David William Chapman ^{1 2 3}

  General Notes:

Parsons, Col. William and Shiach, W. S. An Illustrated History of Umatilla County and of Morrow County. Spokane, WA: W. H. Lever, 1902. p. 364

D. WILLIAM CHAPMAN

It is with pleasure that he accord to the rising young agriculturist whose name initiates this paragraph, and whose enterprise and integrity are manifest to all, a representation in this portion of these chronicles of Umatilla county, in which section he has wrought with assiduity and intelligence for sufficient time to demonstrate his ability to be of a high order, and where the success he has acquired is very flattering.

He is a product of the west, being born in Walla Walla, Washington, on February 16, 1871. In that city he resided for the first fifteen years of his life, and there also he received a good education from the public schools. When he arrived at the age mentioned he engaged with his brother-in-law, Ed Campbell, to herd sheep, which occupation he followed continuously for seven years, in which time he acquired a fine practical knowledge of handling sheep. This has been of inestimable advantage to him during the years subsequent to that time. After this service he invested his hard earnings in a bunch of cattle and gave his attention to their care for two years, then selling them to good advantage and investing in sheep. He is still following sheep raising, in which industry, because of his practical knowledge and close attention to every detail of his business, he is achieving a marked success, seeming to be yoked to prosperity's chariot. In 1896 he took up a homestead where he still lives and where he maintains the headquarters for his sheep industry, having now between two and three thousand head.

His marriage took place in Pendleton, on 16 Oct 1895, when Miss Virginia Lightfoot became his wife. She is a native of this county, whose father, S. G. Lightfoot, is spoken of in another portion of this volume. The union was crowned by the advent of one child, Morvia F., born 18 Sep 1900. Mr. Chapman now lives in Spring Hollow, four miles north from Gurdane P. O., while his father, A. J. Chapman, who was formerly a miller in Walla Walla, now resides on Butter creek. Notwithstanding the close attention that he has paid to his business matters, still our subject has found time to take care of all the detailed work of a public office to the district where he lives, being called thereto by the franchises of his fellow citizens, and in which he has by his characteristic faithfulness and integrity conserved the interests of the people so thoroughly that he has won their perfect confidence and admiration.
--------------------------------------------------------------

  Noted events in his life were:

• He appeared on the 1900 US Census in Vinson, OR on 29 June 1900. ¹

1900 US Census
Page 10A, District 106, Dwelling 200, Family 200
Vinson Precinct, Umatilla County, Oregon
house rented
married 4 years
David Chapman..Head..Feb 1871..29..WA..Stock Raiser
(Living with wife.)
.

• He appeared on the 1910 US Census in Pilot Rock Precinct, Umatilla County, OR on 9 May 1910. ²

1910 US Census
Sheet 8B, District 256, Family 174, Roll 1289
Pilot Rock Precinct, Umatilla County, Oregon
Married 15 years
David W. Chapman..Head..39..WA..Stock Farmer
(Living with wife, daughter, brother, and sister.)
.

• He was buried after 12 August 1944 in the Vinson Cemetery in Vinson, OR.

Vinson Cemetery is a very remotely located cemetery near the old Vinson settlement about 15 miles west of Pilot Rock, Oregon. The existing settlement now consists of only one house and this cemetery located about a quarter of a mile away. There are no other houses, farms, structures, or roads within several miles of this area. His grave marker is a small sloped monument of rose and black streaked marble approximately 18" by 18". The inscription reads "Father, David W. Chapman, 1871-1944". It was in remarkably good shape and easily readable as of September 2002.

Find A Grave Memorial #14721320
------------------------------------------------------
. ³

David married Virginia L. Lightfoot, daughter of Samuel Greenberry Lightfoot and Laura Maria Salisbury, on 16 October 1895 in Pendleton, OR.^{1 2} (Virginia L. Lightfoot was born on 7 January 1873 in Salem, OR,^{1 2 4 5} died on 5 December 1941 in Pendleton, OR ⁵ and was buried after 5 December 1941 in Vinson, OR ⁵.)

  Noted events in their marriage were:

• They appeared on the 1900 US Census in Vinson, OR on 29 June 1900. ¹

1900 US Census
Page 10A, District 106, Dwelling 200, Family 200
Vinson Precinct, Umatilla County, Oregon
house rented
married 4 years
David Chapman..Head..Feb 1871..29..WA..Stock Raiser
Virginia Chapman..Wife..Jan 1873..27..OR..0/0
.

• They appeared on the 1910 US Census in Pilot Rock Precinct, Umatilla County, OR on 9 May 1910. ²

1910 US Census
Sheet 8B, District 256, Family 174, Roll 1289
Pilot Rock Precinct, Umatilla County, Oregon
Married 15 years
David W. Chapman..Head..39..WA..Stock Farmer
Virginia Chapman..Wife..37..OR..2/2
Moravia F. Chapman..Daughter..9..OR
Edward Chapman..Brother..46..OR
Lenora E. Chapman..Sister..28..WA

NOTE - On this census form, Virginia indicated that she had two children which technically was true because her second child, Grant Chapman, was born on 18 Mar 1910 but inexplicably was left off.