The Capen Family of Dorchester

Modern day Dorchester, England

I spent much of last year studying my immigrant ancestors who arrived in Colonial America in the early 1600s. Included in this group are Bernard Capen, my 11th great-grandfather, Joan Purchase Capen, my 11th great-grandmother, and their son John Capen, my 10th great-grandfather. They emigrated from England to America together in 1633. 

The Capens lived in Dorchester, which is in Dorset in southwest England. Dorchester has existed since Roman times, and in the late 1500s there might have been about a thousand people living in and around the town. It served primarily as a market town, where surrounding communities would gather to buy and sell goods. These days, Dorchester is admired for its beautiful coastline, and known for being the birthplace of author Thomas Hardy.

Map of Dorchester & Fordington in Dorset England by John Speed, dated 1611

Bernard and Joan Capen and Their Children

Bernard and Joan were married in Dorchester in May 1596. Bernard's origins are not known, but by the time of his marriage, he was established as a a shoemaker in Dorchester. Joan was the daughter of Oliver Purchase and his wife Thomasin Harris, both of Dorchester. Bernard and Joan had nine children together:

1. Bernard Capen (b. 1597; d. 1661; m. Christiane)
2. James Capen (b. abt. 1599; d. 1628)
3. Ruth Capen (b. 1600; d. 1646)
4. Dorothy Capen (b. abt. 1602; d. 1675; m. Nicholas Upsall)
5. Susannah Capen (b. abt. 1602; d. 1666; m. (1) William Rockwell (2) Matthew Grant
6. Hannah Capen (b. abt. 1607; d. 1670; m. Robert Gifford)
7. Elizabeth (b. abt. 1611; d. 1678; m. Thomas Swift)
8. John Capen (b. 1613; d. 1692; m. (1) Redegon Clapp (2) Mary Bass
9. Honor Capen (b. 1616; d. 1680; m. William Hannum)

The Puritans in Dorchester

Of the eleven members of the Capen family, seven would ultimately leave England for America in the 1630s. They were not alone in this migration. In the early 1600s, Dorchester was an epicenter of Puritanical fervor, and many residents decided to emigrate to America to create a more godly society. Whole families often departed together and restarted their lives in the colonies.

Puritans were English Protestants who were committed to "purifying" the Church of England by eliminating all aspects of Catholicism from religious practices. [source: Khan Academy]

The religious atmosphere in England in the early 1600s was complex. Seventy years earlier, determined to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, King Henry VIII had broken with the Catholic Church. Parliament made this separation official in 1534 by passing the Act of Supremacy, which established Henry VIII as the head of a new Church of England. Over the century that followed, the English people and clergy battled over competing belief systems, a difficult period known as the English Reformation. By the 1600s, most had renounced Catholicism and were committed to the Church of England, but tensions remained. The Puritans felt not enough had been done to totally eradicate Catholicism in England. There were also different degrees of Puritanical belief, with separatists being at the extreme end of the spectrum. Separatists believed that they must separate themselves from government-run churches and gather only in community-based churches. That led to groups of Separatists leaving England and temporarily resettling in Holland, with many later moving on to the American colonies. The dissatisfaction of the Puritans with the Church of England's status quo, and their growing belief that they were called to create a society founded upon God's law, culminated in mass emigration to the new American colonies.

The fate of the Capen family seems to have been largely shaped by Reverend John White, the rector of Holy Trinity and St. Peter's churches in Dorchester.

John White was Rector of Holy Trinity and St Peter's churches from 1606 to 1648. He was at the centre of the group that took control of the town after the great fire of 1613 and ran it with a vision of a godly community in which power was to be exercised according to religious commitment rather than wealth or rank. Dorchester became briefly a place which could boast a system of education and assistance to the sick and needy nearly three hundred years ahead of its time. White and his parishioners established the Napper's Mite almshouses and a brewery to help maintain them. Work was found for all the fit poor of the parish, and the profits of the brewery looked after the poor and disabled. He sympathised with the struggles of the Puritans for freedom of worship and was involved with the group that sailed on the Mayflower. In 1623 he personally organised a group that established a small trading post at Cape Anne. He worked hard, making many trips to London, not easy in those days, to get a charter for the Massachusetts Bay Company, and to create an alliance between wealthy London merchants and West Country seamen. This enabled a fleet of ships to sail in March 1630 with the first large party of English people to settle in New England. The first ship to sail was the Mary and John, which carried people from Dorset, Somerset and Devon personally recruited by White. In June 1630 they landed and founded the settlement of Dorchester Massachusetts. [source: Dorchester Anglican]

