Fish, Joseph, 1840-1926

Pioneer merchant, bookkeeper, amateur historian; Arizona. Stake recorder for Eastern Arizona Stake and Snowflake Stake, 1879-1893.

From the description of History of the Eastern Arizona Stake of Zion and of the establishment of the Snowflake Stake, 1936. (University of Arizona). WorldCat record id: 31530213

Pioneer merchant, bookkeeper, and amateur historian; Arizona.

From the description of History of Arizona, ca. 1896-1901. (University of Arizona). WorldCat record id: 31530202

Storekeeper, newspaper editor, school teacher, attorney, justice of the peace, sawyer, surveyor, territorial legislator, and historian, Joseph Fish was born June 27, 1840 at Twelve Mile Grove, Illinois and spent his early childhood with the Mormon settlers at Nauvoo. The Fish family then settled at Parowan (in Iron County), Utah about 1850. Fish began teaching school in 1857 and was married in 1859; in 1869 he married what would be the second of four wives. He was associated with farming and business activities at Parowan at that time. Although accounts of his arrival in Arizona conflict, it is known he established the cooperative store known as Charles Jarvis and Joseph Fish Co. at Holbrook, Arizona in 1881. He eventually moved to Layton and was elected Representative to the 18th Territorial Legislature from Graham County. In 1896 he returned to Holbrook and began collecting materials and writing about the history of Arizona. He is the author of The Pioneers of the Southwest and Rocky Mountain Regions and The Life and Times of Joseph Fish, Mormon Pioneer . He died in 1926.

From the guide to the Joseph Fish collection, 1897-1915, (The Museum of Northern Arizona)

Mormon pioneer; served in various political offices including a term as a member of the Arizona Territorial Legislature. He worked at many occupations including farmer, surveyor, school teacher, actor, lawyer, and more.

From the description of Fish manuscripts, 1906-1926. (Arizona Historical Society, Southern Arizona Division). WorldCat record id: 39366151

Mormon pioneer and historian.

From the guide to the Typescripts of histories and diaries, 1902-1970, (L. Tom Perry Special Collections)

Joseph Fish was born to Horace and Hannah (Leavitt) Fish on June 27, 1840 at Twelve Mile Grove, Illinois and spent his early childhood with the Mormon settlers at Nauvoo. In about 1850, the Fish family settled at Parowan, Utah. Fish married Mary Campbell Steele (1840-1874) on March 22, 1859. The couple had six children: Mary Josephine (Fish) Barraclough, Frances Amelia (Fish) Carson, Delphina Catherine (Fish) Smith, Joseph Campbell, John Lazell, and Jessie May (Fish) Lee. Fish married Eliza Jane Lewis on July 26, 1869, Adelaide Margaret Smith on May 1, 1876, and Julia Ann (York) Reidhead on April 19, 1883. He had three children with Adelaide (Horace Nathaniel, Silas Leavitt, and Joseph Smith) and five with Julia.

Joseph Fish was ordained an Elder by F. T. Whitney on March 11, 1856, ordained a Seventy by W. C. McGregor on February 22, 1865, and ordained a High Priest and set apart as a member of the High Council by President Joseph F. Smith on March 14, 1869. During his time in Parowan, Fish worked as a farmer, as a lumberer, and as a merchant. He was also active in the Church and served in the Utah militia. During the winter of 1878-1879, Fish moved to Snowflake, Arizona with part of his family. He returned to Utah for the rest of his family the following fall. After working briefly for the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad, Fish returned to the mercantile trade and established the cooperative store known as Charles Jarvis and Joseph Fish Co. at Holbrook, Arizona in 1881. In order to avoid being arrested for polygamy, Fish spent a year in Mexico in 1884. He was arrested for the same offence with several other men in 1905, but all were excused on the condition that they pay a fine of $100. In 1893, he moved to Layton, Arizona and was elected to the 18th Territorial Legislature as a Representative from Graham County. In 1896 he returned to Holbrook and began collecting materials and writing about the history of Arizona. He is the author of The Pioneers of the Southwest and Rocky Mountain Regions and The Life and Times of Joseph Fish, Mormon Pioneer . Fish died on December 10, 1926.

From the guide to the Joseph Fish Collection, circa 1906, (Arizona State University Libraries Arizona Collection)