Chapman is the maiden name of one of our maternal great-great-great-great-great grandmothers, Susannah Chapman (c.1770-?). The sequence of surnames in the seven generations between us goes Chapman-Keep-Skeggs-Cain-Cain-Rogers-Rogers-Dwyer.
The surname Chapman is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is an occupational name for a merchant or trader.
As far as is known, our Chapman ancestors all lived in East London.
No definitive baptism record has been found for Randolph Chapman, but he was probably born in the early 1650s. There was a “Raphe Chapman”, the son of Richard and Anne Chapman, baptised at St. Helen Bishopsgate on 7 August 1654, and while the time and location are consistent with the Chapman family’s subsequent history, the first name does not match well enough to claim this as the correct person. Apparently London parish registers were poorly kept during the English Civil War and Commonwealth years (1643-1659)1 and this may explain the absence of a baptism record.
There is also no marriage record for a Randolph Chapman, meaning that we do not know the maiden name or any other details of his wife Ann. It is probable that they married in the early 1670s and had two children:
It is not known when Randolph and Ann died.
Samuell Chapman was born in 1677, the son of Randolph and Ann Chapman (see above). He was baptised at St. Giles Cripplegate on 10 February 1677.
No marriage record for Samuell and Ann has been found, meaning that we do not know Ann’s maiden name or any other details about her. They probably married in the early 1690s. Only one child of the marriage is known, Samuell (our ancestor - see below - b.1694).
A Samuell Chapman was buried on 27 November 1726 at St. Botolph-without-Aldgate, but the father’s name does not appear in the record and without it the event can not be verified. It is possible that this Samuell was the one born around 1677 or possibly his son born around 1694.
It is not known when Ann died.
Samuell Chapman was born in 1694, the son of Samuell Chapman and his wife Ann (see above), whose maiden name is unknown. He was baptised at St. Paul Shadwell on 10 October 1694.
No satisfactory baptism record has been located for Ann Pope. There are too many matching records and almost no information to make a judgment about which may be her.
Samuell and Ann married at St. Botolph-without-Aldgate on 10 July 1712. They are both noted as being residents of the parish at the time of their marriage. They had at least five children, all baptised at St. Botolph-without-Aldgate:
A Samuel Chapman, son of Samuell, was buried at St. Botolph-without-Aldgate on 17 September 1724. It is uncertain as to whether this was our Samuell Chapman or his infant son born that same year. Also, as noted above, there was a Samuell Chapman buried on 27 November 1726 at St. Botolph-without-Aldgate but the identification of this person is uncertain.
It is not known when Ann Pope died.
Thomas Chapman was born in 1714 in the Aldgate area of London, the son of Samuell Chapman and Ann Pope (see above). He was baptised at St. Botolph-without-Aldgate on 6 February 1714.
No satisfactory baptism record has been located for Mary Smith. There are far too many records and almost no information to make a judgment about which one may be her.
Thomas and Mary married clandestinely on 17 March 1735. Perhaps the birth of their first child Thomas later that year gives a clue as to why they married in a clandestine (no-questions-asked) ceremony. Thomas was noted as being resident in the parish of St. Dunstan in the East, and Mary a resident of the parish of St. Margaret Westminster. They had six children:
It cannot be established when Thomas and Mary died as there are too many possible records and too little information in the index.
John Chapman was born in 1743 in the Shoreditch area of East London, the son of Thomas Chapman and Mary Smith. He was baptised at St. Leonard Shoreditch on 23 May 1743.3
Elisabeth Merredy was born in 1745, the daughter of William Merredy and Susannah Robinson. She was baptised at St. Giles Cripplegate on 12 March 1745.4
John and Elisabeth married at St. Leonard Shoreditch on 20 December 1767, and they had six known children:
It is not known when John and Elisabeth died.
1 Ancestry.com. London, England, Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
2 Sarah is the only child not baptised at St. Leonard Shoreditch, being instead baptised at St. Dunstan and All Saints Stepney, about 3 kilometers distant. Accordingly there is some slight doubt that she is from this family.
3 John Chapman’s birth details can probably be inferred from his marriage record. His 1767 marriage suggests that he was probably born in the early 1740s, and the fact that both he and his wife were noted at marriage as being of the parish of St. Leonard Shoreditch suggests that he may have been born there.
4 The surname was spelt “Merrydy” in the record. St. Giles Cripplegate was about 1 kilometer from St. Leonard Shoreditch.