Unveiling a pioneer's statue. Springfield Massachusetts November 25, 1887.

Unveiling a pioneer's statue. Springfield Massachusetts November 25, 1887.

The Puritan statue erected on Stern's Park in honor of Deacon Samuel Chapin, one of the first settlers of this place, was unveiled and presented to the city yesterday.

It is the gift of the late Chester W Chapin, who was president of the Boston and Albany railroad company. It is a bronze, and is the artistic work of a Augustus Saint-Gaudens.

Chester W. Chapin, Jr., formally presented the statue which was received by Mayor E.B. Maynard. Many descendants of Deacon Chapin were present, including HL Chapin, president of Beloit College, Wisconsin, who delivered an appropriate address.

Taft Visit to Cedar Falls Iowa in 1908

Obama’s C.F. stop sets century-old record

The last sitting president to stop in a non-election year was Taft in 1908.

CEDAR FALLS, IA

— President Barack Obama’s visit to Cedar Falls Wednesday marks the first time a sitting president has come here in a non-election year in more than 100 years, according to Courier files, local historians and records.

Several sitting presidents have visited during election years —
Ronald Reagan in 1984, George W. Bush in 2004 and Obama himself
in 2012. No surprise there, given Iowa’s first-in-the-nation precinct caucuses.

However, it’s been more than 100 years since a president came
to the metro area out of season, so to speak.
According to records at the Grout Museum, President
William Howard Taft found his way to Waterloo on Sept. 28,
1911.

According to the application for Lincoln Park’s inclusion in
the National Register of Historic Places, Taft delivered a speech
in the park.

He also took an automobile tour of the city and had
dinner at a private home on Leland Avenue.
He also visited Cedar Falls during his 1908 presidential run.

John Chapin, Jr. 1730-1815 Daughter's of the American Revolution

Here is our Chapin ancestry connection to the DAR through my great grandfather John Chapin, Jr.

• Daughters of American Revolution Ancestor #: A020774
• Service: MASSACHUSETTS Rank: PATRIOTIC SERVICE
• Birth: 10-7-1730 MENDON WORCESTER CO MASSACHUSETTS
• Death: 7-17-1815 HEATH MASSACHUSETTS
• Service Description: 1) MEM OF COMM OF FIRST CONSTITUTIONAL; 2) CONVENTION 1779

John Chapin, Jr.

Birth:	October 7, 1730 Mendon, Worchester Co., Massachusetts
Death:	July 16, 1815 (84) Heath, Franklin Co., Massachusetts
Immediate Family:	Son of John Chapin, Sr. (1698) and Dorcas (Wood) Chapin (1694) Husband of Rhoda Chapin Father of Berthiah Howard; Jacob Chapin (1762); Phebe Thompson; Ziba Chapin; Elizabeth CHAPIN and 5 others Brother of Dorcas Thurston; Bethiah Walker; Josiah Chapin; Japhet Chapin; Joshua Chapin, Sr.; Solomon Chapin and Peter Chapin « less

Peace by William Howard Taft, President of the United States

Peace
Performed by William H. Taft
Recorded October 1, 1912
I am willing to admit that war has accomplished much in the progress of the world. I am willing to admit that there are certain crises in the forward march of Christian civilization that perhaps could not have been met than in any other way than by the sword. I am willing to admit that war develops certain heroic traits in men and furnishes a test for the evidence of the highest character. Perhaps too, it trains and disciplines people. But the other side of the picture justifies the prayer of every man, of every civilized man, that war should be abolished and that the suffering, cruelty, corruption and demoralization that follow in its train should be, as far as we can bring it about, lifted as a burden from the human race. It is our duty to take every legitimate and proper step we can to persuade the nations of the world to settle their controversies in some other way. They are looking to us as a country independent of entangling alliances separated from all possible attacks by two wide oceans; rich, powerful, and in a situation where nobody can accuse us of being afraid of any nation or of taking this step because we are afraid of war, if war were a necessity. It is the common people of the world that are interested in this business, they know when we have war, it is they that have to bear the burden. It’s their sisters, and mothers and daughters that have to wait, trembling, to hear the news from the battlefields to learn whether their dear ones have bitten the dust. It’s the grave mass of the plain people that Lincoln loved so well that have to stand the brunt of war. They do not have the glory of coming home with the gold lace and the feathers and all that falls to the leader. They are not elected President because they happen to be successful. They know the demoralization that follows in the wake of war. We should lead the way and all doubts as to our constitutional authority should be resolved in favor of our stepping forward as a nation with the power, the wealth, the fortune and the opportunity that God has given us to help along the movement of Christian progress towards permanent peace. 

First Church of Springfield Massachusetts 1645

Source: Wikipedia....

The First Church was organized in 1637, the year following Springfield's founding by Puritan iconoclast and businessman, William Pynchon. The first church building was built in 1645 by Thomas Cooper, on what is now the southeast corner of Court Square. It had two towers: one for the bell, and the other to watch for approaching Indians. It was replaced in 1677 by the second meeting house, and the third was built in 1752. The third one was, in turn, replaced by the current building in 1819.^[3]
Noted abolitionist Dr. Samuel Osgood was the pastor of the congregation from 1809 to 1854. It was during this time that the present building was visited by notable figures such as Daniel Webster and John Brown, who resided in Springfield for some time. In addition, Jenny Lind performed a concert in the church in July 1851, and in 1848, the body of President John Quincy Adams lay in state in the center aisle of the sanctuary.<sup>[4]

For more information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Church_of_Christ,_Congregational_%28Springfield,_Massachusetts%29</sup> 

Chapin Lincoln Connection

Lincoln Isham - Grandson of Abraham Lincoln and Deacon Samuel Chapin

There is another connection that Abraham Lincoln's family tree intersects with the Chapin tree. The connection is through Charles Bradford Isham 1853-1919 who married Mary Todd Lincoln (1869-1938). Charles is a direct descendant of Deacon Samuel Chapin through Catherine's line. Lincoln Isham (1892-1971) is their son and the great Grandson of President Abraham Lincoln. He is a 7th great grandson of Deacon Samuel Chapin.

Lincoln Isham had a stepdaughter Francis Mantley (1908-1983), but no other children.

Grave site link...
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=14859048