Chapman Family History, Part II
- Part I - 1st Generation: Samuel Chapman1 (~1700-1773)
• and 2nd Generation: John Chapman2 (1737-1816) - Part II - 3rd Generation: James Chapman3 (1760-1839)
- Part III - 4th Generation: John Chapman4 (1791-1876)
- Part IV - 5th Generation: Allen Chapman5 (1819-1890)
- Part V - 6th Generation: Harriet J. Chapman6 (1844-1936)
John "Jack" CHAPMAN, Sr. (1758-1853)
111. John "Jack" Chapman, Sr. was born in 1758 in Amelia County, Virginia. After serving in the Continental Army's Virginia State Regiment during the American Revolution, he married Mary Ann Dodson about 1786 in Amelia County and had two children. Mary died following giving childbirth in 1790.
After Mary's death, John remarried to Anne Seay a month later on January 27, 1791, in Amelia County. They had seven more children:
| 1111. | Edmond Wilson Chapman | 9 Aug 1787 | 2 Mar 1851 | (63) |
| 1112. | Elizabeth Chapman | 23 Dec 1790 | 15 Nov 1856 | (65) |
| 1113. | Beverly Randolph Chapman | 18 Dec 1791 | 9 Oct 1855 | (63) |
| 1114. | John Chapman, Jr. | 23 Oct 1792 | 29 May 1854 | (61) |
| 1115. | Memory Noble Chapman | 1793 | 3 Mar 1840 | (46) |
| 1116. | Mahala Johnson Chapman | 29 Nov 1795 | 20 Sep 1847 | (51) |
| 1117. | Lorenzo Dow Chapman | 19 Sep 1797 | 22 Sep 1865 | (68) |
| 1118. | Mary "Polly" Chapman | 1800 | -- | -- |
| 1119. | Ann Chapman | 4 Oct 1801 | 19 Dec 1841 | (40) |
About 1792, the Chapmans moved from Amelia County, Virginia, to Spartanburg, Spartanburg County, in the northwest of South Carolina, about the crossroads of today's Interstate 26 heading southeast to Columbia and Charleston, South Carolina, and Interstate 85 between Charlotte, North Carolina, and Atlanta, Georgia.
Land Transactions
Spartanburg County/District, South Carolina, Deed Abstracts Books, A-T, 1785-1827.
Witnesses: James Jordan, Brittain Williford and Thomas Moore, J.P.
Signed: Absalom Stokes. Recorded: 16 May 1796.
Book I Page 437-438, 8 Sept. 1804, James Knox of Wilkes County, Georgia, to John Chapman of Spartanburg, South Carolina, for $400 sold 300 acres on the waters of the North Fork of the Tygar River; border, David Knox, John Brown and John McThennes (or Hennes); grant 28 Apr 1768, Gov. William Tryon (NC) to James Knox in Mecklinburg County, North Carolina.
Witnesses: Isham Foster, William Traylor and Robert Foster. Signed:
James Knox. Certified (not dated) by Isham Foster. Recorded 9 Oct 1804.
Book S Page 136-137, 28 May 1822, David Foster of Spartanburg, South Carolina to John Chapman Jr. of Spartanburg, South Carolina, for $600 sold 152 acres on West side of Wilson's Creek bordering Laurence branch, John Chapman, Sr., road from widow McMiken to the Court House, Blackstock
Road and widow Gray, 421/2 acres was David Foster's share ("lot #3") of estate of Peter Gray desceased laid off by Commissioners.
Witnesses: Ann Chapman and Peter F. Gray. Signed David Foster. Wit. oath 11 July 1822, Ann Chapman to F.H. Legg. Recorded 6 Jan 1823. Dower renounced 11 Jul 1822, Frances W. Foster to F. H. Legg.
Genealogy Excerpts
"A History of My Family" by Mayanne Deweese McCarley, 1969 says that John Chapman was born in 1758, not 1768 which is important to her claim that he served in the Revolutionary War:McCarley quotes from John Landrum's book "A History of Mt. Zion Church," 1885:
McCarley adds more:
She also tells of a marble marker to John Chapman, Revolutionary War soldier, which was dedicated at Mt. Zion in 1963. The hearthstone from his old homesite was used as the base of the marker.
From "A History of Spartanburg County" by John Landrum, 1900:
He was twice married. His first wife was a Miss Dodson, by which marriage he had two children, viz: Edmond who married a Miss Wood, daughter of John Wood (sister of Captain Coleman Wood); and Elizabeth (Betsy), who married Moses Richardson. He married a second time to Mary (Polly) Seay, sister to Mrs. John Wingo, Mrs. John Wood, and Mrs. William Pollard,..."
Anne (Seay) Chapman died in 1849 at about the age of 80.
John Chapman, Jr. died on February 1, 1853 in Spartanburg, Spartanburg County, South Carolina. He was about 94 years old.
(as transcribed by Maryanne Deweese McCarley)
In the name of God, Amen. I, John Chapman, Sr. of the state of South Carolina and District of Spartanburg, being in health and sound mind and memory praised be God for same, do make this my Last Will and Testament in manner and form following.
1st I give and bequeath unto my son, Edmund Wilson Chapman, one hundred and three dollars and eleven cents to him and his heirs forever.
2nd to my daughter, Elizabeth Richardson I give and bequeath one hundred and twenty eight dollars and eleven cents to her and her heirs forever.
3rd I give and bequeath unto my sons John Chapman and Lorenzo Chapman the tract of land whereon I now live containing 200 acres more or less, also one other tract containing 65 acres more or less it being the tract I purchased of the estate of my son M.N. Chapman Dec'd, the tracts taken together to be equally divided between them as they can agree and make it best to suit them, to them and their heirs forever.
4th I give and bequeath further to my son Lorenzo D. Chapman one bed and furniture.
5th I will and devise that the whole of my personal estate not otherwise conveyed in this will consisting of my Negros, household furniture and kitchen furniture, stock of all kinds, farming tools, crop on hand and growing and whatsoever also of property I may die possessed of be sold to the highest bidder and the amount added to the cash on hand, if any, and the amount of cash notes due, taken together and disposed of in the following way:
1st that all my just debts and funeral expenses be paid.
2nd the Legatees above named to Edmund Wilson Chapman and Elizabeth Chapman Richardson be paid and thirdly the whole of my estate remaining as the result of the above named sales, notes and cash to be divided into six equal parts- To my son, Beverly R. Chapman, I give one-sixth part to him and his heirs forever. To my son John Chapman one-sixth part to him and his heirs forever. To my son Lorenzo D. Chapman one-sixth part to him and his heirs forever.
To the children of my daughter Ann Evans, Dec'd, one-sixth part to be divided between them equally and paid to them by my Executors as they arrive to the age of 21 years, to them and their heirs forever. To the children of my daughter Mahala Turner, Dec'd, one-sixth part to be equally divided between them and paid to them by my Executors as they arrive at the age of 21 years, to them and their heirs forever. To the children of my daughter, Polly Legg, Dec'd, one-sixth part to be divided between them equally and paid to them by my Executors as they arrive to the age of 21 years, to them and their heirs forever.
Having disposed of all my estate both real and personal I nominate and appoint my sons Beverly R. Chapman and John Chapman Executors to this my last will and testament, revoking all and every other will or wills heretofore by me made at any time, and I do declare this to be my last will and testament. In witness whereof I the said John Chapman, Sr. have hereunto set my hand and seal this _ January, 1849.
John Chapman (Signed)
Witnesses: Hezekiah Pollard
John G. Landrum
Isaac Pollard
James CHAPMAN3 (1760-1839)
112. James Chapman3 was born on November 10, 1760, in Amelia County, Virginia. He served in the Revolutionary War and afterward married Phoebe Elizabeth Pearce in 1782 in Amelia County and fathered 13 children, including one pair of twin boys:
| 112A. | Reuben Chapman | 1783 | 6 Apr 1860 | (78) |
| 112B. | Lucy ChapmanΔ | 15 Mar 1788 | 23 May 1824 | (36) |
| 112C. | Josiah Chapman | 18 May 1789 | 20 Oct 1837 | (48) |
| 112D. | Thomas Chapman | 19 May 1789 | 16 Apr 1865 | (75) |
| 112E. | John Chapman4 | 11 Feb 1791 | 23 Jan 1876 | (84) |
| 112F. | Anderson Chapman | (1792/1793) | (1843) | (50) |
| 112G. | Martin Chapman | 28 Dec 1794 | 18 Dec 1874 | (79) |
| 112H. | Sarah G. Chapman | 1799 | 1 May 1864 | (64) |
| 112I. | Frances Chapman | 26 Sep 1800 | 7 Jul 1880 | (79) |
| 112J. | Henry Chapman | 8 Jun 1802 | 10 Aug 1880 | (78) |
| 112K. | William P. Chapman | 25 Aug 1804 | 27 Feb 1869 | (64) |
| 112L. | Greenup Chapman | 10 Aug 1806 | 13 Dec 1885 | (79) |
| 112M. | Mary Chapman | 11 Dec 1811 | 14 Aug 1875 | (63) |
According to the Daughters of the American Revolution, James enlisted in the Virginia militia from Amelia County in 1775, probably at the age of 14. He reportedly served as a private at the Battle of Camden, South Carolina, under Captain William Craduck/Craddock and Major Boice/Boyce. The Americans suffered a decisive defeat there by British troops under Lord Cornwalis on August 16, 1780. A year later, James reportedly served under General Washington in the victory over Lord Cornwalis at the Battle of Yorktown, Virginia, October 1781.
