Author: Chapman, Joseph
Biography:
CHAPMAN, Joseph (fl 1780-1813)
There is very little reliable information about Joseph Chapman beyond what can be gleaned from the poems themselves. They seem to indicate that his parents were Rufus and Olive Chapman and that they had had another son, Ashbel, who died young. A handwritten note on the broadside version of one of his poems identifies him as a resident of Groton CT. No public records have been found to confirm that parentage, however. The closest match is Joseph Chapman (1732-1814), born in Groton on 2 May 1732 (or possibly 1731), whose parents were Mercy and William Chapman; who married a woman whose first name was Anna with whom he had ten children; who became a deacon in his church; and who died at Groton on 3 Apr. 1814. (ancestry.com 29 July 2025; Connecticut Journal 18 Apr. 1814) HJ