Joseph Capen.

About Joseph Capen

Joseph Capen (1658–1725) was a Massachusetts clergyman. Capen was the son of John Capen of Dorchester, Massachusetts, by his second wife, Mary, the daughter of Samuel Bass of Braintree. Joseph Capen was a member of the class of 1677 at Harvard and was a minister in Topsfield, Massachusetts, from 1682 to his death in 1725. Capen moved to Topsfield, Massachusetts, in 1682 to become the minister of the Topsfield town church. He was ordained as the successor of Jeremiah Hobart in 1684. His predecessors set his prospects low: two of the past three ministers were unable to collect their salaries, and one of them went on trial for intemperance. He had 7 children by his wife, Priscilla (1657–1743). After his death, Capen was succeeded by the minister John Emerson.