Home | Contact

Troy's Genealogue

Note:

Conversion to XHTML using CSS is complete. Please report any and all problems.Sept 2009

Family Histories:

FISHER Family History, Part I

August 2009

The surname "FISHER" is derived from the Old English "fiscere" - "to fish." It since became the Middle English "FISCHER" and also has Low German variants of "FISSER," "VISSER," and "WISSER."

Our branch of the FISHER family begins with David FISHER, Sr. (born c. 1795, PA) and his wife, Sophia WEEKS (or MEEKS) (born 1796, PA). They started a family in Clinton County, Ohio by 1819 and later passed through Vernon Township, Hancock County, Indiana (1833); Madison County, Illinois (c. 1843); and settled in Washington Township (Ashland, between present day Eldon and Agency), Wapello County, Iowa in 1850. From here the family branches out to Nebraska and Kansas: King David and his family moved to Hebron, Thayer County, Nebraska and later Sherman County, Nebraska; Sylvester and his family moved to Marshal County, Kansas and Whiterock, Republic County, Kansas (1866).

Following King David's death in 1871, his son John Jackson moved to Sherman County in central Nebraska, but in the late 1880's or more likely early 1890's headed west to California and resettled in Sonoma County, the center for some 600 descendants.

David FISHER1 (~1794-1868)

1. David FISHER1 was born in 1794 or 1795 in Pennsylvania. He married Sarah WEEKS (or possibly MEEKS), also a native of Pennsylvania and began their family of at least nine children there. After Sarah passed away (after 1856), David remarried to the widow Nancy (BOWLES) RICKEY on 6 December 1863 and fathered three more children:

1A. Samuel Martin FISHER (Jun) 1815 Nov 1892 (77)
1B. Catherine FISHER (Sep) 1817 Aft Jul 1871 (>53)
1C. King David FISHER2 19 Feb 1819 12 Jul 1871 (52)
1D. Elizabeth FISHER (Apr) 1821 Bef 1868 (<47)
1E. Mary Ann FISHER (Apr) 1824 16 Nov 1864 (40)
1F. Sarah Ellen FISHER 19 Jan 1828 18 Feb 1876 (48)
1G. John J. FISHER 20 Jan 1832    
1H. Sylvester T. FISHER, Sr. 4 Dec 1833 26 Sep 1897 (63)
1I. Eliza Jane FISHER 16 Apr 1837 18 Jun 1903 (66)
1J. Melissa FISHER (Sep) 1864 (1882) (18)
1K. Isaac FISHER 19 Jan 1866 18 Oct 1948 (72)
1L. Wilbur FISHER 14 Aug 1867 20 Jul 1927 (59)
Seventh Son?
Son Wilbur is said to have been the seventh son of a seventh son, a trait that was believed to bestow healing powers. If so, then one of David's sons is unaccounted for and David himself would have been from a very sizeable family.

David and Sarah were married about 1814 in Pennsylvania and started their family there with two children. By 1819, the family moved to Clark Township, Clinton County, Ohio where the next five children were born.


1830 Census
At the time of the 1830 census, a David FISHER family is found in Clark Township, Clinton County, Ohio. This family had seven sons and two daughters as well as parents probably living with them.

In 1833 the FISHER family continued westward into Indiana and on November 20, 1833 purchased 60 acres in the N½ of NE¼ of Section 10, Range 6 East of Vernon Township, Hancock County, Indiana. His family may have remained behind temporarily as David's fourth son Sylvester was born back in Clinton County, Iowa that December.

Come the new year, David purchased another 80 acres on April 11, 1834 in the E½ of SE¼ of the same section. This second estate he sold on March 1, 1837 for $200.

In 1836, David's second son, King David FISHER, bought the 40 acres of the SW¼ of NE¼ of the same Section 10.

Son Samuel Martin and daughter Catherine both started their families in Vernon and gave David and Sarah their first grandchildren there. Catherine possibly stayed behind in Indiana when the FISHER family moved to Illinois before 1843.

On April 2, 1850, David sold both his original estate and his son's estate on for $1,100 and moved to Ashland, Washington Township, Wapello County, Iowa.

On May 10, 1850 David FISHER paid $900 to Joseph FINARTY of Wapello County for the NW¼ of SW¼ and 60 acres of the west side of west half of the NW¼ of Section 14, also the NE¼ of SE¼ of Section 22, all in Township 71 (Washington Township) N of range 12 West containing 140 acres. The 100 acres on the west side of Section 14 was to be the family home for the rest of David's and Sarah's lives. This farm was very near the town of Ashland which does not exist anymore. It was between Eldon and Agency, Iowa. The home was a 3-room house made of soft white pine, sided vertically with 12" boards. Batting was placed over the siding edges. There was a lean-to on one side of the house. This house is still used as a shop on the farmstead across the road from where it was built.

By the census of August, 1850, David's family and his son Samuel Martin's family were both resettled in District #13 in Wapello County, Iowa.

Sarah (WEEKS) FISHER passed away between 1856 and 1863 in Wapello County, Iowa and was buried at the Ashland Cemetery in Wapello County.

RANKIN-RICKEY
Nancy was formerly believed to have been the widow Nancy (BIRCH) RANKIN, but correlation of her and her two youngest boys to that of the Foster RICKEY family in the 1850 census of Athens Township, Gentry County, Missouri has corrected these errors. The alleged RANKIN connection still could suggest a marriage between that of RICKEY and FISHER.

David remarried to Mrs. Nancy (BOWLES) RICKEY, the widow of the murdered Dr. Foster RICKEY, on December 6, 1863. Nancy and her two youngest sons, John and Curtis Howard RICKEY. David and Nancy had three more children before David passed away on July 27, 1868. David is also buried at the Ashland Cemetery in Wapello County. After David's death, Nancy and her children stayed on with Martin FISHER, a close family relative, and his family in Wapello County. She continued on in Washington Township through at least the 1880 census.

