USA > Massachusetts > Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of the state of Massachusetts, Volume I > Part 84
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in the art in the City. This led me to engrave and issue a Cut (the Tiger Hunt) for a Card, in the early part of 1812, soliciting a patron- age at the Museum while I executed my Engravings at Brighton, where my uncle resided. After engraving a number of Cuts and finding a ready sale for them, I deter- mined on making Engraving a business, took a room in Tudor's building in Court street, and commenced in August, 1812, by doing a cut of a Model of a Boat for Mr. Frederick Tudor, and advertised to do Engraving on Wood in Boston. I immediately received orders from the principal publishers in the City, such as Messrs. T. B. Wait, Caleb Bing- ham, Summings & Hilliard, Munroe & Francis, Lincoln & Edmands, West & Richardson, Adams & Rhodes, Benjamin Russell, and others, most of whom had urged my making Wood Engraving a business, as no one, as they said, had ever attempted it in Boston." "The patronage thus bestowed on me, led Mr. Gershom Cobb, a writing master, to issue a card, as he had made cuts occasionally, by way of experimenting. This was soon fol- lowed by N. Dearborn, originally a book- binder and book seller, then a grocer, to issue a Hieroglyphical Card, as having opened in Water Street. Mr. Cobb soon relinquished the business altogether, leaving the whole to Mr. Dearborn and myself. After this a degree of rivalry ensued between us, and the progress each made may be seen by the work produced. Mr. Shaw, when about to publish his Descrip- tion of Boston, gave each two cuts to do, the Church of Christ in Salem St., and the Trian- gular Ware House, to Mr. Dearborn; and the Old and New State House to me ; and any one who wishes can see the state of the Art in Boston at that period by examining the work. And to show the progress I made in Engrav- ing on Wood, I would refer to a Cut placed at the head of an Elegy on the Death of Law- rence, killed in the battle between the Chesa- peake and Shannon, the cuts in the Naval Monument, Snow's History of Boston, the Picture of Boston, and the Young's Ladies' Book, all of which were published by myself. Soon after the latter book appeared, Mr. Dun- lap's work on the 'Arts in the United States' was issued, in which he gave me the credit of introducing the Art of Wood Engraving into Boston. The statement made by Mr. D. was from a knowledge of the circumstances I have here related, obtained from what was generally understood in Boston, not from any information he got from me, for he made no
application to me on the subject. The public must judge whether Mr. Dunlap's statement is correct, and who was the first to introduce the Art of Engraving into Boston, and bring it forward to take rank with other cities in the United States. Much credit awarded to me in the Art, is no doubt due to the pupils who have been in my employ, some of whom I am proud to say have become distinguished artists and do great credit to the country; Croome, Hartwell, Devereux, Brown, Billings, Kelly, Andrews, and several others. Abel Bowen."
An article on Abel Bowen in vol. I, No. 2 of the Collections of the Boston Society by William Henry Whitmore ( 1887) gives an account of his life, and works, portraits of himself and wife and reproduces many of his engravings, now in the possession of the Bos- tonian Society.
One of the survivors of the artists of the last generation has kindly favored us, writes Mr. Whitmore, "with his recollections of our subject." "Bowen was the real founder of the art of wood-engraving here, not so much by his own production as by the stimulus he gave the subject. He was an enthusiast, always projecting works to be illustrated in this manner, and though rarely making a profit himself, he was thus the cause of much being done. He was self-taught, copying the designs and methods of those English exam- ples which inspired him. Before his time engraving on copper and type metal had been done here with fair success. But the aims, processes and results of wood-engraving were so well perceived and achieved in this city, that for years it possessed almost a monopoly of the business. And the work done a half century ago was really good in style and man- ner ; so that to-day the greatest advance notice- able is mainly due to improvements in print- ing, paper and ink. That Bowen was unable to command the means to succeed largely was the misfortune of the times; that he should have struggled on, year after year, in the face of reverses, poverty and long-continued illness, is the highest proof that he possessed that spark of vital energy which we call genius."
