Bernard Capen (abt. 1562 - 1638)

Born about 1562 in Dorchester, Dorset, England

Husband of Joan (Purchase) Capen — married 31 May 1596 in Dorchester, Dorset, England

Descendants

Died 8 Nov 1638 at about age 76 in Dorchester, Suffolk County, Massachusetts Bay Colony

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Bernard Capen migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See Great Migration Begins, by R. C. Anderson, Vol. 1, p. 309) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography

Unless otherwise noted, information is from Great Migration Begins.

He was born about 1562 based on age at death, but this may be an exaggeration, judging by date of marriage.

He lived in Dorchester, England. There is no parish record of his baptism , marriage or the baptisms of his children but there are no surviving copies of the registers in this period for two of the three parishes in the town. (note Dorchester was relatively small with the three parish churches on the same Street, within 100 metres of each other.) The register for Holy Trinity survives from 1559 but for the earlier years is in very poor condition. This register provides evidence that in the decade before his emigration he lived in Holy Trinity parish. Four daughters Susan, Hannah, Dorothe, and Elizabeth were married there between 1624 and 1630. His son James was buried there in 1628. His son Bernard who did not emigrate and continued the shoemaking business in Dorchester had children baptised and buried there and lived there at his death in 1661. ^[1]

He married 31 May 1596 Joan Purchase, daughter of Oliver Purchase;^[2] born about 1578 based on age at death; admitted to second church of Dorchester, New England probably 1638; she died in Dorchester 26 Mar 1652, age 75.^[2]

The municipal records of Dorchester contain two possible references to Bernard Capen. A "Barnard Calpyn" is included in a list of those that forfeited money for non-appearance at the Autumn 1610 (8 James 1st, 1610) court of Assizes in Dorchester , England. On Mar. 31, 1631 "Barnard Cawpin, shoomaker," paid 3 shillings for the privilege of being a freeman of the borough. ^[3]

A Difficult Voyage

Bernard Capen's departure from Dorchester was noted by William Whiteway (1599-1636) ' 26 February 1633 This day Christopher Gould married with Rachell Beake and shortly after, when Aquila Purchas (Aquila Purchase (abt.1589-abt.1633)), Bernard Gapen and others went for New England, he was...' ^[4]

Bernard Capen and his family were among the eighty passengers who sailed from Weymouth, England, in 1633, possibly on the "Discovery of London" or the "Elizabeth Bonaventure" (but not on the ship "Mary and John" as part of the 1630 Winthrop Fleet).^[5] The ship arrived 24 July 1633 at Dorchester, Massachusetts, after a 12 week passage, reported by Gov. John Winthrop in his journal.^[5] 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).^[5] They may have been on Flores Island, a sub-tropical location where highs of 85 degrees Fahrenheit in July have been recorded.^[6] Coming from cool and temperate England, they would not have been dressed for the weather they could have found there in mid-summer.

With Bernard and his wife Joan (Purchase) Capen, was probably their youngest son John Capen, age twenty, who was made a Freeman in Dorchester 14 May 1634 ("which would indicate arrival no later than 1633").^[5] Also likely to be with them on their voyage would be their youngest daughter Honor Capen, who married William Hannum about 1635 at Dorchester, and was a minor in 1633.^[5] There is speculation that they may have been accompanied by their married daughter Dorothy Upshall,^[5] because she and her husband had no children until 1635. In fact, the exposure and malnutrition would have been enough to preclude children the first year, and after that, life was still harsh for several years.

The older children who married in England likely arrived prior to July 1633. This was certainly the case with son-in-law and daughter William and Susanna (Capen) Rockwell, who arrived May 30, 1630 at present-day Hull, Massachusetts, aboard the celebrated ship "Mary and John."^[7] Nicholas Upsall, who married Dorothy Capen, Susanna's sister, just weeks before the Mary & John sailed, was on that ship, and there is no reason to doubt his wife Dorothy was with him.^[8]

Bernard's wife Joan Purchase had a brother mentioned already, Aquila Purchase, on the voyage, and his widow and her children, Oliver, Sarah and Abigail Purchase - Joan Capen's nephew and nieces - were on the ship in 1633.^[5] In all, over 10% of the ship's company were related to Bernard Capen.

