February 18, 2023

James Chapman of New London

In 1860, a New London, Connecticut newspaper, The Repository, published a biographical sketch of James Chapman as part of a series of historical profiles.  James Chapman (1709 – 1784) and his wife, Mary Wyatt Chapman (1712 – 1748) were my 6th great grandparents. 

It’s a bit long and not very exciting, but I thought that you might enjoy reading it, so I am going to share the story with you in its entirety.

 

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES

Number Fifteen
JAMES CHAPMAN, Sen

By F.M.C.

In a secluded part of the old Township of New London, on a farm which has since been called Rockdale, there lived, a hundred years ago, a quiet honest, religious, hard working man, named James Chapman.  The country around him was almost wilderness.  The few half cleared farms of that region, of which his own was one of the most rugged and hard to cultivate, were intermingles with rocky pastures, cedar thickets and swamps of elder and sumac.  His house of one story stood upon a rock, and was well shaded with orchard trees.  Here, from year to year, he planted, mowed and harvested, made cider, milked his cows, turned the cheese in the press for his wife, shelled the corn and carried it to mill, read his Bible morning and evening, and duly as the Sabbath came, went into town with his family, and ascending the hill to the old meeting house, reverently imbibed the dew as it was distilled from the lips of the venerated minister.

Those were the chief transitions of his life.  In a quiet way he loved to go up among the rocky ridges of his farm, and look off upon the water, tracking the white sails along the coast, or watching the hawks as they flew inland with their fishy prey.  The birds that haunted his orchard seemed to know him, and never fled at his presence.  Robins, wrens, and sparrows he fed at his window seat and around his doorsteps.  With every opening spring some of the guests of the former year were sure to return, announcing their arrival by a gentle peck on the window pane, or a plaintive chirp from the rose bush near. 

Mr. Chapman’s wife was Mary Wyatt, a discreet, industrious, home-keeping woman, who knew how to spin and weave, to transform milk into butter and cheese, to make and mend the garments of the family, to dip candles, bake johnny-cakes, boil  suet puddings and make poultry pies.  She knew, moreover, that her Bible was true.  It is probably that she had been taught to write and had once worked a sampler; this was the sum of female education in her day.

They were married Feb. 25th, 1731, and between that date and the close of the year 1748, they had ten children, five sons and five daughters, all of whom, it is supposed, were born and passed their childhood at Rockdale.  The daughters were Hannah, Mercy, Rebecca, Mary and Lydia, who in due time married respectively Pain Kenyon, Jonathan Brooks, Sperry Douglass, Thomas Hempstead, and a Mr. Udell.

With respect to the sons, it may be said that their history gives no countenance or confirmation to the truth of the proverb, “Like father, like son.”  In disposition they were totally unlike their father – They seemed born for action, enterprise and adventure.  Before they had hardened into manhood, they sought the busy scenes of social life, and rushed with eagerness into the great struggle of their times for honor and liberty.  Society and their country, diversities of place and occupation, peace and war, land and sea, were all included in their aspirations and pursuits.  The old farm-house therefore was early deserted of its children.  The mother died, and Mr. Chapman married for his second wife Mrs. Hannah Accourt, daughter of Richard Manwaring, and widow of Dr Carles Accourt, an English physician, who had lived a few years in New London.

With this wife, twenty years of advancing age glided away in peace.  Life at Rockdale retained its ancient simplicity, but the scene was often varied by visits from children and grand children, and other relatives of the family.  At such times the good old farmer, tall, gray headed, with a countenance full of benignity, sat comfortably in the corner of the large fireplace, joining with a quiet smile in the decorous mirth of the young people, and cracking walnuts or popping corn for their entertainment.

He died Sept 25th, 1784, aged 76.  The New London Gazette, after announcing his death, added this record:

“He never went out of the town but once in his life, and then he was summoned to Norwich as an evidence in Court.”

His widow died in August, 1806, very aged.  Her life covered almost the whole of the eighteenth century.  The old man and his first wife were buried in the ancient burial ground; the venerable relict in the second; neither of the three has any memorial head-stone.

Our next number will be devoted to the sons of James Chapman, men of action and enterprise, whose varied fortunes stand in bold relief against the quiet character, simple pursuits and retired life of the father.

 

Though the newspaper cites the author as F.M.C., this biographical sketch was written by Frances Manwaring Caulkins when she was 70 years old. Frances was born about 10 years after James Chapman’s death, so her information for the story was likely gleaned from talking to family and locals.  Frances, a prolific writer of historical and genealogical manuscripts during her life, was probably related to James Chapman’s second wife, Hannah Manwaring.

*  *  *  *  *

 

Key Individuals:

    

James Chapman (1709 – 1784)

Mary Wyatt (1712 – probably 1748); James’ 2nd wife was Hannah Manwaring

            Mercy Chapman (1738 – 1806)

            Samuel Bill (1739 – 1766); 1st husband, married in 1759

Elisabeth Bill (abt 1760 – 1819)

David Bill (abt 1862 – 1780)

            Jonathan Brooks (1735 – 1807); 2nd husband, married in 1766

  

Notes: 

1)  And just to let you know, our family line does NOT descend from any of James Chapman’s wonderful sons that were such noble men of action, full of enterprise and wondrous adventure.  No, we descend from James & Mary’s second daughter, Mercy Chapman (1738 – 1806).  In 1759, Mercy Chapman first married Samuel Bill (1739 – abt 1765).  Samuel Bill died young, however, leaving Mercy a widow with two young children, David and Elisabeth.  After Samuel died, Mercy married Jonathan Brooks in 1766 and had five more children, four of which lived to adulthood.  Our line comes down through Mercy Chapman & Samuel Bill’s daughter, Elisabeth Bill, who married Nathaniel Dickinson in 1778. 