At David's death there was a court division of David's land and it was sold at public auction. The following is a list of heirs of his estate:

Name Relation Years Months Residence
Nancy FISHER widow  --  -- Iowa
Martin FISHER son 52 6 Kansas
Catherine GARRISON daughter 51 3 Iowa
David FISHER son 49 10 Missouri
Mary Ann PARSONS daughter 44 8 dead
Elizabeth MILLER daughter 47 8 dead
Sarah Ellen DAVIS daughter 41 7 Indiana
John FISHER son 37 11 Missouri
Sylvester FISHER son 35  -- Nebraska
Eliza Jane PARKHURST daughter 32 8 Iowa
Melissa daughter 4 3 Iowa
Isaac son 2 11 Iowa
Wilbur son 0 4 Iowa
It is not indicated at just what date this list was made. lt would appear that it might have been in December of either 1868 or 1869.

Suspected David FISHER Family Kin

Wading through census data we find three likely relations of David FISHER's that follow the same migration path. The first two are about 13 and 11 years older than David, and Martin is about 20 years younger, but not one of David's son:

Along with these three we also introduce CLOKEs and CONGERs that follow the same general migration trail:

John FISHER (~1782-1852)

X. John FISHER was a likely relative of David FISHER, and about 13 years David's senior. He was born about 1782 in New Jersey and married Ruth CONGER of the CONGER family from Woodbridge, Middlesex County, New Jersey. They may have had as many as five children (three listed below and likely two additional daughters):

X1. George FISHER 17 Dec 1811 25 Jan 1876 (74)
X2. Elias FISHER 1812/1813 3 Jun 1878 (65)
X3. David FISHER 1820    
Elias FISHER, 1830 Census
Coincidentally, an Elias FISHER (in his 60's; on page 238) and Elias FISHER, Jr. (in his 20's; on page 236) are found in the 1830 census of Chester, Clinton County, Ohio but are believed to be of no relation to Elias Darby CONGER and Elias FISHER.

The 1820 census appears to locate the John FISHER family in Salem Township, Monroe County, Ohio along with his father-in-law, Elias Darby CONGER in nearby Adams Township, Monroe County, Ohio.

In addition to the three sons above, two apparent granddaughters, likely from deceased daughters, were enumerated with the John FISHER family in 1850:
 • Mary Ann MURPHIN/MESKIN
 • Sarah J. SCOTT.

John FISHER died on April 10, 1852 in Jefferson County, Iowa. He was about 70 years old.

Ruth (CONGER) FISHER died five years later on February 19, 1857 in Jefferson County.

George FISHER (1784-1859)

X. George FISHER, a likely relative of David FISHER, and about 11 years David's senior, is found two families over from David's son King David FISHER in the 1850 census of Des Moines Township, Jefferson County, Iowa and likely settled the area as early as the 1840 census. George was born about January 1784 in New Jersey and married a Virginia woman named Mary (CLOKE?). George and Mary had eight children:

X1. David FISHER      
X2. John FISHER      
X3. Martin FISHER (1815) 7 Jan 1892 (76)
X4. Mary FISHER      
X5. Sarah C. FISHER (1819)    
X6. Jacob FISHER (1824)    
X7. Frederick FISHER (1825-1828)    
X8. Hamilton FISHER (1832) 26 Mar 1904 (71)
George, 1840
The 1840 census of Clark County in southern Indiana provides a possible correlation to George's family with he and his wife in their 60's (should be 50's), a boy and two girls in their teens, and one boy in his 20's.

The George FISHER family migrated to Ohio by around 1820, into Indiana by around 1832, and settled in Jefferson County, Iowa by the 1840 census, later noted as Libertyville, Des Moines Township, Jefferson County, Iowa in the 1850 census.

George FISHER died on August 2, 1859 and is buried at the Winsell Cemetery in Des Moines Township. He was around 75 years old.

After George's death, Mary lived with her son Hamilton and his family in Libertyville.

Mary (CLOKE?) FISHER died 29 years later on December 20, 1888 and is also buried at the Winsell Cemetery. She was around 97 years old.

Will Record Book B, pages 99, 100 & 101, filed September 5, 1859;
admitted to probate October 25, 1859

"I, George FISHER Seignior of the County of Jefferson, State of Iowa, being of sound mind, memory and understanding do make, publish and declare this to be my last will and testament. My will is first that my funeral charges and just debts shall be paid by my executor hereinafter named. The residue of my estate and property which shall remain after the payment of my just debts and funeral charges and the expense attending..."

"...and bequeth to my beloved wife, Mary FISHER, my home, lands, farm and all my household furniture to have and to keep for her own special use during her natural life time. I also further provide that at her decease the above named property of which she may be possessed as follows to wit: To my son, David FISHER, I bequeath five dollars to be paid to him by my executor within one year after the decease of my beloved wife. To my two sons, John FISHER and Jacob FISHER, I bequeath five dollars each to be paid them by my executor within one year after the decease of my beloved wife. To my son, Martin FISHER, I bequeath fifty dollars to be paid him by my executor within one year after the decease of my beloved wife. To my daughter, Mary BROWN, I will and bequeath fifty dollars to be paid her by my son, Hamilton FISHER within one year after the decease of my beloved wife. To my daughter, Sarah CLOAK [sic] I bequeath four hundred dollars, seventy five dollars of which to be paid by my son, Hamilton, and the balance to be paid by my son, Frederick FISHER within one year after the decease of my beloved wife. The residue of my property I bequeath to my two sons, Frederick FISHER and Hamilton FISHER, to be equally divided between them and their heirs and assigns. I do hereby appoint my brother, Daniel FISHER, of Wapello County, State of Iowa, to be the sole executor of this my last will and testament. In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name and affixed my seal this 25th day of June 1850."

s/s George FISHER (X) his mark.