He died March 11, 1850. He married Eliza Healy. The old house of his uncle, Daniel Bowen, in Brighton where he executed some of his early engravings is still standing. Chil- dren of Abel and Eliza (Healy) Bowen: I. Lorenzo. 2. Daniel. 3. Edwin. 4. Eliza, married Henry Sanderson. 5. Anne M., born November 29, 1823, married, January 4, 1849,
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Benjamin Phipps. (See Phipps family). 6. Emeline, married Charles G. Butts. Four others died young. All of these children with the exception of Mrs. Phipps is now deceased.
CHAPMAN In the following article is some account of a branch of the Chapman family, supposed to be descended from Samuel Chapman, who set- tled in Sharon, Connecticut.
(I) Rev. Benjamin Chapman was born about 1724 and died June 22, 1786, aged sixty-one says Mr. Robinson's church record of South- ington, Connecticut, but the tombstone has it sixty. He was the second pastor of the Con- gregational church in Southington. "All at- tempts to fix the time and place of his birth," says Rev. Heman R. Trinlow, in 'Ecclesiasti- cal and other Sketches of Southington, Conn.,' from which much of this sketch is taken. "have proved unavailing. A granddaughter remem- bers hearing her father say that an 'Uncle Samuel' (brother of Rev. Benjamin) used to visit them at Southington, and he lived some- where east of the Connecticut river. Another fact seems to appear, that is, that he was early in life left without a father, and that he had property in his own right. From his youth his associations were in the western part of the state, and tradition says that he was in some way under the care of Rev. Dr. Bellamy. He had friends, and evidently lived for a time in Fairfield. He also had some landed property in the western part of the state, for once a year he visited there to look after it. Putting all facts and traditions and conjectures to- gether, it seems likely that he may have been of the family of Samuel Chapman who left Colchester and settled in Sharon."
He graduated at the College of New Jersey, then located at Newark, September 25, 1754. Within two months after graduating, in com- pany with two classmates, he applied to the Litchfield Association of this state (Connec- ticut ) for licensure. From the records of that body it appears that it met November 20, 1754, John Graham, moderator, and Joseph Bellamy, scribe, and the following is an extract : "Messrs. Noah Waddams, Benajah Roots, and Benjamin Chapman B: of A: offered them- selves to examination in order to become licensed preachers, this association examined each of them according to our Standing Rules, and look upon them completely qualified to preach the Gospel, accordingly the said Noah Waddams B. A., Benajah Roots B. A., and Benjamin Chapman B. A., are each of them
licensed to preach the Gospel under the direc- tion and conduct of this association ; heartily desiring that the great Lord of the Vineyard may dispose each of them to a life of studious- ness and Prayerfullness, & to an humble walk with God and before man, and make each of them a great Blessing in the world." It is a matter of tradition that Mr. Chapman studied for a time with Dr. Bellamy, and his name appears in some of the old Bellamy papers in such a way as to lead to the belief that he was not only a student of his, but a kind of protege. He may have been with Dr. Bellamy for the two months intervening between his graduation and application for license to preach. In Octo- ber, 1753, the Ecclesiastical Society of New Preston, Connecticut, was constituted, and No- vember 14, 1754, it was voted to build a meet- ing house. At a meeting held January 30, 1755, it was "voted, that the ministerial com- mittee of New Preston Society shall give Mr. Benjamin Chapman a call upon probation to preach unto us in order for settlement amongst (us) in said New Preston." "Voted, that the ministerial committee James Terrill & Jacob Kinne & John Bostwick shall aply themselves to Mr. Benjamin Chapman in order to repre- sent said society in calling Mr. Chapman in upon probation to preach to us in order for settlement amongst us." How long he preach- ed there is not known, but his classmate Wad- dams was invited to preach on probation, Sep- tember 16, 1756. Mr. Chapman began his min- istry under favorable auspices in that there was a general desire for peace, and not con- troversy, in the church. By his unaffected piety and amiable manners, he won to him- self the friends of Mr. Curtis, his predecessor, and at the same time satisfied those who had been anxious for more radical religious meas- ures. For about. ten years he was able to sat- isfy the people, and there were numerous addi- tions to the church. But after this time a general apathy prevailed. This was not alone the case in his church; much the same feeling prevailed elsewhere in New England. Mr. Chapman contented himself with preaching plain. practical sermons-never attempting to make straight what seemed crooked in God's moral government. His mind was not con- structed for controversy. He is spoken of as a good natured man, benevolent, and overflow- ing with pleasantry. His piety was unques- tioned ; he was spiritual and faithful. The fact is he was too spiritual for the times, in his preaching, and finally, tired of preaching to a church spiritually lifeless, in a community
