Lineage analysis is a key goal in building the pedigree of a family tree. In researching our Fish ancestors, I find a missing link where I haven’t yet confirmed a parent-child relationship with documentary evidence. Nathaniel Fish, born in England about 1618 (Bryan’s 11th-great-grandfather), came to America and settled in the Sandwich, Massachusetts area where he and his second wife, Lydia Mehitable Miller, raised their family of eight which included two sons – Nathan/Nathaniel Fish born in 1648 and Ambrose Fish born in 1650.

Ambrose Fish, the son of Nathaniel and Lydia (Miller) Fish, married Hannah Swift. Their son Seth Fish married Mary Maude Turner. Seth and Mary’s daughter Hannah Fish married Samuel Tupper. Hannah and Samuel had nine children including two sons – Enoch Tupper and Jabez Tupper. Enoch’s daughter Olive married Jabez’s son William – they had one child, Diadema Tupper. Diadema never married, and she had one child – Charles William Pratt who married Mercy Turner Fish.

Nathan/Nathaniel Fish, the son of Nathaniel and Lydia (Miller) Fish, married Elizabeth Freeman. Their son Nathan Isaac Fish married Deborah Barnes/Barrows. Nathan and Deborah’s son Samuel Fish married Thankful Meigs. Samuel and Thankful had a son Thomas who married Hannah ____. Thomas and Hannah reportedly had a son Lemuel, but I haven’t confirmed this relationship with documentary evidence – THIS IS THE MISSING FISH-LINK. Lemuel married Lettice Eldred. Lemuel and Lettice’s son Benjamin married Lucy Jenkins Carsley. Benjamin and Lucy’s daughter Mercy Turner Fish married Charles William Pratt.

The interesting clue is that Ambrose’s daughter-in-law was Mary Maude TURNER, and Nathan/Nathaniel’s descendant was Mercy TURNER Fish. Names were often passed down from one generation to another, and a female ancestor’s maiden name often shows up as a female descendants’ given or middle name suggesting a relationship, and hopefully documentary evidence, exists. This is indeed a page-Turner – and a fine kettle of Fish!