 

New Jersey Origins

George's birth in New Jersey provides possible insights into the FISHER family origins should George's relation to David FISHER be resolved. If Mary's parentage is confirmed as that of the CLOKEs of Woodbridge, Middlesex County, New Jersey then this may provide help in narrowing down the FISHERs' origins. Furthermore, an eight-year old George CLOKE was enumerated with George and Mary in 1850 suggesting a grandchild or close relation. Daughter Sarah is believed to have married a CLOKE but curiously Sarah and young George are not enumerated consecutively, nor is Sarah enumerated as a CLOKE but as a FISHER.

  • 6 Nov 1850/Page 97 (Batavia): The "David K. FISHER" family is enumerated next door to George and Mary (CLOKE?) FISHER and newlyweds Fred and Mary FISHER
  • George FISHER (age 66/born ~1784 in New Jersey), about 16 years David's junior, married Mary J. (CLOKE?) (age 55/born ~1795 in Virginia) and their family (Jacob, Sarah, Hamilton, and George CLOKE [age 8]).
    If Mary's parentage is confirmed and that of the young 8-year old George CLOKE, this suggests relations to the CLOKES on the John and Ruth page.
    • Note: a Daniel FISHER, is identified as a brother in George's will: "my executor, Daniel Fisher, brother, of Wapello County." This identifies a brother of George's and forms a link to Wapello County.

Martin FISHER (~1815-1892)

X. Martin FISHER, an uncertain but close relation to David FISHER, was born about 1815 in Pennsylvania, as was David's son, Samuel Martin, thus causing some confusion. This Martin is likely the son of George FISHER who named a Martin in his will.

Martin married an Ohio woman named Elizabeth and began a family of eight in Indiana by 1839:

X1. Mary Jane FISHER (1839)    
X2. William FISHER (1841)    
X3. James FISHER Jun 1845    
X4. George FISHER (1847)    
X5. David FISHER (1849)    
X6. Louis A. FISHER (1851)    
X7. Anderson FISHER (1853)    
X8. Sarah Ann FISEHR (1854)    
Two Martins
This Martin and David's son, Samuel Martin, both born about 1815 in Pennsylvania, are a cause of confusion in piecing together the FISHER families. Although David's widow Nancy lived with this Martin after David's death, David eldest son Samuel Martin is known to have married Sophia, the widow of David's second eldest son King David and moved to Kansas. As noted in David's will, his 52-year old son "Martin" was living in Kansas at the time of his death thus settling the argument as to which Martin was David's son but leaving this Martin's relationship unsolved.

The Martin FISHER family settled in Indiana by the time of the birth of their first daughter around 1839. By the 1840 census, Martin and George (likely his father) had settled in Jefferson County, Iowa Territory where Martin and Elizabeth's first son was born around 1841. Later, the 1850 census records them in District 13, Wapello County, Iowa near David FISHER and his family and continued to live on in Ashland, Washington Township, Wapello County near David through 1860. After David's death in 1868, his widow and their three young children lived with Martin and his family as noted in the 1870 census of Washington Township.

By the 1880 census of Washington Township, David's widow was no longer living (presumed deceased?) with Martin and his family.

Martin and Elizabeth are buried at the Ashland Cemtery. Martin is recorded to have died on January 7, 1892 at the age of 76. His widow died eight years later in September, 1900.

George FISHER (1811-)

X1. George FISHER is a possible relative of the David FISHER family and probably related to Elias and John FISHER. He was born about December 17, 1811 in Washington County, Pennsylvania. He served in the Black Hawk War (1831-1832) and about 1835 married Mary Jane CLOKE, allegedly in Indiana or perhaps Illinois. They had at least seven daughters and one son:

X1. Mary Ann "Polly" FISHER 1837/1838    
X2. Ruth Jane FISHER (1840) 28 Jul 1921 (81)
X3. Milton FISHER (1840-1843)    
X4. Rachel FISHER 28 Dec 1843 7 May 1904 (60)
X5. Rhoda FISHER 15 Mar 1846 30 Jul 1898 (52)
X6. Martha E. FISHER (1848) 29 Dec 1850 (2)
X7. Clarissa C. FISHER (1849) Bef 1876 (<27)
X8. Barbara A. FISHER 23 Oct 1852 24 Jul 1910 (57)
Black Hawk War, 1831-1832

The Sac (Asakiwaki) and Fox (Meskwaki) ancestral homeland was in Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. They had been resettled in Saukenuk (modern day Rock Island, Illinois) in the mid-18th century. The U.S. government later forced them out of Saukenuk into a 40-miles square reservation at the forks of the Iowa River in eastern Iowa.

In 1832, Black Hawk made an unsuccessful attempt to retake Saukenuk, his birth place. This marked the last Native American fight for homelands east of the Mississippi.

Their first daughter was born in Illinois and soon thereafter (about 1836) the family moved to Des Moines Township, Jefferson County, Iowa, where the rest of their children were likely born.

George FISHER lived near John and Elias FISHER in Des Moines, Jefferson County, Iowa at the time of the 1850 census, which serves as the basis of the suspected interrelationships of these families.

Mary Jane (CLOKE) FISHER is recorded to have died on January 23, 1852 (a date that conflicts with the birth of her youngest daughter). She is buried at Winsell Cemetery in Des Moines Township.

Several years after Mary's death, George moved a few miles northeast to Locust Grove Township, in the general area of Fairfield, Jefferson County, in 1865.

George FISHER died on January 25, 1876 in Jefferson County, Iowa. He was also buried at Winsell Cemetery.

"Portrait and Biographical Album of Prominent and Representative Citizens of Jefferson and Van Buren Counties in Iowa,"
Lake City Publishing Co., Chicago, Illinois, 1890.

"George FISHER, father of Mrs. MYERS, was a native of Pennsylvania, but in his youth removed to Indiana where he became acquainted with and married Miss CLOKE, a native of that State. From Indiana they removed to Illinois in 1836 and two years later came to what is now Des Moines Township, Jefferson County, Iowa, but was then a part of the Territory of Michigan. He entered land and improved it, settling upon the purchase where he continued to make his home for many years."

