorothy Marriot twelve pence:
to my son Bartholomew Fish twelve pence; to my son William Fish twelve
pence: to my son John Fish twelve pence: to my son Thomas Fish twelve
pence: and to my daughter Margery Fish twelve pence. All the rest of my
money, and all my goods, I give to my daughter Margaret Slye, whom I make
sole executrix. To the poor of Thorpe 10 s.
Witnesses: John Ward, Joan Burnley.
Proved 2 Jan. 1657-8 by the executrix.
(Wootton, 50).
ADMINISTRATION, PREROGATIVE COURT OF CANTERBURY
24 August 1650. Commission to Christian Fish, mother of Elizabeth Fish,
late of Bowdon, Magna, co. Leicester, deceased, to administer.
(Admon. Act Book, 1650, folio I30).
John and Thomas, the older sons of Augustine remained at Great Bowden.
William the third son emigrated to New England. We find his name on
the records as being at Windsor, Conn., as early as 1642, and again in 1662.
It is not probable that he ever returned to his native land. Nothing more
is known of the son Bartholomew. The daughters were married and scattered
into other neighborhoods as is indicated in the wills of the father and mother.
William Fish, the second son of John and Margaret, remained in Great
Bowden. Apparently he was twiced married. His children were all baptized
in that parish, where in 1620 both his older brother Augustine and he were
church Wardens.
BAPTISMS, GREAT BOWDEN
1606 Edmund, son of William Fish 15 Aug.
1608 Bridget Fish, daughter of William 17 Dec.
1612 Anne Fish, daughter of William 10 Sept.
1615 Katherine, daughter of William Fish, 2 April
1617 Margaret, daughter of William Fish, 21 Dec.
1621 Susanna Fish, daughter of William, 14 Oct.
1623 Thomas, son of William Fish, 7 Sept.
1625-6 Hester, daughter of William Fish, 23 March.
1629 John, son of William Fish, 1 July
1631 Daniel, son of William Fish, 23 Oct
1632-3 Hanna, daughter of William Fish, 10 Feb.
1626 Joseph, son of William and Agnes Fish, yeoman, 7 Aug.
MARRIAGES LICENSES, LEICESTER
1620 William Fish of Bowden and Anne Parsons of Carlton, Northants
1627 Miles Smith of Bowden Magna and Bridget Fish, of the same.
MARRIAGES, GREAT BOWDEN
1642-3 Richard Branston and Anne Fish, 22 Jan
1654 George Becket and Hannah Fish, 14 Nov
BURIALS, GREAT BOWDEN
1618 Katherine Fish 8 Aug (wife of William?)
1621-2 Katherine Fish 30 Jan (not fully identified)
1631 Daniel Fish 21 Oct
1642-3 Margaret Fish 8 Jan
1658 William Fish 13 Sept.
WILL, PREROGATIVE COURT OF CANTERBURY
Will of William Fish of Great Bowdon, co. Leicester, yeoman, dated
24 May, 1658.
I give unto my son John and Joseph Fish 10 pounds apiece. To all the rest
of my sons and daughter 12 d. apiece. To Mary Branson and Anne Branson,
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my grand-children, daughters of my daughter Susanna by her former
husband Thomas Branson (legacy not stated) I make my son-in-law
Richard Branson executor, and my son Thomas Fish and my son-in-law
James Hitchcock of Market Harborough, co. Leicester, scrivener overseers.
Proved, 22 April, 1659, by the executor.
(Pell, 229)
Thomas Fish, the third son of John and Margaret, was the father of
Jonathan, John and Nathaniel, the early settlers of Sandwich on Cape
cod. He seems to have lived for a time in the parish of Lubenham, then
in East Farndon then in Great Bowden, which all lie within a small circuit.
Later, he made his home in Wedgenock Park in Warwickshire, when
he apparently had some business or occupation in the city of Warwick.
the Lesicester marriage licesnses give us the name of his wife.
At Leicester a license was issued to:--
1609 Thomas Fysh, gent. of Bowden and Mary Sprigge of Lubbenham
Marriage to be celebrated at Lubbenham.
