Joan Capen

Arrived in America on July 24, 1633 on the "Mary & John"

Joan Purchase, dau. of Oliver Purchase, b. in England on a date and at a place unproved. She d. Mar. 25, 1653 at Dorchester, Mass., Æ 75, meaning she was then 74 years old.

In 1907 Julia Evans (Stone) Neil published "From Generation to Generation, The Genealogies of Dwight Stone and Olive Evans." This bare-bones work provides no source for the claim that "Joane Purchis," wife of Bernard Capen, was born March 25, 1578. The lack of a source suggests it was copied from some other printed work, but the memorialist cannot find in the literature this specific date with or without citation.

According to the fly-leaf of a bible printed in 1615 apparently once owned by her descendant [NEHGR 2:80]:

• Joan Capen, ye daughter of Oleuer Purchis dyed ye 26 of March, 1653, ye night before, aged 75 yeers.

Joan's replacement gravestone is based on the above bible entry, but on its face the actual entry can only be interpreted as she died the night before the 26th of March 1653, or on the 25th not the 26th.

The children of Joan Purchase and Bernard Capen are outlined in their father's memorial.

Family links:

Spouse:

 Barnard Capen (1563 - 1638)*

Children:

 James Capen (1598 - 1628)*

 Susannah Capen Rockwell Grant (1602 - 1666)*

 Dorothy Capen Upshall (1603 - 1675)*

 Elizabeth Capen Swift (1611 - 1678)*

 John Capen (1613 - 1692)*

 Honor Capen Hannum (1616 - 1680)*

*Calculated relationship

Inscription: Here lies the bodies of Mr Barnard Capen & Mrs Joan Capen his wife; He died Nov 8, 1638 Aged 76 years & She died March 26 [sic], 1653: Aged 75 years.

On the day Joan died she was 74 years old and Ætatis (i.e., Æ, "Aged," in the XX year of her Age) 75.

Burial: Dorchester North Burying Ground Dorchester Suffolk County Massachusetts, USA

Maintained by: Don Blauvelt Originally Created by: Bonnie Weller Record added: Jan 22, 2002 Find A Grave Memorial# 6108090

1/10/2015 Looked further into the story on Barnard's notes and if you read # vi, there is reference to a relation to President CALVIN COOLIDGE. I tried to find Calvin Coolidge on findagrave.com so I could drill back, but initial search did not pan out. I did however find a site that traced the ancestry of famous people (famouskin.com) and it gave me Calvin Coolidge...if you drill down deep enough, sure enough, there is listed Joan Capen, wife of Barnard. See the following from that site:

Ancestry of Calvin Coolidge

30th U.S. President

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

⇐ Prev Generation | ⇐ Calvin Coolidge

Joan Purchase 11th Generation — 8th Great-grandmother of Calvin Coolidge

Ahnentafel No:

1465 

Father:

 Oliver Purchase       

Mother:

 Thomasine Harris       

  Birth Date:

ABT 1578 

Birth Location:

Christening Date:
Christening Location:
Death Date:

26 Mar 1653 

Death Location:

Dorchester (now Boston), Suffolk, Massachusetts 

Burial Date:

Burial Location:
Spouse Name:

 Bernard Capen of Dorchester, Dorsetshire, England   

Marriage Date:

31 May 1596 

Marriage Location:

Child:

 Capt. John Capen    

Sources for Joan Purchase 1 American Ancestors Magazine, 2013, Vol. 14.2, p. 19, New England Historic Genealogical Society (Online Database). 2 New England Historical and Genealogical Register, (New England Historic and Genealogical Society), 1848, Vol. 2, Page 80. 3 Anderson, Robert Charles, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Vol. 1, A-F, Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society (1995), 309. 4 Dillon, Arthur Orison, The Ancestors of Arthur Orison Dillon and his Poems, Pomona, California: Printed by the Progress Publishing Company (1927), 16, Heritage Quest (Digital Library).

