Yolo County CA Archives Biographies.....Chapman, James William 1874 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ca/cafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com December 9, 2005, 7:23 pm Author: Tom Gregory JAMES WILLIAM CHAPMAN The development of extensive agricultural interests has engaged the attention of James William Chapman ever since he was old enough to operate land or care for stock and in undertaking the management of important farming properties he is giving expression to a preference for such work always entertained by him. The farm which he owns and manages comprises three hundred and twenty acres lying in the vicinity of Winters and recognized as one of the improved estates of Yolo county, where he has been a life long resident. The raising of grain has engaged his attention and to care for the enormous crops he has acquired a combined harvester drawn by a team of twenty-six mules. Besides the stock which he keeps for working the land he usually has about one hundred head of hogs in his yards and has met with success with the Berkshire breed, the raising of which is one of his specialties. On the ranch he has developed a vineyard and orchard for family use and also has started a small grove of figs, which he believes to be well adapted to the soil and climate. Born on the old Chapman homestead in Yolo county, November 17, 1874, educated in the public schools, and Heald's Business College in San Francisco, trained on the home ranch to a knowledge of agriculture, he represents that sturdy element of native-born sons to whose success the county may point with pride. His wife is a native of Madison, Yolo county, and comes of pioneer lineage. Her father, George Abbey, who Was born in Quincy, Ill., April 24, 1844, was the son of a Forty-niner, while he himself crossed the plains in the early '50s. A machinist by trade, he found employment in a Sacramento machine shop. For some time he lived at Cottonwood and also for a time made his home at Madison, Yolo county. After he had given up work at his trade he turned his attention to farming and still later he acted as agent for the Wells-Fargo Express Company. During young manhood he married Josephine Emma Powers, who was also born in Illinois July, 25, 1855. They became the parents of five children, namely: William N., of Santa Rosa, who married Nellie Allen and has one daughter; Bertram O., who married Hattie Lewis; Lottie May, deceased; Georgia, who was reared in Yolo county and December 11, 1900, became the wife of James William Chapman; and Claudia, Mrs. W. B. Young, who has two daughters and one son and resides at Winters. Mr. and Mrs. James W. Chapman are the parents of three sons, the eldest of whom, George W., Jr., was born July 14, 1904, and died in infancy. The two living are James Rufus, born March 7, 1906; and Ralph Waldo, May 17, 1908. The family are members of the Presbyterian Church at Winters, of which Mr. Chapman is an elder. Independent in political attitude, averse to official honors and local prominence, Mr. Chapman has never consented to serve in any public capacity except that of school trustee. In fraternal affairs he has been connected with the Woodmen of the World since 1895 and meanwhile has aided the philanthropic movements of the local camp. The family of which Mr. Chapman is a leading member holds a position among the most influential holders of property in this part of California, their entire estate at this writing aggregating almost twenty-four thousand acres, of which five thousand acres lie in Napa county and the balance principally in Yolo county. The family was founded in the west by George Walker Chapman, who descended from William Chapman, a native of England and a pioneer of Virginia. During the Revolution he served in the patriot army and was taken prisoner by Lord Cornwallis to prevent the carrying of dispatches to General Greene, but he was held only one day. A young son, James, served under the same command and was only twelve years old at the expiration of the war, while a brother of William crossed the Delaware under General Washington and bore a part in other memorable expeditions of the conflict. For years James Chapman, the young soldier of the Revolution, engaged in farming and stock-raising in Georgia, but late in life he removed to Wilcox county, Ala., and his death occurred in Macon county, that state, at the age of eighty-five years. By marriage he became allied with one of the F. F. V.'s. One of his sons, John, was a commissioned officer in the war of 1812 and also served in early Indian wars. The next generation was represented by William, a native of Georgia, but from early manhood a resident of Alabama, where he entered government land on the Tallapoosa river in Macon county. The Creek Indian community was in the neighborhood and its members proved unfriendly. More than once the Chapman family fled for safety to the blockhouse and remained there until the savages had left the war path. Finally they won the good-will of Yargey, chief of the Creeks, who, learning that the Seminoles were to attack the settlers, sent one of his seven wives to warn the white men. In order to reach the settlers it was necessary for the squaw to swim the Tallapoosa river, but she was successful in her mission and the whites were prepared to defend themselves. In consequence of the attack the Seminoles about 1836 were expelled from the region. The first cotton-gin in Macon county was owned .by William Chapman, who also owned the first rice mill and the first threshing machine in the county. For many years he served as justice of the peace and he also served as county supervisor. After the disintegration of the Whig party he voted the Democratic ticket. With his wife he held membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church. Farming and stock-raising continued to engage his attention until he died at the age of sixty-six years. