 The second of three sons of the wealthy hotel owner Lyman Fiske and his wife Jennie Maria (Durfee) Fiske, both of seventeenth-century Massachusetts descent, Fiske was still a young boy when his family moved into New York City, and he maintained a strong identity as a New Yorker for much of his life.As a young boy, Fiske was educated by private tutors and showed a strong interest in the arts.He recalled being taken to see his first play at Barnum's Museum at an early age and afterwards receiving the gift of a puppet theatre from his father.