Go to the main page for this book. Go to the J.L. Fisher book site at cephasfisher.net.

Searching for the Ancestors of Thomas Fisher of Chester County, Pennsylvania

Chapter VII. Updates to Previous Books

New Information

This book contains new information with respect to my previous books, listed at the beginning of this volume. Some notable examples:

• Mrs. Robert Fisher (Sophie) of Flint, Michigan heard of my research and sent the 1701 land warrant for Thomas Robinson and Thomas Fisher, pushing back the known records by 12 more years. She also found and provided the patent and resurvey to Thomas Fisher of the same land in 1739, and provided Fisher land records for the tracts in Caln Township. I found Thomas Fisher’s quitrent records in the microfilmed rent rolls in the Mormon Family History Library, showing that he paid 38 years of back quitrent to the sons of William Penn in 1739, with Thomas Robinson’s name struck from the roll.

• I did not know about the 1703 warrant and survey in Kennett for William Huntley, and did not know that the Huntley tract was the one labeled as “William Harvey” in Gilbert Cope’s 1911 map. I speculated incorrectly that the Huntley and Fisher farms in Kennett were the same.

• I thought the lower segment of Thomas Fisher’s tract in Kennett was marked “J Fisher” on the Gilbert Cope map, and concluded it was for James, son of Thomas. The mark actually says “T” Fisher and that segment was never set aside for James.

• I speculated that Thomas Fisher of Chester County may have been a son of Dennis and Susannah Fisher of Salem, West Jersey. There is no reason to assume any connection.

• I speculated that Thomas Fisher of Chester County may have been a son of James Fisher of Sussex County (who was a son of John and Margaret Fisher). No evidence has been found to support this.

• Susan Kimura of West Jordan, Utah provided a discovery in the Gilbert Cope Collection, LDS Film 0517034, and records of Worcester Monthly Meeting (LDS Film 0441397) regarding the Standfields. Francis Standfield married Grace Achele at Worcestershire Monthly Meeting. Her sister Mary married Francis Fincher of the City of Worcester. The descendants of Francis Standfield and Francis Fincher found in the Philadelphia and Chester County records were therefore cousins. Thomas Achelly of Burlington, New Jersey, was a relative.

• Susan Kimura provided, from the Miscellaneous Records of the Chester Co. Pa. Historical Society, Surnames “F”, LDS Film 0565685, an anonymous manuscript “Fishers of Kendall, Westmoreland & Delaware, ”which gives an interesting ancestry for John Fisher of Clitheroe. If it is correct, John Fisher was educated in law at Gray’s Inn in London, and was a class-mate there with John Hindle, brother of John Fisher’s wife Margaret. Susan discovered, on LDS Film 567014, “Notes on Immigrants to Pa. 1681-1737,” Albert C. Myers, a 1684 record from Marsden Monthly Meeting in Lancashire stating that the meeting was sending the children of John Fisher to Pennsylvania, two years after the parents and one or more older children came.

• Susan Kimura found a description of the ancient Stansfield family manor house in Stansfield, West Yorkshire, which still stands.

• A. R. (Rich) Paul of the Marple-Newtown Historical Society sent a newspaper picture and article showing an ancient log structure, about to be razed in the 1960’s, on the old Huntley tract in Marple, part of the original Francis Standfield estate.

• I have now found a record of James Standfield in the Quaker records of Cheshire. He attended a wedding at Congleton Monthly Meeting, Cheshire in early 1683, shortly before the Standfield family emigration.

• The passenger list for the “Endeavor” in 1683, listing the Standfield family, says they came from “Garton, in Cheshire.” There is no such place name in Cheshire, now or in the old place name books. I assumed this meant Gorton, in east central Manchester, since it is not far from Marple at the edge of Cheshire, where the Standfields once lived. But Gorton and Manchester were part of Lancashire and never were part of Cheshire. I now wonder if this was a mistake for Garston, near Liverpool in Lancashire, where the Standfields might have stopped briefly while waiting to depart from Liverpool. Garston happens to be the birthplace of Thomas Fisher who came to Pennsylvania with the Baker family in 1684.

• A descendant of George Rogers sent me a land map showing the location of Cephas Fisher Sr.’s land in Indiana. The map is shown in this chapter.

