The following list details Mapleys of interest and note..
Index by chronological order :
Matthew Mapley (1670-1690), b. Dorchester, Massachusetts, USA, d. expedition to Quebec.
Matthew was based in Dorchester, Massachusetts, and participated in an expedition
into Canada (then called Acadia) in 1690 to fight the French and their Indian allies.
In 1689 the Massachusetts militia had captured and
plundered Port Royal in Nova Scotia, and as a retaliation the French and Indian forces captured Fort William Henry at
Bristol, Maine in August 1869. Under the command of Sir William Phips of Maine, a fleet of 5 ships sailed from Boston
on 28 April 1690 and re-captured Port Royal, the capital of Acadia. This skirmish is recognised as part of the Second Indian War or King William's
War (1688-1697).
Matthew Mapley was part of a second expedition in 1690 to Quebec, under the command of Capt. John Withington, with
Major Benjamin Church and Phips in overall charge of the raid. Quebec bombarded Phip's fleet, which ultimately withdrew under heavy fire. The
expedition had suffered heavy losses due to smallpox, with 40% killed by the disease, and retreated back to New England.
Christopher Richards Mapley (22/2/1836-30/6/1885), b. St. Minver, Cornwall, England
Christopher Mabley emigrated to the USA in 1877 via Toronto (where his father set up
as a silk merchant) to America. There he opened a chain of clothing stores (known as Mabley & Co) across Michigan (Pontiac,
Ionia, Flint, Detroit), Illinois and Ohio (Toledo, Cleveland), and became known as "The Merchant Prince". His stores were so
successful that he was soon able to commission the tallest building in Detroit (14 floors) as his flagship store but died
in 1885 before it could be completed. The building was renamed the Majestic Building by a new owner because of the many
letter Ms (for Mabley) carved into the stonework.
The final store, in Cincinnati, was named Mabley and Carew and was jointly owned with Joseph Carew. Joseph T. Carew had been
one of Mabley's managers and later his business partner and managed the Cincinnati store.
Henry Mapley (1868-1945), b. Woburn, Bedforshire, England
After emigrating to Toronto, Canada, he became a member of the North-West
Mounted Police based in Yukon Territory for over 25 years and in 1905 pioneered a month-long 1000 mile dog-sled journey to the Arctic.
His Regiment Number was 2628.
Carleton Raymond Mabley (1878-1963), b. Detroit, Michigan, USA
The Smith and Mabley Manufacturing Co. of New York City was founded by Carleton Raymond Mabley
and his brother-in-law Albert Proctor Smith to import European cars for sale in America. They built their first car in 1904,
which was called the S&M Simplex, largely from imported Mercedes parts. The company went bankrupt in 1906 and in 1907 the
firm's assets were absorbed into the Simplex Automobile Co.
The 1904 Smith and Mabley was a touring car model. Equipped with a tonneau, it could seat 5 passengers and sold for US$5,500 ($158,420 in 2020 dollars).
© Copyright David Mapley
