George Chapman born May 6, 1785 and died 1850.
He was the son of William Chapman born in Ireland in 1724, came to America in 1743, and
died in Winchester, VA before 1757. William Chapman married Elizabeth Cullen in 1745.
George Chapman served in the infantry during the Revolutionary War as a
private in the Virginia Militia.
He married Joannah Lemaster . , born in 1785
and died in 1848.
The children of George Chapman and Joannah Lemaster were:
Notes for Joanna LeMaster:
"Captain" George Chapman originally came from "Eastern Virginia, off the Potomac", and he held land near Fredericktown, MD. He is said to have been living in
Back Creek, Berkeley county, near Martinsburg, WV (then VA) in 1782. He bought 218 acres on the Potomac in 1773 and sold land on Back Creek in 1790. A
Virginia Census of about 1782 shows that a George Chapman of Fairfax County, VA, reported six white and 21 black persons, one dwelling and five other
buildings. A paper signed on 15th
September, 1783 by George and Johannah Chapman in Berkeley County, VA, which was formed from Frederick County in 1772, authorizes one Edward Beeson
to sell some lots and "4 acres and a brick house in the neighborhood of Marquis Hook, on or near the River of Delaware in the County of Chester and State of
Pennsylvania." This would seem to indicate that George came from that section of the country and was disposing of his holdings there.
The next thing we hear of George, he was taking the "Rutherford Patent" in 1793. This grant of 1,000 acres was originally secured from Thomas Jefferson,
Governor of Virginia, 23rd December, 1779. It ran for two and a half miles along the Ohio River at the present site of New Cumberland, West Virginia, and
extended two miles inland. George Chapman purchased this tract (then only 814 acres) for $2,000 on 15th October, 1793. On it, he built a blockhouse known as
"Chapmans Fort" for protection against the Indians. This fort, located in Clay District, Hancock County, was held by his wife singlehanded at one time when he
went back to Maryland to settle some affairs. One story is that a hired man, contemplating robbery, came to the house one evening and told her to flee to the
nearest neighbors with her children, as there were Indians prowling about, and feared they would attack. Mrs. Chapman, suspecting his statement, drew down a gun
from the wall, and said, "If there is any Indians about, you are the one, and if you don't quit this place, I will shoot you." The man fled and was never seen
afterwards. She remained there unmolested a week until the return of her husband, who shared her belief that the man himself had planned mischief. They lived
upon the land until their deaths and were never disturbed by Indians. It is said that George set aside a portion of his land as a deer park. By later deeds, George
increased his plot of land to 1,250 acres, which at his death in 1812 he divided among his sons
and sons-in-law. He was buried on the "old farm". (The Mrs. Chapman here, is of course, Joanna LeMaster Chapman.)
Abstract of Will of George Chapman, Sr.:
Names: Wife - Johannah Chapman
References:
Lemasters, USA, 1639-1965, by Howard Marshall Lemaster and Margaret Herberger.
Joanna and George owned several tracts of land on Back Creek at the Potomac River, where they had a mill, Berkeley Co., VA as records there show, from 1777
to 1803 when they moved to Ohio Co., VA. It is probable that they moved to Ohio Co. around 1793, but they still had holdings in Berkeley until 1803.
Notes for George Chapman:
Although he is known in the family histories as "Captain George" the official Revolutionary War military rosters list only "George Chapman, Fifer". One suggestion is
that in civil life, George may have been a
boat captain. The Revolution Record of George Chapman in the Virginia State Library states that George served under Captain Arthur Smith, 4th Virginia regiment,
1776; Captain John Washington and Colonel Thomas Elliott, 4th Virginia Regiment, 1777; and Captain Burnley and Francis Taylor, Company of the Regiment of
Guards, 1779.
Sons - William Chapman, Thomas Chapman, Hugh Chapman, George Chapman,
Daughters - Martha, wife of John Swearingen; Jean Chapman; Elizabeth,
wife of William Chapman
Executors - Wife, Johannah Chapman, son-in-law, William Chapman
Witnesses - John Campble, Wm. Croxton, Robert Bowers
Dated: 1st January, 1807,Recorded: July term, 1812
History of the Pan-Handle, by J. H. Newton, G. C. Nichols and A.G. Sprankle published 1879, pages 413, 414 and 442.
Vol II, American Historical Society Bulletin, by Frank Alfred Chapman, page 290
History of the Northern Pan-Handle of West Virginia, by Boyd, published in 1926
A History of West Virginia and Its People, by Thomas Condit Miller and Hugh Maxwell, Lewis Historical Publishing Company, New York, Vol I, Published 1913
Chapman Family History, by American Genealogical Research Institute, Heritage Press,Inc., Washington, D.C., page 74
[The above was given to me by Patty S. Pulasky.]