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Mary Clough, was born in Georgia and died in Alabama at about seventy years of age. Her father, Zachariah Clough, was born in Virginia of French ancestry and settled in Georgia, where, with the exception of the period of his service in the war of 1812, he engaged in the occupation of a planter until his demise at sixty-two years. The family of William and Mary Chapman included eight children, namely: Cornelia E., Mrs. R. Dickinson, who died in Alabama; Alpheus Z., deceased; George Walker, of California; William R., a physician now deceased; James A., also a physician, who resides near Lakeland, Fla.; Reuben, who died in Alabama during the Civil war; Mandred, who started across the plains in 1861 and was never afterward heard of; and Caroline. Mrs. James Clough, of Florida. George Walker Chapman was born in Wilcox county, Ala., April 29, 1829. About 1836 he accompanied his parents to Macon county, Ala., and settled six miles from Tuskegee, where he attended a subscription school. Later he was a student under Judge Bate-man of New York in the Sumner seminary at Tuskegee. From au early age he was taught to help his father. At the age of nine he was sent to Salem, Ala., with $600 in cash to pay for land bought by his father. In addition he was taught to be methodical in his work and systematic in the keeping of accounts. On the home plantation a town was started called Chapman's Crossroads and he began to clerk in a store there at the age of nineteen. January 18, 1854, he began the long journey to California, going by train to Montgomery, by steamboat to New Orleans and from there by another steamboat to Aspinwall. There he boarded a train for Gorgona and then rode on muleback to Panama, where he boarded the John L. Stevens, arriving at San Francisco February 16. For two and one-half years he prospected and mined at Canon creek. Arriving in Yolo county in September of 1856, George Walker Chapman formed a partnership with W. H. Ault and bought one hundred and sixty acres near Buckeye. After one year he sold out and bought one hundred and sixty acres, forming the nucleus of his present ranch. The land was well adapted to the sheep industry and he bought five hundred head for $4.75 each. During October of 1858 he sold the flock at $5.50 per head and then returned to his old home via Panama. On that visit he had an opportunity to sell for $1,500 each the three slaves that formed his entire inheritance from his father's estate, but he did not wish to separate them and accordingly left them on his brother's plantation, where they were freed through the Civil war. Therefore he received nothing whatever from the paternal estate. Upon his second trip George Walker Chapman followed the Nicaragua route and landed at San Francisco in January of 1859. When he started into the sheep industry again he bought ewes for $6.50 each and later, when he had accumulated a large flock, he let some out on shares for one-half of the increase. Little by little he added to his landed possessions until he became one of the largest land-owners in this part of the state. As land increased in value the stock business, which had laid the foundation of his prosperity, bcame less profitable, yet he continued to reap excellent financial returns from his Merino and Lincolnshire graded sheep as well as from his Red polled cattle, his hundreds of hogs and his large number of horses and mules, while even from poultry he received returns in large figures. Meanwhile he had interested himself in horticulture and had planted on his homestead pears, peaches, apricots, apples, almonds, prunes, figs, oranges, lemons and twenty varieties of grapes, including some of the very finest kinds to be found in any part of the world. He continued the management of this vast estate until his death, December 21, 1909. Prior to this however he had incorporated all of his holdings under the name of the G. W. Chapman Company. Until his death he was president of the company, and since then his son Mandred has filled this office, while Mrs. Ashley has been secretary since its incorporation. At the home of Joseph J. Stephens near Madison, Yolo county May 4, 1870, occurred the marriage of George Walker Chapman and Zilphia Stephens, who was born near Bunceton, Cooper county, Mo., being a daughter of James Madison and Mary (Adams) Stephens. The next to the youngest among nine children, Mrs. Chapman received her education at Tipton and in the Boonville (Mo.) ladies' seminary. In 1869. shortly after the golden spike had been driven at Promontory Point, she came to California with a brother, L. D. Stephens. Of her marriage five children were born, of whom James William is the subject of this review. The older daughter, Mamie, married P. N. Ashley, a surveyor living in Woodland. Mandred, the second son, married Rhoda, daughter of Hampton and Jennie Scroggins. The younger daughter, Lillie, resides in San Francisco. The youngest son, Walter, married Edna Hoy, a daughter of Samuel Hoy of Winters. Early in life Mr. Chapman became identified with the Methodist Episcopal Church, while his wife has always favored the Presbyterian denomination and is a member of the church of that faith at Winters. The family is among the most prominent as well as successful in Yolo county and their hospitality in their beautiful home, their generosity in contributions to worthy enterprises and their spirit of broad-minded fellowship have won for all of the members an unusually large circle of stanch friends. Mrs. G. W. Chapman still resides at the old homestead, five miles north of Winters. Additional Comments: Extracted from HISTORY OF YOLO COUNTY CALIFORNIA WITH Biographical Sketches OF The Leading Men and Women of the County Who Have Been Identified With Its Growth and Development From the Early Days to the Present HISTORY BY TOM GREGORY AND OTHER WELL KNOWN WRITERS ILLUSTRATED COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME HISTORIC RECORD COMPANY LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA [1913] File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/yolo/bios/chapman137nbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/cafiles/ File size: 12.3 Kb