1831-1863
Edward Payson Chapin was born in Waterloo, New York, on August 16, 1831. He was educated in the local schools and then studied law while clerking at law firms in Buffalo and Ballston Spa, New York. Admitted to the Bar in 1852, he set up practice in Buffalo, New York, and was counsel for the plaintiff in the landmark case of Lawrence v. Fox , 20 N.Y. 268 (1859).
Chapin was the shortstop of the Niagaras in their third 1858 match against the Eries.
Chapin served in the Union Army during the Civil War, was killed in action in Louisiana on May 27, 1863, and posthumously received the rank of brigadier general “for gallant and meritorious service at the assault on Port Hudson.”
Source
Peter Morris, William J. Ryczek, Jan Finkel, Leonard Levin. Base Ball Pioneers, 1850-1870: The Clubs and Players Who Spread the Sport Nationwide (2012)