The Shapleigh, Shapley, and Shappley Families

Book excerpt: Traces the ancestors and descendants of five early Shapley immigrants. Alexander Shapley was born in about 1601 and lived in Devonshire, England. He was a merchant and trader. He purchased land in Kittery, Maine in 1735. He lived in both England and Maine as he conducted his trading business. Nicholas Shapleigh was a mariner from Bristol, England. He was in Boston by 1645 and he died in Charlestown in 1662. Philip Shapley was baptized November 14, 1641 in Totnes, Devonshire, England. He immigrated to Calvert County, Maryland in 1667 and settled in Northumberland County, Virginia in 1672. David Shapley was born about 1650. He lived in Marblehead, Massachusetts. Reuben Shapley first appears in New England records with his wife, Elinor, at the baptism of his son Henry on May 28, 1727 in Gosport, New Hampshire. He was probably born about 1692 in Clovelly, Devonshire, England. Descendants and relatives live all over the United States. Includes a list of all Shapley, Shapleigh and Shappley households found in U.S. telephone directories in 1992.