Random Acts of Living


Thursday, November 15, 2007

Lavinia Gates Chapman


I thought I'd post a little family history. I will start with the lady in my past that sparked my curiosity enough to get serious about doing genealogy. In the picture and diagram above that lady would be Lavinia (Gates) Chapmin, middle left. To show you how I am related I direct your attention to the 2nd little girl, front row, left, Lola Long. Lola was my grandmother, my mother's mother. Lola's mother was Nellie (Wickham) Long, middle left, her mother was Rosetta (Chapman) Jewitt Emery, over Nellie's right shoulder, and she was a daughter of Lavinia. That makes Lavinia my Great-Great-Great-Grandmother. Rosetta published a little book titled "Pioneer Short Stories" that told all about the pioneer life of Lavinia. Her journey with her husband and children from Wisconsin to Kansas in the 1859. They homesteaded near Baldwin KS till the fall of 1863 when Lavinia declared that she'd rather face the Indians on the plains than deal with Raiders. They had witnessed the aftermath of Quantrill sacking Lawrence. The family then settled in the Solomon River Valley down river from Minneapolis KS.

One thing that I find very interesting in my research of Lavinia is that her husband always seems to be in the background of all the stories, even ones about him. He is always referred to as Mr. Chapman. She appears to have been very controlling and very outspoken. From what I've seen in family recorded history and public recorded history it leaves me to believe that she must have stepped on a few toes. It never says that, but lack of mention in certain events would lead me to this conclusion.

There are many tales of Lavinia's adventures and I'll add one from time to time as well as extend the family history, for it goes back to the Elder William Brewster and the Gates family in England.

14 comments:

Anita said...

Hey! is that the lady who I read about in Pioneer Women? Cool! Great picture...

Moonshadow said...

Yes, Anita, this is the same lady that was mentioned in Pioneer Women. She was a tough old bird.

Anita said...

Weren't all the ones who stayed here tough old birds back then? I'm very proud to have their blood in my veins... My ancestral women were tough and smart, too...

Moonshadow said...

Yea, the ones that weren't tough went back east. She was quite a businesswoman, owned two pieces of business property in downtown Minneapolis KS and two homes. All the major players of the time that came through the area she made sure and made contact with, Mother Bickerdyke stayed with her when she was in the area. That reminds me, I'll have to look up the story about her stashing the kids under the bed because someone was coming to visit. LOL

WichitaKsDailyPhoto said...

It's so interesting to look at life stories, of previous generations, and to have photos to go with them. The stories of our ancestors add to our own stories of how we came to be where, and who, we are.

Moonshadow said...

I just wish I had more stories. I wish my grandmother on dad's side would have sat us kids down and told us the stories that her grandmother told her.

Peter said...

Hi! I took your up suggestion about Mother Bickerdyke and looked her up on the net.

What a fabulous women! I read a number of articles on her life as the Civil War Nurse. Her relationship with General Sherman was fantastic. I love the remark made about her - She always made sure her "boys" had what they needed. Mother Bickerdyke was a true nursing pioneer.

Thank you for sharing that one with me.

Regards
Peter

KSHIPPYCHIC said...

All my family mostly came from Missouri on my dad's side. One of the cousins in California wrote a big book taking us as far back as he could - some really neat stuff in there! :)

Moonshadow said...

Peter - I'm glad you checked her out, I just knew you'd enjoy learning about her.

KSHC - Did you get a copy of the information from your cousin? That's something you ought to get for your kids. How far back was he able to go, just here in the states or back to Europe?

Peter said...

Hi! Thank you for the information and give your mother my thanks. I have just spent a couple of hours on the net looking up Salina and Asbury Hospital in regards to the information you gave me. Came up with heaps and now I think I know more about Salina etc than my own backyard.

Regards
Peter

DIANNACHAREST said...

SHE MY GREAT- GREAT-GREAT GRANDMOTHER ALSO

Moonshadow said...

Diannacharest - I just saw your post. I wish you would have left some way for me to contact you. I have lots of info on Lavinia's life and family.

Unknown said...

Lavinia was my great great grandmother, her daughter Nellie was my grandmother's mother. I have a copy of Lavinia's book. Interesting info, thanks for sharing.

kim said...

This is such an interesting post. Lavinia was my great great great grandmother. Her only son, Oscar Chapman, was my great grandmother's father. Oscar moved from Kansas to Northern California in the late 1800s, so our branch of the family has been in California since then. We also have a copy of Lavinia's book. It's fascinating as is her life. Thanks so much for sharing this! Also the family photo.