George Leonard Andrews - Civil War General

George Leonard Andrews b. 1828 in Massachusetts. George Leonard Andrews (1828-99) was an American soldier, serving as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

In 1851 graduated at West Point at the head of his class. For two years (1854-56) he was assistant professor of engineering at West Point. He then resigned from the service and was engaged in engineering work until the beginning of the Civil War, when he entered the Union Army as a lieutenant colonel.

He served in the Shenandoah Valley in 1861, took part in Pope's campaign in 1862, was raised to the rank of brigadier general in November, 1862, and bore a prominent part in General Bank's expedition to New Orleans. He was commander of the Corps d' Afrique from 1863 to 1865, and for "faithful and meritorious services in the campaign against Mobile" was brevetted major-general of volunteers in March 1865.

He was United States marshal in Massachusetts from 1867 to 1871, and was professor of French at West Point from 1871 to 1882, and of modern languages from 1882 until his retirement in 1892.

George Leonard Andrews married Sarah Bridge Fiske.

Harvey Fisk - Wall St. Financier

Harvey Fisk b. 1831 in Vermont. FISK & HATCH, BANKERS AND DEALERS IN GOVERNMENT SECURITIES, 1862-1885

Three achievements entitle the firm of Fisk & Hatch to have their name inscribed in the financial history of the United States. They were among the largest distributors of government bonds during the dark days of the Civil War and for the entire period of their business were known throughout the land for large dealings in government bonds. Secondly, they financed the construction of the western end of the first transcontinental railroad and marketed the United States subsidy bonds for the entire line. Thirdly, they financed the construction of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad from tidewater to Louisville, Kentucky. They temporarily suspended operations in 1873 but soon resumed business. The partnership was dissolved in 1885

Pliny Fiske - Banker

Pliny Fiske was born in 1860 in New Jersey. The oldster was Pliny Fisk and his fun began in 1881 when he graduated from Princeton to the investment banking house of his father, Harvey Fisk, who had made a fortune helping the Union finance the Civil War. Four years later Pliny Fisk became the firm's trader on the floor of the Exchange, was there christened by his bearded fellow-members the"apple-cheeked boy of Wall Street." But Broker Fisk soon cut a man-size figure. In a few minutes one afternoon he sold $2,000,000 worth of securities to Hetty Green—after the doorman had tried to eject her because of her shabby clothes. By the turn of the century he was head of Harvey Fisk & Sons, which was known in Wall Street as one of "The Big Four" (with Morgans, First National and National City Banks).

In 1901 Pliny Fisk had pegged the Government bond market at 110. One day, he happened to be standing behind the late Edward H. Harriman on the floor of the Exchange when Harriman, who had gone heavily short, attempted to break the market by a sudden offer to sell $500,000 worth at 90. Fisk promptly accepted, offered to take all others at 110.

When Harriman admitted he couldn't deliver, Fisk let him off for $50,000 but blandly extracted a promise that Harriman would try to compose his battle with J. P. Morgan Sr. over the Northern Pacific R.R., which was then depressing the market. Harriman was soon closeted with Morgan, and Pliny Fisk thereupon put every available dollar into the market. When peace was announced next morning, he had an overnight profit of $800,000.

Resource Material

Since I dove into the deep end of the genealogical pool last year I have found and some very helpful resources.

Wickam Skeith parish records which holds the birth, death and marriage records for the parish which is located in Suffolk County, England. Time period for these records is 1700-late 1800's

Genealogies of the Families and Decendants of the Early Settlers of Watertown Massachusetts by Bond. This is a very nice resource as it covers many families in detail from the first settlers of Massachusetts to mid 1800's. This is one of my resources for my Fiske and Bigelow lines. Since there are a handful of Warrens already in my lines I will most likely be adding them as well once I get caught up.

The Laupersville Family from The Dallenbachs in America. This covers Montgomery/Herkimer County in New York from 1710-1935. The primary name of course is Dallenbach, Dillenback or other various spellings but in close knit communities there is alot of intermarrying between families. That was true in the early Massachusetts colonies and it is true here as well.