BAPTISMS, LUBBENHAM, LEICESTERSHIRE
1585-6 Mary, daughter of William Spriggs, 24 Jan
1612 Craddock Fishe, son of Thomas Fishe, 9 Aug
BAPTISMS, EAST FARNDON, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
1613 Ambrose, son of Thomas Fish, 18 Oct
1615-6 Jonathan, son of Thomas Fish, 16 Feb
1619 John and Nathaniel, sons of Thomas and Mary Fish 20 June
BAPTISMS, GREAT BOWDEN
1622 Esther, daughter of Thomas Fish, 21 Dec
1625 Hannah, daughter of Thomas Fish, 5 Oct
Wedgnock Park is one of the possessions of the Earls of Warwick,
and a quaint and interesting account of it is given by Sir William Dugdale
in his Antiquities of Warwickshire, published in 1656, as follows:--
"Wedgenock Park is one of the most ancient Parks in England for I find
that Henry of Newburgh, the first Earl of warwick after the Conquest,
in imitation of King Henry I, who made the Park at Woodstoke (containing
seven miles in compass, and which was the first in England) did
empark it: but at that time it contained no more than what now is called
the Old Park, the rest having been enlarged by the succeeding Earls, who
had, as it seems, a Mannour here: for so it is called in that settlement made
31 Henry III by John de Plessets, Earl of Warwick, upon Will Mauduit
and Alice his wife. And concerning this place, I further find that the tythes
of the assarts here, as also the paunage and venison, were by Margery
Mareschall, Countess of Warwick, in Henry III's time given to the Hospital
of St. Michael in Warwick, in pure alms. And that in 26 Edward I, upon
the extent of the lands belonging to Will Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick,
then deceased, it was certified that he had here at Wedgnock, besides the
Park containing xx acres, a little pool and eight acres of arable land: as
also that in 9 Edward II the underwood of this Park did yield 26 s. 8 d.
per annum, the herbage 10s., and the Paunage, with the nuts, 6s. 8 d.
Howbeit, in those days the Park was but small, till Thomas Beauchamp,
Earl of Warwick, enlarged it with certain woods called Wegenok Donele,
lying within the parish of Hatton, and adjoining thereto, which he purchased
of the Lady Scolastica de Melsa.
"After which, it continued to the succeeding Earls even to the last of
that family: but, coming to the Crown with the rest of their lands, was,
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by King Edward VI in the first year of his reign, granted with the Castle
of Warwick and divers other Mannours, unto John Dudley Earl of Warwick,
upon whose attainder in the first year of Mary, the Queen demised
the herbage and paunage thereof to Henry Jernagran for thirty years at x
marks per annum. And Queen Elizabeth, in 14 of her reign, past the
inheritance of it, together with the wood called Fernehill and the Mannour
house named Good-rest to Fulke Grevill, Esq., and his heirs. Which Fulke
being created Lord Brooke by King James (as I have elsewhere showed)
settled this and many other land on Rob. Grevill, his kinsman, now (s.c.
1640) Lord Brooke, by virtue of an entail with that honour.
"Touching the said Mannour house called Good-rest, first built by
Thomas Beauchamp (the second of that name) Earl of Warwick, in part
of Edward III and Richard II time, I suppose it was so called in respect
that some of the Countesses of Warwick, to avoid much concours of
people, retired hither when they were near the time of childbirth: for,'tis
plain that many of their children were born here, as I have elsewhere
observed. But all the further mention that I find thereof is that King
Henry VII (the Earldom of Warwick being in his hands) granted the
custody of it, with the gardens and waters in the Park, to Edward Belknap,
esquire of the Body, for life."
It is not known at what time Thomas Fish and his family removed
to Warwick and Wedgnock PArk, but in 1643 he was living in Good Rest
house, the historic home within the limits of the Park. When Richard
Whitehead "of Windsor upon Connecticut River in New England" returned
to his native land for a visit, he became a guest of Thomas Fish in
Good Rest house. He was taken ill and died there. He made a will dated
26 April 1645, which was witnessed by two of Thomas' children "Cr. Fishe"
and "Hester Fishe". This will was proved in the Perorgative Court of
Canterbury 26 June 1645. The domicile of Thomas Fish, while in Wedgnock
Park belonged to the parish of St. Mary in Warwick, and we
naturally refer to the parish registers of St. Mary for some record of the
family. Those registers previous to the year 1651 have unfortunately
been lost, and the only subsequenty entries which can be connected with
this family are:-
BURIALS, ST. MARY, WARWICK.
1666 Elizabeth Fish, wife of Cradock Fish, 28 March
1673-4 Thomas Fish buried 12 Jan.
It is uncertain whether this latter entry could have referred to our
Thomas, though possibly it may have been he. He would at that time
have been about ninety years of age. The Manor Rolls of Warwick Castle
are another source from which some information might be had concerning
his later history, but so far we have failed to obtain access to them.
