Summary Information
Chandler B. and Chandler P. Chapman Papers
1835-1901
- Chapman, Chandler B., 1815-1877
- Chapman, Chandler Pease, 1844-1897
Wis Mss SA
3.8 c.f. (7 archives boxes and 6 volumes)
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Papers of Chandler B. Chapman of Madison, Wisconsin, and Emporia, Kansas, a physician and businessman, and of his son, Chandler Pease Chapman, Madison, Wisconsin, a realtor and “father” of the Wisconsin National Guard. The collection consists primarily of correspondence and pertains primarily to the elder Chapman's Civil War service as a surgeon in the 6th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment, to his activities on behalf of the Presbyterian Church and as a member of the Freemasons, to the military activities of the younger Chapman, and to the real estate and other investments of both men. Also present are personal papers of Anne Chapman (a daughter and sister); Civil War military documents and diaries; scrapbooks and newsclippings; a patient account book, 1841-1843; and journals of Dr. Chapman's trips to Europe and the Middle East including notes on hospitals, physicians, and medical practices he encountered.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-wis000sa ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
Chandler Burnell Chapman was born in Middlebury, Vermont, July 7, 1815; he died in Madison, Wisconsin, May 8, 1877. His early life was occupied largely by his preparation for a medical education and after completing his studies he decided to move West. In June of 1846, he settled in Madison and immediately began to practice medicine. He was a thoroughly trained physician and practical surgeon as well. His professional activities included professorships at medical colleges in Rock Island, Illinois and Cincinnati, Ohio.
Dr. Chapman was a consistent and prominent member of the Presbyterian Church and throughout his life and travels he was constantly engaged in work to found new congregations or to strengthen old ones. In addition to the church, his interests extended to Freemasonry and he was an active participant in various lodges in the Middle West. Travelling as a necessity became a great part of Dr. Chapman's life, as his business interests transcended his medical, religious, and philanthropic interests. Much of his time in the later 1860s and the 1870s was spent in Emporia, Kansas where he freely speculated with lands and merchandise.
Prior to this time, he served in the Union Army. Through the Civil War years he was a brigade surgeon to companies “F” and “S” of the Sixth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. When the war ended, he quickly returned to his business interests. He even went so far as to gain permission to practice before the bar in both Wisconsin and Kansas. For a while in 1875-1876 he was dabbling in elections in Kansas. He was also an inventor and a world traveller, In 1868 he secured a patent for a windmill and in 1857-1858 he took the first of two trips to Europe and the Near East. Shortly before his death, Dr. Chapman took his second trip to Europe and the Near East (1874-1875). He died the following year at the age of 62, leaving a wife (Mary Eugenia Chapman) and two children (Mrs. E. C. Gillett of Emporia, Kansas and Chandler Pease Chapman of Madison, Wisconsin).
Chandler Pease Chapman came to Madison, Wisconsin as an infant of two years. He was born in 1844 and died on May 12, 1897. In his mature life he was a prominent Madison realtor, assisting and associating closely with his father on technical problems regarding titles, deeds, and abstracts. Chandler P. Chapman's greatest achievement, however, won him the designation of “Father” of the Wisconsin National Guard.
The Wisconsin National Guard was largely organized on the strength of his efforts. His term of service dated from July 29, 1871, when he was commissioned Captain of the Lake City Guards of Madison. On May 19, 1881, he was promoted to Assistant Inspector General with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Finally on January 2, 1882, he was elevated to the rank of Brigadier General and appointed Adjutant and Inspector General of the State of Wisconsin. General Chapman served in this capacity until January 7, 1889, when he resigned and was placed on the retired list because of ill health.
General Chapman had begun his military career as a volunteer during the Civil War. On July 16, 1861, at the age of 18, he enlisted in Company “D”, Sixth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, for three years, but he was subsequently discharged on March 21, 1862, for disability. He came to father the Wisconsin National Guard through his efforts of organizing the Guards into companies, battalions, and regiments. In addition, the complete uniforming and equipping of the Guard was accomplished due to his work. General Chapman's first project as Commander of the Guard was to initiate a system of record-keeping and to sponsor a program of maintenance and upkeep for state military property. The fruits of his ability and training established in the Guard a system of rigid discipline which resulted in producing a military organization of effective force. One of his final contributions was to secure for the Guard a permanent campground (Camp Douglas). General Chapman died in 1897 at 53 years of age.
Scope and Content Note
This collection includes papers primarily of Chandler B. Chapman; fewer in number are the papers of his son, Chandler P. Chapman. There are also a few letters of other members of the family--wives, cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. The collection contains newspaper clippings, lecture notes and reports, printed material, two notebooks, and a diary but the bulk of material is correspondence. The correspondence is arranged in a general chronological framework, plus two letterpress books of outgoing correspondence. The correspondence falls into three main topical categories--business activities, church activities, and military activities.
