Latest revision as of 12:33, June 6, 2015

Biography of Francis Chaplin 1628-1680

His Family

Sir Francis was born 20 Feb 1628 in Bury St Edmunds, to Elizabeth and Robert Chaplin. Robert Chaplin (b.1602-d.1648) of Bury St. Edmunds, was a woollen draper and a Captain in the Parliamentary Army. His Mother, Elizabeth Astye b.1602- d.1657 married Robert on 12th May 1627. They had seven children, Francis b.1627/8, Robert b.1629, b. Anne 1633 (died young), Elizabeth b.1634 (died young), Susan b.1635 (no record of death), Anne b.1637 (no record of death) and b.Elizabeth 1641 (no record of death).
Sir Francis Chaplin’s grandparents on both sides had been close acquaintances thus marrying two of the Astye (mother’s family line) daughters into the Chaplin family. Francis Chaplin married Anne Hutt, daughter of Daniel Hutt of Essex. They had three sons and two daughters. He was described as a clothier of Thames Street, St. Botolph, Billingsgate, London, and he was an alderman of London from 1668 until his death in 1680, a Sheriff of London in 1669 and also Lord Mayor of London 1677–1678. Sir Francis became a prosperous London merchant. Sir Francis died on 27 Jun 1680 at Berey Street, London and was buried at St Catherine Cree, London. He left estates in Suffolk, Wiltshire and Jamaica and over £1,000 in personal property, including stock in the Royal African Company. His son John Chaplin succeeded his father in 1680.

Francis Chaplin

Francis Chaplin started out as a citizen and cloth worker of London, by the time he was in his forties he had become the Mayor of London as well as a purveyor to the parliamentary army. He had worked his way up in this role as for 10 years previous to him becoming Mayor he was a Sherriff of London. Francis was an active member of the laws and governance of London, acting as a witness and overseer on many cases and crimes from those that had happened at sea and those which happened in the city. In my bibliography you will find several online books which contain cases and testimonials of Francis Chaplin’s involvement in law and order in the city of London in the seventeenth century. His eldest son, John Chaplin, followed in his footsteps and became a part of the parliamentary army as well as Sherriff.

The Chaplin’s became a family of landed gentry spread around the UK but mostly in Suffolk and Lincolnshire. The family built up various connection with local aristocracy as well as this Francis Chaplin built up a great relationship with the aristocracy in London allowing his sons to be able to find work when they came of age, through these connections. Francis became a wealthy man in his later life and lived comfortably. One of the properties that Chaplin acquired early in his life was Tathwell through marriage. Also Hampfort Lodge was sold to Sir Francis Chaplin and he then passed his properties to his sons.

Coat of Arms

Chaplin earned a coat of arms in 1668, for his work within parliament and as Mayor, however the legacy of the coat of arms was discontinued after the death of Francis Chapin. There is no explanation as to why the arms was diminished only that is was the order of the Earl Marshal on November 3rd 1680 only several months after Francis' death. By the complaint of John Chaplin (Francis’s eldest son) to the King, the arms were reinstated to his family and his heirs on the 24th March 1688.

Written by Emilie Farrimond.

Bibliography

The Gentleman's Magazine (London, England). F. Jefferies.
Anon. Lord Mayors of the City of London. 2015; Available at: http://www.barryoneoff.co.uk/mayors.html. Accessed 01/09, 2015.
Anon. ancestory.com, selected families and individuals, Chaplin. 2015; Available at: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~hwbradley/aqwg2995.htm. Accessed 03/15, 2015.
Anon. The Descendants of Robert Chaplin, circa 1504. Fifth Generation. 2007; Available at: http://www.airgale.com.au/chaplin/d5.htm#i4585. Accessed 04/05, 2015.
Caldwell MS. Michael S. Caldwell's Genealogy Database as of 10 February 2015. 2015; Available at: http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=michaelscaldwell&id=I45850. Accessed 03/14, 2015.
Geni. Lord Mayors of London. 2014; Available at: http://www.geni.com/projects/Lord-Mayors-of-London/6047. Accessed 08/08, 2014.
Gripentog, B. H. Days Of Yore: The Ancestry of Wallace Pratt Hamby And Vesta Lancaster. Xlibris Corporation. Pp 35-45
Strype J. A Survey of The cities of London and Westminster. 2007; Available at: http://www.hrionline.ac.uk/strype/TransformServlet?page=book5_149. Accessed 04/05, 2015.