Common Ancestor Tales

Today I was sent an additional biography of Lord Fisher by Robert Hough (1869). It is much kinder to both Fisher parents than the later biographies – apparently it was the official biography. As I browsed through the family section I noticed that like the other biographies it mentions that John Arbuthnot Fisher was one of 11 siblings:

“There were eleven children in all,
four of whom died in infancy or early childhood.”

First Sea Lord” by Robert Hough 1969

 

But across the five biographies I have read they mention 12 different names. So something is not right.

When I search the family trees available I also find 12. Firstly the 4 infants that died in Sri Lanka. All the biographies mention these so that is not the reason for the miscalculation and they are named in the inscription on William Fisher’s grave.

The eight living ones I have found reference to in family trees are: John (1841), Alice (1837), Albert Bertram (1844), Lucy Ellen (1847), Arthur (1849), Frank (Francis Conrad)(1850) , Frederick (1851) and Philip (1858). Seven of these are shown in the famous photograph which is pupported to be of all the living Fisher children. Albert Bertram is the missing one. If you work up from the bottom then the sizes of the children make that clear.

There are two options here either all five biographers have got the number wrong and missed one out? Or two of the above names are actually the same person.

So going with the first hypothesis I wondered which one the biographers are missing out. To start with perhaps Lucy Ellen is being missed. But she is pictured in the photograph and mentioned in several of the biographies. Another candidate is Albert Bertram Fisher – he is only mentioned by one of the biographies (Fisher’s Face by Jan Morris).
It is possible he just never came to England.

A letter from William Fisher their father written in 1862 does not confirm that idea. William clearly states in his letter to Peg that all the children are now away from us. Implying I think that the children were all either out of Ceylon or about to leave (Alice and Philip were in England by 1865).

In fact I have managed to find nothing on Albert’s life. Jan Morris mentions that he took his life in middle age. However I think she is confusing him with my ancestor Francis Conrad who did do this. She also mentions that he went to work in the civil service with Frank.

My second hypothesis is that Arthur and Albert are in fact the same person named Albert Bertram Arthur Fisher. From the dates I had for both of them dying from other peoples trees was only a year apart.

But when I dig deeper I can only find a a death registered for Arthur in the Kabristan archives at Batticolea on the 25th April 1883.

One bit of strong evidence that implies that was Albert Bertram is indeed Arthur is the census information when at school in Lichfield.

Francis Conrad and Lucy are clearly shown at the Lichfield Old Grammar school on St Johns Street, birthplace Ceylon. There is also an A B Fisher born in Ceylon in 1849 which would imply Albert Bertram. This puts his age as that of the dates I have for Arthur.

Frederick Fisher mentions what a hard time he had at the Lichfield school saying it was “awful”:

^{Quote from Frederick Fisher in “Fisher of Kiverstone}“ ^{by Ruddock F MacKay}

When I dug deeper into the Ceylon Civil service records they show that it is an Arthur Fisher not Albert Bertrum who works with Francis Conrad. So again Jan Morris seems to have either misnamed him or we are talking about the same person.

The annual Ceylon Blue Book gives some detailed accounts of when the two boys joined up and what they were doing in different years. In the 1877 edition it states that A. Fisher joined the service on the 3rd August 1868. If that was Arthur he would have been 19 years old.

Looking at the Records for Conrad Francis the Blue book for 1866 he joined 6 months previously. So he would have been 16 when he joined up, two years before his older brother.

 The A. Fisher entry for 1877 at this point he has been in the Civil Service for over 9 years.

 The Francis Conrad Fisher entry for 1866 at this point he has been in the Civil Service for over 6 months and he is a writer..

 Arthur Fisher entry for 1869 give his name as Arthur Fisher not A. Fisher

 

Arthur joined the Pioneers team who were involved in building projects all around Sri Lanka. It was a tough job. I wonder if he died in the course of duty. Another Dawson relative of mine had been involved with the Royal Engineers doing similar works and lost his life at a young age also. Although he did die of diesease. Also possibly if they were out on projects they were more likely to catch something than my more office bound relatives in Sri Lanka.

Reading through a history of the PWD I found a photograph of Arthur. Looking stockier than his younger self but I think still recognisable.

 Arthur Fisher in 1865 (aged 16) and 1874 (aged 25)

I know from tree’s of his descendents that Albert married Catherine Ann Cecelia Stewart Dunlop who had been born and brought up in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. When he died she went to Australia with her three children. The children were born in Batticaloa where Arthur Fisher died.
The eldest of these was called William Arthur Fisher. His fathers name and his own preferred name?

Personally I think I am convinced that Arthur and Albert were the same person. It fits with what the biographers said, the census information and the fact that Albert Bertrams descendents were born in Batticaloa. I have now changed my ancestry tree to reflect this.

I have a number of DNA matches with descendents of Albert Bertram so I am hoping that they might one day give me some evidence that confirms it for certain.

Here is the final version of the tree: