The finely cultivated farm of this gentleman is pleasantly located on section 20, Hanover Township, and comprises 275 acres of valuable land. On the west part of it stands the station of the Chicago, Burlington & Northern Railroad, thus affording fine facilities for the market of produce, and is convenient for the family in many other respects. The buildings are neat and substantial, and he has a fine assortment of live-stock – cattle, horses, and swine; an ample supply of shade and fruit trees, farm machinery, good water, and all the other appurtenances of the modern country estate. The proprietor is a man of more than ordinary intelligence, and one who has been no unimportant factor in the growth and development of Hanover Township.

Rush County, Ind., is the native place of our subject, and his birth occurred, March 8, 1839. His parents were Anderson and Lucretia (Hatfield) Chapman, the father a native of Monroe County, Va., and the mother born near Lexington, Ky. Both sides of the house trace their ancestry to England, and were represented at an early day among the Colonists. All the grandparents of our subject, it is supposed, spent their last days in America. Anderson Chapman left Indiana in 1843, coming to this county, where our subject was reared to man’s estate, and became familiar with all the vicissitudes of pioneer life. He received a limited education in the primitive schools, but has always been fond of reading, and thus kept himself posted in regard to current events. After the outbreak of Civil War, the father entered the Union Army as a member of Company D, 45th Illinois Infantry which became a part of the Army of the West. He participated with his comrades in the battles at Forts Henry and Donelson, was also at Shiloh and Vicksburg, and met the enemy in various minor engagements and skirmishes. At Shiloh he was slightly wounded in the shoulder, but otherwise escaped unharmed, and at the expiration of his term of enlistment, received his honorable discharge, Nov. 30, 1864.

William Chapman, our subject, at the time of his father’s enlistment also entered the service in the same company and regiment, and fought side by side with his sire in the battles already mentioned. Later he participated in the siege of Vicksburg, and at Ft. Hill, adjacent, the bursting of a shell took off his left arm below the elbow. He was confined in the hospital at Memphis, Tenn., two months, and received his honorable discharge in August, 1863. He then returned to this county, where he has since lived and engaged in agricultural pursuits. On the 12th of April, 1866, he was wedded to Miss Anna D. Campbell, a native of Derinda Township, this county, and born Dec. 12, 1849. Mrs. Chapman is the daughter of Robert and Minerva (Craig) Campbell, who, upon coming to this county during its pioneer days, settled in Derinda Township, where they lived until about 1869. They then removed to Dakota County, Neb., where they still reside. They are the parents of ten children, the eldest of whom, a son, Arthur, is a resident of Nebraska; Mrs. Chapman, was the second born; Mary is the wife of Washington Leddam, and they live in the Far West; James and William also live out West; Emma is the wife of Solomon DeBord, of Nebraska; Nellie married Andrew Davis, and they live in Augustus, Neb.; Jennie and Daniel are also in Nebraska; Robert Campbell is a native of Scotland, and his wife was born in Jo Daviess County.

Mr. and Mrs. Chapman commenced the journey of life together on the farm at Hanover, where they lived until the spring of 1883, when they removed to that which they now own and occupy. They are the parents of two children only, sons, Frank H., born Feb. 12, 1867, and John W., March 5, 1877.

Anderson Chapman, the father of our subject, was born April 8, 1816, and was the son of Thomas and Ankey (Harvey) Chapman, who left Kentucky when a little lad of six years of age. They took up their abode in Highland County, Ohio, where they sojourned some thirteen years, and thence removed to Rush County, Ind., where they spent the remainder of their days. Anderson, after his marriage, continued to reside in that county until his removal to Northern Illinois. Upon approaching manhood he learned the trade of a stone mason, which he followed afterward considerably in connection with farming. The wife and mother died on the 6th of January, 1886. They were the parents of twelve children, seven of whom are living, namely: Thomas, William, Joseph, Mary, (wife of James Hunt, of Savanna, Ill.), George, Emma, (wife of Henry Koehler, of Le Mars, Iowa); and Elizabeth.

William H. Chapman, politically, like his father before him, is a strong defender of Republican principles. He takes a genuine interest in the growth and progress of Northern Illinois, and is an upright citizen, performing every known duty, and contributes as far as he is able to bring about this result.

Contributed by Carol Parrish - Portrait and Biographical Album of Jo Daviess and Carroll Counties, Illinois (1889)