Contributed by Jessie Josephine "Dodie" Carr Brodhead (gdc > sdc > lcc),
who received it from Lila Jones Boyce Emory (gdc > ghc > lcj).
"The origin of the name CAPEN and the early history of the family is shrouded in mystery. Several spellings of its name are found in England, but nothing definite is known of the original spelling or meaning of the name."
"Bernard1 Capen (sometimes spelled Barnard) was the eldest of the name who came to America. He came probably from Dorchester, in old England, as appears from the will of his son, James, who died in England before the family came to America. (In the will James mentions his father as "shoemaker.") The exact date of his arrival in this country is not known. His wife, Joan, and three children are said to have come with him. Some of the other children nay have preceded him and one at least must have come later. He is named among the first settlers of Dorchester, Massachusetts. He was granted land in Dorchester 5 August, 1633, which is the date of the first appearance of his name on the records of Dorchester. He died there September 8, 1638, aged 76, which makes his birth about 1562. He built a house which is still in existence (1928) and considered by many the oldest house in New England. The original house, which was built probably in 1633, had a large addition made to it about a hundred years later and for upwards of three hundred years stood on the original site. In 1909, it was moved to Milton and set up on a hill in what is much like its original setting."
"His grave is in the old 'North Burying Ground' in Dorchester and the gravestone is said to have the oldest date of any known gravestone in New England. The original stone is now preserved in the rooms of the New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston."
He married Joan Purchase, daughter of Oliver Purchase in England in June, 1596. She died in Dorchester March 26, 1653, aged 75 years and is buried with her husband.
John2 Capen, son of Bernard1 was born in England January 26, 1612/3, died in Dorchester April 4/6, 1692. He married first Redigan Clap. They had two children and she died 1645. John's second wife was Mary Bass, daughter of Deacon Samuel and Anne ( ) Bass. She was born about 1630 and died in Dorchester June 29, 1704 "aged 73 years." They had eight children, Samuel being their first born.
Samuel3 Capen, son of John2, was born in Braintree but recorded in Dorchester July 29, 1648 and died in Dorchester May 19, 1733. He married Susanna Payson April 9, 1673. She was born June 27, 1655 and died in Dorchester February 3, 1737. She was the daughter of Edward and Mary (Eliot) Payson. They had thirteen children (one named Hopestill, who married Thankful Baker!).
Jonathan4 Capen, son and tenth child of Samuel3, was born in Dorchester May 17, 1691 and died December 17, 1740. He married Jane Houghton of Milton on February 22, 1722. She was born in Milton March 9, 1700, daughter of Ebenezer Houghton of Milton. They had seven children.
Samuel5 Capen, son and third child of Jonathan4 and Jane, was born in Dorchester March 27, 1727 and died in Stoughton, Massachusetts April 15, 1801. He married Sarah Bailey in Stoughton March 18, 1756, the daughter of Edward Bailey; she died in Stoughton April 28, 1811, aged 75 years. They had four children.
William6 Capen, son and third child of Samuel5 and Sarah, was born in Stoughton June 13, 1763 and died there December 29, 1841. He married Rebecca Swan in Stoughton April 8, 1795. The daughter of Robert and Rachel ( ) Swan; she died in Stoughton March 1, 1806. They had two children.
William7 Capen was the son and eldest child of William6 and Rebecca. It is unknown where he was born but he died (probably in Boston as he was living there in 1856) February 24, 1890. He married Eliza Dunn of Randolph Massachusetts or Shirley, Massachusetts June 4 or 14, 1830. She died March 2, 1875. They had six children.
George8 Dunn Capen was the son and fourth child of William and Rebecca. There is more detal of his life elsewhere in this genealogy and of the succeeding generations. I would like to add here that George's sister, Mary, the eldest child in the family was my mother's Aunt Mary Baker (great-aunt really) who travelled to Europe often and brought back the Corelli paintings, the Italian pottery basket, the Japanese bowl on the sideboard, that I have and lots of other lovely things. As I remeber, mother said some things she bought to sell to finance her trips.
All the information and the quotes in this treatise are from the book "Descendants of Bernard Capen of Dorchester, Mass," compiled by Rev. Charles Albert hayden, Revised by Jessie Hale Tuttle, 1929. Printed by Augsbury Pub. House, Minneapolis
.