Rev. John White

Susannah and Dorothy Capen Leave England

The Capens were among those in Dorchester who became devotees of White's theology. In 1630, White organized a ship to take believers to the new world. At that time, sisters Dorothy and Susannah Capen were married women living with their husbands and children in Dorchester. They and their families signed on to White's voyage, making them the first Capen family members to emigrate. The Mary & John departed Dorset on March 20, 1630, and arrived at Nantasket Point, which is now the city of Dorchester, Massachusetts on May 30. This was two weeks before the arrival of the Winthrop Fleet, which carried a number of my other immigrant ancestors from Yarmouth, England to Salem, Massachusetts.

 

An illustration of the Mary & John in 1630

The Remaining Capen Siblings

There were three Capen sons, Bernard Jr., James, and John. Each had a very different fate. James died in 1628, at the age of 29, before anyone in his family emigrated to America. John, the youngest, went with his parents when they departed England. Eldest son Bernard took over the family shoemaking business in Dorchester from his father, and did not move with his parents and siblings to the colonies. Bernard and his sisters Ruth and Hannah were the only living Capen family members that did not emigrate. 

I looked to see if any of Bernard Jr.'s children followed their grandparents, aunts and uncles to America in later years, and found a very sad story. Bernard and his wife, Christiane, had six children in Dorchester. In 1646, when those children would still have been young, five of them perished within weeks of each other, presumably from a disease that swept through the family. Only one son survived, along with his parents. It's not known for certain what illness took those young Capens, but Smallpox, being extremely infectious and particularly deadly to children, may have been the culprit.

Interestingly, Ruth Capen, one of the other siblings that stayed in England, also died in 1646, possibly felled by the same disease. There seems to be little information about Ruth, and it's not known if she married or had children. Hannah, however, became a well-loved school teacher in Dorchester. She married Robert Gifford and they had at least six children together.

A rendition of the Elizabeth Bonaventure, a famous warship once commanded by Sir Francis Drake

A Second Group of Capens Leaves England

In 1633, Bernard, his wife Joan, and their two youngest children, Honor and John, departed Weymouth, England, bound for America. They left behind Elizabeth Capen, who had married Thomas Swift in 1630 and settled in Dorchester. I have read competing claims as to what ship the group sailed on, but it might have been the Elizabeth Bonaventure or the Recovery of London. Traveling with Bernard, Joan, John, and Honor were members of Joan's family, including her brother, Aquila Purchase, his wife, and their three children. George Way, Joan's widower brother-in-law, also made the journey to America. In fact, it is believed that up to 10% of the boat's passengers were related to Bernard and Joan. Unfortunately, the voyage was not an easy one.

The ship they sailed on sprang a leak, which forced them to stay three weeks in the 'Western Islands' (known now as Azores) for repairs. The Portuguese islanders treated them well, but the extreme heat and rain brought disease upon them, and one of the ship's company died. (It is known that Aquila Purchase, brother in law of Bernard, died on the voyage, so it may have been Aquila who died in the Western Islands). They may have been on Flores Island, a sub-tropical location where highs of 85 degrees Fahrenheit in July have been recorded. Coming from cool and temperate England, they would not have been dressed for the weather they could have found there in mid-summer. [source: Reconstructing a Passenger List, Great Migration Newsletter Vol 3, page 9]

The Capens in the American Colonies

The Capens arrived in Massachusetts on July 24, 1633 and settled in Dorchester, Massachusetts, where Dorothy and Susannah Capen had been living since departing England three years earlier. Elizabeth Capen and her husband Thomas Swift joined them in 1634, sailing on the Discovery to reunite with their family in Massachusetts. Five of the eight living Capen siblings were now in the new world with their parents, Bernard and Joan.

He [Bernard Capen] is named among the first settlers of Dorchester, Mass. He was granted land in Dorchester 5 Aug. 1633 which is the date of the first appearance of his name on the records of Dorchester. He died there 8 d. 9 mo. 1638 aged 76, which makes his birth about 1562. He built a house, which is still in existence (1928) and considered by many the oldest house in New England. The original house, which was built probably in 1633, had a large addition made to it about a hundred years later and for upwards of three hundred years stood on the original site. In 1909 it was moved to Milton and set up on a hill in what is much like its original setting. [source: The Capen Family by Rev. Charles Albert Hayden and revised by Jessie Hale Tuttle]

The Capen House in Milton

Sadly, in 2006, a new owner decided to have the Capen House dismantled in order to build a modern home on the lot. The city of Milton had not designated the home as a historic property, although it was the oldest house in Milton, and was powerless to stop the demolition. Pieces of the house still exist in storage, but there is currently no plan to reassemble them.

