My Genealogy Hound

William A. Chapman, farmer, was born in Sumner County in 1831, and is the son of Benjamin and Rebecca Ann (Bull) Chapman. At an early date one Philip Chapman was a merchant in England. He was the father of three sons and a daughter. One of his sons, Philip by name, went to Ireland, and sometime in the first of the seventeenth century fled to the United States to escape religious persecutions. He first settled in New Jersey, and afterward in Bucks County, Penn. He had two sons and three daughters. James Chapman, the eldest son (our subject’s grandfather), was a soldier and an officer of some prominence in the Revolutionary war. The tassel was shot from the hilt of his sword at the battle of Long Island. In 1773 he went to Prince Edward County, Va., and in December, 1797, he immigrated to Sumner County, Tenn., locating at King’s Station, two miles south of Gallatin. He died in 1800. Benjamin (subject’s father) was born in Prince Edward County, Va., in the year 1788, and came to Sumner County with his parents and afterward settled on a part of the old home place, where our subject now lives. He afterward purchased 600 acres. He departed this life in 1861. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, and was at New Orleans under Gen. Jackson. Benjamin’s wife was a native of Orange County, N. C., born in 1802. She died in 1848. They had two children who lived to be grown, our subject being the younger. He received his education in the schools of the neighborhood, and at Gallatin. In 1853-56 he made a trip through the Western States and had many thrilling ad ventures. February 16, 1858, he married Miss Mildred Fry who was born in Winchester, Ky., in 1832, and who is the daughter of Christopher Fry. They had four children: Cliffie, John F., Amanda E. and Sallie M. After marriage Mr. Chapman located on the old homestead and is residing there at the present time. The same tract has been in the Chapman family since 1798, it being one of the earliest settled places in the county. Mr. Chapman lost his wife December 3, 1881, and since then his most estimable daughter has been keeping house for him. Mr. Chapman is the possessor of 350 acres of land, and is one of the oldest native born citizens of Sumner County. He is very liberal, is a whole-souled gentleman and is highly respected for his many good qualities. He is very conservative in politics, voting for principle and not for party. He and three children are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church; his daughter, Cliffie, is a member of the Presbyterian Church. In August, 1862, our subject enlisted in Company C, Fifteenth Regiment Tennessee Cavalry (“Ward’s Ducks”), and participated in numerous severe skirmishes, being with Morgan in his famous raid through Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio. He was captured at Buffington Island July 19, 1863, and taken to Camp Morton and retained there until August, when he was taken to Camp Douglas and retained until March, 1865. He was then taken to Point Lookout, Md., where he was retained until after the surrender, being paroled June 9, 1865.