Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Rev. John Fiske, founder, buried in Chelmsford, Massachusetts

This tombstone was photographed at the Forefather's Burial Ground in Chelmsford, Massachusetts



THIS CENOTAPH IS ERECTED
BY THE FISKE FAMILY
OF CHELMSFORD
TO THE MEMORY OF THE 
REV. JOHN FISKE
FIRST PASTOR OF CHELMSFORD
HE WAS BORN AT SOUTH 
ELMHAM, SUFFOLK CO, ENLGNAD
ABOUT THE YEAR 1606
IN 1637
HE CAME TO NEW ENGLAND
IN 1644 HE GATHERED A
CHURCH AT WENHAM, MASS
AND CONTINUED AS ITS PASTOR
UNITL 1656 WHEN HE REMOVED WITH
THE GREATER PART OF HIS CHURCH TO
CHELMSFORD
WHERE HE MINISTERED BOTH AS
PASTOR AND PHYSICIAN
GREATLY RESPECTED AND BELOVED
UNTIL HIS DEATH
JANUARY 14, 1676
AT THE AGE OF 70 YEARS

FISKE

Reverend John Fiske, son of John Fiske and Anne Lawter, was baptized on 20 March 1608 at St. James church in South Elmham, Suffolk, England.  He received a diploma in medicine from King's College at Cambridge in 1625.  He came to New England aboard the Mary Ann in 1637 with his wife, two sisters, mother and his brother William Fiske.  His first three children were born in Salem, and then he removed to nearby Wenham where he was ordained and became the first minister in 1644.  His daughter, Ann, my 8th great grandmother, was the first child baptized in Wenham in 1646.  Later, he removed to Chelmsford to be the first minister and founder of this new community.  

No other FISKEs are buried at the Forefather's Burial Ground in Chelmsford.

PDF file of a guide to Forefather's Burial Ground by Catherine Goodwin, http://www.chelmsfordgov.com/CHCwebsite/CHC_files/ForefathersCatherineGoodwin.pdf

My recent "Surname Saturday" post on FISKE and Rev. John Fiske:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/07/surname-saturday-fiske-of-salem-wenham.html

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Tombstone Tuesday ~  Rev. John Fiske, founder, buried in Chelmsford, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted September 13, 2016,  (http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/09/tombstone-tuesday-rev-john-fiske.html:  accessed [access date]).

2 comments:

  1. So if that is a cenotaph, where is he really buried?

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    1. This burial ground is behind the church he founded. I'm sure that in the 1600s that is where he was buried. Perhaps over time they forgot where he was buried in the churchyard? I'm pretty sure he is nearby. Vincent and I had this discussion right there in front of the monument when he photographed it!

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