Early life

Henry Fisher was born in Bristol in 1834 and baptised at St. Thomas’ Church on 11 August 1834, which listed his parents as Peter Fisher a cutler, and Harriett Fisher (née SMITH) living in Thomas Street. Henry was the fifth of eight children.

Early career in the railways 

On 21 May 1855 Henry became a booking clerk for the Great Western Railway at Paddington Station. He then progressed in 1862 to Chief Clerk for the Metropolitan Railway. The London Metropolitan Railway opened in January 1863 and was the world’s first public passenger underground railway (although the lines were originally not covered but run below ground level). The first line ran from Paddington to Farringdon. It was very successful and carried 27,000 passengers in the first year. This railway is now part of the London Underground. 

Personal life

While working for GWR, Henry married Mary Ann Elizabeth Ensor (1838-1907) at St. James, Paddington, London on 11 October 1860. The couple went on to have six children:

Move to Argentina

It seems Henry was a Traffic Manager for the Metropolitan Railway when he was approached to become an assistant to Edward Harry Woods (the Resident Engineer of the Central Argentine Railway).  He arrived in Argentina in November 1872, six months after contractors had handed the railway over to the London Board. His salary was £4,000 p.a. He was an active member of the Anglican Church in Rosario, a member of the Saint Bartholomew Building Committee, manager of the local cricket team and president of Rosario Athletic Club. His name often appears as a witness to local marriages. There is a traditional neighbourhood (barrio) call Fisherton in Santa Fe, Argentina that is named after him. Initially a small village designed to accommodate the personnel of the British companies that were investing in the Argentine railway system at the time. Later on it was absorbed into the city. This past is preserved by the former Antártida Argentina railway station, which was turned into an exhibition hall, and by several old English-style mansions.

Death

Herapath’s Railway Journal of Saturday 28th March 1891 reported a Central Argentine Railway meeting where reference was made to Henry’s poor health (a fever). Sadly he had not taken time off work or returned to UK to recover because of the need to deal with railway business. He was one of the company’s longest serving employees at this time, but clearly the demands of the job combined with the health risks of working in Argentina, took their toll on him physically. He returned to England in 1892, he died on 25th June 1892 in Clifton in Bristol.  Subsequently he was buried at Arno’s Vale, so clearly hadn’t forgotten his Bristolian roots.

The cremated remains of one of Henry's children, Annie Gertrude Fisher (1863-1931) are in also in the grave.

This research is kindly donated by Julie Johns of BAFHS