Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial ...

Adam Atchison, the grandfather of Fred-
erick H. Atchison, who was born at Colerain,
Ireland, in the year 1795, and was
about twenty-two years of age when he
migrated to this country. He married
Catherine Bonner, who was born March
5, 1797, in Baltimore, Maryland, and they
came to Hartford from Easton, Pennsyl-
vania, where they made their home for a
time. They settled permanently in Hart-
ford, where Mr. Atchison became a car-
penter and engaged in this business dur-
ing his entire life. He was a member of
the Center Congregational Church of
Hartford and became a deacon there.
Among their children was John Atchi-
son, who was born in Hartford, and re-
ceived his education in the public schools
of that city. When a young man he
became a steam engineer and spent most
of his life engaged in this occupation,
being employed very largely in this capac-
ity on steamers engaged in the coastwise
trade. He married Olive Wright Chapin,
a daughter of Daniel and Lucy (Orchard)
Chapin, and a native of Springfield, Massachusetts,
where she was born December
6, 1834, a descendant of Deacon Samuel
Chapin, "The Puritan," undoubtedly
the progenitor of all in this country of
the name. There is a tradition that he
was of Welsh origin and another that he
was of Huguenot descent. The late Pres-
ident A. L. Chapin, of Beloit College,
after an exhaustive study of philological
records abroad, was of opinion that he
was of French Huguenot descent and
probably fled with other persecuted Huguenots
to Holland, where he associated
with the English Puritans who had also
fled to Holland. The coat-of-arms also
points to French origin and the name of
Deacon Samuel Chapin's wife, which was
Cicley or Cecile, is one found in early
French families. Tradition says that he
was born or lived in Dartmouth, Eng-
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
159
land, for a time, or at least sailed from
that port about 1635, while there is rea-
son for belief that he came over in 1631
or 1632 in the "Lyon," if he was not of
the original Pyncheon Company. He was
a contemporary with Pynchon in the settlement
of Roxbury, Massachusetts. He
followed him to Springfield, and was
known as "Pynchon's right-hand man"
and one of the "founders of Springfield,"
was made a freeman, June 2, 1641, and
elected to town office in 1642, was a distinguished
man in church and State, was
deacon of the Springfield church, elected in
1649, an d employed to conduct services
part of the time in 1656-57, when there
was no minister in town. He was ap-
pointed commissioner to determine small
causes. October 10, 1652, and his commis-
sion was indefinitely extended in 1654.
His wife Cicely died February 8, 1682-83
he died November 11, 1675. His daugh-
ter, Catherine, was an ancestor of Rev.
Henry Ward Beecher. and ex-President
William Howard Taft is a descendant of
his son, Josiah. The first of his children
born in this country was Japhet Chapin,
born August 15, 1642, and resided at the
upper end of Chicopee street in what is
now the town of Chicopee. From his
father he received a deed, April 16. 1673,
of the greater part of the land between
the Chicopee river and Williamsett brook.
For some time he lived in Milford, Connecticut,
and was there in 1669, when he
received from Captain John Pynchon a
deed of land in Chicopee on which he
built a house. In 1665, during King
Philip's War, he was a volunteer and par-
ticipated in the fight at Turner's Falls,
May 18, 1676. The general court granted
land to his son Thomas in consideration
of this service. Like his father, Japhet
Chapin was a man of great piety, the bulwark
of Puritan faith. He was feelingly
referred to by his pastor because of these
;