A yeoman was a man who owned and cultivated a small farm. He belonged to the class below the gentry or land owners. A husbandman was a free tenant farmer. The social status of a husbandman was below that of a yeoman.
Joseph Fiske was born on April 14, 1672 in Wenham, Essex County, Massachusetts. He was the son of William Fiske and Sarah Kilham. He was a yeoman.
He married his second wife Mrs. Elizabeth Fuller on January 7, 1743.
Joseph made his will on May 1, 1745. It was proved the same month on May 13, 1745 by Captain Samuel Waite, Daniel Chapman and Daniel Chapman, Jr.
He died on May 2, 1745. Elizabeth Fiske died on October 30, 1755.
First printed in Boston 1745
Old Style Calendar
Before 1752 the year began on Lady Day, March 25th,. Dates between January 1st and March 24th were at the end of the year. Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) are used to indicate whether the year has been adjusted. Often both dates are used.
Wenham, Massachusetts, was first settled by English Puritans. The church was formed in 1644 with John Fiske as pastor.
Essex County, Massachusetts was created on May 10, 1643 by the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, when it ordered "that the whole plantation within this jurisdiction be divided into four sheires."
