Author: Chapman, Joseph
Biography:
CHAPMAN, Joseph (1786-1871: ancestry.com)
The most reliable evidence about Chapman comes from Census records and from the few poems themselves. His parents were probably Obadiah and Naomi (Palmer) Chapman. A burial record names him as Joseph B. Chapman but it is not known what the B. stands for: he died on 20 Dec. 1871, aged 85. Notes attached to two copies of his work contain contradictory information: one states that he was a resident of Groton CT and the other identifies him as the owner of a private printing press and resident of Jewett City in Griswold CT. The latter is confirmed by Census records from 1820 to 1870. Birth and marriage records are wanting, but his wife Sarah (or Sallie) appears in all the Census records. She was aged 79 years and 8 months when she died on 15 June 1877, so she must have been born c. 1798. Both are buried in the Rixton cemetery at Griswold. They had four daughters, the first born in Griswold in 1819. Chapman's occupation is given as "farmer." One of the most charming poems in his short collection is "The Comforts of Married Life." Some of Chapman's poems were published as broadsides, presumably printed by himself. (ancestry.com 29 July 2025, 1 June 2026; S&W; information from AA) HJ