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where socicty was totally indifferent to relig- ious matters, he severed his connection as pastor of the church September 28, 1774. But the dissolution of the pastoral relation did not release him from his ordinary duties. Prac- tically the relation was not dissolved, for he still preached frequently, and was as before the pastor of the flock. A large number of the congregation was absent in the army, and he was the trusted friend of the families left behind. Although feeling himself the subject of ingratitude and unmerited neglect, he allow- ed nothing to interfere with Christian duty. He was constant in his attentions upon the sick, and continued pleasant intercourse with his old parishioners. It was a frequent cause of lamentation among the more devout of the people that they had permitted the dismission of their pastor. Whatever had been their former complaints, seldom did they have their pulpit more satisfactorily filled than by him. After he ceased to be their pastor many saw and confessed their error. For three or four vears after resigning his pastorate, when not supplying at Southington, he preached to vacant churches in Litchfield and New Haven counties. He also preached on week-day evenings frequently in portions of this town somewhat remote from the church. In his later years he had a series of religious meet- ings at Red Stone Hill, and he found himself again in his element. The fire of his earlier ministry was rekindled. It was a great privi- lege to end his active life as he began it, in a revival. This was in 1783, and from this time until his death he was seldom from his home. He gradually declined till he quietly passed away.
Mr. Chapman had not been entirely depend- ent upon his salary for his living. He seems to have been in comfortable circumstances, and generously dispenscd his hospitality. By his private fortune he was enabled to sct a better table than any of his people, and this fact was often spoken of. Until he lost his property and until his wife became an invalid, his home was the center of social attraction to the parish. He was interested in the young, and is said to have originated for their special benefit the plan of the library that survived until about 1790. His two or three negro ser- vants were fcd so well that to "live like Chap- man's niggers" became proverbial, and to this clay the proverb is current in the town, although its origin is unknown to many. But the revo- lutionary war came on, and he and his wife invested a large part of their property in Con-
tinental scrip, resulting in a large loss of prop- erty. His investments, whatever they were, were not in Southington. A tradition in some branches of his family is that his income came from the western part of the state. There is reason to believe that his wife had quite a patrimony. But when his successor assumed the pastorate at Southington, Mr. Chapman's circumstances were straitened. He added to his income somewhat by supplying vacant pul- pits, but the compensation for such service in those days was small. An evidence of the smallness and harshness he had to encounter at the hands of his people is illustrated by the fact that, although his domestic sorrows were overwhelming, and that he was, as providence opened the way from Sabbath to Sabbath, still preaching, his little estate was taxed to raise the salary for his successor. He was so press- ed for the payment of this tax that he had to petition the legislature for relief. And the result was the enactment of a law by the gen- eral court, in October, 1782, relieving ministers of the gospel during the continuance of their public service in the gospel ministry from pay- ment of taxes on estates of theirs lying in the town where they dwelt. "As an instance of Mr. Chapman's humor and kindness of heart, it is said that one night he heard a noise in his cellar. Descending thither with a candle, he saw a man tying up a bag which contained all the pork that had been stored in a barrel. He remarked, 'Friend, it isn't fair that you take all the pork-you should at least leave me half! Here now, I'll divide it, and you take half and leave half for me.' The man, ashamed at being caught, refused to touch it, but Mr. Chapman good naturedly persisting, he trudged off with his share. The next day was 'militia training' upon the green north of the burying ground, and Mr. Chapman officiated as chaplain. After the prayer he ran his eye along the ranks and saw that the culprit was there, then turning to the captain exclaimed, 'Captain Woodruff, one of your men stole my pork last night and ought to be punished.' But he refused to tell who it was, and walked rapidly off, leaving the guilty party fearing a punishment he was never to receive.'