• My wife Janice and I traveled to Henry County, Iowa where we found land records and maps pinpointing the location of the Fisher and Vantassell farms there. A map showing the land tracts, and a photo of the 1867 homesite of Cephas Fisher, are included in this chapter.

• Noble Shaw, a first cousin, traveled to Green County, Tennessee and sent a picture of the New Hope Quaker house near Rheatown, established in 1795, where Cephas Fisher Sr. (Great Grandson of Thomas Fisher of Chester County) was married in 1803. The photos are included in this chapter.

• John Fisher, a fifth cousin, learned of my research and sent a collection of photographs of some of the Ohio descendants of Thomas Fisher of Chester County. A sample is included at the end of this chapter.

Errata: Ancestors and Descendants of Cephas Fisher of Henry County, Iowa

I said James Fisher and Alice Standfield were married on Saint Valentine’s day in 1736. It was the 14th of the second month, which was old style April 14, not February.

I said Florance Clinton Fisher and Grace Minette Long once lived at Junction City, Texas. I should have said Barnhart, Texas and Junction City, Arkansas.

My apologies regarding a few typos, a few incorrect words in my document transcriptions which have been pointed out to me but I won’t enumerate here, and the omission of George Rogers from the index.

Land Records for Cephas Fisher (Jr.) & Relatives in Iowa

Deeds Found in Henry County, Iowa at the Mt. Pleasant Courthouse:

Salem Township

Grantee C. A. Fisher, Grantor William Beard & wife Eliza K. Beard. Filed Oct 16 1867, Instrument Oct 16 1867. Sheriff’s Deed. North ½ of West ½ of SE Qtr & the East ½ of North ½ of East ½ of SW Qtr, all in Section 1. Also South 1/8 of NE Qtr of SE Qtr of Section 4. All in Twp 70, North Range 7West. 65A, $1700. Book U Pg 28.

Grantor Cephas A. Fisher & wife Mary, Grantee Samuel Hockett Feb 3 1873, Dec 13 1872. 5A, $50. South 1/8 of NE Qtr of SE Qtr of Section 4 Twp 70, North Range 7 West.

Grantor J. W. Fisher & wife Lany C. Fisher, Grantee Granville Almond West ½ of SE Qtr of Section 14, Twp 70, Range 7 West as lays East of the St. Louis, Keokuk & Northwestern Railroad. Filed 29 Jul 1882, Rec Jul 31 1882. 1 Apr 1882. $2700, 50A.

Grantor Cephas A. Fisher (widower), Grantee Isaac Brown $1500, total of 60A. Filed Jan 10 1883, Rec Jan 11 1883. NW Qtr of SE Qtr (40 Acres) & East ½ of NE Qtr of SW Qtr (20A), all in Section 1, Twp 70, N of Range 7 West. 18 Dec 1882.

Tippecanoe Township

Grantee John Fisher, Grantor Rufus Vantassell & wife Phebe L. Filed May 31 1878, Mar 5 1878. $500, 70A. East ½ of SE Qtr of NW Qtr of Section 20, Twp 71 North Range 7 West. Bk 27 Pg 536.

Grantor Cephas A. Fisher, unmarried of Jewell Co. Kansas, Grantee James B. Hart Sep 10 1884, Sep 11 1884. $350. SW Qtr of NW Qtr of Section 21, Twp 71, Range 7West, 40A. Including my 1/3 interest in crop now on premises. 39-556. N1/2 SE SE 1-70-6.

Grantee J. W. Fisher, Grantor Henry Waddock widower. $300, 20A. Dec 23 1885, Aug 21 1885. West ½ of NW Qtr of SW Qtr of Section 35, Twp 71 North of Range 7 West. Bk 51 Pg 89.

Winfield Township

Grantor Reuben E. Fisher of Washington County, Iowa, Grantee Thomas P. Shaw. $5500, 80A Filed & recorded Dec 12 1870. North ½ of SE Qtr of Section 21, Twp 73N of Range 5. Also 8A off of the SW corner of SW Qtr of NE Qtr of Sec 6 Twp 73N of Range 5 West. 1 Nov 1870.