"He was a stirring and wide-awake farmer who labored unceasingly for the interests of himself and family. He became a prominent citizen of the community, took and active part in politics and was a untiring worker in the Baptist Church. His upright life commended intself to the respect and confindence of all with whom he came in contact and won him many warm friends."

"He was called to his final home in 1876, having survived his wife for some twenty-six years. They were the parents of eight children; Mary Ann, now Mrs. BLACK of Kansas; Ruth J., the honored wife of Richard MYERS; Milton, who is married and makes his home in Locust Grove Township, enlisted for the late war in 1861, in Company H., Thirtieth Iowa Infantry and after serving three years was honorably discharged in Davenport; Rachel is now the wife of William SALTS; Rhoda married Samuel SALTS; Clara C. married Christian MAXSON and died in 1872; Martha E. died when two years of age. Barbara the youngest, is the wife of David SALTS."

Elias FISHER (~1812-1878)

X2. Elias FISHER was the son of John and Ruth (CONGER) FISHER, who were likely kin of the David FISHER family. Elias was born in Pennsylvania about 1812 or 1813. He married Sarah WHITE from Virginia and had at least seven children, all born in Iowa:

X21. Jesse Franklin FISHER 18 Mar 1838 29 Jan 1905 (66)
X22. Allen R. FISHER 1841/1842    
X23. Ruth A. FISHER Aug 1844 10 Jan 1847 (2)
X24. William A. FISHER 11 Jul 1847 19 Dec 1923 (76)
X25. Nancy J. FISHER (7 Mar 1850) 26 Jan 1855 (4)
X26. George W. FISHER 1855/1856 1926 (70)
X27. Enos FISHER 1858/1859 1 Jul 1861 (2)

Elias FISHER lived next door to John FISHER and nearby George FISHER in Des Moines, Jefferson County, Iowa at the time of the 1850 census.

Elias FISHER died on June 3, 1878 in Monroe County, Iowa. He was about 65 years old.

Sarah (WHITE) FISHER died 7 years later on May 13, 1886 in Monroe County, Iowa. She was 69 years old.

Samuel Martin FISHER (1815-1892)

1A. Samuel Martin FISHER was born in Pennsylvania in 1815. He married Rhuphema in Hancock County, Indiana about 1835 and had six children and later married his brother's widow, Sophia PRITCHARD, and had another three children:

1A1. George W. FISHER 16 Feb 1837 4 May 1902 (65)
1A2. Sarah FISHER 1838 May 1860 (22)
1A3. James T. FISHER 24 Aug 1846 9 Nov 1871 (25)
1A4. Nancy Ellen FISHER 24 Aug 1846 Aft 1880 (34)
1A5. John H. FISHER 1847 Sep 1859 (12)
1A6. William H. FISHER 1852 Aft 1910 (>58)

Samuel Martin married Rhuphema, a native of Clinton County, Ohio, around 1835 in Hancock County, Indiana. Their first child was born there in 1837 and the following year were relocated in Illinois where the next four children were born. Between 1847 and 1852, the family moved to Iowa, probably Louisa County, and had their sixth child. By 1858 the family moved to Nehama County, Kansas and in 1866 to White Rock Creek, Republic County, Kansas. Samuel was the first to settle the White Rock Creek area along with his wife, five children, and one grandchild.

In October 1866, Samuel, some visiting friends of his from Nemaha County, and other White Rock Creek settlers, went on a hunting trip through Holmwood and then southwest from Whitestone. There they were ambushed by a band of eight Indians. Outnumbered, Samuel offered no resistance and allowed the Indians to make off with surplus provisions, revolvers, and revolver ammunition. The Indians left them with a little food and their rifles and warned them not to hunt in that area as it was Indian hunting ground.

Glad to escape so easily, the hunting party returned to the previous night's camp but during the next morning, a lone Indian rode up and took a fancy to John MARLING's powder horn. The Indian decided it would make a nice gift and decided to take the powder horn much to MARLING's chagrin. John MARLING three months earlier had his wife dragged away with a rope around her neck and assaulted by Indians and was therefore unwilling to give any Indian anything. Samuel FISHER feared creating unnecessary trouble and so advised John MARLING to surrender the powder horn. John did so. The Indian took the powder horn, wheeled his pony around to leave but suddenly turned and shot Samuel in the back. Before MARLING could fire back, Samuel pleaded not to return fire.

Samuel carried the bullet, and even a measure of respect for the Indians to his grave. He treasured a complete Indian suit and huge feather headdress which was given to him by other Indians.

In 1871, Samuel and Rhuphema's son, James T., died at the age of 25. That same year, Samuel's younger brother, King David died across the state line in Nebraska.

Rhuphema died on 31 August 1885 and was buried at the Persinger Cemetery in Republic County. Four months later, Samuel remarried King David's widow, Sophia PRITCHARD on 22 December 1885. They had three more children before Sophia died in 1887. Once again, Samuel was remarried by year's end, this time to Nancy P. CARTER on 13 September 1887.

Catherine (FISHER) GARRISON (1817-)

1B. Catherine FISHER was born in 1817 in Pennsylvania. She married Elvy GARRISON on 28 March 1833 in either Clinton County, Ohio or Vernon Township, Hancock County, Indiana. They had at least 10 children:

1BA. Sarah J. GARRISON (1835)    
1BB. Mary Ann GARRISON (1837) 3 Jun 1898 (61)
1BC. Silas GARRISON 5 Jul 1840/1841 27 Dec 1893 (53)
1BD. Rebecca Ellen GARRISON 30 Mar 1843 22 Feb 1918 (74)
1BE. Catherine S. GARRISON (1846-1849)    
1BF. Jeremiah GARRISON (1852-1853)    
1BG. Martha GARRISON (1855-1856)    
1BH. David GARRISON (Aug 1859)    
1BI. Eliza Isobel GARRISON 1861    

The GARRISON family settled in Indiana by around 1835 where they were noted in both the 1840 and 1850 censuses in Vernon Township, Hancock County. By the 1860 census, they resettled in Batavia, Des Moines Township, Jefferson County, Iowa where her brother King David, sister Mary Ann (FISHER) PARSONS, and their families had settled by 1850.