Benjamin Chapman married, January 8, 1756, Abigail Riggs, of Derby, who died Octo- ber 10, 1782, aged fifty-four years. Her mother was also named Abigail. From the Derby rec- ords it appears that Mrs. Chapman had con- siderable property. There were several trans- actions in her name, and as late as 1770 her
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mother deeds her property. The following extract from the Farmington town records bears date October 19, 1770: "Abigail Riggs, of Derby, for the love she bears to her daugh- ters, Abigail R. Chapman, of Farmington, Mary (or Mercy) Hawkins, and Elizabeth Yale (wife of Thomas) of Derby," gives "land lying in Derby, Waterbury, and Will- ington, or in any other town in the colony, to be equally divided." Mr. Chapman is sup- posed to have given his son Samuel the farm he occupied in Russell, Massachusetts. Mrs. Chapman was a woman of education and re- finement. but of a very sensitive retiring nature. The trials of her husband were no less sore to her than to him, and he had hardly resigned his charge before she became physically pros- trated under a painful disorder which lasted for years, and she finally died insane from the treatment her husband received at the hands of the society and church. Eight children were born of this union: I. Abigail, born October IO, 1756; died October 15, 1776. 2. Roswell Riggs, February 14, 1758; died September 5, 1776. 3. Sarah, May 17, 1759; died January IO, 1804. 4. Clarissa, November 22, 1764; married. October 24. 1790, Russell Atwater, of Cheshire. 5. Benjamin, February 26, 1763; married (first) November 23. 1786, Polly Cook, who died July 2, 1789; (second) Sep- tember 25, 1792, Sylvia Upson. 6. Parmelia, November 7, 1764; married, 1797, Russell Falley, of Montgomery, Massachusetts; died 1873, aged one hundred and nine. 7. Samuel, mentioned below. 8. Levi, October 30, 1768; married, November II, 1790, Mercy Carter ; died November 8, 1834.
(II) Samuel, third son of Rev. Benjamin and Abigail (Riggs) Chapman, was baptized June 22, 1766, and died December 30, 1850, aged eighty-four. He resided in Russell, and died in Blandford, Massachusetts, on a farm probably given him by his father. He was a quiet citizen, cultivated his farm, and held no office, and was not in public life. He married Hannah, daughter of John Ferguson, of Blandford, who died August 23, 1851. Their children were: I. Caroline, born November 9. 1799: married Marcus Bradley, of Russell, Massachusetts, and died in 1823. 2. Reuben Atwater, mentioned below. 3. Clarissa, May 15. 1805; married, September 25, 1831, Rev. Richard Armstrong, missionary to the Sand- wich Islands.
(III) Hon. Reuben Atwater, only son of Samuel and Hannah (Ferguson) Chapman, was born in Russell. Hampden county, Massa-
chusetts, September 20, 1801, and died in Fluelen, Switzerland, June 28, 1873. He attended the common schools of the town, kept for a few months only in each year. At the age of seventeen he was engaged as a school teacher in the town of Montgomery. He afterwards went to Blandford, where he was a clerk in a store, and studied the higher branches with the minister of Blandford. The young men of the town established a debating society, in which he became a member, and was prominent as the foremost debater. He at length entered the office of General Alanson Knox, of Bland- . ford, as a student at law. He soon mastered the ordinary routine of country practice, and was accustomed to attend justices' trials in Blandford and the neighboring towns, en- countering sometimes the lawyers in the vicin- ity, and sometimes their students. At the time of his admission to the bar he enjoyed the repu- tation of being an able and acute practitioner. He was admitted to the bar at the March term of the common pleas, in 1825, and opened an office in Westfield. There were then in that town a large number of lawyers, a number much too large for the necessities of the town and its vicinity, and he was much disappointed with his success. In 1827 he removed to Mon- son, and, finding the demand for his services there too limited, he removed in 1829 to the more thriving town of Ware. He was at once regarded in the light of an intruder, and a feeling of professional rivalry ripened into controversy. He was not a person to come off second best in such a state of things, and he had obtained a lucrative and an increasing practice, when he was invited to a copartner- ship with the Hon. George Ashmun, in Spring- field. He attracted the notice of Daniel Wells, of Greenfield, then district attorney, and the leading lawyer of that region, and afterward chief justice of the state ; and he suggested to Mr. Chapman and George Ashmun, then prac- ticing in Enfield, that if they would go to Springfield and join their talents and legal knowledge, they would be the gainers. both in pocket and reputation. The suggestion was acted upon, and in 1830 the firm of Chapman & Ashmun commenced practice on Elm street. In those days it was not customary for young lawyers to engage in the trial of cases, unless some one of the older members of the bar was associated with them; but the new firm at once made an innovation upon that ancient custom. and the old lawyers found that these young men were foemen not to be despised in the court room. Mr. Lorenzo Norton, who
