Will County IL Archives Biographies.....Fish, Charles Manning ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/il/ilfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Deb Haines http://www.rootsweb.com/~archreg/vols/00003.html#0000719 February 2, 2008, 2:42 am Author: Past & Present Will County, 1907 Charles Manning Fish, engaged in the real-estate business in Joliet, his native city, was born August 1, 1859, and is a son of Henry and Mary V. (Manning) Fish. He is a representative of one of the oldest American families of English lineage. The ancestry can be traced back to Thomas Fish, of Warwick, Wedgenock Park, Warwickshire, England, where he was living as late as 1649. His son, Nathanial, was born in England in 1618 and, coming to America among the earliest settlers of Massachusetts, located in Lynn. In 1637 he made a permanent location at Sandwich on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where he died in 1693. The line of descent is brought down through Thomas Fish, who was a resident of Duxbury, Massachusetts. Nathaniel Fish (two), who was born in Stonington, Connecticut, April 11, 1713; Nathaniel Fish (three), who was born in Stonington, Connecticut, February 6, 1774; Calvin B. Fish, whose birth occurred in Norwich, Connecticut, December 15, 1779. He was the grandfather of Charles Manning Fish and was the first of the family to come to the west. In Lyme, Connecticut, he was married January 1, 1804, to Miss Clarissa Sterling, whose birth occurred in Lyme, Connecticut, July 18, 1780. She was a daughter of Captain William and Jemima (Sill) Sterling. As stated, Calvin B. Fish was the first of the family to leave New England and his death occurred in Rutland, New York, in December, 1830. Henry Fish, father of our subject, was born in Rutland, New York, December 19, 1819, and in 1834 came to Joliet, where he was employed by his brother-in-law, Joel A. Matteson, who was afterward governor of Illinois. He was a poor, penniless boy when he came to Will county and for some time worked for Mr. Matteson, while subsequently he became an employe on the canal and afterward was captain of a canal boat plying between Joliet and Chicago. He made steady progress in his business life, owing to his close application, unfaltering perseverance and energy, and at a later date was engaged in the lumber and grain trade, in which he continued until about 1860. By this time he had accumulated a competence which he invested in government bonds, although his friends advised to the contrary, saying that they would be worthless. His keen business judgment, however, was demonstrated in this investment and, retiring from active commercial pursuits, he engaged in loaning money until 1871, when he assisted in organizing the Will County National Bank and was chosen its first president. He remained an active factor in financial circles in the county for some years and was long accounted one of the representative and successful business men. He was a delegate to the convention that nominated Abraham Lincoln as chief executive of the nation and he was deeply interested in political affairs, yet was not a politician in the sense of seeking political preferment for himself. He died June 22, 1899, and was survived for four years by his wife, who passed away October 24, 1903. They were the parents of four children: George Manning, born January 27, 1855; Jennie Clara, who was born March 31, 1857, and died September 3, 1858; Charles Manning, born August 1, 1859; and Henry Manning, born February 12, 1862. The mother was born October 19, 1829, at Brownsville, Jackson county, Illinois, and also comes of an equally remote American ancestry, for the line of descent is traced back to Samuel Manning, who was born at Cambridge, Massachusetts, July 21, 1644. He served as corporal in the state militia in 1682, as sergeant in 1684 and ensign in 1699. He represented the general court of Massachusetts from 1695 to 1697 and held a number of offices in his town, becoming a prominent man of his day. On the 13th of April, 1664, he was married to Elizabeth Stearns, who was born at Watertown, Massachusetts, and died June 24, 1671. He was afterward married on the 6th of May, 1673, to Abeil Wight, who was born January 1, 1654, at Medfield, Massachusetts. Samuel Manning died February 22, 1710 or 1711. John Manning, son of Samuel Manning, was born August 30, 1666, at Billerica, Massachusetts, and was a soldier in the expedition to Canada led by Sir William Phipps in 1690 against the French in King William's war. He married Sarah Spalding in 1670 and died February 3, 1717 or 1718. His son, Samuel Manning, was born at Cambridge, Massachusetts, April 20, 1703, and died November 6, 1773. He was married October 21, 1728, to Elizabeth Manning, who was born March 4, 1701, and died March 7, 1770. The next in the line of direct descent is Samuel Manning (second), who was born at Townsend, Massachusetts, March 15, 1732. His name appears on the colonial rolls of Massachusetts as one of Captain John Stevens' foot company of Townsend. He was prominent and active in the Revolutionary war and in 1776, 1777 and 1778 was a member of the committee of correspondence, inspection and safety. He died January 28, 1809. His wife, Abigail Avery, was born July 14, 1731, and died at Townsend, Massachusetts, January 21, 1810. Joel Manning, son of Samuel Manning (second), was born at Townsend, Massachusetts, August 31, 1764, and died at Ludlow, Vermont, March 5, 1841. He was married at Lunenburg, Massachusetts, February 17, 1791, to Vashti Bradstreet, who was born July 2, 1761, and died May 15, 1846. Joel Manning (second), son of Joel Manning, was born in Andover, Vermont, October 9, 1793, and died at Joliet January 8, 1869, being the first representative of the family in the middle west. He married September 9, 1823, Diza Jenkins, who was born October 15, 1806, in Tennessee, and died November 27, 1861, in Joliet. They were the parents of Mary V. Manning, who became the wife of Henry Fish in Lockport, Illinois, February 15, 1854. Mr. and Mrs. Fish settled in Joliet and soon afterward united with the Ottawa Street Methodist Episcopal church and were active and honored members of the same for nearly fifty years, giving largely of their means to all church and charitable enterprises. Reared in his native city, Charles Manning Fish acquired his early education in the graded schools of Joliet and afterward pursued a course of study in Chester (Pennsylvania) Military College and was graduated with the degree of civil engineer. He subsequently engaged in the manufacturing business in Joliet for several years, but for some time past has concentrated his energies upon the real-estate business. Mr. Fish was married February 1, 1887, to Miss Louise Steel, a daughter of William A. and Frances Louise (Sanger) Steel. Mrs. Fish was born September 23, 1866, and died February 8, 1892, leaving one child, Mary Louise, born June 5, 1889. On the 18th of May, 1898, Mr. Fish wedded Helen E. Thompson, a daughter of Major J. M. and Mary J. (Davidson) Thompson. Mrs. Fish was born April 8, 1872, and there were three children by this marriage: Jennie, born February 20, 1899; Manning, November 20, 1903; and Charles Thompson, May 11, 1906. Their home is one of the fine residences of Joliet and was built by Mr. Fish's aunt, Mrs. Cornelia A. Miller, the widow of Edmund Miller, of Waterloo, Iowa. Mr. Fish is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, the Sons of Colonial Wars and the Society of Mayflower Descendants, and is a dimitted member of the Masonic fraternity. Additional Comments: PAST AND PRESENT OF WILL COUNTY, ILLINOIS By W. W. Stevens President of the Will County Pioneers Association; Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1907 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/il/will/bios/fish2388nbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/ilfiles/ File size: 8.1 Kb