Catherine was present at the death of her brother, King David, on 12 July 1871.

King David FISHER2 (1819-1871)

1C. King David FISHER2 was born on 19 February 1819 in Clinton County, Ohio. He married Sophia PRITCHARD, a native of Indiana in 1840 or 1841. They had at least nine children, probably 12, born in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Nebraska:

1CA. John Jackson FISHER3 6 Jan 1843 8 May 1906 (63)
1CB. Mary C. FISHER 29 Mar 1845 Bef. 1871 (<26)
1CC. Isaac FISHER 10 May 1847 (Jun 1867) (20)
1CD. Sylvester FISHER 12 Nov 1849 11 Jan 1889 (39)
1CE. Sarah M. FISHER 12 Nov 1849    
1CF. Ellen C. FISHER 2 Jun 1852    
1CG. Frederick P. FISHER 22 Jan 1857 Bef. 1871  
1CH. Theodore William FISHER 20 Jan 1858 22 Nov 1925 (67)
1CI. David W. FISHER 21 Dec 1859 Bef. 1871 (<12)
1CJ. Samuel M. FISHER 5 Aug 1861    
1CK. Ira H. FISHER 1 Apr 1863 3 Nov 1938 (75)
1CL. Robert A. FISHER 9 Dec 1865    

King David FISHER was about 6' 6" tall and was said to have met his wife, Sophia PRITCHARD, near Louisville, Kentucky. They were wed in 1840 or 1841 and began their family in Illinois in 1843 with the birth of their first son, John Jackson. By 1846, the family moved to Indiana where the next four children were born.

King David allegedly left home to follow the Gold Rush to California but apparently returned to relocate to Batavia, Des Moines Township, Jefferson County, Iowa by the time of the 1850 census, along with his sisters Catherine (FISHER) GARRISON, Mary Ann (FISHER) PARSONS, and their families. Here they resided through the 1860 census until 1862 when the family moved again, this time to Big Sandy, Hobbs Precinct, Jefferson County in the Nebraska Territory--the heart of Pawnee territory--and homesteaded in the center of Section 9, Township 2 North, Range 2 West. Son John homesteaded in the northeast part of the same section. The family was run off the homestead in the summer of 1867 by Indians, ironically the same year that Nebraska gained statehood. It was probably in this attack that King David's second eldest son Isaac was killed. The FISHER family retreated east and resettled temporarily in Tarkio, Atchison County, Missouri for two years.

On 1 June 1869, King mustered in as a founding member and First Corporal (then at the age of 50) of the Nebraska Cavalry Militia, First Regiment, Company A, at Fort Butler to defend against Indian raids such as the one that drove his family out in 1867. He mustered along with three privates: Sylvester, age 19 (his son); James, age 24 (likely his nephew); and William, age 17 (likely his nephew and James' brother).

In 1870 a company of regular Army was stationed to the north at Kiowa which relieved Company A. At that time many soldiers took up claims in central and southern Thayer County, which likely prompted King's move from Big Sandy to Hebron. King homesteaded on Section 9 of Township 2 North, Range 2 West.

King David FISHER, 1819-1871
King David FISHER
Born Feb. 19, 1819
Died July 12, 1871
Aged 52 years, 4 mo., 23 days

King David FISHER died of "lung fever" (or perhaps typhoid) in a dug-out on July 12, 1871 in Hebron, Thayer County, Nebraska. King David, by request, was buried on the homestead on a hill facing north overlooking the Little Blue River and the Oregon Trail. The hill had been a lookout for marauding Indians and lay between two springs (one known as Avalon Springs and later renamed Corliss Springs). King chose his final resting place so that he would never be thirsty. King FISHER's sister and son noted that he had joked with settlers of the area that they would have to shoot someone to start a graveyard -- and he was the first of the group to die in Hebron.

Some say the tombstone originally contained the description "1st Sergeant, Fort Butler" but if so no trace remains. Furthermore, a Hebron poet by the name of G. W. WASSON penned a 22 verse poem to commemorate King FISHER, part of which reads:

Excerpt of Poem by G.W. WASSON
"The Indian shuddered at his name,
And shunned with dread hit fatal aim;
His comrades, creatures of the wood,
His cabin home and solitude."

"Here long he reigned, king of the wild;
And here they sleep--the man and child.
For death at last, claims worst and best,
And gaunt King FISHER lay at rest."


Another contemporary of King FISHER's was D. W. HENDERSHOT, among the early settlers of Hebron, wrote to his grandchildren recalling:

D.W. HENDERSHOT on King FISHER
"He was a big man and was a good neighbor when you were in front of him, but would steal your horses at night. He drank a gallon of whiskey once, and it killed him and I helped to bury him and put up a monument and [put] a Bible on it. He had two nice girls. He was a great hunter and said he had killed 10 Indians and others. People said he killed some white people, too."
"Black Leg"
A variation of the story notes two rifles being passed down to Ira and his youngest brother Robert. The story notes that Ira inherited one rifle but that Robert had received "Black Leg." "Black Leg" later found its way to the North Platte courthouse after being found in Buffalo Bill's barn in North Platte.

Among King FISHER's estate was a rifle named "Black Leg." King had broken the stock when he slipped and fell on the frozen Little Blue River. and patched the stock with a piece of brass. The rifle was passed to King's second youngest son, Ira who bagged his first elk around the Loup and Dismal rivers using "Black Leg" and later put it on display at the North Platte courthouse.

King's widow, Sophia received her patent (#1371) for 160 acres on 7 February 1876 but later moved to Clear Creek, Sherman County in central Nebraska by the 1880 census along with her three youngest sons and the families of her two eldest sons, John and Sylvester. But by 1885 King David's widow Sophia moved to Republic County in north-central, Kansas and remarried to King David's older brother Samuel. Samuel's wife had died in August 1885 and on 22 December 1885 Samuel and Sophia were wed. This marriage only lasted a year and a half as Sophia (PRITCHARD) FISHER died on 17 May 1887. She was buried in Republic County.

