James Draper was born to William Draper* in Heptonstall, England. There appears to be no valid basis for the 1618 birth year posited by Thomas W. Draper. [1] Evidently Mr. T. W. Draper read the tombstone's date of death incorrectly as 1691 and subtracted the age at death of "about" 73 years to come up with 1618, but the Roxbury Town Record proves that the real year of death was 1697, which is also validated by careful examination of the tombstone.
It is not true that "James, in his own writing, said that he was the son of Thomas," as suggested in a prior version of this biography. Rather, it was James' son John Draper who said in a deposition that his grandfather was Thomas Draper. However, John Draper never knew his grandfather, much less his great-grandfather, so this error is understandable.
James Draper (1622 - 1697), called in the family records "The Puritan," came to this country, as nearly as can be ascertained, in the year 1648, accompanied by his wife, Miriam Stanfield Draper. He is mentioned in the public records in 1654 as one of the proprietors of the newly laid out town of Lancaster. He, however, did not settle there, but remained in Roxbury, where he built a house, which stood until it was destroyed by fire about 1870. In an inventory of his estate appears an item of "looms and tacklin," he having carried on a weaving business, employing about a dozen looms.
James Draper was born in Heptonstall, Yorkshire, England in or about 1622. He married Miriam Stansfield in Heptonstall on 21 Apr 1646.[2] His name is listed as "Jacobi" Draper - that being the Latin genitive version of "James" - in the parish marriage register entry for the christening of his daughter.[3][4] There is no "passenger list" for his arrival in Massachusetts; just the fact that he was given the right to be among the proprietors of Lancaster, Massachusetts in 1654 means that he was in Massachusetts by then. (The database called "passenger and immigration lists" includes many data points other than actual passenger lists.) [5] He died in Roxbury, Suffolk, Massachusetts 13 July 1697, as the town records make clear.[6] References to a death year of 1691 are purely the result of a misreading of the inscription on his tombstone.
The ancestor of the American family is Thomas Draper, father of William Draper, father of James "the Puritan." He was a clothier and fuller. His ancestors had followed the same business before him, and his American descendants frequently did likewise in New England. The very name "Draper" suggests the occupation, "one who deals in cloth."
Thomas Draper's wife was Grace, the daughter of James Newhall (Source: Property settlement; the other beneficiaries being Christabel wife of RIchard Saltonstall, and Elizabeth wife of Richard Naylor).
The family name is an honored one in English history, and was entitled to a coat-of-arms. Sir Christopher Draper, an ironmonger, was Lord Mayor of London in 1567, and there are many of the name who have been prominent in the civil and military history of their native country. The Stansfields and Drapers were closely allied for centuries in England, and culminated in the marriage of a daughter of the house to James Draper, "the Puritan," and becoming the mother of the Draper family of America. In this country the name is an honored one in every branch of our civil, religious or commercial life. They are found in every profession, business or trade. Many eminent men have borne the name which we here trace through nine generations, from James "the Puritan," to Frederick Elliott Draper, of Troy, New York.
[Thomas Draper was buried 9 July 1603 at Heptonstall, and his will was proved 6 October of that year, rendering the statement in the Hudson-Mohawk Genealogical and Family Memoirs that
Although James Draper is found as one of the original proprietors of the town of Lancaster, no evidence can be found that he ever lived there. His first known residence in Massachusetts was in Roxbury. Sarah, Susanna and James, his first American-born children, there first saw the light. He then moved to Dedham in 1653[7], for his sons, John, Moses and Daniel were born there. Sometime after 1665, he returned to Roxbury, for his youngest children, Patience and Jonathan, are recorded as born there, and James, the father, is there buried. He was made a freeman of Roxbury, 1690. He married, in Heptonstall, April 21, 1646, Miriam, daughter of Gideon Stansfield and his wife, Grace Eastwood, of Wadsworth, Yorkshire.
James and Miriam (Stansfield) Draper are buried at West Roxbury, Massachusetts, where the same stone marks the resting-place of both. They had nine children: Miriam, born in England, and the others in America: Susanna, Sarah, James, see forward, John, Moses, Daniel, Patience and Jonathan. The sons all married and founded families. The daughters also married, excepting Miriam, the eldest, who died in infancy before leaving England.
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Rick Draper (Draper-310)
Rick
Rick Draper
Also, there is no known christening record for a James Draper son of Thomas who could have been the emigrant to New England. (James son of Thomas Draper was chr. 3 Sept 1627 at Willingdon, Sussex, but that is VERY far from Heptonstall, where James got married, and is contrary to the normal pattern in this culture where the groom was almost always older that the bride. Also, itdoesn't match the approximate age at death on the tombstone very well.
Therefore, I would need to see the paper where James supposedly said that his "father" was Thomas. As a serious Bible reader (if he actually said that), he could have been talking in the Hebrew sense where "son" can mean "descendant."
Otherwise, I view the christening record of James son of William on July 28, 1622 -- a date that accords closer with the age at death as inscribed on the tombstone -- and in Heptonstall (exactly the right place) to describe the emigrant.
edited by Barry Wood
If there is any source data to show his current parents, please post it.
Here lyes buried ye body of Mr. James Draper Aged About 73 Years Dec. July 1694
1694-73 = 1621
If there is other documentation to support William rather than Thomas please include.
Also there is an unmerge match with Draper-262 not sure why this is not been merged. It is not possible for these two to be brothers and further the parents are incorrect in both profiles. I am going to attach the actual scan of Hudson-Mohawk Genealogical and Family Memoirs to this profile to help clarify.
As a suggestion, remove "The Puritan" from birth last name and place in another field.