James Fisk (politician)
James Fisk (October 4, 1763November 17, 1844) was an American politician from Vermont. He served in the House of Representatives and the United States Senate. Early life Fisk was born in Greenwich, in what was then the Province of Massachusetts Bay, the son of Stephen Fisk and Anna Bradish. His father died when Fisk was a year old, and he was largely self-educated. As a teenager, he worked on his family's farm. Start of career Military service He served in the Revolutionary War from 1779 to 1782 as a private in Captain Willis' Company, Colonel Brooks' Regiment, a unit of the Massachusetts Militia. Post-American Revolution After the war, he was a farmer in Greenwich. In 1785, Fisk served as a member of the Massachusetts General Court. Fisk was ordained as a Universalist minister, and preached occasionally. He married Priscilla West in 1786. Move to Vermont In 1798, Fisk moved to what is now Barre City, Vermont, but was then a village in the Town of Barre. While owning and operating a farm, Fisk received his credentials as a Universalist minister and began to preach. He also studied law, was admitted to the bar, and began the practice of law as