My 5th great-grandfather, Ephraim Chapin, a great-grandson of Deacon Samuel Chapin, a founder of Springfield, Massachusetts, was born on October 28, 1729, in Springfield, Massachusetts. He married in 1755 his second cousin once removed, Jemima Chapin (a great-great-granddaughter of Deacon Samuel Chapin).
The 1924 Gilbert Chapin genealogy reports that Ephraim was a captain in the French and Indian War, and was at Ticonderoga (which doesn't quite fit the timeline of his enlistment - see below).
The DAR Genealogical Research Database indicates that Ephraim (DAR Ancestor# A020751) served as a captain under Colonel Ruggles Woodbridge.
Service: Massachusetts Rank(s): Captain
Birth: 10-29-1729 Springfield Hampshire Co Massachusetts
Death: 10-12-1805 Springfield Hampshire Co Massachusetts
Service Source: MA Sols & Sails, Vol 3, p 310
Service Description: 1) Col Ruggles Woodbridge, 8th Co, 1st Regt, Militia
I wrote about the multi-volume Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the Revolutionary War at Stephen Lowell in the Revolution. I returned to this to find my Chapin ancestor.
There are 15 pages of men with the surname Chapin!
Ephraim Chapin served as a captain in the Massachusetts militia. He was commissioned as Captain of the 8th Company, 1st Hampshire County Regiment, by order of the Massachusetts Council on June 13, 1776, with the list of officers dated at Springfield.
In 1777, Chapin served in Colonel Ruggles Woodbridge’s Regiment in the Northern Department under Major General Horatio Gates. He was engaged in service beginning August 12, 1777, with active duty recorded from August 16, 1777. He was discharged on November 29, 1777; his service totaled 3 months and 21 days.
Col. Ruggles Woodbridge's regiment served under Major General Horatio Gates, whose army opposed British General John Burgoyne during the British advance south from Canada. The Gilbert Chapin genealogy says that Ephraim was at Ticonderoga, which was captured by General Burgoyne in July 1777 (before Ephraim was officially serving). This campaign culminated in the decisive American victory at Saratoga, when General Burgoyne surrendered his entire army of 6,200 men on October 17, 1777.
Perhaps whoever in the family reported the story of Ephraim's service thought it was Ticonderoga where he was, but it was more likely Saratoga.
A regimental roll documents Ephraim's service from August 12 to November 30, 1777. A subsequent return dated December 7, 1777, made at Camp at Scarsdale, accounts for rations issued from August 26, through December 6, 1777, confirming continued logistical support through the close of his service.
Ephraim and Jemima's children:
1. Abel (1756-1831) is DAR Ancestor# A020734
2. Ephraim (1759-1806) is DAR Ancestor# A217714
3. Jemima (1762-1817)
4. Benjamin (1764-1810)
5. Bezaleel (1764-1764)
6. Kezia (1766-1822)
7. Bezaleel (1769-1812) - my ancestor
8. Frederick (1771-1848)
Ephraim remained in the Springfield area for the rest of his life and died in Chicopee, Massachusetts on October 12, 1805, nine months after his wife, Jemima. The gravestone at his FindAGrave memorial is unfortunately illegible. Jemima's gravestone is legible and references her husband, Capt. Ephraim Chapin.
I descend from Ephraim and Jemima Chapin as follows:
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