2)  And for anyone who wants to see the article, here you go!

- Jane Scribner McCrary

February 4, 2023

The Salmon family of Long Island

William Salmon, my 9th great grandfather, was born in Southwold, England in 1610.  On May 21, 1635 by warrant from the Earle of Carlisle he boarded the ship, Matahew of London, and departed London for St Christopher’s Island in the West Indies.  At the time William was 25 years old.  He was listed in “the original lists of Persons of Quality who went from Great Britain to the American Plantations.”

In 1636, William is recorded as a member of a group from Bermuda (referred to as the Summer Isles) that traveled to the Chowan Indian country of North Carolina.  During that expedition, Salmon met Matthew Sinderland, a mariner from Boston.  William Salmon joined Sinderland’s group and they all headed to Long Island.  

Both Matthew Sinderland and William Salmon decided to settle on Long Island. William Salmon acquired a lot in Southold where he built his first home and also a shop where he began operating a blacksmith business.  In 1642, Matthew Sinderland died intestate and childless, and soon thereafter in 1643 William Salmon married Matthew’s widow, Katherine Curtice Sinderland.  William moved to her homestead nearby at Hashamomuck, also on Long Island.

The Sinderland homestead was a valuable tract of land, however Matthew Sinderland did not leave any documentation such as an Indian deed, land grant or any other record of title to the land.   Consequently, William Salmon purchased the land from Chief Paukhamp on February 24, 1645.   In 1649, William sold some of that property to neighbors and retained about 400 acres near his home in the area of Hashamomuck Neck, Long Island.

William and Katherine had 4 children - 3 daughters and 1 son - during their short marriage before Katherine died about 1650.  Our ancestry line is through John Salmon, the son of William Salmon & Katherine Curtice Sinderland Salmon.

Soon after the death of Katherine, and with 4 young children, William Salmon married again.  This time he married Sarah Horton of Southold, and the couple had 2 more children.  William died by 1657 leaving Sarah as a widow with 6 minor children, only 2 of whom were her own.  Shortly thereafter Sarah married again to John Conklin Jr of Southold. 

Following the deaths of both William Salmon and Katherine Curtice Salmon, their children were considered orphans and were sent to live with the Curtice family.  And for several years there were many lawsuits between John Conklin Jr (their stepmother’s new husband) and the Curtice family, primarily about ownership of the desirable Salmon property at Hashamomuck Neck.  It appears that Thomas Curtice of Weathersfield, secured title to the children’s property for them.  However in 1663, the Salmon children’s guardianship was changed to their stepfather, John Conklin Jr.  This document was signed by John Salmon and his sisters, Mary & Sarah Salmon; possibly the third sister died young.

“Whereas our father William Sallman in his life tyme did declare that his brother in law Thomas Curtis of Weathersfield should not have the educacion of any of his children – his long forbearance of looking after us manifested little love to us.  These may signifie to whom it may consern, that we whose names are here under subscribed have made choyce of John Conckline Junr to be our Gardian, haveing experience of his fatherly love to us and hereby declare all other Guardianship by authority of any court to be null.  

Witness the subscripcon of our names, the two and twentyeth day of  february 1663.” 

Signed by John Salmon, Mary (her mark) Salmon & Sara (her mark) Salmon. And witnessed by John Conkelyn Sener, Richard Curtis (his mark), Thomas Osman, and Jacob Conklyne

It is notable that one of William Salmon’s grandsons, also named William Salmon (my 7th great grandfather), kept a private register of the marriages and deaths of residents of the Town of Southold, and also included a few persons that were also associated with the life and business of the area.  At his death, the register was continued by members of the Salmon family.  This register book of vital statistics covers the period of 1696 through 1811 and has been published, thus creating an extensive accounting of the Salmon line and the Southold area as well.  You can find the Salmon Records at this link  https://newyorkgenealogy.org/suffolk/the-salmon-records.htm if you have an interest.

Our Salmon line moves from Southold, Long Island, with Hannah Salmon, a daughter of William Salmon (the grandson).  Hannah Salmon married John Hempstead of New London in Southold in 1731.  John had evidently met Hannah when he spent a stretch of time on Long Island, possibly learning his trade of blacksmithing.  John & Hannah were first cousins, as their mothers were sisters.  John’s mother was Abigail Bayley, and Hannah’s mother was Hannah Bayley.  After their marriage, John & Hannah made their home in New London; though they often returned to visit family in Long Island. 

*  *  *  *  *

 

Key individuals:

 

William Salmon  (1610 – 1657)

Catherine Curtice Salmon  (1614 -- ~1650)

John Salmon  (~1646 – 1698)

Sarah Barnes Salmon  (1662 – 1738)

William Salmon  (1684 – 1759)

Hannah Bayley Salmon  (1683 – 1751)

Hannah Salmon Hempstead  (1710 – 1765)

John Hempstead  (1709 – 1779)

 

Notes: 

The Hempstead family has a long history in the New London area of Connecticut.  You can refer to my March 2021 blogpost titled, New London & Joshua Hempstead’s Diary, for more information on several of John Hempstead’s early ancestors.   

 – Jane Scribner McCrary

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