Ambrose fish, the fourth son of John and Margaret, was a clergyman.
Born in 1588, he was educated at the Harborough School, which already
had a wide and excellent reputation, and at Christ's College, Cambridge.
From Christ's College he received his B.A. degree in 1608-9 and that of
M.A. in 1612. He was ordained a Priest in London 1616-7. On June 16,
1619 he was instituted rector of the parish of Raunds in Northamptonshire,
King James I being patron of the living. He remained there until 1623,
about the time of his father's death. Ambrose died intestate, and in 1628
his estate was administered, he being called "of Carlton" parish in Northamptonshire.
He had several children, of whom his son John was named
in the will of his grandmother Margaret, and a daughter Katherine was
baptized at Market Harborough 3 April 1627. His son John may have
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been the "John Fish the Elder, who was buried 10 Sept. 1670, the same
day with his wife, but as the name John was so common among the Fishes,
it is impossible to identify them in every record.
Francis Fish, the fifth son of John and Margaret, seems to have left
no male heirs. Three daughters were baptized at Great Bowden, and he
was afterwards of the parish of Gumley in Leicestershire, where search
had not been made.
BAPTISMS, GREAT BOWDEN.
1619-20 Jane, daughter of Francis Fish, 5 Feb.
1622 Katherine, daughter of Francis Fish, 14 April
1625 Sarah, daughter of Francis Fish, 18 Dec.
BURIALS, GREAT BOWDEN
1619-20 Jane Fish, 6 Feb
John Fish, the youngest son of John and Margaret, born 1601-2, seems
to have been a favorite child of both of his parents. He was executor
of his mother's will. He had four children baptized at Great Bowden.
He probably went to Warwickshire and located at Wroxhall, being a near
neighbor, in that county, of his brother Thomas of Wedgnock Park.
"John Fish of Wroxhall", in 1640 had money transactions with Thomas
Dexter, an early settler in Lynn and Sandwich, Mass., which were not
settled until 1649. He had loaned money to Rev. Ephraim Huit of the
Wroxhall Church. Through persecution by the Bishop of Worcester, for
non-conformity, Mr. Huit was driven from his church and from England,
and came to Hartford, Conn., where he died in 1644. The money for the
payment of the debt to John Fish of Wroxhall seems to have been turned
over by Mr. Huit's estate and held by the Colonial Treasurer as late as
1686. As this money had not then reached its proper destination, the Huit
heirs claimed that it should be returned to them. In this connection the
General Court of Connecticut formally refused to pay the 60 pounds to the
children of Mrs. Huit, "because this Court are informed that ther is a
nephew of Mr. Fish that doth demand it." There is a question of some
interest as to the identity of this nephew. He might have been William
Fish of Windsor if he were then living, or possibly John Fish of Stonington.
BAPTISMS, GREAT BOWDEN
1626 John, son of John Fish, 16 Dec.
1628-9 Joseph, son of John Fish, 1 Jan.
1630-1 Dorcas, daughter of John Fish, 24 March
1633-4 Benjamin, son of John Fish, 26 Jan.
In the more populous section of the parish of Great Bowden, and
contemporary with the first named John Fyshe, there lived a Thomas
Fishe of Market Harborough. He was also probably a descendant of
Edward Fysh of Harborow, of whose will an abstract has been given.
He may have been a brother of John of great Bowden, or perhaps a cousin.
These relationships are suggested by the fact that the name Austin was
given to one of Thomas' sons, a name so often used in the family in its
other form, Augustine. Another son of Thomas, Robert sometimes styled
"mercer", married Alice Fish, a daughter of John and Margaret of Great
Bowden.
BAPTISMS, GREAT BOWDEN
1671-2 Augustine, son of John Fish 21 March
This Augustine Fish, baptized 21 March 1671-2, was apprenticed in
his youth to learn the tanner's trae, which then an important industry
in that part of England. He was the head of the Great Bowden branch of
the family. It was he who erected on the chancel wall of Great Bowden
church the monument to his wife which still remains in good preservation.
"To the memory of Henrietta
wife of Augustine Fish, gent.
daughter of sir Edward Farmer of Kensington,
in the county of Middlesex, knight,
who departed this life the 13th day of December
in the 29th year of her age, anno Domini 1703
and left issue,
Constantia, Mary, Henrietta, John and Susanna.
Sedem properamus ad unam.'