Leslie Willard Fish

LESLIE WILLARD FISH was born on May 15th, 1890 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. His parents were George Franklin Fish and Rilda Warren, both of Cape Wolfe, PEI. As a young man, Leslie worked on farms. He met and married his wife, Ruth Frances Elliott Harris, in Littleton, New Hampshire. They were married on 20 Sep 1916. He had come to the United States in 1909 to find better work. He worked on Highland Croft Farm, a home and pond in Littleton. He was also the Superintendent on the Lewis Dairy Farm for a time. He later leased a poultry farm in Bristol, Rhode Island. His daughter Wilma remembers that he always found work during the Depression, even if he had to leave town to find it. He and Ruth had six children, and you can trace the Fish family's moves by the birthplaces of their children (Hermon Willard b. 1918 Littleton, NH; Harris Eldon b. 1925; Leslie Willard b. 1927 [died as an infant]; Wilma Gertrude b. 1927 [all born Norwood, NH]; George Franklin b. 1931 Assonet, MA; and Warren Emerson b. 1935 Bristol, RI). He often told his wife that he "would have had a dozen children." "He never thought there were too many," Wilma said.

In June 1917, Leslie filled out his WWI draft card. At the time, he was working as a farmer for William Brown Dickson in Littleton, New Hampshire. He was tall, with medium build, blue eyes and red hair.


At the time he filled out his WWII draft card, Leslie was working at the Frank M. Hill Machine Company at 52 School Street in Walpole (click on street view to see the building where he probably worked. The company looks to have manufactured power paper cutters.)


Leslie passed away on July 3, 1958 in South Walpole, Massachusetts.

What memories do you have of Leslie? Please add them in the comments!

UPDATE: According to the 1910 Census, when Leslie arrived in the US, he lived with his uncle Elijah William Warren and Elijah's family in Newton, Massachusetts. Leslie's employment was listed as being the same as Elijah's: both were "linemen" working for the New England Telephone Company. Also living at the home were Leslie's grandparents, John Warren and Mary Jane Rix Warren. Grandpa John died shortly after, in September 1910. Here's a copy of the census form (click to see in larger format--Leslie and the Warrens are halfway down the page):