Edward Chapman (1804 - 1854)

Born 1804 in Wanstead, London, England

Ancestors

Husband of Mary-Jane (Burnett) MacPherson — married 7 Dec 1826 (to 1854) in Hobart Town, Van Diemen's Land, Australia

Died 25 Jun 1854 at about age 50 in Mauritius

Biography

Edward was born in 1804. He is the son of Abel Chapman and Rebecca Bell.

In his early life he appears to have been a ship's captain, documented on the Woodford which sailed from England to Sydney and then Hobart, Van Diemen's Land in 1826, returning briefly en route to Madras in 1827.^[1][2]

He married Mary Jane Burnett in Hobart in 1826,^[3][4] daughter of James Burnett,^[5] and they had two children, George Henry James Mobery (Mowbray) Chapman (b.1834) and Mary Chapman. (d.1854)

He passed away while pursuing business interests in Mauritius in 1854, resulting in a legal dispute affecting his son's inheritance (Chapman v Oriental Bank Corporation 1865) which was determined at the Privy Council.^[6] His minor daughter passed away later that same year, his widow remarried in 1856, all mentioned in the court decision.

Sources

1. ↑ Bateson, Charles (1959). The Convict Ships. Brown, Son & Ferguson. OCLC 3778075 pp.308-9 cited on Wikipedia
2. ↑ Of course Edward Chapman is a common name but we have the Hobart marriage record, the Baxter reference to the marriage being to "Captain Chapman of the Woodford", the court case confirming the name of the spouse as Mary Jane with at least 2 connections to Hobart Burnetts. Also bear in mind his father and grandfather were both sea captains, and maybe a coincidence, but his father lived in Woodford in Essex, perhaps something that drew him to that particular ship?
3. ↑ "Australia Marriages, 1810-1980", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XTZF-ZHW : 28 January 2020), Edward Chapman, 1826.
4. ↑ Baxter ed. Sherwood refers to the marriage (to "a Captain Chapman of the Woodford") but thinks it was a daughter of John Burnett
5. ↑ supported by this genealogy
6. ↑ http://knyvet.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKPC/1865/1865_19.html

• "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JQMD-ZDX : 30 December 2014, Abel Chapman in entry for Edward Chapman, 28 Nov 1804); citing , index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 1,526,973.

• http://www.pennyghael.org.uk/Chapman.pdf - a very full and detailed genealogy of these particular Chapmans.

Research Notes

UPDATE: https://collections.sea.museum/objects/147029/users/login This woodcut image of the Woodford held by the Australian National Maritime Museum is interesting in and of itself, giving some idea of voyage conditions for the convicts, crew and potential passengers. But the text adds some very useful new information. It confirms the captain was Edward Chapman, and (as I had assumed) probably a relative of the previous master, Arthur Chapman (who like Edward, married an official's daughter at his destination port). More significantly it confirms the ship was owned by Abel and Arthur Chapman, which makes it more likely that Edward was indeed Abel's son, as we all think. It also suggests the name Woodford (where some of the Chapman family lived) was not in fact a coincidence, and all the ships in the fleet were named with some connection to the Chapman family. It gives a brief account of Edward and Mary's marriage but doesn't give any information to support the proposition that Mary and the Burnetts had arrived in Hobart the same day as the Woodford, or on the Woodford itself. (update ends)

The dates don't match up for Marianne Jane Burnett (born 1824, daughter of John) being the wife, as I originally thought. Son was born 1834 (The court case confirms George turned 21 on 24 March 1855, meaning he was born in 1834). However, Baxter, ed. Sherwood seems to think it was a daughter of John Burnett who "married Captain Edwards of the Woodford" in Sydney in 1826 - the marriage record confirms Hobart though I wouldn't have found (or even looked for) the record without the information from Baxter. John COULD have had earlier daughters, he married in 1804, all the genealogies say, I just find it hard to believe he would name one daughter Mary Jane, then another Mary Gascoigne, then another Marianne Jane - the last two are solidly established.

The pennyghael genealogy says wife Mary Jane was a daughter of James Burnett, but this James Burnett's biography states he only had one child, I'm not sure who the right Mary Jane or James Burnett is, maybe more distant relatives of "my" Burnetts, some of which (Atholl Burnett, Sholto James Douglas, son of James Dawes Douglas), brother of Sholto Douglas who married Henrietta Burnett) crop up in the court case.

One other interesting note from the court case: Mary Jane (Burnett) Chapman remarried in 1856.