Genweb One county may not take genealogy with the same amount of effort as the next county. In Jefferson County NY where I am from for instance has an abundance of information such as cemetary records for the majority if not all the cemetaries. There is information on pioneering settlers of the various townships. All in all it is a terrific site for information. Compartively, if you visit the genweb site of the county to the north you get mainly links to off site pages. Perhaps there is just not the same interest.

I have also found some very helpful information which has helped in solving one or two family questions in various newspapers mostly of which were obituaries. One of these is the Northern New York Library System which has copies of many local newspapers in seven counties in Northern NY. There are a few that date back to 1850's.

Another resource for newspaper archives is Old Fulton Post Cards which has a larger selection of newspapers

For the Fisk(e) surname there is the Fiske Family Papers and for the Bigelow surname there is the Bigelow Society so if you are doing any research on either of these two families at all these two resources are priceless.

Wall Street Financier

James Fisk, Jr. (April 1, 1834 – January 6, 1872), known variously as "Big Jim," "Diamond Jim," and "Jubilee Jim," was an American stock broker and corporate executive. Fisk was born in Bennington, Vermont. After a brief period in school, he ran away in 1850 and joined Van Amberg's Mammoth Circus & Menagerie. Later, he became a hotel waiter, and finally adopted the business of his father, a peddler. He adopted what he learned in the circus to his peddling and grew his father's business. He then became a salesman for Jordan Marsh, a Boston dry goods firm. A failure as a salesman, he was sent to Washington D.C. in 1861 to sell textiles to the government. By his shrewd dealing in army contracts during the Civil War, and, by some accounts, cotton smuggling across enemy lines (in which he enlisted the help of his father), he accumulated considerable wealth, which he soon lost in speculation.

In 1864 he became a stock broker in New York and was employed by Daniel Drew as a buyer. He aided Drew in his war against Cornelius Vanderbilt for control of the Erie Railroad, which resulted in Fisk and Jay Gould becoming members of the Erie directorate. Subsequently, a well-planned raid netted Fisk and Gould control of the railroad. The association with Gould continued until his death. They carried financial buccaneering to extremes, their program including an open alliance with Boss Tweed, the wholesale bribery of legislatures, and the buying of judges (all standard business tactics of the day.) Their attempt to corner the gold market culminated in the fateful Black Friday of September 24, 1869.

Fisk married Lucy Moore in 1854; he was 19, she 15. Lucy was an orphan, reared by an uncle, from Springfield, MA. She tolerated Fisk's many extramarital affairs and lived with a woman friend, suggesting the possibility that she was a lesbian.[1] Regardless, they remained close, with Fisk visiting her in Boston every few weeks and spending summers and vacations with her.

Josie Mansfield

In New York, Fisk had a relationship with Josie Mansfield, a show-girl and by many accounts a prostitute. Fisk housed Josie in an apartment a few doors down from the Erie Railroad headquarters on West 23rd Street and had a covered passage built linking the backdoors of the headquarters and her apartment building. Fisk's relationship with Mansfield scandalized New York society. Mansfield eventually fell in love with Fisk's business associate Edward S. Stokes, a man noted for his good looks. Stokes left his wife and family for Mansfield and Mansfield left Fisk. In a bid for money, Mansfield and Stokes tried to extort money from Fisk by threatening the publication of letters written by Fisk to Mansfield that allegedly proved Fisk's legal wrongdoings. A legal and public relations battle followed, but Fisk refused to pay Mansfield anything. Increasingly frustrated and flirting with bankruptcy, Stokes shot and killed Fisk in New York City on January 6, 1872. He is buried in the Prospect Hill Cemetery in Brattleboro Vermont.

Fisk was vilified by high society for his amoral and eccentric ways, by many pundits of the day for his business dealings, but was loved and mourned by the workingmen of New York and the Erie Railroad. During the Stokes trial, his quick assistance to the victims of the Great Chicago Fire was remembered in a song, "Jim Fisk (He Never Went Back on the Poor)."

