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 of t ...

–7 Mar 1795,

Canandaigua, New York Canandaigua (; ''Utaʼnaráhkhwaʼ'' in Tuscarora language, Tuscarora) is a City (New York), city in Ontario County, New York, United States. Its population was 10,545 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Ontario County; some administrat ...

) was a general in the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

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) marked the climax of the Saratoga campaign, giving a decisive victory to the Americans over the British in the American Revolutionary War. British General John Burgoyne led an invasion ...

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 purchase in 1788 of of land in what is now western New York State from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for $1,000,000 ( £300,000), to be paid in three annual installments, and the pre-emptive right to th ...

Western New York Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of 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 sources agree WNY in ...

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

Henry Knox Henry Knox (July 25, 1750 – October 25, 1806), a Founding Father of the United States, was a senior general of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, serving as chief of artillery in most of Washington's campaigns. Following the ...

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 Preside ...

, 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 and language * Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname * Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America ** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people Places Extrat ...

chief

Red Jacket Red Jacket (known as ''Otetiani'' in his youth and ''Sagoyewatha'' eeper Awake''Sa-go-ye-wa-tha'' as an adult because of his oratorical skills) (c. 1750–January 20, 1830) was a Seneca people, Seneca orator and Tribal chief, chief of the Wolf ...

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.

References

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