| Notes |
- Samuel Chapin was by tradition of Welsh descent. It is felt more likely that he was a French Huguenot in origin. He may have fled to Holland at one time. He sailed from Dartmouth, England in 1635 and settled in Roxbury, Massachusetts. In the winter of 1643-1644, he followed Pyncheon (?) to Springfield, Massachusetts, where he was known as "Pyncheon's right- hand man" and a founder of Springfield. He was made a freeman June 02, 1641.
Samuel immigrated to Springfield June 2, 1641. He was a town officer 1642; deacon, 1649. He died November 11, 1675. He left a will dated 4(11)1674; probated March 24, 1676. He bequeathed to his wife, son Henry and grandson Thomas Gilbert. Son, Japhet C. with wife Abilene deposed.
From 6046669 (FHC microfiche). Biographies Massachusetts.
The following account from Early History of Springfield (see Sam Bliss for total cite). Samuel was placed on a commission with John Pynchon and Elizur Holyoke to administer the government of Springfield. Philip was 2nd son of Massasoit, sachem of the Wampanoags, a long time friend of whites. When he succeeded his brother, Alexander to chieftaincy, he became embroiled in difficulties with England and attempted to unite all of the principal tribes in New England against the colonists. On October 4, 1875 [sic], Toto, domestic of Mr. Wolcott, told him of the plan of the Indians to assault Springfield. The villagers fled to three fortified houses, Pynchon's and two others. One of the leading men of the town was Deacon Samuel Chapin, one of the assistants of Major John Pynchon in the magistry and ancestor of all of that name in this country. The men left in the village at the time were all of advanced age. The villagers waited in the houses overnight and when nothing had happened, in the morning Thomas Miller and Lt. Cooper went to see what the Indians were doing in their village. Both of them were killed, and the Indians burst upon the town. They destroyed 32 of the 45 homes, 24 of the 25 barns and all of the harvest put up for winter, the correction house, corn mill and saw mill. They killed Miller, Cooper, Pentecost Matthews, and Edmund Pringrydays. Reverant John Russell of Hadley wrote to the governor, Leverett, saying Wequogan, chief sachem of the Springfield Indians was the ringleader. Pynchgon brought soldiers from Hadley (including the younger Springfield townsmen) and Major Treat brought help from across the Connecticut River. Pynchon wrote to Reverant Russell of Hadley about all that was lost including the Mirick's house). people were without houses or barns or food for the winter. The town was quickly rebuilt.
("In October, 1675 Springfield was attacked by Indians and burned. Deacon Chapin did not see the town rebuilt, for in about a month as wrote his son Japhet, `My father was taken out of this troubelsom world the 11 day of November about eleven of the clock in the eve, 1675.'")
From A Gen. Dict. of the First Settlers of New England:
"Samuel, Roxbury 1638 [wrong], brot. from Eng. w. Cicely, call. Sisly on rec. and sev. ch. prob. Henry, Josiah, perhaps David, and two ds. Catharine and Sarah, and at R. had Japhet, b. 15 Oct. 1642; rem. that yr. to Springfield, there had Hannah, 2 Dec. 1644; was freem. 2 June 1641, a propr. of Westfield 1660, a deac. and man of distinct. d. 11 Nov. 1675."
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Deacon Samuel Chapin was a forceful and dynamic man. A man with Puritan faith, he brought his family to New England about 1638. Living first in Roxbury, Mass. then moving to Springfield in 1642 as one of the founders of that city then called Agawam. He served his town in many capacities including Selectman, Auditor and Magistrate and he was Deacon of the church for some 25 years.
Next to the Public Library in Springfield there is a bronze statue, "The Puritan", placed there 24 Nov 1887 which honors him. It is the sculptor's idea of how such a man as Deacon Chapin, a man of his moral standing and spiritual qualities ought to have looked.
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A chronology of Samuel Chapin's activities:
1638: Samuel Chapin and wife Cicely were at Roxbury. Came to Springfield, MA from Roxbury, MA.
A record at Roxbury, of early but unknown date shows that he possessed 24 acres of land there, and had eight persons in his family, himself, wife, father, and five children. (Thepresence of his father John Chapin, at this time is in conformity with records already quoted). In 1641 he bought a house and lot of James Howe and became a freeman, which implied that he was a church member and gave him the right to vote and hold office under the Colony Government.
1641, 2 Jun: Samuel Chapin of Springfield, MA, admitted Freeman.
1643: Town officer. He took a prominent part in all the affairs of the town, both religious and civil.
1644: Freeman
1648: A member of the Board of Selectmen on which Benjamin Cooley first served. A member of the first Board of Selectmen and served 9 consecutive years.
1649: Deacon.
1651: Commissioner.
1652: John Pynchon, Elizur Holyoke and Samuel Chapin were appointed Commissioners, or Magistrates, to hear and determine all cases and offences, both civil and criminal, "that reach not to life, limbe and banishment."
1653: The General Court appointed him and John Pynchon to lay out Northampton and its bounds, and they made purchase of the lands from the Indians.
1664: He petitioned the General Court for some land for services done.
1669: The General Court granted him 200 acres as laid out 4 miles from Mendon, bounded as in the platt which is on file, provided it did not exceed 200 acres and that it did not take in any of the meadows now granted to Mendon.
1674, 4 Mar (1st mo.): Samuel Chapin wrote his will. Bequeathed to wife, son Henry, grandson Thomas Gilbert.
