As the town grew some new people came who were not signers of the original
covenant and were not children of the covenant signers. So Pastor Spaulding
with the consent of the congregation admitted them as half-way members based
upon a "revelation." [It sounds as if this was a testimony or oral
confession of some kind made by newcomers that they had had a revelation and
were true believers in God or had had some definite "experience"]....All went
well until a new pastor came. He could not find the copy of the Church
Covenant so he said that he would not be able to baptize any children nor
admit new members since they would not know what they were joining or
agreeing to.
Hours of discussion and many meetings followed. He said he could not in good
faith baptize the children of the half-way members, since they were not part
of the original covenant. So those who were members on the half-way relation
were not to offer their children for baptism for the space of six weeks.
Finally on July 4, 1793 three fourths of the half way brethren agreed to the
following faith statement: We who heretofore have been indulged the Church
at Tewksbury in approaching to and receiving the sacrament of baptism on
owning the sacrament as it is--being rationally convinced that the sacrament
of the New Testament and the Lord's Supper are holy sacraments and belong
tot he holy in heart in distinction from the unbelieving and unrepentant part
of mankind and being rationally convinced that the Word of God requires
persons to have within themselves and to manifest to the church some rational
evidence they are born of the spirit and therefore holy in heart, before they
have any right to request either of the holy sacraments and they be in
different views of those things from what had been when we owned the covenant
and received for our children the sacraments...and those views being as we
have now reason to think more agreeable to the world of God then those which
we formerly had, we do therefore propose to the church in Tewksbury on our
part we agree that in future we will not for either of the sacraments. 21
Names signed here. The Chapmans kept a low profile in this, even on the
matter of abating brother Corey for his wickedness for the space of one
year.....
There was much heated discussion and objection that this would nullify the
previous covenant. Things became so rancorous that the discussion ceased
until August of 1793 when the pastor read it again for a vote with the same
objections by the same people. Eventually it was watered down to where the
person did not have to have "a revelation" nor claim the covenant by being a
child or grandchild of the founders. The discussion then was that no child
should be baptized who could not have a revelation or a rational opinion as
to the truth of the covenant. In fact, this group studied scripture and
could find no evidence nor place for baptism of infants. This was a very
painful time and..... 42 persons left and formed the First Baptist Church of
Tewksbury. Up until now the town votes and rules had all been made as part
of the church. Levies and fines were imposed and people were assessed so
much to pay for the communion elements,etc. Thus began the secularization
of government in Tewksbury.
The Chapmans remained as members of the First Church for as long as we found
records.
John and Martha Perley had a daughter Elizabeth Nov 19, 1741
John the son of Davis and Mary was born Dec 9, 1749
Martha daughter of John and Martha was born Augu 10, 1743
Nathaniel son of John was baptised Aug 16, 1750. (He had been born Sept 13,
1746)
Martha died of consumption at Tewksbury on Feb 22, 1753. She was 48 years ,5
months and 18 days old..
Martha Perly Boardman Chapman said she named her eldest son for her father
John Perley. John Perley CHAPMAN drowned in the lake on his return from His
Majesty's service on Sept 8,1758. He was 18 years 9 months and 28 days old.
Nathaniel her younger son was named for her lost love, Nathaniel Boardman, to
whom she had been married only a few months.
After her death, John married Mrs. Martha Hunt.
Patty their daughter was born Feb 7, 1757.
Mary daughter of John and Martha was born April 7, 1759.
Martha Hunt lived until April 27, 1786, but John had died of self induced
small pox inoculation Jan 23, 1761 at the age of 46 y and 18 das.
Sometime after the death of his father, Nathaniel Chapman was in Leominster
Mass where he met and married Elizabeth Simonds and fathered two surviving
children: Elizabeth Chapman Rudd and Johnny "Appleseed".
I have a marriage for Patty Chapman at the Tewksbury Church to Joseph
Richardson of Billerica the intentions were published Dec 27, 1774. It does
not say if she is the daughter of Martha Hunt and John or not.
There is a marriage also for Mary Chapman of Tewksbury to Jonathon Davis of
Bellerica. The intentions are published Dec 16, 1782.
So which of the Chapmans were left at Tewksbury to have the 1790 house?
Davis and Mary were gone and the Chapman daughters were all married, with the
possible exception of Elizabeth, the eldest. Perley had died and Nathaniel
had fought in the Revolution and was living by this time with his new wife,
Lucy Cooley in Longmeadow.
Martha Hunt was the widow of the one of the town's wealthier men before she
married John Chapman and this house could have been something she lived in
until her death and perhaps maintained by one of the daughters?
In 1790 this would have been a very commodious house.
We visited all the cemeteries in Tewksbury and spent time at their beautiful
library with little results, but people who tried to be very helpful. The
suggestion was that perhaps the old cemetery we were looking for was in
Lowell or one of the neighboring jurisdictions which have all changed.
We were using the book of cemeteries of Massachusetts towns and the cemetery
where the Chapmans had been buried was not on any map or list for the town
that could be found.
My son went to the mayor's office without my knowledge and asked her what she
knew of the CHAPMANS. She said she had heard of the Chapmans but had never
heard of Johnny Appleseed. This scandalized my son who is still recuperating
from this revelation!
Judy