The business correspondence is mainly in the nature of specific naterial concerning the buying and selling of real estate. In the case of Chandler B. Chapman, this activity centers around the locality of Emporia, Kansas, which the doctor found was a lucrative field for his speculations. In the case of General Chapman, the activity is centered about Madison. Because of the close association of father and son in the same business, there is a great deal of correspondence between the two men, pertaining largely to an exchange of technical and legal information.
The religious correspondence is almost wholly that of Dr. Chapman. His business ventures caused him to travel widely through Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Ohio, and of course, Kansas. Although business was the motivation, Dr. Chapman never failed to keep contacts with Presbyterian ministers and congregations. His religious activities were centered about plans to expand the Presbyterian faith. In line with this, Dr. Chapman's correspondents bear evidence of his plans to found any number of schools, churches, and seminaries, sectarian in nature and connected with the Presbyterian Church.
The correspondence concerning military activities falls into two categories. Dr. Chapman's correspondence comprises a Civil War collection which he accumulated while he was an Army surgeon. General Chapman's papers pertain to his work in the Wisconsin National Guard. Dr. Chapman's military papers are made up of orders, reports, letters, journals, diaries, and scrapbooks. General Chapman's military papers are chiefly organizational charts and plans for initiation and functioning of the Wisconsin National Guard.
Other than the large run of chronological correspondence, the collection also includes journals and diaries of Dr. Chapman on his two trips to Europe and the Middle East. This material includes notes on manners, customs, institutions, and buildings (particularly hospitals) and physicians in England, France, Switzerland, Belgium, and Germany. There are also complete financial records of the trips including bills for lodging, food, and merchandise purchased. The material is in both handwritten and printed form as his notes were edited and ran serially in the Madison newspapers. Clippings may be found in a separate bound journal.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by the Chandler B. Chapman Estate, July 1947; the Anne Chapman Estate, February 11, 1955, via Mrs. M. Wallinger, Ashland, Virginia; T. L. Welch, Madison, Wis., July 18, 1958; and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Archives, 1973.
Processed by Byron H. Levene.
Contents List
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Correspondence
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Box
1
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1835-1860
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1860-1865
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Civil War Materials
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Box
1
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Correspondence, 1861-1864
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Box
1
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Miscellaneous letters and papers
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Box
2
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Invoices, supply lists, reports, 1861-1864
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Box
2
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Receipted bills, 1862-1864
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Box
2
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Non-Civil War Correspondence, 1860-1865
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Box
2
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1866-1869 September
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Box
3
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1869 October-1873
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Box
4
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1874-1875
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Box
4
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Accounts of European Trips and Receipted Bulls for Expenditures, 1874-1875
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Box
4
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1876-1889 August
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Box
5
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National Guard correspondence and various veterans groups correspondence and miscellaneous papers, 1880-1890
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Box
5
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1889 September-1896
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Box
6
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National Guard Correspondence and various veterans groups correspondence and miscellaneous papers, 1891-1897
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Box
6
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1897-1901, 1916, 1948
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Box
6
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Undated and incomplete letters
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Box
6
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Membership certificates
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Box
6
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Miscellaneous
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Newspaper Clippings
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Box
7
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European Trip
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Box
7
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University of Wisconsin board of visitors and maladministration scandal, 1891
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Box
7
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National Guard and various veterans organizations
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Box
7
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Miscellaneous lecture notes and reports, 1855-1891
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Box
7
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Printed material
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Box
7
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Miscellaneous items (added in 1973)
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Small bound volumes
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Box
7
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Autograph Book
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Notebooks
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Box
7
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1851
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Box
7
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1862
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Box
7
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1866
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Box
7
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Undated
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Journals
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Box
7
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1852-1861
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Box
7
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1857 April-October
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Diaries
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Box
7
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1863
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Box
7
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1864
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Physician's Visiting Lists
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Box
7
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1861
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Box
7
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1868
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Box
7
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Masonic Certificate, 1869
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Box
7
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Poetry and Letters
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Chandler P. Chapman Letter Press Books
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Volume
1
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1869 May 3-1872 March 6
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Volume
2
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1879 November 1-1884 September 6
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Volume
3
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1886-1891
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Volume
4
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Chandler B. Chapman Patient Account book, 1841-1843
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Chandler B. Chapman Scrapbooks
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Volume
5
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1848-1870
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Volume
6
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1857
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Volume
7
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1874-1875
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