Dorchester, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Bernard Capen was a shoemaker.^[9]

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. Then:

• 30 acre Great Lot granted to "Bernard Gapin and his son," 4 January 1635/6 [DTR 14];
• "Barnard and John Gapin shall have 2 acres in the marsh next Goodman Grenwayes," 27 June 1636 [DTR 17];
• with others, granted "ground adjoining to their home lots," 2 January 1637/8 [DTR 25];
• granted two lots each of two acres and a fraction, 18 March 1637/8[DTR 31];
• granted lot #8, 6 acres, in Meadow beyond Naponset [DTR 321].
• (Two other small parcels of land granted on 2 January 1637/8 to "Good: Gapin" may be intended for Bernard [DTR 27, 28]).

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.

Death and Burial

He died in Dorchester 8 November 1638, aged 76.^[10][2]

He was buried on 8 Nov 1638 in Dorchester North Burying Ground, Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts. Bernard Capen at Geni

Barnard's former gravestone, in pieces, was found buried below ground and later kept in storage at the New England Historic Genealogical Society at Boston. The existing gravestone at the 'Old North Burying Ground' is a replica based on the above cited bible leaf published in the January 1848 issue of the NEHGS Register.^[2]

His Memorial has photos, a biography and links to those of family members, including that of his wife Joan.

Last Will & Testament

Dated 9 October 1638, probated 19 November 1652:

“Barnard Capen” bequeathed to his son John five acres out of his great lot, the residue to his wife during her life, “and when it shall appear her days draw to an end, that she with the rest of my friends whom I put in trust, to divide these lands and goods to my children equally,” naming trustees “Mr. Minit the elder, my brother George Dyer & Will[ia]m Sumner” [ SPR 1:84].

Given the terms of the document, probate of the will was presumably delayed until the widow’s last illness, as she died just four months later - 26 Mar. 1653, aged 75.

That he refers to George Dyer indicates a kinship relation, probably by marriage.

Children

1. James, b say 1598; on 3 Sep 1628 "James Capen of Holborne in the County of Middlesex, scrivener," made his nuncupative will, bequeathing all to his mother "Joane Capen the wife of Barnard Capen of Dorchester in the County of Dorset, shoemaker," out of which she was to make payments of L4 apiece to his "four sisters unmarried"; witnesses were Barnard Capen the younger and Jerom[e] Wolverton [ Genealogical Gleanings in England", NEHGR 49:489, citing PCC 83 Barrington].^[11]
2. Ruth, b 7 Aug 1600 ^[2]; no further record (unless she is one of the four unmarried sisters named in the will of her brother James Capen).
3. Susanna, b 11 Apr 1602^[2]; m1 Holy Trinity, Dorchester, Dorsetshire, 14 Apr 1625 William Rockwell [Dorset Marr. 7:9]; m2 Windsor 29 May 1645 Matthew Grant, as his second wife. Susanna and William Rockwell immigrated in 1630 on the Mary & John.
4. Dorothy, b say 1608; m at Holy Trinity, Dorchester, Dorsetshire, 17 Jan 1629/30 Nicholas Upsall [Dorset Marr. 7:10].
5. Elizabeth, b say 1610; m Holy Trinity, Dorchester, Dorsetshire, 18 Oct 1630 Thomas Swift [Dorset Marr. 7:10].
6. John, b 26 Jan 1612 ^[2]; freeman 14 May 1634 [MBCR 1:369]; m1 Dorchester 20 Oct 1637 Redegon Clap ^[2]; m2 20 Sept 1647 Mary Bass^[2]; daughter of Samuel Bass.
7. Honor, b say 1616; married about 1636 William Hannum [the will of Dorothy (Capen) Upsall, widow of Nicholas Upsall, names, among others, sister Honor Hannum].

A possible additional child who might also be the 4th unmarried sister in James' 1628 will is Hannah who married 4 Aug 1629 Robert Guifford. [Dorset Marr 7:10].

Sources

1. ↑ Dorchester History Centre, PE DO (HT) RE1/1 Holy Trinity Combined register 1559 onwards images are on Ancestry, the early register starts at image 70.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8} Capen Family Record
3. ↑ Charles H Mayo editor The municipal records of the borough of Dorchester, Dorset Dorchester, Dorset, England 1909, p 426, p706 archive books
4. ↑ William Whiteway of Dorchester, His Diary 1618-1635 transcribed and edited by Dorset Record Society, vol 12(Dorchester, 1991) p 129
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6} Reconstructing a Passenger List, Great Migration Newsletter Vol 3, page 9
6. ↑ Flores Island (Azores)
7. ↑ The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2010), (Originally Published as: New England Historic Genealogical Society. Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III, 3 vols., 1995). Great Migration Begins, profile for William Rockwell, Vols 1-3, page 1594 - 1597
8. ↑ The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2010), (Originally Published as: New England Historic Genealogical Society. Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III, 3 vols., 1995). Nicholas Upsall, page 1865, 1867
9. ↑ Shurtleff, Nathaniel Bradstreet, (ed) Records of the governor and company of the Massachusetts bay in New England. (Boston, W. White, printer to the commonwealth, 1853) p. 371
10. ↑ "Early Records of Boston"
11. ↑ National Archives, Kew, Surrey, England Reference: PROB 11/154/23, Will of James Capen, Scrivener of Holborn, Middlesex Probate Date: 25 September 1628 Ancestry Sharing Link

• The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2010), (Originally Published as: New England Historic Genealogical Society. Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III, 3 vols., 1995). Great Migration Begins profile for Bernard Capen, Vols 1-3, page 309 - 311

• Thistlethwaite, Frank, Dorset Pilgrims: The story of West country Pilgrims who went to New England in the 17th Century, (London, Barrie & Jenkins, 1989). Bernard Capen, page 50, 55, 88, 147, 149. NOTE: a scholarly work with 12 pages of sources, detailing the lives of the founders of Dorchester, Massachusetts and Windsor, Connecticut, particularly in their interrelationships.

• Reconstructing a Passenger List, Great Migration Newsletter, V.1-20.(Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015.), Vol 3, page 9

• "Early Records of Boston". The New England Historical & Genealogical Register (New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Mass.) Vol 5 (1851) p 97

• Hannum, Rev William Hamilton. "William Hannum of New England and Some of His Descendants" The New England Historical & Genealogical Register vol 90 (1936):157 [https://www.americanancestors.org/DB522/i/14321/157/0 AmericanAncestors.org (with subscription)

• Waters, Henry F. "Genealogical Gleanings in England." The New England Historical & Genealogical Register (New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Mass.) Vol 49 (1874)p 489-90

• Capen Family Record. The New England Historical & Genealogical Register (New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Mass.) Vol. 2 (1848), Page 80.

• Ancestry.com, American Marriages Before 1699 (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date:1997;).

• Flores Island (Azores), database online, Wikipedia, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License

• The Youth's Companion New England Edition, March 11, 1909

• Burton Spear, *Search for the Passengers of the Mary & John 1630", v 17, 1992, p 25

• Yates Publishing, U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 (Name: Name: The Generations Network, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA;Date:2004;;), Database online., Record for Joan Purchase

• Jordan, John W. Genealogical and Personal History of Western Pennsylvania (Lewis Historical Pub. Co., New York, 1915) Vol. 3. pg. 1268-1270

• FamilySearch Tree

• "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5823815/barnard-capen), Barnard Capen, ; Burial, Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States of America, Dorchester North Burying Ground; citing record ID 5823815, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.

See Also:

• FamilySearch Tree
• "BillionGraves Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QP74-TDV5 : 30 April 2018), Bernard Capen, died 8 Nov 1638; citing BillionGraves (http://www.billiongraves.com : 2012), Burial at Dorchester North Burying Grounds, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States.
• Trask, Mr. Wm. B., Inscriptions From The old Burial Ground in Dorchester, MS., NEHGR (NEHGS, Boston, Mass.,1850) Vol. 4, Page 165.