James returned home and married Pheobe in 1782.
By 1791 the Chapman family moved west into Virginia Blue Ridge country, settling for most of the decade in Amherst County. There James purchased 100 acres from Francis Powell for £200. Later they sold 100 acres (presumably the same lot) to Jesse Haynes for £150 in 1799. That year James paid taxes on 114 acres, one slave, and three horses.
In the late 1790's, they moved across Virginia (and modern-day West Virginia) into Kentucky and settled in Greenup County along the Ohio River, up-river from Cincinnati. By 1805 he had acquired and paid taxes on 105 acres, two slaves, and two horses. He also paid $10 for a license to keep a tavern in Greenup.
James purchased another 200 acres in the western part of Greenup County from Charles W. Thurston in 1810. He sold parts of that property to son John4 and John Lawson. Next he purchased town lot 19 in Greenup from John Craig in 1815 or 1816. Family historian Ira Allen Chapman records that James was a silversmith in Greenup.
A couple years later James and the family crossed the river and moved about 15 miles down river to Scioto County, Ohio, where James purchased 98 acres from Ira Hitchcock in February 1817. After resettling in Scioto County, James sold the Greenup lot to the Shreve brothers in 1824. Two sons, Anderson and Henry, both slaveowners, remained on the Kentucky side but moved about 200 miles down river to Prestonville, Carroll County.
The Chapmans owned a large house in Scioto County, and once point rented the house to son John4 and at another took in son Greenup and his young family. Ira Allen Chapman further records James also had a silversmith shop at this house and made a dozen silver spoons to give to his children. Granddaughter Levina (daughter of Greenup) and great-granddaughter Sarah I. (Chapman) McKay (granddaughter of Josiah) each possessed one of the spoons around the turn of the century.
James Chapman died on May 14, 1839, in Sciotoville, Scioto County, Ohio, at the age of 78. His wife Phoebe died about 5 years later in Prestonville, Carroll County, Kentucky, further down the Ohio River midway between Cincinnati and Louisville.
"...It was at [Anderson's] house [in Prestonville] his mother, Phoebe Chapman, wife of James Chapman, died in about 1844 and was buried in either the corner of the door yard or the corner of the garden. The house was on a small tract or lot of land, near the Kentucky River and lay so low that, when the river rose in case of high water, it was often inundated."
"Calvin Chapman, a nephew of Anderson's, who now resided in Prestonville, writes that the land has been sold many times and owned by many different persons since Anderson owned it, and that they work or plow right over the grave and no one can determine exactly its location, no stone ever having been erected at the grave."
Stephen CHAPMAN (~1762-~1795)
113. Stephen Chapman was born about 1762 in Amelia County, Virginia. He married Tabitha "Tabby" Farley about 1789 and had two children:
| 1131. | Mary "Polly" Chapman | (1790) | -- | -- |
| 1132. | Stephen Chapman (Jr.) | 28 Feb 1793 | 26 Mar 1857 | (64) |
Born in Amelia County, Stephen moved to neighboring Prince Edward County by around 1790.
Stephen Chapman died about 1795 in Prince Edward County. He was about 33 years old.
Tabby remarried to Pears Basebeach in Prince Edward County on November 22, 1795.
Benjamin CHAPMAN (~1764-~1820)
114. Benjamin Chapman was born about 1764 in Amelia County, Virginia. He married Lucy by 1792 and had six children:
| 1141. | Mahala Chapman | 29 Nov 1792 | (<May 1872) | (79) |
| 1142. | John J. Chapman | (1802) | -- | -- |
| 1143. | Mary A. Chapman | (1806) | (<1870) | (<64) |
| 1144. | Patrick H. Chapman | (1807) | -- | -- |
| 1145. | Samuel Chapman | (1812) | -- | -- |
| 1146. | William B. Chapman | (1815) | -- | -- |
Benjamin Chapman died about 1820 in Amelia County, Virginia.
Lucy Chapman died sometime after 1840.
