James Dean Fish was born in Mystic, August 7, 1819, and died in Brooklyn, New York, March 31, 1912. He was the eldest son of Asa and Prudence (Dean) Fish. The Fish family were early settlers of the Mystic area, and were related to many of the old area families such as Denison, Gallup, Noyes, Holmes, Miner, and others. The family was prominent in shipping in Mystic and New York City. James D. Fish lived in Brooklyn and was a New York merchant, shipping agent and banker.

James had four brothers (a fifth died young) and three sisters. All but one of these siblings married and had children. He himself married three times. His first wife was Mary Ester Blodget whom he married on June 4, 1843. They had seven children. Mary Ester died on Jul 17, 1868. His second wife was Isabelle Rogers whom he married on March 18, 1872. They had one son named Paul Rogers, born in 1873. Isabelle died on Dec 20, 1879. His third wife was Sally Reber Laing whom he married on May 20, 1884. They had one daughter born February 24, 1885 named Alice Reber Fish. Sally died on March 10, 1885.

Many of the letters are to and from James' eldest daughter, Hannah, who married a Canadian, Herman Street. Her children and those of her brothers took trips to Europe and to various family homes in Vermont, Illinois, New York, and Canada.