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Classification: Query
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Hi Linda: My father was born Sydney Chapin Feb 23rd 1875 on Wards Island in the East
river, New York City. In 1896 when he was 21 he got a lot of money from his family, and
just took off to join the British Army in South Africa in time to fight in what was called
the "Matabelee War" since he had money, he hung around till the Boer War of
1899-1902 in which he fought in, prior to that, he did march in Queen Victoria's
Diamood Jubilee parade of 1897. He married his first wife in 1902 and had 4 children. He
bummed around the world, one of his children was born in Guatamala. He must have been a
very restless person and evidently missed army life and combat, because as soon as the
first war broke out in 1914, he rushed off to England and joined the army again.(He was in
Canada at the time) He spent the next 4 years in France in the trenches, he had his left
eye blown out in 1915 but that didnt seem to bother him, as he drove a car for the rest of
his life. Sometime in 1918 he mar!
ried another women, I dont think he divorced his first, had two children by her.
Around 1926 he up and married my mother, I'm sure not bothering to divorce his second
wife if he was even legally married to her. I dont think he legally married my mother.
I only knew an elderly man as my father, but at least I had him for 20 years. He died in
London in 1952 age 77. I'm the youngest of three children born 1932. My father would
be 130 next month. My mother died 1937 age 32, he was 30 years older than her, she was
English as I am.
My father never wanted to return to the USA or to keep in contact his family and never
spoke about his previous wives or children. On his death, I got all his papers and it took
me years to track down all the children of his previous two wives. I only just recently
found a sister age 81 from his second wife, she knew absolutely nothing about him, and
made a special trip down from Toronto Canada to meet me and ask a million questions. It
seems there was a brother also who never knew his father and died in Australia. I finally
traced a daughter from his first marriage, she was in her 90's, and before I had a
real chance to communicate with her, she died. She also lived in Canada in Victoria,
British Columbia. But I am in contact with her grandaughter who also wants to know all
about her Great grandfather.
Because of my fathers connections in the USA, he got me and my brother (Since killed as a
policeman in 1953) and my sister (Still lives in England) evacuated out of the bombing in
London in 1942. I stayed with a nice family in New Jersey, but returned to England in
1945, after my service in the army and the death of my father, I went to Canada. But the
winters were so cold, I one day just got in my car in 1956 (I was single) and drove south
to West Palm Beach, Florida and have been here ever since.
I forgot to mention that for all the years that my father stayed away from the USA (He
never became a citizen of England) he just had to be buried in Greenwood cemetary in New
York City with all his family.
So all I have of my fathers to share with my other relatives of his previous life are
papers, memories, photos and a whole slew of medals (Which my kids are fighting over) He
started out as a trooper in a cavalry regiment to become a Lt. Col.
Well I seem to gone on and on. But now I'm still here in the West Palm Beach area with
my second wife of 35 years named Cynthia (Shes from Maine) shes 55 this year, I'm 19
years older than her. We have two children, and the three by my first wife (We're
still friends) most live around this immediate vicinity along with 5 grandchildren from 6
months to 8 years, we see them daily (Three other grandchildren live in Jacksonville,
which we visit often) 7 are grandaughters and only one grandson(4).
Maybe Joel did some of the things that my father did, it was easy back in my fathers day
to get away with bigamy, I'm sure it was easier in Joel's day if thats what he
did. I unraveled my fathers past lives, but I had papers and photos and modern
communication, even so it took years, I only found my sister in Canada in 2003, it took 51
years to find her. only made progress when the internet came into use, prior to that,
plain old letters by mail.
I will continue to dig into Thankful and Gratia, as I said before, West Palm Beach has an
excellent genealogy library.Maybe theres an Ackley or Warner family book, they have
hundreds of books on family names.
Keep in touch. Montague
I did want to mention that regardless of the secret life my father led, in the years that
I knew him, he was a kindly, loving man with a great sense of humor, especially with the
games he would play with his glass eye, and after 53 years, I still miss him,