Dorcas Fish was born, say 1714-1717 in Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts.[1][2] Her parents are not known for certain, but may possibly be Bartholomew and Hannah (Harding). See Disputed Parents section below for further discussion.
On May 28, 1738, Dorcas was propounded to become a full member in the Falmouth Church, and was admitted on June 16.[3] Jedidah, the daughter of Bartholomew and Hannah Fish, her possible sister, was baptised in this church on December 3 of the same year.
Sylvanus Hamlin of Barnstable and Dorcas Fish of Falmouth published their intentions of marriage in Barnstable on 23 February 1739/40,[4] and were married in Falmouth on 24 April 1740.[5][6][7][2]
Her husband Sylvanus was deceased at the time his father wrote his will on 26 March 1754 in Barnstable.[8] The will mentions unnamed heirs of son Silvanus, deceased.
They had five children baptised in the West Parish Church in Barnstable:
Her parents have been suggested in some online trees to be Jonathan and Mary (Wright) Fish of Newtown, Long Isand, but that isn't a plausible theory as his parents had left Cape Cod well before Dorcas was likely born, and Jonathan wrote a will in 1723 which named his children, but no daughter Dorcas.[14]
Research notes
A query in the Boston Evening Transcript, dated 27 April 1934, asked for her progenitors. The requester cited Andrews' The Hamilin Family. The query named Dorcas Fish, born about 1715, who married Sylvanus Hamblin, April 24, 1740. Her place of residence was Falmouth, Mass., and the records of her husband are in Barnstable, Mass. No answer to this query seems to have been published.[15]
"1738, May 28, Dorcas Fish Propounded for full Communion
"June 16, Dorcas Fish Admitted into full Communion.
"December 3, Jedidah, Daughter of Bartholomew & Hannah Fish, Baptised."
↑"Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (: 20 May 2014), Barnstable > Barnstable > Town records 1640-1774 vol 1-2 > image 648 of 663; citing Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston. Barnstable Town Records, Original Vol. 2:349].
"Psons Published by David Crocker T Clerk 1739[/40] : Sylvanus Hamlin of This Town Dorcas Fish Falmoth Fe. 23"
↑"Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (30 October 2019), Barnstable > Falmouth > Births, marriages, deaths 1668-1753 > image 58 of 99; citing Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston. (Original record.)
↑
Brown, Oliver B., Vital Records of Falmouth, Massachusetts to the Year 1850 (Soc. of Mayflower Descendants in RI, RI: 1976), p. 160.
"Fish, Dorcas and Silvenius Hamblin of Barnstable, 24 Apr 1740"
↑ Dodd, Jordan, Liahona Research, comp. Title: Massachusetts Marriages, 1633-1850 Publication: Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2005. Original data - With some noted exceptions all marriage records in this collection can be found at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, and may be available through Fam. Data: Marriage date: 24 Apr 1740. Marriage place: Falmouth, Barnstable, Massachusetts, LINK http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=mamarriages_ga&h=327638&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt
↑ Boston Evening Transcript: Genealogy Pages, 1911-1940. Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2016. April 27, 1934, #8372. (Link via $ubscription to AmericanAncestors.org.)
See also:
Ancestry.com U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970 Publication: Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2011. Volume: 222.
Acknowledgements
Fish-2510 was created by James Martin through the import of Martin Family_2015-06-12.ged on Jun 12, 2015.
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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Dorcas by comparing test results with other carriers of her mitochondrial DNA.
However, there are no known mtDNA test-takers in her direct maternal line.
It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with Dorcas:
Dorcas Fish appears to be the daughter of Bartholomew Fish and (Hannah Harding-Uncertain. Bartholomew may have been married previously. There is also a 10+ yr gap between Dorcas and her brother Lemuel.) according to the research here: <ref>https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/memories/L4M5-WBY</ref> Is this research enough to attach her parents per WT standards? If not, can it be added to Dorcas' bio for "possible parents"? The research also points out how Dorcas Fish could not be the daughter of Johnathan and Mary Fish [sic of New York] as stated in this bio. Thank you for your time, Cheri P.S.: There is also a comment on Dorcas' Family Search profile that states..."Death: For some odd reason Find a Grave indicates Dorcas and Sylvanus died in 1754 in Vermont - but that is simply not possible given that the family are all documented living in Barnstable in 1754. In fact, the children are all still in Barnstable in 1764 when they inherit the land from grandpa Elkanah. When and where Dorcas died is truly not known, and not documented.<ref>https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/L4M5-WBY</ref>
Agreed that it is implausible that Dorcas was the daughter of Jonathan Fish who went to Long Island well before Dorcas was born. There's just no reason or evidence to support that claim.
Looking at the Findagrave memorial, again there's no support or documentation so far since their last known child was born in Barnstable in 1751, yet the claim is that she died in Montpelier in 1754. If one digs a little into the history of Montpelier they'd find that Montpelier wasn't settled until after the Revolutionary War. So I'd call that claim bogus.
I agree that she could be the daughter of Bartholomew and his known wife Hannah Harding, who married in 1716. That family is mostly 'invisible' in the records, and they *may* have had many other unrecorded children. I hesitate to connect them directly as there's no documentation either way, but I'm happy to add her to Bart and Hannah's profiles as a possible child the same way that their possible daughter Hannah is.
FWIW, I've updated the Findagrave memorial for both Dorcas and Sylvanus as there was no gravestone or any sources to support a Vermont burial for them. Montpelier wasn't settled by whites at that time.
I've updated Dorcas' profile with the source records I could find. Where there had been some rather vague Ancestry "sources" I dug for the originals to back them up. Based on the 1738 Falmouth Church records, where Dorcas was admitted to full communion the same year as Bartholomew & Hannah baptised young Jedidah, it's certainly an indication that they could be the same family. Could.
Dorcas Fish appears to be the daughter of Bartholomew Fish and (Hannah Harding-Uncertain. Bartholomew may have been married previously. There is also a 10+ yr gap between Dorcas and her brother Lemuel.) according to the research here: <ref>https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/memories/L4M5-WBY</ref> Is this research enough to attach her parents per WT standards? If not, can it be added to Dorcas' bio for "possible parents"? The research also points out how Dorcas Fish could not be the daughter of Johnathan and Mary Fish [sic of New York] as stated in this bio. Thank you for your time, Cheri P.S.: There is also a comment on Dorcas' Family Search profile that states..."Death: For some odd reason Find a Grave indicates Dorcas and Sylvanus died in 1754 in Vermont - but that is simply not possible given that the family are all documented living in Barnstable in 1754. In fact, the children are all still in Barnstable in 1764 when they inherit the land from grandpa Elkanah. When and where Dorcas died is truly not known, and not documented.<ref>https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/L4M5-WBY</ref>
edited by Cheri (Hallisey) Ryals-Hallisey
Looking at the Findagrave memorial, again there's no support or documentation so far since their last known child was born in Barnstable in 1751, yet the claim is that she died in Montpelier in 1754. If one digs a little into the history of Montpelier they'd find that Montpelier wasn't settled until after the Revolutionary War. So I'd call that claim bogus.
I agree that she could be the daughter of Bartholomew and his known wife Hannah Harding, who married in 1716. That family is mostly 'invisible' in the records, and they *may* have had many other unrecorded children. I hesitate to connect them directly as there's no documentation either way, but I'm happy to add her to Bart and Hannah's profiles as a possible child the same way that their possible daughter Hannah is.
edited by Bobbie (Madison) Hall
edited by Bobbie (Madison) Hall