Nancy Ann (CHAPMAN) COMPTON (1767-1831)
115. Nancy Ann Chapman was born September 7, 1767, in Amelia County, Virginia. She married Joel Compton (Sr.), she was probably in her late teens and he in his late 20s. They had three children:
| 1151. | Joel Compton (Jr.) | (1787) | -- | -- |
| 1152. | Elizabeth Ann Compton | 20 May 1790 | 3 May 1824 | (33) |
| 1153. | Frances Compton | (1800) | -- | -- |
Around 1807 the Comptons reportedly lived in Breckinridge County, Kentucky, just downriver from Louisville.
Joel Compton died on July 28, 1817, in Halifax County, Virginia, to the southwest of Amelia County. He was 59 years old and they had been married about 30 years.
Nancy Ann (Chapman) Compton died 14 years later, on August 24, 1831, in Amelia County. She was 63 years old.
Sarah (CHAPMAN) WEBBER (~1772-)
116. Sarah "Sally" Chapman was born about 1772 in Amelia County, Virginia. She married Seth Ward Webber (Sr.) on February 19, 1786, in Amelia County. She was about 13 years old and he was 19. They had six children:
| 1161. | John Webber | (1787) | -- | -- |
| 1162. | Benjamin W. Webber | 1789 | -- | -- |
| 1163. | Tabitha Webber | (1800) | -- | -- |
| 1164. | Sarah Webber | (1802) | -- | -- |
| 1165. | Seth Ward Webber (Jr.) | 28 Feb 1805 | -- | -- |
| 116x. | Nancy Webber | -- | -- | -- |
Seth served in the Virginia Third Artillery Regiment under Colonel John Crane during the Revolution as a sergeant from January 1, 1777, through December 31, 1779. His served in Captain Thomas Seward's company at Wilmington, Delaware; Camp Valley Forge; Camp White Plains, New York; Fishkill, and West Point. He is also noted to have been sick with small pox on March 10, 1778.
After the war, Sarah and Seth married in Amelia County on February 19, 1786.
In 1797, Seth sold 155 acres along Green Creek of the Appotmattox River in Cumberland County, Virginia, to a Thomas Gibson.
Sally (Chapman) Webber died between 1816 and 1821. She was in her 40s.
After Sally's death, Seth remarried to Delilah Morley.
Seth Ward Webber (Sr.) died about 1838 in Jefferson County, Illinois. He was about 72 years old.
William CHAPMAN (~1773-1855)
117. William Chapman was born about 1773 in Amelia County, Virginia. He married Ann Jones on December 21, 1792, and fathered 16 children!
| 117A. | Sarah Chapman | 1793 | <1870 | (<77) |
| 117B. | Mary Ann Chapman | 1794 | 1830 | (36) |
| 117C. | John H. Chapman | 1795 | -- | -- |
| 117D. | Juda India Chapman | 19 Oct 1795 | 22 Jul 1873 | (77) |
| 117E. | Elizabeth Chapman | (1797) | 29 Jul 1872 | (75) |
| 117F. | Ann Chapman | 1799 | -- | -- |
| 117G. | Martha Chapman | (1800/1820) | -- | -- |
| 117H. | William H. Chapman | 15 Jul 1801 | 2 Jul 1876 | (74) |
| 117I. | Lucy Chapman | (1803) | -- | -- |
| 117J. | James Chapman | 1805 | -- | -- |
| 117K. | Mirah Chapman | (1807) | -- | -- |
| 117L. | Emily Chapman | 28 Jul 1809 | -- | -- |
| 117M. | Nancy Chapman | (1812) | -- | -- |
| 117N. | Louisa Chapman | (1814) | -- | -- |
| 117O. | Jones Chapman | (1816) | -- | -- |
| 117P. | Elender Chapman | 13 Sep 1817 | 7 Sep 1897 | (79) |
Ann (Jones) Chapman died about 1848 in Spartanburg County, South Carolina. She was about 77 years old and they had been married about 56 years.
After Ann died, William may have remarried to Elizabeth Bomar.
William Chapman died on February 16, 1855, in Spartanburg County. He was about 81 years old.
Jane (CHAPMAN) WEATHERFORD (~1774-)
118. Jane Chapman was born about 1774 in Amelia County, Virginia. She married William Weatherford on June 11, 1794, in Amelia County, by Reverend James McGlasson. They had as many as 13 children.
In the early 1800's, the Weatherfords followed Jane's elder brothers John and William to Spartanburg County, South Carolina, who had settled there as early as about 1792.
