Amzi Chapin (1768–19 February 1835) was an American

cabinetmaker A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves or drawers for storing or displaying items. Some cabinets are stand alone while others are built in to a wall or are attached to it like a medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood (solid ...

, singing-school teacher,

shapenote Shape notes are a musical notation designed to facilitate congregational and social singing. The notation became a popular teaching device in American singing schools during the 19th century. Shapes were added to the noteheads in written mu ...

proponent and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

Biography

Chapin was born in

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

into a family of cabinet-makers. His father was Edward Chapin (1724–1800) of Chicopee MA. He had four older brothers (Aaron, Lucius, Alpheus and Edward), and a younger sister and brother (Eunice and Calvin). The family is believed to be of Puritan descent. Chapin worked in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

from 1788 until 1791, when he moved to

New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...

. Thereafter he embarked on a career as an itinerant singing teacher, composer and cabinetmaker in the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

and

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

. Chapin married Hannah Power, daughter of Rev. James Power, on 10 October 1800 in

Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania Mount Pleasant is a borough in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. It stands 45 miles (72 km) southeast of Pittsburgh. As of the 2020 census, the borough's population was 4,245. The Borough of Mount Pleasant, consisting of t ...

, where he taught and farmed for the next thirty years. They had eight children including six daughters named Mary Jane, Eunice, Eliza, Rebecca and Hannah. All moved to Northfield except Mary who died in Pennsylvania at age 30. In 1831 Amzi, his wife Hannah and daughters Hannah and Rebecca moved to Ohio. Their married children followed later A. Chapin's Journal

Northfield, Ohio Northfield is a village in northern Summit County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,541 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Akron metropolitan area. History A post office called Northfield has been in operation since 1837. Some say ...

, becoming some of the pioneers of Northfield Township. In November 1831 Amzi Chapin wrote the original proposal and is listed along with eight other men founders of the

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

congregation in Northfield Twp. He died there on 19 February 1835.

Music

Chapin taught singing schools in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

and

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, before moving to

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

and then

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. He was a proponent of Andrew Law's four-note method of

shape note Shape notes are a musical notation designed to facilitate congregational and Sing-along, social singing. The notation became a popular teaching device in American singing schools during the 19th century. Shapes were added to the noteheads in ...

notation. Lucius Chapin was also a singing teacher, and the two were apparently among the first to teach sacred music west of the

Allegheny Mountains The Allegheny Mountain Range ( ) — also spelled Alleghany or Allegany, less formally the Alleghenies — is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada. Historically it represented a significant barr ...

. The well-known tune "Primrose" (47t in the ''

Sacred Harp Sacred Harp singing is a tradition of sacred choral music which developed in New England and perpetuated in the American South. The name is derived from ''The Sacred Harp'', a historically important shape notes, shape-note tunebook printed in ...

'') is by Amzi Chapin, while Lucius contributed "Vernon" (95) and the Ninety-Third Psalm (31t). "Olney" and "Rockingham" (63 and 300b in the ''

Southern Harmony The ''Southern Harmony, and Musical Companion'' is a shape note hymn and tune book compiled by William Walker (composer), William Walker, first published in 1835. The book is notable for having originated or popularized several hymn tunes foun ...

'') are credited to "Chapin". The ''

Shenandoah Harmony The Shenandoah Harmony is a 2013 publication including the works of Ananias Davisson (1780–1857) and other composers of his era, in the format used by modern shape note singing groups, in addition to contemporary compositions and tunes from othe ...

'' (2013) has reprinted 7 other tunes or arrangements by Amzi (including the popular ''Psalm 30'' (22b), one by Lucius, and one by Amzi or Lucius.

Bibliography

*Mary O. Eddy, "Three Early Hymn Writers" in ''Southern Folklore Quarterly'', Vol. 10, no. 3 (Sept. 1946): 177–82, on Amzi Chapin (1768–1835), Samuel Wakefield (1799–1895), and Amos Sutton Hayden (1813–1880) *David C. Thomas and Peter Benes, "Amzi Chapin: A New England Cabinetmaker Singing and Working in the South and Trans-Appalachian West" in ''Rural New England Furniture: People, Place, and Production'', ed. Peter Benes (Boston University Press, Boston, 2000), pp. 76–99 *J. W. Scholten, ''The Chapins: a Study of Men and Sacred Music West of the Alleghenies, 1795–1842'' (dissertation, University of Michigan, 1972)

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chapin, Amzi American male composers American composers Shape note 1768 births 1835 deaths Musicians from Springfield, Massachusetts People from Northfield, Ohio