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was a student in their office, and was admitted to the bar in 1843, became a partner in the firm, and remained such until his death. The association of Chapman & Ashmun continued until 1850, when Mr. Ashmun's election to congress led to the dissolution of the firm, Mr. Chapman continuing the business for some time alone. In 1854 he induced Franklin Chamberlain, of Lee, now Hartford, to remove to Springfield, and become his partner, which partnership continued until 1860, when the senior member of the firm was placed upon the bench. In accordance with a legislative resolution passed in 1849, Governor George N. Briggs appointed Mr. Chapman one of the members, with B. F. Curtis, Esq., of Boston, and N. J. Lord, Esq., of Salem, to draw up a practice act for the courts of justice of the commonwealth except in criminal cases. The resignation of Chief Justice Shaw, in 1860, and the promotion of Judge Bigelow to the chief justiceship, made a vacancy which was filled by the appointment of Judge Chapman ; and eight years later, when Chief Justice Bige- low resigned, the older and more prominent Boston lawyers urged Governor Bullock to ignore the claims made for the place by the friends of Judge Benjamin F. Thomas and Judge E. Rockwood Hoar, and give the appointment to Judge Chapman. The first intimation the latter had of any movement for his promotion was his reception of the appoint- ment from the governor. His course upon the bench won general indorsement and approval, and his administration was characterized by brief and commonsense decision, by careful and close attention to business, and by the most conscientious regard for legal principles. It has been said of him: "In one respect he succeeded admirably as a chief justice. He was a most excellent administrative officer. He properly appreciated the evils of the law's de- lay, and he was of a character to push forward the legal business of the court to speedy justice. Another trait of his character was his entire impartiality. He considered a judicial tribu- nal as a thcater for the ascertainment of right, and that the legal forms of procedure were the necessary securities by which the rights of parties are to be investigated and establish- ed. Without regard, therefore, to the parties litigant, and with no influences of friendship in favor of the opposing counsel, he labored to discover the substantial merits of the contro- versy, and to apply the principles of practice to the triumph of justice. The opinions which he left upon the record bear testimony to his
industry and his talent. They are generally brief, being rather decisions of the questions of law in dispute, than long disquisitions upon the law. His language is concise and clear ; and no one who is desirous of ascertaining, can fail to understand what the point of law is, that he proposes to decide. There was one admirable trait in the mind of the chief justice, which distinguished him, both at the bar and on the bench; and we allude to the quick appreciation of the evidence, and the points of law in the case. He was always distinguish- ed for his readiness in understanding the facts, and his application of legal principles to it."
Originally a Whig, Judge Chapman was always a strong anti-slavery man, and during the "Kansas" excitement was one of the fore- most men in Springfield in advocating the free state movement. He was a personal acquaint- ance of John Brown, as well as his attorney when Brown was in business in Springfield, and when the latter was arrested in Virginia he was at once sent for as counsel, but was unable to respond to the call on account of pressing engagements elsewhere, replying to Brown to have his case held over and he would then take up his case, but Brown was executed before the letter was delivered. He was a supporter of the Emigrant Aid Society, and, when a United States commissioner, great pressure was brought upon him to resign the office that he might avoid the offensive duty of returning fugitive slaves to their masters. "I refuse to resign," was his firm reply. When an explanation of his position was asked, he said, "In the event of the pursuit of a slave to Springfield, as an officer of the Emigrant Aid Society I would forward the fugitive to other parts . as United States commissioner I would then issue a warrant for his arrest." Believing the law unconstitutional, he felt that in this manner the matter could be tested more fairly with the office held by a man of anti-slavery principles.
Judge Chapman's mind was under such thorough discipline that, whether well or ill, he could bring himself to the performance of his professional work; and so great was his power of abstraction, that he was oblivious of all external circumstances while actively en- gaged in mental work. There is something remarkable in the fidelity with which he pur- sncd studies outside of his profession. Early in his professional life he took up mathematics- Latin and Greek having been studied in con- nection with his profession-and afterwards he devoted himself in succession to metaphysics,
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