Kingfisher creek, township, and county, in Oklahoma, are said to be named for King David FISHER who camped along the creek in the days before the Chisholm Trail crossed through.

Following are copies of articles written on King David FISHER and his alleged connection to the town of Kingfisher in Oklahoma. This connection would represent an interesting tangent in the life of this pioneer (who was known for his tangents) so above I have focused on King's documented life in Iowa and Nebraska and leave the Oklahoma stories below. Another article "Truth, legends surround mystique of King David Fisher," by Jackie WILLIAMSON, helped me separate the stories, corroborate and expound on a few details, and provided some of the above quotes. Jackie is the granddaughter of A. N. CORLISS who owned the land southwest of Hebron, Nebraska where King is buried.
"Pioneers of Kingfisher County, 1889-1976," pages 258-259
Photo caption:
"Picture of King David FISHER marker at Hebron, Nebraska. Nadine WALTER made trip to Hebron to take this picture."

"Kingfisher"

"For a long time the impression existed that the town of Kingfisher, county, creek, and township were named for the Kingfisher bird that is native of this general area of the southwest."

"Another theory was that the town was named for a John King FISHER (1854-1884), who controlled 5000 sq. miles in Dimmit County, Texas (southwest of San Antonio on the Mexican border). His parents were Joby (Jobe) and Lucinda WARREN FISHER. Joby's parents were James and Anna LADD FISHER. James came to Texas from Illinois. This King FISHER was known as an outlaw but died while helping on the sided of the law."

"Some people were of the opinion that there were two men who owned ranches in the vicinity of what is now Kingfisher. One man's name was KING and the other FISHER. They thought KING had operated the stage station in the early days, so when the town was laid out it was named after these two men."

"John D. MILES was appointed agent of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians in 1872 by President GRANT, with headquarters at Darlington near El Reno. Mr. MILES became familiar with this part of the territory and its traditions, so is one of the most reliable authorities for the explanation that the creek was so called in honor of King FISHER (King David FISHER), a ranchman in the early day whose range and camps were on this stream. At that time he was known as a livestock trader, gambler, and when necessary, Indian fighter. He traveled in Oklahoma buying and selling cattle and he also had a string of stallions."

"Mr. MILES is also the authority for the explanation that "Uncle John's" Creek, which unites with Kingfisher Creek at the northeast corner of the townsite, was so-called owing to the fact that another ranchman who was popularly known as "Uncle John" held his cattle upon the grazing grounds along the creek."

"Settlements in Oklahoma along the famous Chisholm Cattle Trail, which started in 1867, and extended from Texas to Abilene, Kansas, were trading posts and stage stations. This was where stage coaches that carried passengers from Caldwell, Kansas to Ft. Reno and Ft. Sill could stop to change horses, food, eat, and rest. The "King Fisher Stage Station" was located just west of the present Kingfisher Post Office on the north banks of Kingfisher Creek and the road from there followed up 13th Street."

"This cattle trail lasted for about twenty years. When the Department of Interior made its plans to open Oklahoma Territory to white settlement in the early part of 1889, it had to provide for the location of two land offices. One land office was located on an acre of ground in the southeast corner of NW/4 of Sec. 15-16N-7W, at or near the "King Fisher Stage Station" on the Chisholm Trail. After the opening, the settlers joined these two names together and the village and town which grew up around the land office has since been known by the name of "Kingfisher."

"King David FISHER"

"David and Sarah FISHER were the parents of King David FISHER. He was born February 19, 1819, in Clinton County, Ohio, and grew to be about 6' 6" tall. Both David and Sarah were born in Pennsylvania. David FISHER was born about 1794 and Sarah about 1795. They moved to Ohio with their family about 1818."

"Land records in Vernon Township, Handcock [sic] County, Indiana, showed David FISHER Sr. of Clinton County, Ohio, bought land in Ohio in November, 1833, and sold it April 2, 1850. King FISHER also owned land in Clinton County and sold it the same time his father did. David FISHER, Sr. then purchased land in Wapello County, Iowa, May 10, 1850 and lived there the remainder of his life. Sarah passed away first; David FISHER, Sr. passed away July 27, 1868."

"King David FISHER met Sophia PRITCHARD (who was born July 12, 1825) near Louisville, Kentucky. They were married in 1840 or 1841 and were the parents of 12 children."

"In 1849 King FISHER went to California to the Gold Rush. He had the reputation of going off and leaving Mrs. FISHER and the children to look after themselves the best they could. On one of these periods of being absent from home, he came to this part of Oklahoma where a town bears his name."

"On June 2, 1852, a daughter, Ellen C., was born in Wapello County, Iowa. The family probably remained there for ten years or more, as four more children were born there."

"King FISHER and Sophia homesteaded in the center of Sec. 9-2N-2 in Thayer County about two miles southeast of Hebron, Nebraska. This farm was crossed by the Little Blue River."

"Fort Butler was a stockade built about one mile southwest of Hebron for the protection of the settlers from Indian attacks. King FISHER served as 1st Sgt. at the fort. He always called his rifle 'blackleg'."

"Mrs. GARRISON also told of 'hair raising' experiences in Indian raids."

"King FISHER's third child, Isaac, born May 10, 1847, was killed by the Indians. The FISHER family with their neighbors were driven out of Thayer County, in 1867, by the Indians, so they lived at Tarkio, Missouri, for two years before returning to their homestead."

"Mrs. GARRISON was with King FISHER at the time of his death. He died of Lung Fever (others say it was typhoid) in a dugout and was buried, at his request, on the homestead. It was on a hill facing north, just below is the Little Blue River, and just across the river was the Oregon Trail. There is a tombstone that reads: King David FISHER, born Feb. 19, 1819, died July 12, 1871, 52 years, 4 mos., 23 days."

Newspaper Article, Kingfisher, Oklahoma, 1959
Photo caption:
"This is the grave of King FISHER, on a hill near Hebron, Nebr. The child standing behind the tombstone is his great-grandson, King David FISHER II."