The first mention of Barnard in the Dorchester records is Aug. 5, 1633 regarding a grant of four acres of land to both he and son-in-law Nicholas Upsall. His homestead was on what is now Washington Street, near Wheatland Avenue. The last land granted him was at South Boston in 1637. He was admitted freeman 25 May 1636 in Dorchester. [source: Wikitree]

Dorchester, Massachusetts in the 1600s

When Susannah and Dorothy Capen arrived on the land that would be renamed Dorchester in 1630, the area was inhabited by the Neponset people, led by their chief, Chickatabot. Chickatabot died of Smallpox brought to America by English colonists in 1633, the year the Bernard and Joan arrived in Dorchester with two of their children. Chickatabot was succeeded by his brother, Cutshumaquin, but he was not the strong leader that Chickatabot had been.

This chief (Cutshumaquin) appears to have been a mere tool in the hands of the colonial government, used for the purpose of deeding away Indian lands, and acting as a spy upon the movements of neighboring Indians. [source: History of the Town of Dorchester, Massachusetts (Clapp)]

The group of colonists that arrived in 1630 aboard the Mary & John toiled to settle the land that became Dorchester, but by 1633, when the rest of the Capen family arrived, it had developed into a prosperous town. In 1633, two members of a visiting delegation described Dorchester as follows:

The following is Wood's description of Dorchester in 1633. "Dorchester is the greatest town in New England, but I am informed that others equal it since I came away; well wooded and watered, very good arable grounds and hay ground; fair corn-fields and pleasant gardens, with kitchen gardens. In this plantation is a great many cattle, as kine, goats, and swine. This plantation hath a reasonable harbour for ships. Here is no alewife river, which is a great inconvenience. The inhabitants of this town were the first that set upon fishing in the bay, who received so much fruit of their labours, that they encouraged others to the same undertakings."

The following is Josselyn's description of the town: "Six miles beyond Braintree lyeth Dorchester, a frontire Town pleasantly seated, and of large extent into the main land, well watered with two small Rivers, her body and wings filled somewhat thick with houses to the number of two hundred and more, beautified with fair Orchards and Gardens, having also plenty of Corn-land, and store of Cattle, counted the greatest Town heretofore in New England, but now gives way to Boston; it hath a Harbour to the North for ships." 

[source: History of the Town of Dorchester, Massachusetts (Clapp)]

The Deaths of Bernard and Joan Capen

Bernard Capen died five years after his arrival in Dorchester, on November 8, 1638, at the age of 76. He is buried in the Dorchester North Burying Ground. Joan lived another fifteen years. She died on March 26, 1653 at the age of 75.  She is buried with Bernard.

The grave marker for Bernard and Joan Capen [Source: FindAGrave]

John Capen and His Children

My 10th great-grandfather, John Capen, worked as a church deacon in Dorchester, and spent fifty years in the militia, much of that time serving as captain. John also acted as a Selectman in Dorchester for sixteen years (1666-81), and was repeatedly named Deputy to the General Court and Town Recorder. He was elected as a Representative in 1671 and again from 1673-1678.

On October 20, 1637, at the age of 24, John married Radegon Clapp. Radegon was born in Sidbury, Devon, England in 1609. Her parentage is not confirmed, but it is possible that she was the daughter of Nicholas Clapp and his wife Elizabeth Young. Elizabeth died in England in 1631, and Nicholas died in 1632. Their seven presumed children, including Radegon, all died in Massachusetts, so they likely emigrated as a group, or in several smaller groups, in the years immediately following their parents' deaths. 

Regarding Radegon's name, I have seen it alternately spelled Redegon, Radigon, Redigan, and Radigan. This is not a common English given name, and I had never actually heard it prior to discovering this ancestor. I was immediately skeptical that it was correct, especially given that her presumed siblings have very traditional names: Jane, Prudence, Barbara, Thomas, Nicholas, and John. However, this marriage and this name are documented in multiple places, including Early New England Families, 1641-1700 (Williams), A Sketch from the Early New England Families Study Project: John Capen in American Ancestors Magazine, Volume 14.2, and Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to N.E. 1620-1633, Vols. I-III (Anderson). There is a St. Radegund who is the patron saint of a handful of English churches, and Radegund appears to have had some popularity as a name in Cornwall, as a result. Cornwall is also in the southwest of England, so it's possible the Capens would have met others who gave their daughters this name. However, I'm having difficulty imagining the Capens, staunch Puritans, naming a child after a Catholic saint. This continues to be a mystery.

