the nation was plunged into war as the time for talking about slavery ended. Fisk was an early advocate for temperance throughout the 1830s and often wrote and lectured on the "evils of alcohol." He believed that a person should abstain entirely and felt that "drinking rum and going to hell are synonymous terms." (Prentice p. 188) Fisk was instrumental in securing funds for a translation of the Bible into the Mohawk language in 1831 (the project was completed in 1839). Marriage and family Fisk most likely met his wife, Ruth Peck of Providence, at some point while he was in Rhode Island. They carried on a seven-year engagement, primarily through correspondence, until they decided marry on June 9, 1823, in Providence. She was an Episcopalian prior to her marriage. Prentice indicates that most friends believed that Willbur and Ruth had an unhappy marriage, and her letters indicate dissatisfaction with her ability to have a harmonious relationship. Willbur expected to outlive his wife, and did not prepare adequately for his early demise. He expressed concern for Ruth's continuing welfare on his deathbed. In an expression of true friendship and Christian charity, faculty members and students of Wesleyan University helped Ruth for the remainder of her life. She lived in indigency in a small house on Foss Hill, near Foss House, (the house was later moved to the lower Union Street section of Middletown, where it was demolished in the 1960s). The Fisks adopted a daughter, Martha S. Fisk, who was born on October 24, 1824. She lived with her parents in Middletown and then with her mother and grandmother, Lydia Peck, after her father's death in 1839. Martha died at age twenty on April 25, 1844, in Middletown. She is buried in the Wesleyan Cemetery (on campus). Ruth's mother, Lydia (Lyon) Peck was born May 9, 1769, in West Woodstock, Connecticut, and came to live with Willbur and Ruth in her old age. She is mentioned in Prentice's biography (though not by her first name) as living with them in Middletown. Lydia was the daughter of Amos Lyon (1733–1812). She died on June 25, 1843, in Middletown and is buried in the Wesleyan Cemetery. Willbur Fisk died after a long, painful illness in Middletown on February 22, 1839, with his wife by his side. He is buried in the Wesleyan Cemetery. Wilbur Wright was named after him. Bibliography This is