"King FISHER, For Whom City Is Named, is Buried On Hill Near Hebron, Nebr."

"King Fisher, frontiersman for whom Kingfisher creek, city and county (the only ones in the United States) were named, is buried near Hebron, Nebr. His children are all deceased, but a great-granddaughter, Mrs. Mabelle [sic] FISHER CLARK, lives at North Platte, Nebr., and a granddaughter, Bertha A. HARTSOCK, 70, lives at Welch, Okla."

"Information concerning King FISHER has been supplied by these surviving relatives. He was born somewhere in the east in 1812 [sic], a member of a family of 13 or 14 children, and died in Nebraska in 1869 [sic]."

"He met his wife, Sophia PRITCHARD, near Louisville, Ky., and they became the parents of seven sons and two daughters. One son, Isaac, was killed by Indians."

"FISHER, a horse trader and sometimes gambler, was also an Indian fighter when necessity demanded, although he was a friend to all civilized Indians. Long before the opening of the country to settlement, he traveled in Oklahoma, buying and selling cattle, and also had a line of stallions."

"One of his camping places was on the banks of what came to be known as Kingfisher creek, and when a stage station later was built there it likewise received the name of Kingfisher."

"An unusual circumstance occurred in connection with King FISHER's death. He foretold his passing two weeks before he died, although a physician summoned by his wife could find nothing wrong with him at that time."

"At his own request he was buried on a hill on his ranch where frontiersmen had used a telescope to watch for marauding Indians. His old musket hangs in the courthouse at North Platte, Nebr."

"The old log ranch house still stands and is the only original building left on the ranch."

Elizabeth (FISHER) MILLER (1821-<1868)

1D. Elizabeth FISHER was born in 1821 in Clinton County, Ohio. She married Michael N. MILLER and died sometime before her father, who died in 1868.

Uncorroborated research from others hold that Elizabeth and Michael divorced between 1845 and 1848 and that Michael remarried to Elizabeth (SOUTHERN) DUNCAN on August 30, 1848 in Mercer County, Illinois. The MILLERs later moved to Nebraska.

Mary Ann (FISHER) PARSON (1824-1864)

1E. Mary Ann FISHER was born in 1824 in Clinton County, Ohio. She married Andrew Jackson PARSONS on 27 July 1845. They had as many as six children:

1E1. Noah J. PARSONS      
1E2. Eliza A. PARSONS (1849)    
1E3. Sarah E. PARSONS (1851)    
1E4. David PARSONS (1854)    
1E5. Martha A. PARSONS (1856)    
1E6. Augusta PARSONS (1858)    

By the 1860 census, the PARSONS family was settled in Batavia, Des Moines Township, Jefferson County, Iowa along with Mary Ann's sister Catherine (FISHER) GARRISON,brother King David, and their families.

Mary Ann (FISHER) PARSONS died on November 16, 1864 in Wapello County, Iowa. She was about 40 years old. She is buried at the Ashland Cemetery in Wapello County.

Fred FISHER (1825-)

1X. Fred FISHER was born about 1825 in Ohio. He married a woman named Mary in 1849 or 1850 and lived next to David K. FISHER. Based on this and his birth place, Fred is possibly an additional brother of King David FISHER.

Sarah Ellen (FISHER) HELVIE (1827-1876)

1F. Sarah Ellen FISHER was born in 1827 in Clinton County, Ohio. She married William F. DAVIS on 28 July 1845, one day after her sister, Mary, married. Sarah and William had seven children. Following William's death on 27 October 1857, Sarah remarried to George Perris HELVIE on 7 May 1870 and had one daughter:

1F1. Mary Lucinda DAVIS 17 Nov 1848    
1F2. Clyde DAVIS Abt 1850    
1F3. Harriett Katherine DAVIS 13 Jan 1851    
1F4. Joseph Henry DAVIS 26 Mar 1853    
1F5. Malissa June DAVIS 14 Sep 1857 14 Nov 1879 (22)
1F6. James Washington DAVIS 01 May 1855 11 Apr 1931 (75)
1F7. Levada D. HELVIE 22 Feb 1871    

John J. FISHER (1831-)

1G. John J. FISHER was born in 1831 in Clinton County, Ohio. He married a Lurenna and had six children. After his wife died between 1864 and 1865 he remarried to the widow Mary Ann (YEARWOOD) HARKNESS and fathered two more children:

1G1. William Oliver FISHER 2 May 1851    
1G2. Mary E. FISHER 4 Nov 1853    
1G3. Sarah A. FISHER 22 Feb 1856    
1G4. George Thomas FISHER 30 Apr 1858 13 Jul 1940 (82)
1G5. Margaret Ellen FISHER 4 Apr 1861 14 Feb 1891 (29)
1G6. Lewis Frederick FISHER 6 Jan 1864 7 Oct 1947 (83)
1G7. Ruby Ann "Becky" FISHER 24 Feb 1868    
1G8. Liere Dvora "Dora" FISHER 30 Dec 1871 26 Apr 1911 (39)
Dennison
According to the U.S. Geological Survey a Dennison Post Office operated briefly in Gage County from April 18 to September 17, 1860. The exact location is no longer known but perhaps the post office was near the town of Liberty near the Pawnee county line.

By the 1860 census, probably as early as 1855, the FISHER family had settled in Dennison, Pawnee Territory, Nebraska*. At the time he was enumerated next to his next younger brother Sylvester.

After the death of his wife Lurenna in 1864 or 1865, John remarried to the widow Mary Ann YEARWOOD on 8 February 1866, likely in Missouri. He legally took responsibility for her son George Washington HARKNESS. It was probably at this time that the family was in Morris Township, Sullivan County, Missouri where the family was enumerated during the 1870 census.

Sylvester Theodore FISHER, Sr. (1833-1897)

1H. Sylvester Theodore FISHER, Sr. was born on 4 December 1833 in Clinton County, Ohio. He married Sarah Marie PARKHURST, a native Indiana, on 14 December 1853 in Wapello County, Iowa. The had as many as 16 children!

