William Fiske (bef. 1643 - 1728)

A juror in the Salem Witch Trials who later signed the Declaration of Regret for his part in the persecutions.

Deacon William Fiske was baptized June 4, 1643, in Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts ^[1]. He was a son of William Fiske, Sr. and Bridgett Muskett.^[2][3]

William was a weaver by trade.

Marriage

William married Sarah Kilham on January 15, 1662 in Wenham, Massachusetts^[4][5]. She was a daughter of Austin Kilham and Alice Gorball. Over the period of twenty-one years, William and Sarah welcomed a total of fourteen children.^[6] Their children were:

Children

1. William Fiske, b: 31 Jan 1663 Wenham, MA; ^[5] res: Andover; m: Marah ???
2. Sarah Fiske, b: 05 Feb 1664 (legatee in father's Will) m: 1688 CT to John Cooke
3. Ruth Fiske, b: 02 Mar 1666; d: bef.1725 (left heirs)
4. Samuel Fiske, b: 02 Mar 1667; d: (young)
5. Martha Fiske, b: 05 May 1668 Wenham, MA ^[5] (legatee in father's Will) m: 1695 Wenham, MA to Thomas White
6. Joseph Fiske, b: 10 Feb 1669; d: (young)
7. Samuel Fiske, b: 16 Feb 1670; m: 1699 Wenham, MA to Elizabeth Brown
8. Joseph Fiske, b: 14 Apr 1672; m1: 1694 Susanna Warner; m2: (Jul 1742 or Jan 1743 ?) Ipswich, MA to Elizabeth Fuller ^[7]
9. Benjamin Fiske, b: 06 Apr 1674 Wenham, MA ^[5] m: 31 Dec 1698 Mary Quarles
10. Theophilius Fiske, b: 28 July 1676; m1: 1700 Phebe Lampson; m2: Mehitable Wilkins ^[7]
11. Ebenezer Fiske, b: 10 Feb 1677; d: (young)
12. Ebenezer Fiske, b: 22 Mar 1679 Wenham, MA ^[5] m1: 1710 Elizabeth Fuller; m2: 1732-1733 Martha Kimball ^[7]
13. Jonathan Fiske, b: 22 July 1681
14. Elizabeth Fiske, b: 12 Dec 1684 (legatee in father's Will) m: 1704 Eliezer Foster.

Deacon

William was made Deacon of the Congregrational Church in 1679 and held this position for 40 years.^[8] He also held a number of town offices including standing as representative to General Court (1701, 1704, 1711, 1713-1714) and moderator (1702-03, 1712-1714).^[7]

Salem Witch Trials

He was one of the jurors in court during the Salem Witch trials and was a co-signer of the Declaration of Regret.

Death

Deacon William Fiske died on February 4, 1727/28 in Wenham, Essex County, Massachusetts.^[5][9] He was buried at Wenham Cemetery in Wenham, Essex, Massachusetts.^[10]

Declaration of Regret

We whose names are underwritten, being in the year 1692 called to serve as jurors in court at Salem, on trial of many who were by some suspected guilty of doing acts of witchcraft upon the bodies of sundry persons, — we confess that we ourselves were not capable to understand, nor able to withstand, the mysterious delusions of the powers of darkness and Prince of the air, but were, for want of knowledge in ourselves and better information from others, prevailed with to take up such evidence against the accused as, on further consideration and better information, we justly fear was insufficient for the touching the lives of any (Deut. xvii. 6), whereby we fear we have been instrumental, with others, though ignorantly and unwitting, to bring upon ourselves and this people of the Lord the guilt of innocent blood; which sin the Lord saith in Scripture he would not pardon (2 Kings xiv. 4), — that is, we suppose, in regard of his temporal judgments.

We do therefore hereby signify to all in general, and to the surviving sufferers in special, our deep sense of, and sorrow for, our errors in acting on such evidence to the condemning of any person; and do hereby declare, that we justly fear that we were sadly deluded and mistaken - for which we are much disquieted and distressed in our minds, and do therefore humbly beg forgiveness, first, of God, for Christ's sake, for this our error, and pray that God would not impute the guilt of it to ourselves nor others: and we also pray that we may be considered candidly and aright by the living sufferers, as being then under the power of a strong general delusion, utterly unacquainted with, and not experienced in, matters of that nature.

We do heartily ask forgiveness of you all, whom we have justly offended; and do declare, according to our present minds, we would none of us do such things again, on such grounds, for the whole world, — praying you to accept of this in way of satisfaction for our offence, and that you would bless the inheritance of the Lord, that he may be entreated for the land.