John and Radegon had two children together. Joanna Capen was born in October 1638 and died six weeks later. John Capen, my 9th great-grandfather, was born on October 21, 1639. He survived, and would go on to marry Susannah Barsham and father nine children, including my 8th great-grandmother, Susannah Capen.

Radegon died in 1645 at the age of 26. It's not clear whether she and John did not have any more children, or if they did and those children did not survive, but at the time of Radegon's death, John Capen, Jr. was her only living child.

The grave of Samuel Bass in Quincy, Massachusetts

In 1647, John, now aged 34, remarried Mary Bass. She was the daughter of Samuel Bass, the first church deacon of Braintree, Massachusetts, and his wife Ann. Mary was born in 1628 in Saffron Walden, Essex, England, and emigrated to Roxbury, Massachusetts in 1632 with her parents and several siblings. John and Mary were married for 45 years, until John's death in 1692. They had nine children together.

Joseph Capen

John and Mary's youngest son, Joseph Capen, was born in 1658. In 1682, at the age of 24, he moved from Dorchester to Topsfield, Massachusetts to become the minister of the Topsfield town church. He's a well-known historical figure in Topsfield to this day. His home in Topsfield, now known as the Parson Capen House, was built in 1683 and still stands. Fortunately, it has been preserved by the Topsfield Historical Society. 

Joseph Capen was involved in the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, when his former parishioners Mary Eastey and her sister Sarah Cloyce, who had moved to Salem, were accused of witchcraft, along with their sister, Rebecca Nurse. In a petition to the court, Mary and Sarah wrote that Joseph Capen was willing to testify on their behalf, as he "had the longest and best knowledge of us being persons of good report." It is not clear that Joseph was given the opportunity to testify, however. Mary and her sister Rebecca were convicted and executed. Sarah was convicted and kept in prison for months, until the governor put a stop to further trials and executions. A number of other Topsfield residents were involved in the witchcraft trials, both as accusers and accused, and Joseph Capen tried valiantly to mediate disputes and ease hysteria. He "appears to have been a calm and reasonable voice during the dramatic and tragic events. He was a contributor to Cotton Mather’s Return of Several Ministers written in June of 1692, written after Governor Phipps consulted the congregational ministers for their input on their legal view of witchcraft under the new charter. The contributing ministers cautioned against the use of spectral evidence and folk tests as proof of guilt." [source] In 1703, Joseph Capen, along with a number of other ministers, signed an address to the general court that requested that those accused of witchcraft be formally cleared of the accusation. More information about Joseph Capen and his involvement in the events of 1692 can be found at SalemWitchMuseum.com.

The Parson Capen House in Topsfield, Massachusetts

The Capen Legacy

John Capen died on April 4, 1692, at the age of 80. Upon his death the Dorchester church entered in its record: “4th of April 1692 Deacon John Capen a military officer 50 years at length a Capt: & Deacon of ye church 34 years in His fourscoreth Year Rested from His Labors & Slept in ye Lord.” Mary lived another twelve years, dying on June 29, 1704, at the age of 72.

Given that five Capen siblings settled in Dorchester, and all had many children, the number of Capen descendants at this point in history is vast. Susannah, Dorothy, Elizabeth, John, and Honor Capen are the ancestors of a number of well-known people. Descendants of Elizabeth Capen and Thomas Swift include writer Tennessee Williams (8th great-grandson). Descendants of John Capen and Mary Bass include U.S. President Calvin Coolidge (8th great-grandson). Susannah Capen and William Rockwell win the trophy, though, as their descendants include Admiral George Dewey (5th great-grandson), writer Edgar Rice Burroughs (7th great-grandson), actor Henry Fonda (8th great-grandson), painter Norman Rockwell (8th great-grandson), and actor Rainn Wilson, of The Office fame (11th great-grandson).

I descend from John's granddaughter, Susannah Capen. Susannah married Andrew Hall. Four generations later, their Hall descendant married into my Smith line. 

It's been fascinating to learn about another family in my tree with such an interesting immigration story.