FISHER TALES (of genealogy
research) Issue 2 July 2016
First, let’s trace the migration trail of our Fisher
(Fischer-German spelling) ancestors, from arrival in Philadelphia
in 1730, and going west of the city to settle in Berks County Pennsylvania
north of the current city of Reading, then in
1809 moving westward to Milheim, Centre County, Pennsylvania, and finally moving to Illinois in 1839. To do this, I will work
back from what we know and what is documented in Illinois state and federal land records.
We know that two brothers Jacob and Solomon Fisher came to Illinois in October,
1839. Jacob was the older brother, born in 1808, and Solomon was born in 1812
in Centre County PA.
Their parents were Jacob Fisher and Susanna Haberacker, who were married in
April 1806 in the First Reformed Church of Reading PA. The son, Jacob was
married to Mary Moyers in 1831 in Pennsylvania
and had 5 children by 1838. Jacob’s family and his brother Solomon traveled
together to Illinois.
The trip is said to have taken six weeks and three days in a covered wagon
drawn by four horses. Can you imagine with 5 children?
The brothers claimed 600-720 acres of land for $800 in Rock Grove
Township, in sections 25
& 26. In some cases they bought a claim from a previous pioneer (early real
estate speculators) who had cleared some land and erected a small log cabin. There
was a small hewn log house on the property in which the family lived initially.
The land was all prairie except for 100 acres of timber. Most had not been
plowed before. Their first priority was clearing land, building shelter and
preparing for the winter. In 1843 Solomon built fence and erected a one story
16 x 16 ft house in preparation for his marriage to Barbara Bolender in April
of 1843. In 1845, Jacob and Solomon officially registered their land purchase
at the US Land Office in Dixon
IL.
Their younger brother Samuel H. Fisher made several trips to
Stephenson County to buy land during the 1840’s but
he did not settle there until 1852 when he owned 683 acres. Soon after he
arrived, he established a general store. He also later went into the grain
business in Dakota with his partner, J. D. Schmeltzer. The last area of Rock Grove
Village was platted as
Fisher’s Addition, laid out by Samuel H. Fisher in 1869. Samuel’s home in Rock
Grove was sketched and appeared in the 1871 plat book.
Here is a plat of the Rock Grove township early land owners showing
Jacob, Solomon and Samuel H. Fisher’s land. Most are located west of Rock Grove
village, but some are adjacent to Rock Grove village located in the lower right
corner of the image below. The large tracts claimed by Solomon, Jacob and
Samuel H. show the beginning of a stream on their property; providing a spring
source of fresh water.
This 1800 Pennsylvania map
shows their migration trail before coming to Illinois. Follow the dots. Details next month!
Next, more photos and stories of the descendents of Solomon
& Barbara Fisher; Henry Fisher & Hannah Potthast. Henry and Hannah had
seven children (see chart below that includes spouses). Last month you saw
Susan Luella Fisher (1887 -1941) and Roy
Cross (1885 -1592 and their two surviving children; Robert & Kenneth. If
there are any errors in this information, please let me know.
Dora Edna Fisher (1880-1927) & William Reed
Keister (1880-1959)
Their daughter;
Blanche Viola Keister (1903-1990), Harold Best & family
Photos submitted by
Sherry Newman, daughter of Dora Lea Nagle
If you have family stories or photos to share, your family
could be in the next newsletter. It would be nice to hear from descendents of
Jacob and Mary or Samuel H. as well. Hope to hear from you before the end of
Aug. Keep exploring family history, Elaine
Fisher
