James H. Capshew received a B.A. in psychology from Indiana University, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in the history and sociology of science from the University of Pennsylvania. He is a  history professor at Indiana University. We are reprinting the following with his permission.

THE FIRST CAPSHAWS IN AMERICA

James H. Capshew

Earlier genealogists have pointed to 17th-century Maryland as the place where the Capshaw family first took root in America. Although these previous accounts have been helpful in suggesting research directions, they lack thorough documentation and contain large amounts of speculation and folklore.¹ I have tried to build on these previous efforts by canvassing sources in the Library of Congress, the Maryland Historical Society, and the Maryland State Archives (formerly known as the Hall of Records). What follows is a brief chronicle based on my research, with footnotes that include citations to documentary sources as well as corrections and clarifications of previous accounts.

On 12 February 1674 William Barrett, a London merchant, sold his rights to 1,550 acres of land in the colony of Maryland to William Calvert, the ruling member of the colony's governing family. He had received the land patent in exchange for transporting 31 servants to the New World. On the list of people he had subsidized was one Francis Copshire.²

Several months later, on 10 November 1674, two servant boys were brought before the provincial court in Charles County to have their ages determined. This was a common practice since servants were often illiterate, and it was necessary to establish the period of their indenture, which typically lasted for seven years. One of the boys that appeared was named Francis Capshaw; he was judged to be fifteen years old.³ Given the timing and vagaries of pronunciation and spelling, it is likely that Francis Copshire and Francis Capshaw were one and the same.

Thus Francis Copshire/Capshaw was probably born around 1660 in the British Isles, perhaps in London. It seems possible that Copshire was not an established or widespread surname. It might have derived from local topography ("shire" meant county or region, "cop" was a term designating the top of a place, such as hill), or maybe it was simply made up for the voyage.⁴

After several years of work, presumably in indentured service, Francis Capshaw had earned enough money to obtain a farm in Saint Mary's County. In 1682 he purchased the rights to a 150-acre property called "Gilded Morton" from John Copes,⁵ who had received the original patent for the land several years before. The annual rent was 6 shillings sterling in gold or silver, to be paid to the proprietor of the colony, Lord Calvert.⁶ By 1707 Francis Capshaw had sold Gilded Morton⁷ and had moved or was dead. Unfortunately, no other information about him has come to light.

Evidently Francis Capshaw had married and raised a family, since there was a John Capshaw - probably his son - living in the area a few years later.⁸ John Capshaw, a tobacco farmer in neighboring Charles County died in 1736, leaving his wife Anne and as many as six minor children.⁹ Upon his death, Anne Capshaw served as administratrix of his estate. The inventory of his "Goods and Chattles" listed some 40 items, at a total value of approximately 50 pounds sterling. In addition to unspecified minor children, it listed Stephen Mankin and Francis Capshaw as "kin".¹⁰

I surmise that this Francis Capshaw, whom I shall designate and Francis Capshaw II to differentiate him from the first, was John Capshaw's son.¹¹ By 1750 Francis Capshaw II had married Elizabeth Anderson of Charles County. She received part of her father's property, known as Foxes Race, in that year.¹² In 1756 and 1757 Francis II and Elizabeth Capshaw sold their land in Maryland.¹³

According to previous accounts Francis II and Elizabeth Capshaw moved to Virginia and North Carolina around 1757 with four sons, named Francis (III), Essex, James, and William. Research is continuing along this line, and the only item I have to report is the discovery of another John Capshaw. He was a member of the Virginia Militia in 1754, at the start of the French and Indian War.¹⁴

If my analysis is correct, the first Capshaw arrived in America in the 1600s in the colony of Maryland. The family lived in Maryland for three generations, supporting themselves largely through farming. In the middle of the 18th century, some or all of the members of the family migrated southward into Virginia and the Carolinas. During the next hundred years the number of Capshaws grew rapidly and the branches of family could be found in Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

14. Murtie June Clark, Colonial Soldiers of the South, 1732-1774, (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1983), 283, 290, 299, 307, 590, 602, 604. The information in this book is drawn from Series 4 of the George Washington Papers, Manuscript Reading Room, Library of Congress, which I searched and found nothing additional.