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Author: Bonnie, bonniegaia@earthlink.net
Title:
Date: 04 January 2004
Curator: Christine Fisher
Note: This email from Bonnie was in reply to my original email, On Sunday, January 4, 2004, at 05:49 PM, Chris Fisher wrote: My research leads me to believe that this is my ancestor…as far back as I can go thus far. Is there any way you can help me confirm this? My records indicate that James Draper was married to Miriam (Stanfield) and they came from Heptonstall, Yorkshire, England. I would so much appreciate any input you can give. Chris Fisher

Hi Chris,
You caught me at a rough time — what with my Mom in a sudden drastic downturn of health — she had to go to a SNF and I am now packing up her apartment…. However, I can send you my notes on James Draper. If these lead you to some new discoveries, I sure would appreciate knowing. Also, might you let me know which child of his you descend from? My line is James1, James 2, Gideon3, Gideon4, Abigail5 (DRAPER) m Johann Casper ELSTER.

Good luck — again, please let me know if you learn anything new!
Bonnie
Oakland, California

Bonnie’s notes on James (1) DRAPER:
‘ALT birthdate: Wm Mallory gives 21 Apr 1618, Heptonstall

The emigrant ancestor of this family was JAMES, son of William and Grace (MITCHELL) Draper of the Priory of Heptonstall, Yorkshire Co. England. [Frank Doherty, Settlers of Beekman Patent, 1997]
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Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2000
From: “Elwyn D. Draper” To: DRAPER-L@rootsweb.com
Subject: Re: James Draper – Eng & MA

You are inquiring about James “the Puritan” Draper, widely regarded as the progenitor of most Drapers in the United States today. In the 1892 book, Drapers in America, by Thomas Waln-Morgan Draper, the children of James and Miriam Stansfield were:
Miriam,
Susanna,
Sarah,
James,
John,
Moses,
Daniel,
Patience, and
Jonathan.
Dates for James are given as b. Heptonstall, Halifax, Yorkshire Co., England, 1618; d. Roxbury, MA, Jul 1694; marr. Heptonstall, 21 Apr 1646 to Miriam Stansfield, b. Heptonstall, 27 Nov 1625, d. Roxbury, MA, Jan 1697.

Because the author was tracing Drapers, he did not pursue very far along the females’ lines. However, I can give you what he has on Sarah: b. Roxbury, MA 1652, marr. 19 May 1669 to James Hadlock.
Child: Sarah b. Roxbury, MA 16 Dec 1670. Baptized as an adult, 24 Oct 1686. Marr. ca. 1686, John Marcy. They had 8 sons and 3 daughters.

Although I have significant data on many Draper lines, I have not followed the female children of James and Miriam.

James’ father was Thomas. <<<<<<<<<<>

Do you have proof of the parentage?

I am curious since The Settlers of Beekman Patent, Dutchess Co, NY by Frank J. Doherty (1997) gives James as the son of William and Grace (Mitchell) Draper of the Priory of Heptonstall, Yorkshire. This book (p 471) has different dates for James’ birth and death also: born 28 July 1622, and died 13 July 1697, Roxbury. There is agreement on the marriage date of 21 Apr 1646 at Heptonstall to Miriam, this source saying her parents were Gideon and Grace (Eastwood) Stanfield.

Does anyone have copies of parish registers or other proof of which dates are correct?

–Bonnie in Oakland CA
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Re: James “The Puritan” Draper
Posted by: Dorothy Shillinglaw Date: February 22, 1999
In Reply to: Re: James “The Puritan” Draper by Dan Draper, Jr. of 1347
Re confusion about James DRAPER’s death date: Clarence Almon Torrey commented on this in his article ìThe English Ancestry of James Draper,î which appeared on page 236 of The American Genealogist, Vol. XV (1938-1939). He discussed the conflicting evidence on page 241 of this article, which contains a wealth of information and is well worth reading. Torrey believed the 13 July 1697 date of death in Roxbury town records was probably correct as James Sr. deeded land to his son James Jr. 13 March 1697 (Suffolk County, Mass., Deeds, Vol. 38, Folio 193).
James DRAPER Sr. (1622-1697) and Miriam Stansfield (1625-1700/01, see same article) were my husband’s 6th great-grandparents; Jonathan Draper and Sarah Jackson were his 5th great-grandparents; and I would certainly value information gleaned from the cemetery in West Roxbury.– sdshillinglaw@prodigy.net

~~~~~~~Re: Father of James “The Puritan” Draper
Posted by: Dan Draper, Jr. Date: April 02, 1999
In Reply to: Re: Father of James “The Puritan” Draper by Dorothy Shillinglaw of 1347
Dorothy, I have closely read and studied Clarence Almon Torrey’s article, “The English Ancestry of James Draper,” which appears on Pages 236-242 of THE AMERICAN GENEALOGIST, Vol. XV (1938-39). I have also studied every other bit of other information that I could find on this subject. Mr. Torrey’s article does offer compelling evidence gleaned from legal documents and Heptonstall Parish Records.
Although my family has thought for decades that Thomas and Grace (Newall) Draper were the parents of James “The Puritan” Draper, I am now convinced otherwise.
IT CLEARLY APPEARS TO ME THAT THOMAS AND GRACE (NEWALL) DRAPER WERE THE GRANDPARENTS OF JAMES “THE PURITAN,” AND THAT HIS PARENTS WERE WILLIAM AND GRACE (MITCHELL) DRAPER.
If anyone has any documentary evidence to the contrary, I would certainly like to have an opportunity to review it.
For those Draper descendants who do not share the conclusion that many of us have reached, I would strongly suggest that you read Mr. Torrey’s article. If you do not have easy access to the article, send me your snail mail address and I will forward you a copy.
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Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2001
From: “Elwyn D. Draper” To: DRAPER-L@rootsweb.com
Subject: Re: Drapers in America book

Hi Bev,
I have a copy of the 1892 Drapers in America (DIA) book.
The earliest Draper written up is James “the Puritan”, who married Mariam Stansfield. James is listed as the 4th s. and child of Thomas Draper of Priory of Heptonstall, Vicarage of Halifax, Yorkshire Co., England.

James is the immigrant progenitor of many American Drapers. There is some controversy over whether Thomas was the father or grandfather of James. To date, I have not seen compelling evidence to contradict the parentage set forth in DIA.

I have detailed many of the descendants of Gideon Draper (grandson of James the Puritan) on my website, the Draper-tree.

I am willing to look up some information in DIA for you, and would of course welcome any additions or corrections to the information on the website.

Elwyn D. Draper
drapertree@yahoo.com

Visit the Draper-tree at www.geocities.com/draper-tree.
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Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2001
From: johndraper@webtv.net (John Draper)
To: DRAPER-L@rootsweb.com

Subject: Re; Drapers in America book

Elwyn,
I, too have been perplexed about the ancestry of James “The Puritan.” However, I have found the article by Clarence Torrey titled “the English Ancestry of James Draper” published in volume 15, 1938-39 of The American Genealogist to be compelling.
This article concludes that the father of James was William and that Thomas was the grandfather of James.
Sincerely,
John