Preserved Fish
New York City shipping merchant (1766-1846)
Preserved Fish ( prə-ZUR-vid; July 14, 1766 – July 23, 1846) was an American businessman who was a prominent New York City shipping merchant in the early 19th century. He was an early broker of the New York Stock & Exchange Board.
Early life and education
Preserved Fish was born in Freetown, Province of Massachusetts Bay, to blacksmith Isaac Fish and Ruth Grinnell Fish. His extended family, prominent in New York, later gave rise to Secretary of State Hamilton Fish and railroad magnate Stuyvesant Fish. He was descended from Thomas Fish, who settled in New England in 1643. There were at least ten other Fish family members with the Quaker given name Preserved, whose lineages are often confused. The name is pronounced with three syllables: or ; it refers to being "preserved (saved) from sin".
As a youth, Fish shipped to the Pacific on a whaler, becoming its captain at the age of 21. He soon realized that fortune lay in selling whale oil, not in harvesting it.
Career
Fish prospered as a merchant in New Bedford, Massachusetts, but had a political squabble and left for New York.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Preserved Fish” as new York City shipping merchant (1766-1846). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as new York City shipping merchant (1766-1846). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7241059. VIAF identifies the subject as 65493387. The Library of Congress control number is n86114283. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1766, 1846 and 1643.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Preserved Fish”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Preserved Fish primary sources, Preserved Fish archive and Preserved research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Preserved Fish”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Preserved Fish” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.