Deacon Samuel Chapin was one of the founders of Springfield

Springfield, Massachusetts

Springfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern...

, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

.

He was born in Paignton

Paignton

Paignton is a coastal town in Devon in England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the unitary authority of Torbay which was created in 1998. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the English Riviera. Paignton's population in the United Kingdom Census of 2001 was 48,251. It has...

, (near Torquay

Torquay

Torquay is a town in the unitary authority area of Torbay and ceremonial county of Devon, England. It lies south of Exeter along the A380 on the north of Torbay, north-east of Plymouth and adjoins the neighbouring town of Paignton on the west of the bay. Torquay’s population of 63,998 during the...

,) Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, to John Chapin and Phillippe Easton on October 8, 1598.

On February 9, 1623, Samuel married Cicily Penny. They had seven children: Sarah, Henry, Hannah, David, Catherine, Josiah, and Japhet. After Cicily died he was remarried on the 29th of August 1654 to Lydia Crump.
He had many famous direct descendants, including Presidents John Adams

John Adams

John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...

, John Quincy Adams

John Quincy Adams

John Quincy Adams was the sixth President of the United States . He served as an American diplomat, Senator, and Congressional representative. He was a member of the Federalist, Democratic-Republican, National Republican, and later Anti-Masonic and Whig parties. Adams was the son of former...

, Grover Cleveland

Grover Cleveland

Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...

 and William Taft, actor Spencer Tracy

Spencer Tracy

Spencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American theatrical and film actor, who appeared in 75 films from 1930 to 1967. Tracy was one of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, ranking among the top ten box office draws for almost every year from 1938 to 1951...

, abolitionist John Brown

John Brown (abolitionist)

John Brown was an American revolutionary abolitionist, who in the 1850s advocated and practiced armed insurrection as a means to abolish slavery in the United States. He led the Pottawatomie Massacre during which five men were killed, in 1856 in Bleeding Kansas, and made his name in the...

, financier J.P. Morgan, and singers Harry Chapin

Harry Chapin

Harry Forster Chapin was an American singer-songwriter best known in particular for his folk rock songs including "Taxi", "W*O*L*D", and the number-one hit "Cat's in the Cradle". Chapin was also a dedicated humanitarian who fought to end world hunger; he was a key player in the creation of the...

 and Jen Chapin

Jen Chapin

Jen Chapin is an American vocalist. She is the daughter of singer-songwriter Harry Chapin and his wife, Sandra Chapin. She also chairs the Board of Directors of World Hunger Year, a charity organization founded by Harry Chapin. She has been compared at times with Laura Nyro, Tori Amos, and Alanis...

.

He immigrated to America with William Pynchon in 1630, became a full member of John Eliot's congregation at Roxbury, and was later established as deacon in Springfield.

In 1881, Chester W. Chapin

Chester W. Chapin

Chester William Chapin was a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts.Chester W. Chapin was born in Ludlow, Massachusetts, the youngest son of Ephriam and Mary [Smith] Chapin; six generations removed from the family's pilgrim immigrant Deacon Samuel Chapin attending common schools and Westfield...

, a railroad tycoon, congressman and Chapin descendant, commissioned master sculptor Augustus St. Gaudens to produce a work memorializing his ancestor. The sculpture, most commonly known as The Puritan, is currently sited in Springfield's Merrick Park. Created to emphasize the piety, and perhaps moral rigidity, of the country's religious founders—evident in the sculpted Chapin's proud pose, certain stride, flowing cape and hefty Bible, as well as his assertive use of a walking cane. Smaller variants of the same work can be found in several museums.

External links

• City of Springfield, Massachusetts Official city website.
• Colton-Marshfield-Chapin Part of Stephen Martin Lawson's genealogy site.
• The Puritan sculpture Part of Lawson's genealogy site.
• Metropolitan Museum of Art Discussion of the sculpture's history.