Joan Purchase, dau. of Oliver Purchase, b. in England. She d. Mar. 25, 1653 at Dorchester, Mass., Æ 75, meaning she was then 74 years old.

In 1907 Julia Evans (Stone) Neil published From Generation to Generation, The Genealogies of Dwight Stone and Olive Evans. This bare-bones work provides no source for the claim that "Joane Purchis," wife of Bernard Capen, was born March 25, 1578. The lack of a source suggests it was copied from some other printed work, but the memorialist cannot find in the literature this or any other purported date with or without citation. Her gravestone infers she was born AFTER Mar. 25, 1578.

According to the fly-leaf of a bible printed in 1615 apparently once owned by her descendant [NEHGR 2:80]:

• Joan Capen, ye daughter of Oleuer Purchis dyed ye 26 of March, 1653, ye night before, aged 75 yeers.

Joan's replacement gravestone is based on the above bible entry, but on its face the actual entry can only be interpreted as she died the night before the 26th of March 1653; i.e., on the 25th not the 26th.

Further, throughout North America prior to the early 1800s one's age in town records, in depositions and at death written in gravestone inscriptions was based on the Latin phrase "Ætatis suæ" versus the modern concept of chronological age. This was represented by the symbol "Æ," the word "Aged" with ending d, or the phrase "in the XX year of his/her age." This concept of age begins on the day of birth, which is the first day of the first year of a person's age. Thus, on the day Joan died she was 74 years old, but also Ætatis suæ (i.e., Æ, "Aged," in the XX year of her Age) 75, indicating she was born AFTER Mar. 25, 1578.

The children of Joan Purchase and Bernard Capen are outlined in their father's memorial.

Edited 7/4/2015

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6108090

Joan Purchase, dau. of Oliver Purchase, b. in England. She d. Mar. 25, 1653 at Dorchester, Mass., Æ 75, meaning she was then 74 years old.

In 1907 Julia Evans (Stone) Neil published From Generation to Generation, The Genealogies of Dwight Stone and Olive Evans. This bare-bones work provides no source for the claim that "Joane Purchis," wife of Bernard Capen, was born March 25, 1578. The lack of a source suggests it was copied from some other printed work, but the memorialist cannot find in the literature this or any other purported date with or without citation. Her gravestone infers she was born AFTER Mar. 25, 1578.

According to the fly-leaf of a bible printed in 1615 apparently once owned by her descendant [NEHGR 2:80]:

• Joan Capen, ye daughter of Oleuer Purchis dyed ye 26 of March, 1653, ye night before, aged 75 yeers.

Joan's replacement gravestone is based on the above bible entry, but on its face the actual entry can only be interpreted as she died the night before the 26th of March 1653; i.e., on the 25th not the 26th.

Further, throughout North America prior to the early 1800s one's age in town records, in depositions and at death written in gravestone inscriptions was based on the Latin phrase "Ætatis suæ" versus the modern concept of chronological age. This was represented by the symbol "Æ," the word "Aged" with ending d, or the phrase "in the XX year of his/her age." This concept of age begins on the day of birth, which is the first day of the first year of a person's age. Thus, on the day Joan died she was 74 years old, but also Ætatis suæ (i.e., Æ, "Aged," in the XX year of her Age) 75, indicating she was born AFTER Mar. 25, 1578.

The children of Joan Purchase and Bernard Capen are outlined in their father's memorial.

Edited 7/4/2015 Inscription: Here lies the bodies of Mr Barnard Capen & Mrs Joan Capen his wife; He died Nov 8, 1638 Aged 76 years & She died March 26 [sic], 1653: Aged 75 years.

On the day Joan died she was 74 years old and Ætatis suæ (i.e., Æ, "Aged," in the XX year of her Age) 75, indicating she was born AFTER Mar. 25, 1578.

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Jan 12 2017, 19:33:45 UTC