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| Almost all of the Mapes in the United States are descended from Thomas Mapes, who
appeared in Southold, LI, NY shortly before 1650. There is no record of when he arrived in
this country although he apparently was well educated and served as the surveyor of
Southold. Thomas Mapes was born May 1628 in England. Thomas married Sarah Purrier,
daughter of William Purrier and Alice, in 1650 in Southold, Long Island, NY. Sarah was
born 1630 in Olney, Buckinghamshire, England and died 1697 in Southold, Suffolk, NY.
Thomas died about October 1687 in Southold, Suffolk, NY. Thomas and Sarah had 11 children,
most of whom grew to maturity, married and lived on Long Island. A great grandson of
Thomas and Sarah, William Mapes II, was the first Mapes to settle in Orange County in
1729. One of William's grandsons, Samuel Mapes, was the progenitor of a very large branch
of the Mapes family, many of them settling in and around Howells. Many descendants of
other original settlers from Southold also settled in Orange County where many of them
intermarried. Names such as Reeves, Vail, Smith, Coleman and many others all came from
Southold in the early and mid 18th century. Three of the children of Seth Mapes and
Lucinda Smith married three of the children of John Vail Mapes and Mary Reeves. (They were
second cousins among many other more distant relationships.) These three couples settled
near each other in Orange County and in August 1886 met at the old homestead of Samuel
Mapes. They decided to call for a gathering of all the Mapes families and in August 1887
the first annual Mapes Family Reunion was held. The Mapes Family Reunion has continued
unbroken for more than 110 years. The Mapes Family Reunion is always held on the second
Saturday of August, so you don't even need a calendar to know when it is. Currently the
reunion is held on the farm of Otis Mapes in Phillipsport, NY. The farm is off Route 209
between Wurtsboro and Kingston; the turn off from Route 209 is well marked with signs to
the Mapes Reunion. A 3 volume update to the MAPES GENEALOGY has been published. These books include almost 3,000 pages and more than 35,000 names of Mapes descendants. These books can be bought singly at $35 per volume or as a complete set for $90. VOLUME 1: Descendants of Samuel Mapes (B 1735/36) and Mary Smith - Howells, NY VOLUME 2: Descendants of Thomas Mapes (B 1628) and Sarah Purrier - Southold, NY VOLUME 3: Unconnected Mapes Descendants. For further Information: Please contact Joe Boyle at jboyle3@aol.com or submit a query in our forum by clicking the link below. |
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