(signatures)

Thomas Fisk, Foreman

William Fisk

John Bacheler

Thomas Fisk, Jr.

John Dane

Joseph Evelith

Thomas Pearly, Sr.

John Peabody

Thomas Perkins

Samuel Sayer

Andrew Eliot

Henry Herrick, Sr. ^[11]

Massachusetts Remediation

1. 17 October 1710, Convictions Reversed, The General Court of Massachusetts Bay, An act, the several convictions, judgments, and attainders be, and hereby are, reversed, and declared to be null and void.^[12]
2. 17 Dec 1711, Compensation to Survivors, Governor Dudley, GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY, approved compensation to such persons as are living, and to those that legally represent them that are dead
3. 28 Aug 1957, No Disgrace to Descendants, General Court of Massachusetts, ...such proceedings, were and are shocking, and the result of a wave of popular hysterical fear of the Devil in the community, and further declares that, as all the laws under which said proceedings...have been long since abandoned and superseded by our more civilized laws, no disgrace or cause for distress attaches to the said descendants or any of them by reason of said proceedings.^[13]
4. 31 Oct 2001, Additional Victims Included, Massachusetts Senate and House of Representatives in General Court, AN ACT RELATIVE TO THE WITCHCRAFT TRIAL OF 1692, chapter 145 is hereby further amended by adding Bridget Bishop, Susannah Martin, Alice Parker, Margaret Scott and Wilmot Redd.^[14]

Sources

1. ↑ The Essex Institute, Vital Records of Salem, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849 Volume I - Births A - L (Salem, Mass. 1916)(Free e-book) (Records are also available at ma-vitalrecords.org) p. 303
2. ↑ Massachusetts Births and Christenings 1639-1915 [online database] FamilySearch. William Fisk 4 Jun 1643; Salem, Essex, Massachusetts, United States
3. ↑ Vital Records of Salem, Massachusetts [online database] ma-vitalrecords.org. William Fiske b. 1643 to the End of the Year 1849 v1 p303; The Essex Institute of Salem, MA in 1916.
4. ↑ Massachusetts Marriages 1695-1910 [online database] FamilySearch. William Fiske m: 15 Jan 1662 Sarah Killim; Wenham, Essex, Massachusetts, United States.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5} Vital Records of Wenham, Massachusetts [online database] ma-vitalrecords.org. William Fiske to the End of the Year 1849 pages 36-37, 119, 198 by Essex Institute of Salem, MA in 1913.
6. ↑ Essex Institute, Essex Institute Historical Collections: Vol. 8 [e-book] Salem: MA: Essex Institute of Salem, MA, 1859: p.179.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3} Frederick Clifton Pierce, Fiske and Fisk family: being the record of the descendants of Symond Fiske, lord of the manor of Stadhaugh, Suffolk County, England, from the time of Henry IV to date, including all the American members of the family. [e-book] Chicago, IL: 1896, p.69-70.
8. ↑ William Fiske Brown, Past Made Present: The First Fifty Years of the First Presbyterian Church and Congregation of Beloit, Wisconsin... Chicago, IL: Marsh & Grant Company, 1900.
9. ↑ Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records 1626-2001 [online database] FamilySearch. Decon William Fiske, b: 04 Feb 1727; d: Wenham, Essex County, Massachusetts, citing town clerk offices in Massachusetts; FHL#864,290.
10. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #49084478 for Deacon William Fisk, b: 20 Feb 1642; d: 04 Feb 1728; buried: Wenham Cemetery, Wenham, Essex County, Massachusetts, USA
11. ↑ "Procedures, Courts & Aftermath of the Salem Witch Trials" by Kathy Weiser on Legends of America; updated March 2017; accessed 20 Nov 2018.
12. ↑ “Salem Witchcraft : with an Account of Salem Village, and a History of Opinions on Witchcraft and Kindred Subjects : Upham, Charles Wentworth, 1802-1875, Author : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming.” Wayback Machine Internet Archive, Jul 2021.
13. ↑ Commonwealth of Massachusetts Chapter 145: Resolve Relative to the Indictment, Trial, Conviction and Execution of Ann Pudeator and Certain Other Persons for "Witchcraft" in the year Sixteen Hundred and Ninety-Two. Massachusetts Court System Law Library.
14. ↑ The General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Chapter 22: An Act Relative to the Witchcraft Trial of 1692. Approved October 31, 2001.

• "General Register of the Society of Colonial Wars" by Society of Colonial Wars 1899-1902 [from Old Catalog]; printed by H. K. Brewer & Co. of New York in 1970; Borrow, and Streaming; free download at internet archive