Person:Samuel Chapin (6)

Note: Of Springfield, MA "THE PURITAN", sailed about 1635, freeman 3 June 1641 1

Note:
The famous statue, "The Puritan" by Augustus Saint-Gaudens in Springfield is of Samuel Chapin.

Christened October 8, 1590, Church of St. John the Baptist, Paignton, Devonshire, England. Samuel Chapin came to America in 1635. He is on the records of Roxbury, MA by 1639.

He had moved to Springfield, MA by 1643. Soon after his arrival, he began to hold public office. On September 26, 1644, he was chosen as one of 5 for the first Board of Selectmen in Springfield. They were elected by a vote of all the freemen of the town and had a general supervision of the affairs of the town including settling disputes, regulating highways, bridges, finances, etc. He served in that capacity for 8 years. On May 1, 1645 he is on record as a constable. It is not certain how long he served.

Excerpts from The Life of Deacon Samuel Chapin by Howard Millar Chapin: 1647 was a hard year. There were floods in the spring, caterpillars in the summer and sickness in the fall. Wolves were a nuisance so a bounty of 10s was offered for every dead one. Swine also caused a great deal of trouble and damage by running loose through the village.

In 1648, a still more troublesome disturbance broke out. Hugh Parsons and his wife were accused of witchcraft. The excitement was intense and they were brought to trial. They were tried in Boston where they were finally convicted in 1650. Mary died in prison and Hugh escaped and left the country. But before this trouble was settled, a worse one began. William Pynchon, the mainstay of Springfield, was convicted of heresy by the General Court. He was immediately deprived of his office and in 1652, with his son-in-law Henry Smith, and the minister Mr. Moxon, returned to England...thus leaving the magistracy vacant. Three men came to the front and took control of the affairs of the town, governing it until their deaths. Two of these men were closely related to William Pynchon - his son John and his son-in-law Holyoke-the third was the Deacon, Samuel Chapin.

On October 19, 1652 [they] were appointed Commissioners... That is they had full power and authority to govern the inhabitants of Springfield. The new commissioners soon established a strong government in Springfield. A vigorous enforcement of the law and the prompt prosecution of criminals showed that firm and earnest men were directing the affairs of state.

Samuel Chapin was actively interested in the church and appears to have been a deacon as early as 1650. [During 1656, the town was without a minister for a long time and church services were conducted by the deacons, including Samuel Chapin.]

He served in the government more than 20 years.

For forty years, the inhabitants of Springfield had lived side by side with in Indians in Perfect peace and tranquility. Therefore on the outbreak of King Phillip's War, Springfield was not in the least alarmed. As the conflict spread westward, Springfield still felt confident that the Indians who surrounded it would not join Phillip in the war. On October 5th, 1675 [the Indians attacked.] Mrs. Matthews was captured and killed, and the greater part of the town was set on fire. About 30 houses were burnt, which was almost half the town. The inhabitants set to work to rebuild the town. Samuel Chapin, however, did not live to see the town rebuilt for according to the diary of his son, Japhet, "My father was taken out of this troublesome world the 22nd day November about eleven of the clock, 1675."

COLONIAL JUSTICE IN WESTERN MA (J H Smith, 1961) p 62-65 m in Eng Feb 1624; b POigntonprobably to New England in 1635 with his father and family. At Roxbury 1641.At Springfield 1642. Farmer, also served a magistrate 1652-1664. Apparently educated, possibly as a lawyer.

THE CHAPIN BOOK (C G Chapin, 1924) same basic info. "The CHAPIN statue at Springfield" b 'PAignton'

See also LIFE OF DEACON SAMUEL CHAPIN of SPRINGFIELD (H M Chapin, 1928)

A GEN OF HENRY JUDSON CHAPIN (G E Engel, 1970) same basic in for Samual; refs to English recognition John ? as son of Roger.Family claims the "Pilgrim" statue at St Gaudins, Springfield MA is of Samuel.

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Samuel Chapin, in Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia.

   the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

   Samuel Chapin (baptized October 8, 1598 – November 11, 1675) was a prominent early settler of Springfield, Massachusetts. He served the town as selectman, magistrate and deacon (in the Massachusetts Bay Colony there was little separation between the church and government). Chapin is best known today as the subject of the Augustus Saint-Gaudens sculpture entitled Deacon Samuel Chapin (also known as The Puritan).

2. ↑ Samuel Chapin, in Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Directory. (Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, Jun 2015)
   61.

   "Chapin, Samuel: [Origin] Berry Pomeroy, Devonshire; [Emigration] 1638; [Resided] Roxbury, Springfield [RChR 83; RBOP 1; MBCR 1:378; Pynchon 214; NEHGR 83:351-56; Goodwin-Morgan 2:123-43; Gilbert Warren Chapin, The Chapin Book, two volumes (Hartford, Connecticut, 1924)]."

3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} A transcript of the Records of the Parish of Paignton, England, in Chapin, Gilbert Warren. The Chapin Book of Genealogical Data: With Brief Biographical Sketches Of the Descendants of Deacon Samuel Chapin. (Hartford, Conn.: Chapin Family Association (Hartford, Conneccticut), 1924)
   VIII.

   Christenings: -
   
   *1598. Samuel s of John Chapin 8 Octob

4. ↑ Stott, Clifford L. Vital Records of Springfield, Massachusetts to 1850. (Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2002)
   63.

   Samuell Chapin Deacon of the Church at Springfeild died the 11th day of November 1675

5.   Savage, James. A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England: Showing Three Generations of Those Who Came Before May, 1692, on the Basis of Farmer's Register. (Boston: Little, Brown, and Co, 1860-1862)
   1:360.

   "SAMUEL, Roxbury 1638, 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. 1611; was freem. 2 June 1641, a propr. of Westfield 1660, a deac. and man of distinct. a. 11 Nov. 1675. His wid. d. 8 Feb. 1683. Catharine m. 20 Nov. 1646, Nathaniel Bliss; next, 3 or 31 July 1655, Thomas Gilbert; and third, 28 Dec. 1664, Samuel Marshfield, and to ea. bore four ch. Sarah m. 14 Apr. 1667, Rowland Thomas, and d. 5 Aug. 1684; and Hannah m. 27 Sept. 1666, John Hitchcock."

6. ↑ Chapin, Howard Millar. The English Ancestry of Dea. Samuel Chapin of Springfield, Mass. New England Historical and Genealogical Register. (New England Historical and Genealogical Society, July 1929)
   83:354.
7.   "In 1877, a bronze statue of 'The Puritan' by the famous sculptor Saint-Gaudens was presented to the city of Springfield and placed beside the public library on State Street. It was presented in memory of Deacon Samuel Chapin, although it is, of course, only an idealized portrait. . . ."