1535944

[Chapman.FTW]

Sailed from Liverpool, England in 1632. Landed in Boston and was given
a land grant at Macon, Georgia. Moved to South Carolina circa 1700.

Chapman is a name of Saxon origin. It was originally spelled "ceapman",
and its Germanic equivalent is "kaufmann". The name means "merchant" or
"trader" and is among the earliest known English surnames, first
appearing in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire in the thirteenth century.

Since 1216, the names of Chapman families residing in Yorkshire have
been recorded on the registers and rolls of Whitby Abbey. Seaver's
Chapman Family History gives a detailed record of the Chapmans of Whitby
Strand. It is generally believed that most of the Chapman families who
came to America in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries are of
Yorkshire origin, and that some of them are probably descendants of the
Chapmans of Whitby.

Certainly the first information we have concerning a member of our
Chapman line begins in Yorkshire. Sarah Jackson, a Quaker of
Bridlington, Yorkshire, married Giles Chapman in 1728. Records in the
family Bible show that Giles was born in 1702, but do not give the city
of birth. Since Bridlington is only a few miles down the coast from
Whitby, it is entirely possible that he may be related to the Chapmans
of Whitby. However, a search of the parish records and records of
dissenters churches for Bridlington and surrounding parishes in
Yorkshire fail to disclose a record of his birth. While G. L. Summer
states that Giles Chapman was a native of Wales, we have been unable to
find documentary evidence of this fact. A Giles Chapman is listed in
London parish records, but the dates of his life do not correspond.