Ambrose Fish (abt. 1650 - bef. 1691)

Born about 1650 in Sandwich, Plymouth Colony

Ancestors

Husband of Hannah (Swift) Tobey — married about 1675 in Sandwich, Plymouth Colony

Descendants

Died before 11 Sep 1691 before about age 41 in Sandwich, Barnstable County, Massachusetts

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Presumed Father

Over the past century, published genealogies and articles have repeatedly concluded -- without solid documentation -- that Ambrose was the son of Nathaniel Fish. The most reputable source for this conclusion about the identity of Ambrose's father is a 1959 article that appeared in The American Genealogist.^[1] The article's focus is Hannah (Swift) Tobey who married Ambrose Fish. The author cites several sources to support her identification of Hannah. Included in the article is an unsourced claim that Ambrose was the son of Nathaniel Fish. (Mrs. Barclay refers to a disturbing 1677 court document (see below) without explicitly tying it to her conclusion that Nathaniel was Ambrose's father.) Additional articles and other derivative sources also suggest this relationship.^[2][3][4]

Biography

AMBROSE FISH (d. 1691) of Sandwich, Barnstable Co., Massachusetts.

Ambrose FISH married Hannah SWIFT, perhaps around 1675, before the birth of their first known child in December 1676.^[5][6]

The Plymouth Court records (PCR 5:245-46): for 30 Oct 1677:

"Att this Court, Ambrose Fish was indicted by the name of Ambrose Fish, for that hee, having not the fear of God before his eyes, did wickedly, and contrary to the order of nature, on the twelveth day of July last past before the date hereof, in his own house in Sandwich, in this colony of New Plymouth, by force carnally know and ravish Lydia Fish, the daughter of Mr Nathaniel Fish, of Sandwich aforesaid, and against her will, she being then in the peace of God and of the Kinge. The grand jury found billa vera. The verdict of the jury of life and death was as followeth: Namely, if one euidence with concurring circumstances be good in law, we find him guilty. But if one evidence, with concurring circumstances, be not good in law, we find him not quilty. Upon consideration of the verdict, the Court sentenced him, the said Ambrose Fish, to suffer corporale punishment by being publicly whipped at the post, which accordingly was inflicted, and the prisoner released."

"Contrary to the order of nature" appears to refer to incest, and the fact that Lydia was in Ambrose's house at the time of the crime suggests that Lydia was a close relative of Ambrose's. Perhaps Ambrose and his young wife had a separate dwelling on the land of his father, or perhaps Ambrose's "own house" was actually his father's house where he was living with wife and baby son.

Ambrose Fish died shortly before 11 Sep 1691 when his estate was inventoried:^[7][8]

An Invintory of ye estate of the Late deceased Ambros ffish of Sandwich" was taken 11 September, 1691, by Thomas Tupper and William Bassett. One items is: "ye dwelling house out housing up Lands and meadow ground all at" L100.

"Hannah ffish Relict of sd deceased made oath in Court to ye truth of this Invintory October ye 21th 1691"

"The Settlement of ye estate of Ambros ffish Late of Sandwich deceased : october 21th 1691 After his debts paid ye estate to be devided as followeth Hannah ffish widow Relict of sd deceased to have one third part of ye Real Estate during her Natural Life and ten pounds for bringing up ye Children and one third part of ye personal estate for ever : and ye Son of sd deceased to have a duble portio of said estate out of ye Housing and Land And the Rest of ye Estate to be equally devided between the Rest of ye Children of sd Deceased"

Children

1. Ephraim Fish was born on 1 Dec 1676 in Sandwich.^[9] He died there on 17 Oct 1677^[10]
2. Abiah Fish was born on 2 Sep 1678 in Sandwich.^[11] She married Samuel Tobey about 1695/6. Samuel was her stepbrother, the son of Thomas Tobey and Martha Knott. Children of Samuel Tobey and Abiah (note that the early sons were given Biblical names that did not previously appear in either the Tobey or Fish families):
   1. Joanna,
   2. Cornelius,
   3. Tabitha,
   4. Zaccheus,
   5. Ruth,
   6. Jonathan,
   7. Eliakim,
   8. Samuel,
   9. Thomas,
   10. Elisha.
3. Mehitable Fish was born on 19 May 1680 in Sandwich.^[12] She married Gershom Tobey on 29 Apr 1697. Gershom was her stepbrother, the son of Thomas Tobey and Martha Knott. Children of Gershom Tobey and Mehitable (once again, the first two sons received Biblical names that didn't appear in either the Tobey or Fish families):
   1. Jerusha,
   2. Temperance,
   3. Silas,
   4. Barnabas,
   5. Ephraim,
   6. Mehitable.
4. Seth Fish was born about 1682. (Not in Sandwich, MA Vital Records.) He married Mary Turner. His deposition abt 1750 called Thomas Tobey his "father in law"-- not his wife's father, but his own step-father (a reference commonly described then as "father-in-law").^[13]
5. Johanna Fish was born on 20 May 1689 in Sandwich.^[14] She married Eliakim Tupper about 1706. Eliakim was the son of Capt. Thomas Tupper and Martha Mayhew.

NOTE: There is no evidence of a son or sons George Fish. Such a claim appears to come only from unsourced family trees. Therefore, we should detach George Fish and George Fish and mark them as "disputed existence."

Sources

1. ↑ Mrs. John E. Barclay, "Hannah (Swift) Tobey, Daughter of Willam(2) Swift, and the Family of Ambrose(2) Fish of Sandwich, Mass.," in The American Genealogist, Vol. 35, No. 1, pp.40-43 (Jan 1959)
2. ↑ Genealogical Notes of Cape Cod Families, Microfilm of original manuscript, Lydia Brownson, c1965, Falmouth Public Library, Falmouth, Barnstable County, Massachusetts
3. ↑ Robert G. Aldrich, In Pursuit of the Elusive Miller Fish, Connecticut Nutmegger, Vol. 22:196 (Jun 1989)
4. ↑ American Genealogical-Biographical Index (AGBI): Entry for Ambrose Fish: Father: Nathaniel Fish; Mother: Lydia Miller Fish; Birth: 1650 - Sandwich, Barnstable, MA; Death: 21 October 1691 - Sandwich, Barnstable, MA; Marriage: 1675 - Sandwich, Barnstable, MA
5. ↑ C.L. Kardell and R.A. Lovell Jr., Vital Records of Sandwich MA to 1885 (Boston, MA: NEHGS, 1996), p. 14, citing STR original Vol. 1:179, son Ephraim's birth
6. ↑ New England Marriages Prior to 1700
7. ↑ "Barnstable, MA Probate Records," in Mayflower Descendant, 12:89-90, citing volume 1, page 47
8. ↑ "Probate records v. 1-3 1686-1747" database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9YB-N9Y1 : 17 April 2024), Film# 00770540, Barnstable, Massachusetts, image 36, Vol 1, Page 47.
9. ↑ "Sandwich, MA Vital Records," in Mayflower Descendant, 14:111
10. ↑ "Sandwich, MA Vital Records," in Mayflower Descendant, 14:111
11. ↑ "Sandwich, MA Vital Records," in Mayflower Descendant, 14:111
12. ↑ "Sandwich, MA Vital Records," in Mayflower Descendant, 14:111
13. ↑ NEHGS Register, 117:190
14. ↑ "Sandwich, MA Vital Records," in Mayflower Descendant, 14:111