FISH, JOHN (1837-1899)

FISH, JOHN, merchant and Newcastle postmaster, 1888-96; b. 1837 (bap. 2 Mar 1838, 3 mos.), s/o James Alexander Fish and Sarah Duggan; half-brother of James Ogilvie Fish, William Ellis Fish, Hiram Alexander Fish, and Charles Elijah Fish; m. 1862, Jane Elizabeth Hardie, sister of John Hardie; d. Newcastle, 23 Jun 1899.

John Fish was baptized in the Catholic church as an illegitimate child, but he was later taken into his father's home and raised in the Presbyterian faith to which the other members of the Fish family adhered. After studying at the Newcastle Grammar School under John H. Sivewright he opened a store in town and acquired an auctioneer's license.

In April 1888 Fish was appointed postmaster at Newcastle, as successor to James Johnston and his wife Sarah. Eight years later he was arrested and charged with theft from the mails. His bondsmen were his half-brother Charles E. Fish and Dr Ferdinand L. Pedolin. During the course of the year-long investigation which followed, his duties were assumed by supply personnel from the Saint John post office staff.

In testimony given at Fish's trial in 1897 it was alleged that he drank profuse quantities of whiskey, usually starting before breakfast each day. To some, this appeared to explain or excuse his behavior, and the outcome was a hung jury. He died less than two years later, at around sixty-two years of age.

Fish and his wife, Jane E. Hardie, had three grown-up daughters living with them in 1891.