Martha (Parker) Chapman, b. 1810

DAVIS, PANGBORN, WILCOX

Posted By: Donna Moldt Walker (email)
Date: 2/26/2004 at 10:53:08

Mrs. Martha Chapman, widow of Truman Chapman. This venerable and highly respected lady is a resident of one of the many pleasant rural homes that are so characteristic of Jackson county. The homestead which she occupies in South Fork Township is a highly-cultivated, well-managed farm, formerly owned by her husband, who, for some years prior to his death, was classed among the most practical and skillful farmers of this locality.

Mrs. Chapman was born in 1810, in the beautiful town of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., since so famous as a summer resort. Her father, Abel Parker, was also born in that place, his parents having been among its early pioneers, and there he was reared and married, Mary Davis, likewise a native of that town, becoming his wife. Her father, John Davis, was a farmer, and owned a large farm in Saratoga County, where he spent his last years. In 1818 the parents of our subject removed from their birthplace to Warren County, N.Y., and settled near Warrensburg, where the father engaged in farming. In 1834 the pioneer spirit that had animated his forefathers impelled him to seek a new home on a virgin soil, and with teams he and his family journeyed to the wilds of Illinois, and cast in their lot with the early settlers of Quincy. Their experiences of pioneer life were not destined to be of very long continuation, for they died in their new abode in 1836, the mother's death occurring one day later than that of the father.

Mrs. Chapman was a child of eight years when her parents moved to Warren County, N.Y., and there she grew to a blooming and happy womanhood, receiving from her mother a careful training in all housewifely arts, so that, when Truman Chapman, a sturdy, high-principled young man, one of the neighboring farmers, asked her hand in marriage, she was well prepared to work by his side and aid him in the upbuilding of a home, and their union was consummated April 20, 1835. Mr. Chapman was born in Bolton, Warren Co., N.Y., and was a son of Amos and Elizabeth (Pangborn) Chapman, natives of New York. Mr. and Mrs. Chapman began their wedded life on a farm that he owned in Warren County, and there they lived contentedly, enjoying peace and plenty, for some years. In 1842 Mr. Chapman was selected as a man eminently fitted to take charge of the poor farm, and it was under his management for a period of eight years, during which time he showed his fitness for the position in various ways, and discharged the duties thus devolving upon him to the perfect satisfaction of all concerned. He subsequently engaged in the lumber and leather business very profitably for several years. He continued to reside in New York State until 1863, when he decided to invest some of his money in a farm in Iowa, that he might take advantage of its rich, alluvial soil and healthful climate, and, coming to Jackson County, he bought the homestead in South Fork Township now occupied by his widow and son. Here the last years of his life were passed, and, Sept. 28, 1872, was brought to its close. Its record is spotless, and that of a man of high personal worth, whose death deprived the community of a valued citizen; his neighbors of a considerate friend; and his family of a thoughtful husband and a wise father. His marriage had been blessed to him and his estimable wife by the birth of three children - Tarquin, Truman, and Lewis H. Lewis H. resides at home with his mother, and is the stay of her declining years; Truman married Marietta Wilcox, and they have four children - Luella, Harry, Charlie and Bert; Tarquin, their eldest born, they laid on the altar of their country. He was born Feb. 5, 1839, and was reared and educated in his native county (Warren County, N.Y.) and was a young man of much promise. In 1862 he enlisted in defense of the old flag, he being then in the pride of early manhood, and enrolled his name as a member of Company D, 5th New York Cavalry. He fought bravely and well in many important battles, showing the spirit of a true soldier, and twice he was held in captivity by the rebels; the last time he was an inmate of Libby Prison eighty days, where he suffered all the horrors and privations of prison life, and was released only to die the day after his freedom was granted to him, his death occurring March 4, 1865, just a short time before the great conflict, in which he took such a gallant part, was brought to an end.

Mrs. Chapman is a woman of high character, who has been true in all the relations of life in which she has been placed, and is well worthy of the high estimation in which she is held in this community, among whose people she has lived twenty-six years.

("Portrait and Biographical Album of Jackson County, Iowa", originally published in 1889, by the Chapman Brothers, of Chicago, Illinois.)