Charles W. Chapman Biography


	This biography appears on pages 225-226 in "History of Dakota Territory" 
	by George W. Kingsbury, Vol. IV (1915) and was scanned, 
	OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

	This file may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit 
	organizations for their private use. 

	Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval 
	system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other 
	means requires the written approval of the file's author.

	This file is part of the SDGENWEB Archives. If you arrived here inside
	a frame or from a link from somewhere else, our front door is at

	http://usgwarchives.org/sd/sdfiles.htm


				CHARLES W. CHAPMAN.  

	Charles W. Chapman, member of the board of county commissioners 
of Hamlin county and a resident of Bryant, was born in Jefferson 
county, Wisconsin, on the 24th of September, 1857, a son of Richard and 
Mary (Cannon) Chapman, both natives of England, the former born in 
Cornwall and the latter in London. They were married, however, in 
Wisconsin to which state the father had emigrated as a young man, while 
in girlhood the mother had gone to that state with her parents. After 
their marriage they settled on a farm in Jefferson county, Wisconsin, 
where they resided until the fall of 1862, when they removed westward 
to Iowa, taking up their  abode in Benton county, where they lived for 
two decades. In 1882 they came to South Dakota and on arriving in this 
state, then a territory, Mr. Chapman homesteaded a quarter section in 
Garfield township, Hamlin county, on which he resided up to the time of 
his death, which occurred about 1895, when he was seventy-two years of 
age. His wife died on the 8th of January, 1888.  

	Charles W. Chapman was reared at home and devoted much of his 
youth to the acquirement of a public-school education and to farm work. 
He was early trained to the best methods of plowing, planting and 
harvesting and continued to assist his father until he attained his 
majority. For two years thereafter he worked as a farm hand in the 
employ of neighboring farmers and on the 22d of December, 1880, he was 
married. The following spring he began farming on his own account as a 
renter in Cherokee county, Iowa, and continued to engage in 
agricultural pursuits there for four years. In 1885 he arrived in 
Dakota Territory and the following spring took up a homestead of one 
hundred and sixty acres in Garfield township, Hamlin county. He at once 
began to till and develop the place and year by year saw a greater 
amount of the land under cultivation until his farm became one of the 
productive places of the county. He resided thereon until the spring of 
1911, when he took up his abode in Bryant, where he has since been 
engaged in the grain and coal business, becoming a member of the firm 
of Rice &  Chapman. They operate a grain elevator at Bryant and also 
conduct a coal yard, their sales of both products being quite 
extensive.  

	As a companion and helpmate on the journey of life Mr. Chapman 
chose Miss Lizzie Jeffrey, of Benton county, Iowa, who was called to 
her final reward January 29, 1913. Mr. and Mrs. Chapman became the 
parents of four children, two of whom survive, namely: Charles H., who 
is employed in his father's elevator; and Eva Belle, at home. Charles 
married Esther Solberg, of Minneapolis who, however, is a native of 
Bryant, and they have one daughter Marcia Edrey, born February 17, 
1915.  

	Mr. Chapman votes with the republican party, which he has 
staunchly endorsed since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. 
He has served at two different periods or for seven years as a member 
of the board of county commissioners, acting in that capacity from 1901 
until 1905. In May 1911, he was appointed a member of the board to fill 
out an unexpired term, and in 1912 was regularly elected to the office, 
so that he is now acting in that capacity. His long continuance in the 
position is indicative of the ability which he displays and the 
confidence reposed in him by his fellow townsmen. Fraternally he is 
identified with the following organizations: Bryant Lodge, No. 118, A. 
F. & A. M.; Fern Leaf Chapter, No. 45, O. E. S.; and the Modern 
Woodmen. Mr. Chapman is recognized as a citizen whose life work has 
contributed to the welfare and upbuilding of county and state. He 
started out in life empty-handed, but he early recognized the eternal 
principle that industry wins, so that industry became the beacon light 
of his life and has been the force which has brought him to his present 
creditable position as a successful business man.