1HA. Albert Ross FISHER 18 Mar 1855 24 Oct 1927 (72)
1HB. Matilda Caroline FISHER 25 Sep 1857 2 Dec 1915 (58)
1HC. William Riley FISHER 4 Nov 1858 8 Aug 1953 (94)
1HD. Nancy Emeline FISHER 18 Mar 1860 29 Dec 1945 (85)
1HE. Mary Adeline FISHER 19 Sep 1861 18 Sep 1910 (48)
1HF. Stephen Douglas FISHER 8 Feb 1863 15 Jul 1865 (2)
1HG. John David FISHER 29 Mar 1864 17 May 1935 (71)
1HH. Sarah Isabelle FISHER 21 Jun 1865 27 Nov 1948 (83)
1HI. Francis Marion FISHER 1 Jan 1867 5 Mar 1937 (70)
1HJ. Joseph Henry FISHER 30 Jun 1869 8 Feb 1908 (39)
1HK. Ira "Crink" Manzo FISHER 24 May 1870 14 Dec 1941 (71)
1HL. Sylvester T. FISHER, Jr. 23 Nov 1871 11 Sep 1936 (64)
1HM. Edward Elonzo FISHER 16 Nov 1873 20 Jan 1929 (55)
1HN. Keziah Catherine FISHER 15 Apr 1876 Nov 1939 (63)
1HO. Ellen Celia FISHER 20 Dec 1877 14 Feb 1879 (1)
1HP. Ida "Stell" Estella FISHER 21 Jun 1880 3 Nov 1951 (71)
Dennison
According to the U.S. Geological Survey a Dennison Post Office operated briefly in Gage County from April 18 to September 17, 1860. The exact location is no longer known but perhaps the post office was near the town of Liberty near the Pawnee county line.

Sarah Marie PARKHURST was born 31 May 1835 and married Sylvester in Wapello County, Iowa on 14 December 1853, as recorded in their family Bible. There they had their first two children but by 1858 the family moved to Marysville, Marshall County, Kansas where their third child was born. In 1859 the family moved north into what is now Pawnee County, Nebraska and were enumerated in the 1860 census at Dennison, Pawnee Territory* next to Sylvester's next older brother John who had moved there perhaps as early as 1855.

In 1868 Sylvester moved to his place one mile east of Liberty, Gage County, Nebraska on Section 36, Town 2, Range 8 East. Here he owned a farm of 320 acres with 100 acres under cultivation and remained there the rest of his life.

Sylvester was over 6 feet tall, a common characteristic of the FISHERs, and had a large beard. He was a very good shot and hunted alone, sometimes for days, to supply meat for the family. He was a friend to all including Indians that still roamed the area.

Epitaph
"Dearest parents thou has left us, we thy loss deeply feel -- silent grave to thee we trust.
-- Guard U safe O sacred tomb, untill we their children ask for room."

Sylvester Theodore FISHER died on 26 September 1897 at the age of 63 and Sarah Marie (PARKHURST) FISHER followed four months later on 4 January 1898. Both are buried in the Liberty Cemetery where a large marker identifies their graves:

Eliza Jane (FISHER) PARKHURST (1837-1903)

1I. Eliza Jane FISHER was born 16 April 1837 in Hancock County, Indiana. She married Benjamin Franklin PARKHURST, her sister's-in-law brother, on 25 August 1855 and had nine children:

1I1. David S. PARKHURST 29 Aug 1856    
1I2. Nancy E. PARKHURST 2 May 1859 1898 (39)
1I3. Ben C. F. PARKHURST 11 Oct 1861    
1I4. Lavada T. PARKHURST 20 Jan 1865 1 Jul 1866 (0)
1I5. Ulysses S. G. PARKHURST 22 Mar 1868    
1I6. Arminda M. PARKHURST 12 Jun 1871 28 Sep 1875 (4)
1I7. Emery T. PARKHURST 27 May 1874    
1I8. Minnie B. PARKHURST 6 May 1877 20 Oct 1878 (0)
1I9. Inez PARKHURST 16 Oct 1880 align="right">10 Sep 1955 (74)

Benjamin Franklin PARKHURST was born 3 April 1837 and served in the Civil War. He died 6 June 1897 at age 60 and Eliza Jane (FISHER) PARKHURST died six years later on 18 June 1903 at the age of 65.

Melissa FISHER (~1864-)

1J. Melissa FISHER was born about 1864. She was the first born of David's second marriage to Nancy (BIRCH) RANKIN.

Isaac FISHER (~1865)

1K. Isaac FISHER was born around 1865-1866.

Wilbur FISHER (1867-1927)

1L. Wilbur FISHER was born 14 August 1867 in Eldon, Wapello County, Iowa. He married Bertha Letticia DUNN on 2 April 1890 and had 5 children:

1L1. Arthur FISHER 1 Dec 1892 1 Mar 1893 (0)
1L2. Alta E. FISHER 2 Apr 1894 18 Oct 1929 (35)
1L3. Jesse Isaac FISHER 7 Feb 1897 8 Dec 1982 (85)
1L4. Alfred FISHER 11 Oct 1898 11 Aug 1899 (0)
1L5. Rachel FISHER 30 Nov 1907 Feb 1947 (39)
Seventh Son
Wilbur is said to have been the seventh son of a seventh son, a trait that was believed to bestow healing powers. If so, then another brother is unaccounted for and Wilbur's grandfather, David, would also have been from a very sizeable family.

Bertha Letticia FISHER was born 23 August 1872 in Birmingham, Van Buren County, Iowa. She was raised outside of Birmingham at a place called "Turkey Scratch."

Wilbur FISHER died 20 July 1927 in Ashland, Wapello County, Iowa. He was 59 years old.

Bertha Letticia (DUNN) FISHER died on what would have been her 59th wedding anniversary on 2 April 1949. She was sleeping in her yard at the time.