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.

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.

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.

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.