(Actor Edward Arnold portrayed Fisk in the 1937 movie The Toast of New York, which starred Arnold and Cary Grant. The movie was a fictionalized account of the lives of Fisk and Stokes.)

New Hampshire Governor

Ezekiel Albert Straw b. 1819 in Massachusetts. Governor of New Hampshire. Straw served as a Republican legislator from Manchester (1859/64) and was a State Senator (1864/6; President of the Senate (1865/6). He served on the staff of Governor Onslow Stearns (1869) and in 1870 was appointed to the to the executive board of the Planning Commission for the 1876 Centennial Exposition to be held at Philadelphia. He was nominated for governor and won the election (1872); he was reelected in 1873

Lineage: Ezekial Albert Straw 1819 was the son of Mehitable Fisk 1800

Francis Skinner Fiske

Francis Skinner Fiske b. 1825 in New Hampshire. Civil War Union Brevet Brigadier General. He graduated from Harvard Law in 1846 and was in legal practice at the outbreak of the Civil War. He went to Europe 1849 and passing on to Asia, was imprisoned by the Arabs in 1850. he came home in the summer of 1850 after sailing around the globe. On April 30, 1861, he enlisted and was appointed Lieutenant Colonel in command of the 2nd Regiment New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry. For merit and leadership of his regiment at the Battle of Bull Run on August 29, 1862, he was brevetted Brigadier General of U.S. Volunteers on March 13, 1865. After the war he resumed his law practice and wrote articles for The New England Magazine until his death.

Connection To Noted 1800's Author

Helen Maria Fiske b. 1830 in Massachusetts. Helen Hunt Jackson was born Helen Maria Fiske during the first term of President Andrew Jackson, a former Indian fighter and advocate of removing Indians living in the eastern United States to the West.

She was a prolific writer, her initial literary efforts were devoted to children's stories, travel sketches, poems, novels, and essays under the pseudonyms "H.H." and "Saxe Holm." Her anonymous work included Verses (1870) and a novel Mercy Philbrick's Choice (1876), in which Emily Dickinson was part-model for the heroine. In time, Jackson would produce over 30 books and hundreds of articles. She most likely would have become better known without the pseudonyms, but popular convention of the time dictated that female writers conceal their true identity. However, once she began to author books about Native Americans or Indians (as they were generally known), she proudly used her full name.

Jackson became perhaps the most prolific woman writer of her era in the country. In 1874, the noted Transcendentalist philosopher, essayist, orator, and poet, Ralph Waldo Emerson, regarded her as "the greatest woman poet" and rated her poetry as superior to the work of almost all her American male contemporaries. This was, indeed, high praise from a very respected source and reflected her position as a national cultural leader. Jackson continued her struggle to redress Indian grievances and also returned to her earlier career as a writer of poetry, essays, and novels.


In 1884, based upon her earlier experience with the California Indians, she hurriedly wrote the popular, commercially successful novel, Ramona. The work, which has been reprinted frequently and adapted to screen and stage, was the highlight of her literary career. In 1886, the North American Review called the book "unquestionably the best novel yet produced by an American woman," ranking it with Uncle Tom's Cabin by her friend Harriet Beecher Stowe as one of the two foremost ethical novels of the century.

Notwithstanding such positive reaction, Jackson was disappointed by the public's failure to appreciate the work for its attempt to do for the Indians what Stowe had achieved for the slaves. According to the late California historian Walton Bean: This novel was often called the Uncle Tom's Cabin of California, but its most enduring effect was to create a collection of regional myths that stimulated the tourist trade. These legends became so ingrained in the culture of Southern California that they were often mistaken for realities. In later years many who visited "Ramona's birthplace" in San Diego or the annual "Ramona Pageant" at Hemet (eighty miles north of San Diego) were surprised and disappointed if they chanced to learn that Ramona was a (fictional) novel rather than a biography.

She is a member of one of my direct lines so I have not listed her lineage. To see her lineage please reference my rootsweb site.

Connection To John Hancock

John Hancock b.1737 in Massachusetts. Originally a merchant from Boston. Graduate of Harvard College in 1754. Signed Declaration of Independence. While merchants in England routinely paid duties on imports, the colonies not only evaded duties, but smuggled cheap sugar and molasses from the French West Indies, an enemy country, undermining their countrymen in the British West Indies. Hancock smuggled an estimated 1.5 million gallons of molasses a year on which he should have paid £37,500 per year, but which corrupt customs officers only collected £2,000 per year.

At first only a financier of the growing rebellion, John Hancock later became a public critic of British rule. On March 5, 1774, the fourth anniversary of the Boston Massacre, he gave a speech strongly condemning the British. In the same year, he was unanimously elected president of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, and presided over its Committee of Safety. Under Hancock, Massachusetts was able to raise bands of "minutemen"—soldiers who pledged to be ready for battle on short notice—and his boycott of tea imported by the British East India Company eventually led to the Boston Tea Party.

In April 1775 as the British intent became apparent, Hancock and Samuel Adams slipped away from Boston to elude capture, staying in the Hancock-Clarke House in Lexington, Massachusetts (which can still be seen to this day). There Paul Revere supposedly roused them about midnight before the British troops arrived at dawn for the Battle of Lexington and Concord, but Prescott was the one who actually informed Hancock and Adams. At this time, General Thomas Gage ordered Hancock and Adams arrested for treason. Following the battle a proclamation was issued granting a general pardon to all who would demonstrate loyalty to the crown—with the exceptions of Hancock and Adams.

On May 24, 1775, he was elected the third President of the Second Continental Congress, succeeding Peyton Randolph. From October 27, 1775 to July 1, 1776, his title was "President of the United Colonies". From July 2, 1776 to October 29, 1777, the title was "President of the Continental Congress of the United States of America".

He would serve through some of the darkest days of the Revolutionary War including Washington's defeats in New York and New Jersey as well as Great Britain's occupation of Philadelphia until resigning his office in York, Pennsylvania on October 30, 1777. He was succeeded by Henry Laurens.

In the first month of his presidency, on June 19, 1775, Hancock commissioned George Washington commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. A year later, Hancock sent Washington a copy of the July 4, 1776 congressional resolution calling for independence as well as a copy of the Declaration of Independence.

Hancock's signature on the United States Declaration of Independence

John Trumbull's famous painting is sometimes incorrectly identified as a depiction of the signing of the Declaration. What the painting actually depicts is the five-man drafting committee presenting their work to the Congress. Trumbull's painting can also be found on the back of the U.S. $2 bill.[10]

Hancock was the only one to sign the Declaration of Independence on the fourth; the other 55 delegates signed on August 2nd (see also "Lee Resolution" that declared independence on July 2nd). He also requested Washington have the Declaration read to the Continental Army. According to popular legend, he signed his name largely and clearly to be sure King George III could read it without his spectacles, causing his name to become, in the United States, an eponym for "signature".[11][12] However, other examples suggest that Hancock always wrote his signature this way. In January 1776, he was appointed commander in chief and major general of the Massachusetts militia. In July 1778, he led 6,000 of his militia in an failed attack on the British at Newport, Rhode Island.


Lineage: John Hancock 1737, John Hancock 1702, John Hancock 1671, Lucy Hancock 1713 dau of John Hancock 1671, Lucy Bowes 1736 dau of Lucy Hancock 1713, Lucy Clarke 1767 daughter of Lucy Bowes, Lucy Clarke married Reverend Thaddeus Fiske 1762

Post #1

I started work on my family tree back in 1999 after I had taken a week long trip to England where I visted London, Cambridge, Ely, and York. I started out with roughly 100 names and then I lost interest.

Here I am today. I got back into the family tree this past August with the same 100 I left off with and now have close to 9,000 names. I have uncovered some very interesting family along the way and I guess that is the purpose of this blog to share what I have found and hopefully share the information with others who are on the same journey.

I have started a file with the the famous and more noteworthy family members along with their lineage to one of my main family lines. It is called Barker Family Tree as that is my surname but I can only find my family back to England in mid 1700's. So needless to say there are a number of lines that have more names than Barker.