1676, 24 Mar: Will probated. Son Japhet Chapin with his wife Abilene deposed.
http://ancestor.homestead.com/files/Roger_Chapin.htm
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Notable Cousins
There are some very famous and notable cousins that come from this family line.
Richard Bedford BENNETT, was the 14th Prime Minister of Canada from 1930-1935
John BROWN, abolitionist who was convicted and hung for treason. He also was called Captain and led the raid of Harper?s Ferry.
Stephen Grover CLEVELAND, the 22nd and 24th President of the United States. He was also Governor of New York
Charles CURTIS, was the 31st Vice President of the United States from 1929-1933. He was also the Senator from Kansas and held the position as US Representative from Kansas
Dorothy GISH, Lillian GISH, both actresses and motion picture pioneers
Dr. Brewster HIGLEY, (1823-1911) was the author of ?Home on the Range?
John Pierpont MORGAN, financier and banker. Founder of JP Morgan Company in 1895 and the US Steel Corporation 1901
Harriet Elizabeth BEECHER STOWE, abolitionist and author of ?Uncle Tom?s Cabin? in 1851
William Howard TAFT, 27th President of the United States.
http://climbing-the-genealogy-tree.blogspot.com/2010/08/deacon-samuel-chapin-and-cicley-penny.html
link to notable cousins: http://kinnexions.com/kinnexions/cousins.htm
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http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~scanderson/deacon_chapin.HTM
Deacon Samuel Chapin
Magistrate; Town Commissioner; Church Deacon
b. 8 Oct 1598 in Paignton, Devonshire, England - d. 11 Nov 1675 in Springfield, MA at age 77
m. Cicely PENNY 9 Feb 1623 in Paignton, Devonshire, England
"The Puritan" - a bronze statue in Merrick Park next to the Public Library in Springfield, Mass. honors one of the town's founders, the Deacon Samuel Chapin. The artist was Augustus St. Gauden and it was commissioned by Chester W. Chapin, Springfield's railroad magnate, in 1885. The statue was originally unveiled on Thanksgiving Day in 1887 in Stearns Square, and remained there for twelve years before being moved to its current location. In moving the statue, the beautiful bronze fountain and pink granite bench that were constructed to compliment the artwork were relocated to other parts of the city. The working model is now owned by the Carnegie Museum of Art.
"The beginning of the Chapin family is altogether creditable. We may well be satisfied that it should start with this genuine old Puritan and what he did, with his fellow pioneers, to open the American Continent and on it found a city and to establish a model Christian Republic. The rolls of heraldry, even if they could show the name linked with royal or princely blood, would add nothing to the true nobility of its origin. It belongs peculiarly to this country, and the sphere of its highest dignity and honor was no doubt ordained to be here. Our chief anxiety should be to maintain and advance its true nobility by lives and deeds worthy of such a father." - Aaron L. Chapin, President of the Chapin Family Association, at the unveiling of the Chapin Statue at Springfield, MA on 24 November 1887. 60
Samuel CHAPIN and his wife, Cicely, came from England with three sons and two daughters in 1635. He most likely came over in the summer, when the passage was the mildest, and probably landed at Boston, which was then, as it is now, the chief port of New England. They probably settled immediately in Roxbury. Roxbury was founded a few years earlier, in 1630, by William Pynchon. It soon became a small village of from two to three score families, most of whom came from Nazing, London, or the west of England. Possibly it was because he had friends among the latter that determined Samuel to settle in Roxbury. Samuel held land as early as 1639, as is shown by the Roxbury land records.
Like most of the early settlers, Samuel Chapin must have been principally a farmer, although undoubtedly he had to turn his hand to many other pursuits as occasion required, which was in fact very often. In 1636 Samuel, then comparatively a young man, was very probably one "of the Roxbury people" who worked on the fortifications at Cornhill in Boston. In the fall of that year the General Court met at Roxbury, thus giving Samuel a chance to see its workings. During his stay in Roxbury the Pequot War took place, which resulted in making it possible to settle with safety in Western New England as at Springfield. The Chapins lived in Roxbury till the close of the year 1642.
In 1636 William Pynchon, then a resident of Roxbury, led a party of about a dozen families to the Connecticut River, where he founded a settlement then called Agawam, but which four years later was renamed Springfield, after his home in England. Most of the settlers took up farming, as there were many fertile meadows along the banks of the Connecticut, while Pynchon for the most part engaged in the fur trade. The settlement grew slowly at first, but by the time the Chapins arrived, it had become a village of respectable size for New England in those days.
As he had in Roxbury, as at Springfield, Samuel was primarily a farmer, but of course here also he had to do all sorts of other things besides. He soon became one of the leading men in the government of the town and held many public offices during his life including Selectman, Auditor and Magistrate and he was Deacon of the church.
Samuel Chapin lived to be an old man and having borne for over twenty years the burdens of government, now in his declining years withdrew from the center of political affairs. He slowly handed over the reins to the younger men in town. Samuel died 11 Nov 1675; according to the diary of his son Japhet, "My father was taken out of this troublesome world the 11th day of November about eleven of the clock, 1675." His widow, Cicely, died 8 Feb 1683.
Samuel had an inventory of his estate performed for his will. The total sum of his goods, not including his land, was over 45 English pounds. His wife's estate was inventoried in 1682 for her will and the goods were then valued at over 100 English pounds.
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Bef 1598 - 1675 (~ 77 years)
