Cornelius Fisher (1629-1700) and Leah Heaton (1634-1664)

{Hills Ancestors}

Research by Rue Lynn Galbraith

 

Click here to go to a condensed version of this biography.

 

Cornelius Fisher was the 118th person to sign the Dedham Covenant.

Cornelius Fisher was christened 16 August 1629 in Denton, England. He was the seventh and youngest child born to Anthony and Alice Fisher. The Denton Parish Records show:

“ffysher Cornelius [Parents] Anthony & Ales [Baptized] 16 August1629”1

As a child, Cornelius received a legacy in the will of his uncle, John Fisher, dated 28 March 1636 and proved 30 October 1636. Cornelius immigrated with his family to the American colonies before 15 July 1637 when his oldest brother, John, died in Dedham, Massachusetts, the first death recorded in the town. Cornelius would have been almost eight years old at the time. 2

Cornelius was married first to Leah Heaton 22 February 1652/53, in Dedham, Suffolk (now Norfolk), Massachusetts.

Picture 103 

Leah Heaton was the daughter of Boston merchant Nathaniel Heaton and his wife, Elizabeth Wight Heaton. Leah was baptized 13 April 1634 in Alford, Lincoln, England, just before her parents and two older brothers immigrated to New England. Since Leah Heaton grew up in Boston, and Cornelius Fisher grew up in Dedham, it would be interesting to know how they met.

Cornelius had seven children with Leah: Elizabeth (born 20 June 1654 in Dedham and died 14 September 1665 in Dedham), Leah (born 5 May 1656 in Dedham and died 10 September 1720 as Leah Goddard and buried in Dedham), Experience (born 10 January 1656/7 in Dedham), Cornelius (born 8 February 1659/60 in Dedham and died 6 June 1743 in Wrentham), Anna (born 22 August 1661 in Dedham), Eleazar (born 8 July 1663 in Dedham), and Ellice (born 12 January 1663/4 in Dedham, who died with mother Leah in childbirth).

 

Picture 503

After Leah’s death on 12 January 1663/4, Cornelius married Sarah Everett on 25 July 1665, Dedham, Suffolk (now Norfolk), Massachusetts.

Picture 283

Cornelius and Sarah had three more children: Dorothy (born and died April 1667 in Dedham), Sarah (born 1668 in Dedham and died 2 November 1756 in Wrentham as Sarah Hall), and Jonathan (born 26 October 1761 in Dedham and died 9 November 1675 in Wrentham).

Cornelius joined the Dedham Church on 6 February 1648 and was made freeman there on 2 May 1649. He was a carpenter by trade. He was constable in Dedham in 1668, and poundmaster in 1672. Cornelius and Sarah eventually moved to Wrentham. They were among the first settlers of Wrentham, being there by 1673 when it was established as a separate town. The Wrentham Vital Records show that Sarah died there 28 February 1674/5. However, Cornelius' will, which he wrote in 3 February 16994, mentions his wife, Sarah, as an inheritor. This may mean that Cornelius' memory was failing at the end of his life, or that he had a third wife, also named Sarah.

A month after Sarah’s death, Cornelius had to abandon Wrentham on 30 March 1675, along with the other settlers, because of King Philip's War; returning only when it was safe to do so.

Cornelius' will said, "I Cornelius Fisher Senr in the town of Wrentham, County of Suffolk, being aged...but sound in my understand...do make and ordain this my last will and testament...Give to my well beloved wife Sarah Fisher my best bed and furniture sufficient for it for her use during her natural life...I give to my eldest son, Cornelius Fisher my homestead...to son Eleazer Fisher five pound, to my daughter Leah five pounds, daughter Experience five pounds to my daughter Anna five pounds to my daughter Sarah five pounds...son-in-law Benjamin Hall...Sons Cornelius Fisher and Eleazer Fisher to be sole executors.."4

Cornelius died in Wrentham but his death date is in conflict. The Wrentham Vital Records say:

“[torn] (Corn)nelious, Jan. 2, 1699. "Being the first head of a family Died in the Town of a natural Death for 30 year."

That doesn’t make sense if his will was written 3 February 1699. The Youngman Family records say that he died 15 June 1699, but that is the date his will was probated.4 It seems likely that the will should be dated 3 Feb. 1698/99, and the death record in the vital records should be 2 June 1699.

The inventory of his estate registered 29 June 1699 shows the homestead at 105 pounds, outlands, meadows, etc., 68 pounds,with the total at 242 pounds, 19 shillings, and 8 pence.4

Sources

    1. NEHGS Register Vol. 151 [April 1997] pages 171 – 191 - The English Ancestors of Joshua and Anthony written by Myrtle Stevens Hyde and John Plummer (www.americanancestors.org)
    2. Parish Records of Denton found at; http://www.obliquity.com/family/parish/fisher.html
    3. Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.Original data: Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute (Jay and Delene Holbrook).
    4. Suffolk Co. MA Court Land and Probate Records: Case Number 2523, Vol. 2000-3999 page 2523:1