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Dee Burris Blakley ([personal profile] dee_burris) wrote2010-11-06 12:38 pm

Surname Saturday: Chapin

One of the surnames on my mother's side of the family is Chapin. One of my cousins was curious about whether I'd be able to connect us to Deacon Samuel Chapin, one of the founders of Springfield, MA.




Photobucket

The photo above is of "The Puritan,"
and the model purportedly was Deacon Samuel Chapin.


The answer is yes. Chapin family history is very well documented, particularly for the family members and descendants who stayed in and around Springfield, Roxbury and other Massachusetts cities and towns.

Samuel Chapin was widely respected in early Massachusetts, as were his sons, daughters and their children afterward. The Chapins had their own version of a family empire in Springfield.

Here is how I descend from Samuel Chapin:
Samuel (1598-1675)
Japhat (1642-1712)
Samuel (1665-1729)
Caleb (1701-1755)
Joel (1732-1805)
Joel (1763-1803)
Joel (1800-?)
Nathaniel F (1827-1898)
Frederick (1858-1938)
Hattie Belle (Chapin) Balding (1887-1976)
Doris Geneva (Balding) Williams (1907-1998)
Judith Ann Williams (1937-2004)
Me

As luck would have it, my direct Chapin ancestors had the same pioneering spirit as Samuel, and were not content to stay in Massachusetts.

Nathaniel Foster, son of Joel, was really hard to chase down. He was born in Pennsylvania, and married Elizabeth Harris about 1853. They had 10 children that I have been able to document, including my g-g-granddad, Frederick.

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Frederick and Eada Belle (Parrish) Chapin


Nathaniel and his sons were woodworkers - carpenters and furniture makers. The family lived in Olean, Cattaraugus, New York through the 1880 census, but by the 1 Mar 1885 Kansas census, they were living in Bourbon Co., KS.

Then Fred hopped on over to Vernon Co., MO to marry Eada Belle Parrish on Christmas Eve, 1885. Fred and Eada only had two children of which I am aware, Hattie Belle (my great-grandmother) and her older sister Ruth, who died before 1900.

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Hattie Belle (Chapin) Balding,
probably around the time of her marriage


Hattie Belle Chapin married Victor Claude Balding on 25 Sep 1901 in Pulaski Co., AR. They raised seven children in Little Rock. Hattie's parents moved there, too and are buried in Oakland Cemetery in Little Rock.

Chapins in Oneida, Madison County, NY

(Anonymous) 2010-11-13 05:14 pm (UTC)(link)
Nathan Chapin (1797-1842) had a brother, Samuel (1806-1903). Samuel had a son Dwight (born 1835) - Dwight was your Nathan Chapin's nephew. Dwight served in the Civil War in the Oneida Independent Cavalry Company with my gr-gr-grandfather, George Burton Dyer. After the war, Dwight Chapin married Hannah Dyer, George's cousin.

Dwight Chapin played a role in George Dyer's funeral arrangements in 1905.

From George's obit: "It was his expressed desire, shortly before his demise, that his body be borne to the grave in Glenwood, by some of the survivors of his old company. Dwight Chapin was apprised of this fact through a communication from a son of the deceased and made arrangements accordingly, himself, Joseph Veiling and Patrick Clark, of this city, and Treat Miner, of Georgetown, serving as bearers and accompanying the body to Glenwood Tuesday afternoon." (see more at http://ancestreesprite.blogspot.com/2010/10/sundays-obituary-george-burton-dyer.html ).

I realize this isn't your direct line, but thought it was interesting the relationship between the Dyers and the Chapin family in the Oneida NY area.

Karen the AncesTree Sprite
http://ancestreesprite.blogspot.com/

Re: Chapins in Oneida, Madison County, NY

[identity profile] dee-burris.livejournal.com 2010-11-13 05:22 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh how cool...another family connection. Thanks so much for this information.

Now coming to read your blog...