Willbur Fisk - Marriage and Family

Marriage and Family

Fisk most likely met his wife, Ruth Peck of Providence, at some point while he was in Rhode Island. They carried on a seven year engagement, primarily through correspondence, until they decided marry on June 9, 1823 in Providence. She was an Episcopalian prior to her marriage. Prentice indicates that most friends believed that Wilbur and Ruth had an unhappy marriage, and her letters indicate dissatisfaction with her ability to have a harmonious relationship. Wilbur expected to outlive his wife, and did not prepare adequately for his early demise. He expressed concern for Ruth’s continuing welfare on his deathbed. In an expression of true friendship and Christian charity, faculty members and students of Wesleyan University helped Ruth for the remainder of her life. She lived in indigency in a small house on Foss Hill, near Foss House, (the house was later moved to the lower Union Street section of Middletown, where it was demolished in the 1960s).

The Fisks adopted a daughter, Martha S. Fisk, who was born on October 24, 1824. She lived with her parents in Middletown and then with her mother and grandmother, Lydia Peck, after her father’s death in 1839. Martha died at age twenty on April 25, 1844 in Middletown. She is buried in the Wesleyan Cemetery (on campus).

Ruth’s mother, Lydia (Lyon) Peck was born May 9, 1769 in West Woodstock, Connecticut and came to live with Wilbur and Ruth in her old age. She is mentioned in Prentice’s biography (though not by her first name) as living with them in Middletown. Lydia was the daughter of Amos Lyon (1733–1812). She died on June 25, 1843 in Middletown and is buried in the Wesleyan Cemetery.

Wilbur Fisk died after a long, painful illness in Middletown on February 22, 1839 with his wife by his side. He is buried in the Wesleyan Cemetery.