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

cabinetmaker A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves and/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 (s ...

, singing-school teacher,

shapenote Shape notes are a musical notation designed to facilitate congregational and social singing. The notation, introduced in late 18th century England, became a popular teaching device in American singing schools. Shapes were added to the noteh ...

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 Defi ...

Biography

Chapin was born in

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

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 capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

from 1788 until 1791, when he moved to

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

. 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 Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

and

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

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

Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania Mount Pleasant is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. It stands 45 miles (72 km) southeast of Pittsburgh. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the borough's population was 4,454 ...

, 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 t ...

, 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 part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

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 state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

and

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, before moving to

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

and then

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. 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 social singing. The notation, introduced in late 18th century England, became a popular teaching device in American singing schools. Shapes were added to the noteh ...

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), informally the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada and posed a significant barrier to land travel in less devel ...

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

Sacred Harp Sacred Harp singing is a tradition of sacred choral music that originated in New England and was later perpetuated and carried on in the American South. The name is derived from ''The Sacred Harp'', a ubiquitous and historically important tune ...

'') 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, first published in 1835. The book is notable for having originated or popularized several hymn tunes found in modern hymnals and sha ...

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

Shenandoah Harmony The Shenandoah Harmony is a 2013 republication of the works of Ananias Davisson (1780–1857) and other composers of his era, in the format used by modern shape note singing groups. Although a number of new shape note tune books were compiled and ...

'' (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