Israel Chapin (4 Dec 1740,

Hatfield, Massachusetts Hatfield is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,352 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The census-designated place of Hatfield consists o ...

– 7 Mar 1795,

Canandaigua, New York Canandaigua () is a city in Ontario County, New York, United States. Its population was 10,576 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Ontario County; some administrative offices are at the county complex in the adjacent town of Hopewell. ...

) was a general in the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

and later Deputy Agent to the Five Nations of Indians.

Revolutionary War

Chapin served as captain of the Hatfield Militia at Boston and Lexington. He fought at the

Battles of Saratoga The Battles of Saratoga (September 19 and October 7, 1777) were two battles between the American Continental Army and the British Army fought near Saratoga, New York, concluding the Saratoga campaign in the American Revolutionary War. The seco ...

as a major, as colonel of the Second Regiment of Hampshire County Militia, and as a brigadier general following the Invasion of Quebec.

Post-war

Chapin was involved in negotiating the

Phelps and Gorham Purchase The Phelps and Gorham Purchase was the sale, in 1788, of a portion of a large tract of land in western New York State owned by the Seneca nation of the Iroquois Confederacy to a syndicate of land developers led by Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel Gor ...

Western New York Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all so ...

in 1788. The following year he settled in Canandaigua. In 1792 Secretary of War

Henry Knox Henry Knox (July 25, 1750 – October 25, 1806) was an American military officer, politician, bookseller, and a Founding Father of the United States. Knox, born in Boston, became a senior general of the Continental Army during the Revolutionar ...

appointed Chapin "General Agent for Indian Affairs of the United States." In this capacity he oversaw the negotiations for the

Treaty of Canandaigua The Treaty of Canandaigua (or Konondaigua, as spelled in the treaty itself), also known as the Pickering Treaty and the Calico Treaty, is a treaty signed after the American Revolutionary War between the Grand Council of the Six Nations and Presi ...

, which was signed in November 1794. He died shortly after and is buried in Pioneer Cemetery in Canandaigua. Among others the

Seneca Seneca may refer to: People, fictional characters and language * Seneca (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname : :* Seneca the Elder (c. 54 BC – c. AD 39), a Roman rhetorician, writer and father ...

chief

Red Jacket Red Jacket (known as ''Otetiani'' lways Readyref name=parkerxxiii>Parker 1952, Preface p. xxiii. in his youth and ''Sagoyewatha'' eeper Awake''Sa-go-ye-wa-tha'' as an adult because of his oratorical skills) ( – January 20, 1830) was a Senec ...

spoke at his funeral, saying "Brothers, we have lost a good friend. The Six Nations weep with the United States."

Personal

Israel Chapin married Elizabeth Marsh around 1763. The couple had seven children, among them Captain Israel Chapin Jr. (1763–1833), who succeeded his father as Superintendent of Indian Affairs. Chapin's granddaughter Clarissa was the wife of US Representative

John Greig John Greig (born 11 September 1942) is a Scottish former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football), defender. He spent his entire career with Rangers F.C., Rangers, as a player, manager and d ...

References

1740 births 1795 deaths Militia generals in the American Revolution People from Ontario County, New York {{NewYork-bio-stub