Tom
Do you think that the Thomas Chapman who made land transactions in Middlesex
Co. VA in 1702 might be a ancestor of these Chapmans? I don't know where
the Culpeper are is.
Karen
----- Original Message -----
From: Tom Chapman <SurfCityTom(a)socal.rr.com>
To: <CHAPMAN-DNA-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Sunday, January 09, 2005 9:50 AM
Subject: Re: [CHAPMAN-DNA] NC/VA James Chapman-pg1
My notes on John Chapman of Culpeper:
Because many Virginia records were destroyed by fire, not much is known
about our John Chapman. We can only speculate about his origin and
possible
connections to the many other Chapmans of Virginia. He was born no
later
than 1750, and probably earlier. It's not known exactly when he died, but
it appears that his presumptive wife Jane was living as a widow by 1790.
All we know for sure is that there was a John Chapman on pre-1790 Culpeper
records, then there wasn't a John Chapman, then a widow Jane Chapman
appeared on the 1790 Culpeper tax list, and then a new John appears in the
1794 tax list that may have been her son John L. Also - the death
certificates of some of their children purportedly name Jane Chapman or
Jane
Donaho Chapman as their mother. I say "purportedly"
because I've not seen
the subject records, and one researcher I respect says he looked at those
records and found no mention of the parents.
Our ancestors proudly hailed from "Old Dominion" - indicating the early
Virginia Colony before later counties formed. Like other people in
Culpeper, John's family probably migrated from the Chesapeake Bay
tidelands
up the Rappahannock, or perhaps from the Williamsburg area up the
James
River and through Richmond. Or it's possible they might have come down
from
Maryland. There were Chapmans in the early Jamestown settlement.
The
name
was relatively common throughout Virginia in John's time, when
there were
only about 75,000 white people in the entire colony at the time he was
born.
To name a few early Chapmans - there was a John Chapman recorded as a
member
of the Roanoke Colony as early as 1587. A Thomas Chapman was aboard
the
ship Tryall to Virginia in 1610, a Nicholas Chapman in muster rolls of
Colledge Land in 1623, a Thomas Chapman in Jordan's Journey, a Frances
Chapman in James City, and a Philip Chapman in Elizabeth City.
An oral tradition in our family holds that we are Scots-Irish. However,
that specific migration did not reach Virginia until well-into the 18th
century, by which time it appears we were already established.
There is a John Chapman listed in the Revolutionary War records for
Culpeper
County, and it's possible he was our ancestor. He's found in
1781
Culpeper
Classes, class number 61, under Captain Joseph Strother (probably the
son
of
Colonel John Strother). The Culpeper Minute Men were a
distinguished
company that is still famous for its flag featuring the classic coiled
rattlesnake and the words "Don't Tread On Me -- Liberty or Death."
However, it's not known if or how long John was among them prior to 1781
(if
it was him). It may have been that he was drafted as a standby and
never
activated for service. Only one man out of many in each "class" was thus
chosen. I found a rejected veteran's claim filed by a John Chapman.
Such
claims were typical of former militia men who applied for benefits
but did
not qualify with 3 years service in the regulars.
While researching the Culpeper Classes, I noticed 2 "Cadwalader"
Slaughters,
one of whom was in John's unit. "Slaughter" is a
prominent name in
Culpeper
and Orange. It gives rise to the possibility of that military
relationship
being the origin of the name of John's son Cadwalader.
In 1782 and 1783, a John Chapman appears on the Culpeper tax lists. There
are also records of him performing smithwork and purchasing items from an
estate sale.
In November, 1785, we find a John Chapman among a group of Culpeper
signatories to a petition asking the governor to reject a proposal to
liberalize the establishment and ordination of Baptist congregations,
which
were experiencing a revival in Culpeper at the time. Other
signatories
include people we know to be connected to our John, including several
Strothers, Martin Nalle, and, most interesting, a William Chapman. This
could be the William Chapman of John Chapman and Mary Withers Allen. Her
pioneer grandfather, Erasmus Withers, might be the source of the "Erasmus"
name in our family. Anyhow, this John and William are shown to be
connected
by geography, associates and social standing. They may be related,
and
perhaps in our line.
There was another John Chapman (married Abbott) in Culpeper, but he moved
west about 1770. Thus, I believe any records in Culpeper after that are
likely to be either our John or his son. But there may have been more.
Some other Culpeper marriages:
Spouse: Chapman, Erasmus
Lewis, Nancy Marriage Date: 06 Jan 1785
Spouse: Chapman, Elizabeth
Witherall, John Marriage Date: 18 Dec 1788
Spouse: Allen, James
Chapman, Sarah Marriage Date: 23 Dec 1788
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