Willbur Fisk - Family Background

Family Background

Fisk was born in Guilford, (near Brattleboro), Vermont on August 31, 1792. His father, the Hon. Isaiah Fisk (1763–1859), was from Massachusetts and descended from William Fisk who emigrated to America from England in about 1637. His mother, Hannah (née Bacon, c. 1760–1845) was also from Massachusetts and was descended from John Bacon who came to America in 1640. Isaiah and Hannah Fisk married on May 2, 1786 and moved to Guildford, where Isaiah’s father, Amos Fisk, had purchased land at the outbreak of the American Revolution. Their first child, Isaiah Jr. was born in 1789, and died as a youngster in 1793. Polly, their second child, was born in Brattleboro in 1790. Wilbur, their third child, was born two years later in 1792. Unfortunate business interests caused a financial hardship for Isaiah and Hannah, and they moved with their children from Guilford to Lyndon, Vermont in Caledonia County, about forty miles from the Canadian border. Isaiah Fisk became a respected citizen in Lyndon, and he was elected by his fellow citizens as Assistant Judge, Caledonia County Court from 1808–1813 and Chief Judge, Caledonia County Court from 1815–1823. He was also a presidential elector in the 1816 presidential election.