Chester W. Chapin
Chester William Chapin | |
---|---|
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 11th district | |
In office March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1877 | |
Preceded by | Henry L. Dawes |
Succeeded by | George D. Robinson |
Personal details | |
Born | Ludlow, Massachusetts | December 16, 1798
Died | June 10, 1883 Springfield, Massachusetts | (aged 84)
Political party | Democratic |
Occupation | Businessman |
Signature | |
Chester William Chapin (December 16, 1798 – June 10, 1883) was an American businessman, president of the Boston and Albany Railroad from 1868 to 1878, and U.S. Congressman from Massachusetts.[1] He was a multimillionaire at his death in 1883, and controlled one of New England’s most important rail lines.[2][3]
Early days
Chester W. Chapin was born in
The family moved to Chicopee and in 1806 his father died, leaving Chester and his brothers to work their farm. He attended common schools and Westfield Academy, Westfield, Massachusetts. One of his first paying jobs was when local cotton mills were being built, when he earned $1.50 a day.
Career
Chapin quickly went into business for himself, opening a store, and in 1822 was appointed town tax collector, for which he received $80.[6]
Around 1826 he bought an interest in the stage line from Hartford, Connecticut, to Brattleboro, Vermont, and soon held extensive mail and stage contracts. In 1831, when steamboats began to run on the river between Hartford and Springfield, Massachusetts, he bought an interest, soon became sole proprietor, and for about 15 years controlled all the passenger traffic on that route.
He also became a large or principal owner of the steamship lines between
As Congressman
Before his time in Congress, Chapin served as a delegate of the
Personal life
Chapin married Dorcas [Chapin] on June 1, 1825; they had four children: Abel Dexter, Margaret, Anna, and Chester W.[5]
He died a multimillionaire in Springfield on June 10, 1883, and was interred in
Family
Chapin’s great-uncles, Harvey Dexter Chapin and Abijah White Chapin, married Louisa D. Wilcox and Sarah M. Wilcox, cousins of manufacturer
In 1881, Chapin commissioned sculptor
Legacy
The
See also
Footnotes
- ^ "Chester W. Chapin". Springfield Republican. Springfield, Mass. June 11, 1883. pp. 4–5.
- ^ Winterthur Portfolio, Vol. 46, No. 4 (Winter 2012), p. 240
- ^ a b c d Remembering the Sullivan County Catskills, John Conway
- ^ Noon, pp. xiv – xvii.
- ^ a b Chapin, Gilbert Warren, p. 219.
- ^ Chapin, Charles Wells, p. 100.
- ^ Chapin, Charles Wells, pp. 100-101.
- ^ "Chester W. Chapin". Springfield Republican. Springfield, Mass. June 11, 1883. p. 5.
He was a working member of the constitutional convention of 1853, held sundry town and city offices, and good-naturedly consented to run for Congress several times when there was no possible chance for one of his part to be elected. He was a war democrat, and largely paid for the uniforms of the City guard when that organization joined the 10th regiment.
- ^ Chapin, Charles Wells, p. 102.
- ^ The Chapin Estate, Sotheby's International Realty
- ^ New Hudson Valley Homes for a New Kind of Buyer, The New York Times, 2017
- ^ Chapin, Orange (1862). The Chapin genealogy : containing a very large proportion of the descendants of Dea. Samuel Chapin, who settled in Springfield, Mass. in 1642, Northampton Mass. : Printed by Metcalf & Co, Boston Public Library, p. 66-122
- ^ a b Rodney Horace Yale (1908). "Yale genealogy and history of Wales. The British kings and princes. Life of Owen Glyndwr. Biographies of Governor Elihu Yale". Archive.org. Milburn and Scott company. pp. 204–298–299.
- ^ The Connecticut annual register, and United States' calendar, embracing the political year, 1839, p. 48-137
- ^ Chapin, Orange (1862). The Chapin genealogy : containing a very large proportion of the descendants of Dea. Samuel Chapin, who settled in Springfield, Mass. in 1642, Northampton Mass. : Printed by Metcalf & Co, Boston Public Library, p. 165
- ^ Dryfhout, John H. The Work of Augustus Saint-Gaudens University Press of New England, 1982. Lebanon NH. p.162
References
- Chapin, Charles Wells. "Sketches of the Old Inhabitants and Other Citizens of Old Springfield of the Present Century, and its Historic Mansions of 'Ye Olden Tyme,' with One Hundred and Twenty-Four Illustrations and Sixty Autographs" Press of Springfield Printing and Binding Company, 1893. Springfield MA.
- Chapin, Gilbert Warren. "The Chapin Book of Genealogical Data with Brief Biographical Sketches of the Descendants of Deacon Samuel Chapin; Vol. I: First Seven Generations and Vol. II: Eighth to Twelfth Generation". Chapin Family Association, 1924. Hartford, CT.
- Noon, Alfred. "Ludlow: A Century and a Centennial, Comprising a Sketch of the History of the Town of Ludlow, Hampden County, Massachusetts, Together with an Account of the Celebration by the Town of Its Centennial Anniversary, June 17, 1875. C. W. Bryan and Co., 1875.
External links
- United States Congress. "Chester W. Chapin (id: C000305)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress