Sued in Windsor, Connecticut for a debt of £6-03-02 on March 5, 1662/3, marking his first appearance in the area. [
[658]] A Windsor church record says “Edward Chapman married Elizabeth Fox in Ingland.” They then came to America with her mother to stay on the estate of her brother Henry, who had gone to live in Hadley, MA. Elizabeth inherited her uncle’s land just days after her husband died fighting the Indians in King Phillip’s War, lucky for her since she had 8 small children at the time. Edward’s estate came to £184, and his inventory lists his children and their ages. [
[659]] Edward appears on the 7 Oct 1669 list of freeman at Windsor (NEHGR Vol. 5).
Death recorded in Windsor records as “Here I set down the deaths of several parsons that were against the Indians and were wounded that they dyed, it was on the 19th of December 1675. Corprl Samuel Marshel, Edward Chapman, Ebenezer Dible, Nathanael Pond, Richard Saxton”[
[53]]
Marriage record is the only one in the IGI for Edward Chapman and Elizabeth Fox. The timing would require that Edward and Elizabeth sailed for New England in late summer 1662, probably arriving before October (assuming Elizabeth did not become pregnant aboard ship). There are two families in Leicestershire that had children named Edward in the 1630s: Henry in Skeffington had a son Edward 27 May 1632 and Edward and Joane (Branson) had a son Edward 24 May 1634 in Leicester. Both places are about 10 miles from Market Harborough. There are no other Chapmans in Market Harborough to make family links. People matching the names of Henry’s children are in a submitted IGI record as marrying in Bringhurst, but Edward, William, John and Marie are hardly uncommon names.[
[2]]
Savage’s: Chapman, Edward, Windsor 1662, m. in Eng. as is said, Eliz. Fox, had Henry, b. 4 July 1663; Mary, 23 Aug. 1664, d. soon; Mary, again, 27 Oct. 1665; Eliz. 15 Jan. 1668; Simon, 30 Apr. 1669; Hannah, 3 May 1671; Margaret, 7 Mar. 1673; and Sarah, 24 ay 1675. He was freem. 1667, and k. in the gr. Narraganset fight, 19 Dec. of that yr. and his wid. m. 12 July 1677, Samuel Cross.
On 19 Jun 1677, about a month before marrying for the second time, Elizabeth conveyed Edward’s property to trustees, reserving for herself the use of the house. Her second husband Samuel Cross d. 5 Nov 1707. His will contained provisions for her use of the homestead, then payouts to occur after her death. Her son Simon was executor and filed final papers 13 Apr 1719.[
[659]]
Christening record is for the only Elizabeth born in Leicestershire to a mother Margaret. The marriage of her parents, her mother’s name being Clark, was found in Saddington, about 3 miles away. Lubenham is also about 3 miles from Market Harbrough, the scene of the only marriage record in the IGI for Edward Chapman and Elizabeth Fox. These records are not independently confirmed to be of this family, but the family names and timing all match the known information about the immigrants.[
[2]]