Preserved Fish

Preserved Fish (/prəˈzɜːrvɪd/; July 14, 1766 – July 23, 1846) was a prominent New York City shipping merchant[1] in the early 19th century. He was an early broker of the New York Stock & Exchange Board.[2]

For the process, see fish preservation.
Preserved Fish
BornJuly 14, 1766
Freetown, Massachusetts, British America
DiedJuly 23, 1846(1846-07-23) (aged 80)
New York City, U.S.
OccupationMerchant
EmployerFish & Grinnell

Early life

Preserved Fish was born in Freetown, Massachusetts to blacksmith Isaac Fish and Ruth Grinnell Fish. His extended family, prominent in New York, also gave rise to Hamilton Fish, governor, senator, and secretary of state, and Stuyvesant Fish. He was descended from Thomas Fish, who settled in New England in 1643.[3] There were at least 10 other Fish family members with the Quaker given name Preserved, whose lineages are often confused.[4] The name is pronounced with three syllables: /prəˈzɜːrvɪd/ or /prəˈsɜːrvɪd/; it refers to being "preserved (saved) from sin".[5]

As a youth, Fish shipped to the Pacific on a whaler, becoming its captain at the age of 21. He soon realized that fortune lay in selling whale oil, not in harvesting it.

Career

He prospered as a merchant in New Bedford, Massachusetts, but had a political squabble and left for New York. He, along with Joseph Grinnell, controlled a potent shipping firm named Fish & Grinnell – later Grinnell, Minturn & Company – which had its beginnings in his efforts to expand his whale oil market.[2] In 1812, he became a director of Bank of America (unrelated to the current institution), founded after the charter of the First Bank of the United States was not renewed.[6] He also was one of the 28 brokers of the New York Exchange Board, which later became the New York Stock Exchange.[2]

After his resignation from Fish & Grinnell and a brief retirement from business, he served from 1836 to his death as President of the Tradesman's Bank as well as president of the Bank of America, which was unrelated to the current institution of that name.[2] He was also involved with Tammany Hall: along with Gideon Lee, another banker, his faction controlled the Democratic Party in New York City at the time that the Locofoco reformers attempted, unsuccessfully, to take it over.[7] He was one of the leaders in the movement opposed to sabbatarianism in the United States.[2]

Personal life

Fish was married three times.[8] His first wife, Abigail Clark Fish, died in New Bedford while giving birth to a child who did not live.[8] His second wife, Mary Polly Fish (Gerrish), died in New York City. He married his third wife, Mary Shepherd Fish, just four months later.[8]

None of Fish's children survived, however, he had an adopted son named William Fish who reportedly died before his father did as "a disgraced man." William had one child who was in line to inherit most of Fish's property, on the condition that "the youth must renounce his mother on arriving at the age of twenty-one."[8]

In later life, Fish was a member of the Episcopal Church.[8] He died on July 23, 1846, in New York. He is buried in the New York City Marble Cemetery.[9] His obituary called him "a rough, obstinate, and eccentric man" but said he was "without guile" and "charitable", as well as a faithful friend.[8]

References
  1. Pratchett, Terry (2005). "Real People". The Art of Discworld. London: Gollancz. ISBN 0-575-07712-3.
  2. "Letters, Oct. 26, 1931". Time. 1931-10-26. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved 2010-05-22.
  3. "Preserved Fish (1766-1846)". www.nyhistory.org. New-York Historical Society. Archived from the original on 28 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  4. Fish, Lester Warren (1948). The Fish family in England and America : genealogical and biographical records and sketches / by Lester Warren Fish. Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center. Rutland, Vt. : Tuttle Pub. Co., 1948.
  5. "Unusual Name: Preserved Fish Archived 2022-02-04 at the Wayback Machine", Nancy's Baby Names, February 4, 2022; accessed 2020.04.23.
  6. "Business: Tale of Two Banks". Time. Oct 12, 1931. Archived from the original on November 30, 2007. Retrieved 12 October 2010.
  7. Burrows, Edwin G. and Wallace, Mike (1999). Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-195-11634-8. p.609
  8. Hunt, Freeman (1846). The Merchants' Magazine and Commercial Review | Volume Fifteen. New-York. pp. 583–585. Archived from the original on 6 July 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  9. "Landmark Designation". New York City Marble Cemetery: official site. March 4, 1969. Archived from the original on 2011-05-20. Retrieved 2011-05-13.
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