James Fisher (abt. 1703)

Ancestors

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James Fisher is a part of US Black heritage.

Biography

1704 Birth and Parents

James Fisher was born circa 1703 of the marriage between Richard Fisher and Mary Molloyd II. His sister Ann's age is stated as about thirty-two years of age in her petition for her freedom from John Beale in the Anne Arundel County court in August 1734. ^[1]

Siblings

His siblings were all named in the 1743 suit as petitioners: Ann, Robert, James, Richard, Mary, Frances, Edward, and Charles. Their ages are estimated at two year intervals beginning in 1701. Such dates are highly speculative and useful only for placing a person in the right time context.

He was named in a 1743 court case ^[2] as a slave descended from Mary Molloyd. By the time of the suit, the children of Mary Molloyd's daughter Mary Fisher had been aqcquired as slaves by some of the more prominent families of Anne Arundel and neighboring counties, as follows:

1. Ann Fisher, b. ca 1711 (aged about 32 in 1743), kept as slave by Thomas Gassaway, Baltimore Co, Gentleman
2. Robert Fisher, born, say, 1701, kept as slave by Thomas Jennings of Anne Arundel County, Gentleman
3. James Fisher, born, say, 1703, kept as slave by John Dorsey, son of Caleb Dorsey of Ann Arundel County, Gentleman
4. Richard Fisher, born, say, 1705, kept as slave by Richard Dorsey of Anne Arundel County, Gentleman
5. Mary Fisher, born, say, 1707, kept as slave by Richard Warfield Junr. of Anne Arundel County, Gentleman
6. Frances Fisher, born, say, 1709, kept as slave by Colonell Henry Ridgely of Anne Arundel County
7. Edward Fisher, born, say, 1713, kept as slave by Philip Hammond of Anne Arundel County
8. Charles Fisher, born, say, 1715, kept as slave by Elizabeth Beale of Anne Arundel County, widow.

1734 Court Case

The complete narrative of the Court Case and associated persons appears at Fighting Against Enslavement -- The Children of Mary Molloyd

James Fisher, was kept as slave by John Dorsey, son of Caleb Dorsey of Ann Arundel County, Gentleman ^[3] Named in 1782 Court Case.

Ann Fisher and her siblings lost that case, and in June 1743 she and her siblings brought another unsuccessful freedom petition in Anne Arundel County court. ^[1]

Children

Whether James Fisher had children is unknown. However, when James Dorsey wrote his will in 1765, he named 33 slaves. Of them, one was a "mulatto woman" named Easter, who might have been his daughter, and there were three mulatto children, Theo, Poll and Lidia, who might have been his grandchildren.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Brown, To Swear Him Free, p. 96
2. ↑ 17 June 1743, pp 11-12, Court Slave Records of Anne Arundel Co. Anne Arundel County Judgment Record 1734-6, 83; 1743-4, 11
3. ↑ Ann Fisher et al, 1743 Petition

Bibliography of Frequently Cited Sources

• Court Slave Records of Anne Arundel County: Anne Arundel County Judgment Record 1734-6, 83; 1743-4, 11-12
• Brown, Thomas F., and Leah C. Sims. To Swear Him Free"-- Ethnic Memory as Social Capital in Eighteenth Century Freedom Petitions p. 81-97 iln Debra Myers & Melanie Perrault, editors, Colonial Chesapeake: New Perspectives. Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books, 2006. Page 96 Accessed 27 February, 2015 jhd