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One of the
curiosities of early Rotary is that two of
 the
[the four men who met on 23 February 1905 to form
what became Rotary] had backgrounds which seem
to owe much to their New England upbringing, and
both Chesley Perry, the long time General Secretary,
and Rufus Chapin, the Treasurer, came from families
which also originated in the same area.
Chesley R. Perry was
born in Illinois in 1872, the son of Charles Homer
Perry, a tobacco merchant, and his wife Clara (nee
Thayer). Charles and Clara both came from
Worcester, Mass, where they were married on April
24, 1869. Charles Homer, the latter name being the
maiden name of his mother, had also been born in
Worcester on March 17, 1835 to Josiah Gale Perry and
his wife Martha Homer. They had been married on May
28, 1834 in Framingham, Mass, the home of the Homer
family. The Perrys had been settled in the
Worcester area for some time as Josiah was also born
there, on June 15, 1810. Josiah's middle name as
with Charles, was the surname of his mother, in his
case, Anna Gale, who had married Nathan Perry of
Worcester on October 7, 1792 in their home town.
Rufus Fisher Chapin was
also born in Chicago, Illinois, on May 6, 1867. He
was the son of Rufus Chapin, a Custodian, and his
wife Julia Frances (nee Fisher), both of whom came
from Franklin, Norfolk, Mass. They had been married
in Franklin on May 12, 1850 when Rufus was 22,
having been born there on December 4, 1827. Rather
confusingly, this Rufus was himself the son of yet
another Rufus, Captain Rufus Chapin who had married
Lydia Tufts in December 1814 at Milford, Mass.
Captain Rufus was born on May 15, 1789 (and died
October 28, 1840) in Mendon, Worcester, the son of
Adams Chapin and his wife Olive Sumner. From here
the line can be traced still further.
Adams Chapin, born
in Mendon on April 12, 1750; married in Mendon
December 24, 1775; died October 23, 1832,. Adams
parents were Josiah Chapin and Rachel Albee.
Josiah Chapin, born
in Mendon on January 28, 1718; married Rachel Albee
January 1742; died in Mendon April 10, 1778.
Josiah's parents were Seth Chapin and Abigail Adams.
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Seth
Chapin, born
in Braintree on August 4, 1668; married Bethiah
Thurston in Mendon March 25, 1691; died in Mendon
April 1, 1740. Seth's parents were Josiah Chapin
and possibly Lydia Brown Pratt.
Josiah Chapin, born
in Berry Pomeroy, Devon, England on October 29,
1637; married Lydia Brown Pratt in Braintree,
September 20, 1676??; died in Mendon September 10,
1726. Josiah's parents were Deacon Samuel Chapin and
Cecily Penny.
Samuel Chapin, born
in Paignton, Devon, England on October 8, 1598;
married Cecily Penny in Paignton, February 9, 1623;
died in Springfield, Hampden, Mass November 11,1675.
Samuel's parents were John Chapin and Philippa
Easton.
John Chapin, born in Totnes, Devon
September 25, 1566; married Philippa Easton
September 14, 1590; died Paignton June 1, 1600.
Seth Chapin,
born in Mendon on July 2, 1692; married Abigail
Adams at Braintree, Norfolk, Mass on February 5,
1713, 1723; died in Mendon April 1, 1746.
Seth's parents were Seth Chapin and Bethiah
Thurston.
Two further generations of Chapins from Totnes
are likely to be from the same family, the earlier
one being born in 1508.
It would seem from
the birthplaces of the children of Deacon Samuel
Chapin that he emigrated from Devon in about 1641,
landing in the Boston area. His son, Japhet
Chapin, was christened [named] in Roxbury, Suffolk,
Mass in 1642. Curiously, 1641 was the
year in which Hiram Shorey's ancestor, Sampson
Shore, left the same area of England, Devonshire,
and also landed in Boston. It would be nice to
think that the two families knew each other!
Similarly, both Chesley Perry's ancestors and those
of Rufus Chapin started their life in America in
Massachusetts, not all that far from each other, and
perhaps it was this New England background which led
to them working harmoniously together for so many
years.
Basil Lewis 6
July 2003
 (left) A signed copy of Perry's
bio from a Rotary meeting toward the end of his
career.
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