Researching William Chapman
Delve into the history of William Chapman using the links below. We hope you find this information useful!
![]() | Did you know that in the 1881 UK census there were 42533 people with the Chapman surname? In that year Chapman was ranked number 70 for popularity in the UK. |
Good news! There is already a One Name Study on the Chapman surname.

The name William means "resolute guardian" and is of German origin.
Records of William Chapman on Ancestry
Ancestry is a major source of information if you are filling out the detail of William Chapman in your family tree. With over 30 billion records and 100 million family trees to search, Ancestry is one of the key websites to visit to help you trace your family tree back in time. Free trials are normally available and are a good way to fill out a lot of your tree quickly.
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Ancestry.com Global records search results for William Chapman. |
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Ancestry.com US records search results for William Chapman. |
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Ancestry.co.uk UK records search results for William Chapman. |
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Ancestry.ca Canadian records search results for William Chapman. |
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Ancestry.com.au Australian records search results for William Chapman. |
DNA
Sometimes you can run into a brick wall in your tree and you just don't have enough evidence to make that next step back in time. A DNA test can sometimes help to make a link to a particular family name if you find you share common DNA with people who have the same or similar surnames as each other. If you are lucky then you may get a match within a few generations and discover some Chapman ancestors. Additionally, the modern DNA test can give you a breakdown of your ethnic mix - you may be surprised at the results!
Have you reached a brick wall in your Chapman Tree?
Birth, Death and Marriage Records for William Chapman and the Chapman Genealogy
Birth, Death and Marriage records are often the best method of making the links to the Chapman Genealogy that will form part of your family tree. Although records vary from country to country, they are normally the most formal record of a person's relations. From the sources listed below it will be possible to locate a birth record and, from that record, a birth certificate may be obtainable which is likely to list the names of the parents, therefore taking you back another generation. A marriage certificate may also list the names of the respective fathers of the bride and groom which may then help you to find them earlier in life on a census record enabling you to fill out more detail in the Chapman family tree.
Check out Parish Records for William Chapman at Find My Past.
Look at for the UK registered births, marriages and deaths of William Chapman using the FreeBMD database.
Explore Genealogy Bank for William Chapman records.
Investigate MyHeritage for William Chapman information.
Explore the LDS Database for records about William Chapman.
Research the Chapman surname using fold3 Military Archives and view images of original Chapman Military records.
![]() | Did you know that there are currently 52710 people with the Chapman surname in the UK? Chapman is now ranked number 76 for popularity in the UK. |
Chapman Family Tree Databases
Another way to build your tree quickly is to use the research other people have already done. This can help to confirm or refute your own deductions - however, be wary of taking this data at face value as other researchers may not have been as meticulous as you. Always try to back up deductions with some definitive sources rather than relying too heavily on others.
Study the WikiTree database for user contributed records for William Chapman.
Study MyTrees for information on the Chapman family and people looking to contact living Chapman relations.
Look at One Great Family for Chapman records submitted by people who are already researching the Chapman Family Tree.
Find William Chapman from Ireland on findmypast.ie
Chapman Forums
There are a number of forums which are dedicated to rearching particular surnames. These can be good places to share your findings and also to tap into the knowledge that others may already have. These can sometimes be a good way of finding living relations as these tend not to show up on the other sources of information for privacy reasons.
Research the Chapman surname using Genealogy.com forums .
![]() | Did you know that there are currently 151912 people with the Chapman surname in the USA? Chapman is ranked number 107 for popularity in the USA. |
Miscellaneous Chapman Databases
Explore the Ellis Island Database for information on William Chapman. This database contains over 25 million immigration records detailing passengers arriving in the United States of America.
Some Famous People called William Chapman
William Chapman (poet)
George William Albert Chapman, né George William Alphred (13 December 1850 – 23 February 1917), was a Canadian poet.
Chapman was born at Saint-François-de-Beauce, Quebec (today's Beauceville), and was educated at Levis College. He studied law, afterward engaged in commercial pursuits, and later entered the civil service of the Province of Quebec. Chapman worked for some time as a journalist in Quebec City and Montreal; but in 1902 became a French translator for the Dominion Senate and removed to Ottawa, Ontario.
After his death in 1917, he was entombed at the Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery in Montreal.
Source: William Chapman (poet), Wikipedia, The Free EncyclopediaWilliam Chapman (doctor)
Doctor William Chapman was born 13 May 1797 at Headlam Hall, Durham, England. He was the second son of John Chapman Esq., and his wife Mary Chapman (née Robinson) of Alwent Hall in the County of Durham. As a young man, he went to London to train as a medical practitioner. At the age of 30 he married Sarah Lisgo of Durham and they had three sons and four daughters. At an early stage in his life he recognised the necessity for scenic reserves and recreational areas in London and he was appointed a Director of the Kew Botanical Gardens. Later he was instrumental in planting the willows along the Avon River in Christchurch, New Zealand. He was a member of the Royal College of Surgeons.
Being resourceful, they decided to emigrate to New Zealand as there was a need for medical people in the Canterbury settlement. At the age of 53, he and his family embarked on the sailing ship Labuan, on which he was surgeon. This vessel carried 137 passengers bound for Port Cooper (now Lyttelton, port of Christchurch). Dr. Chapman was charged with appointing various staff (including a constable and a matron for single females) from the "most intelligent of the steerage passengers". He was also supplied with 'vaccine lymph' against smallpox and a medicine against cholera (even though the cause of cholera was yet to be discovered in 1854).
As they were not sure of the building possibilities in the new colony, Dr Chapman brought the sections of a house to be erected when they arrived, as well as furniture to furnish it with.
He brought bundles of seeds, plants and shrubs as well as a hive of bees and other items he considered useful for the new settlement. Sadly, soon after they docked, his eldest teenage son died.
From Port Cooper, the family went to Christchurch where Dr Chapman had purchased a block of land on Lincoln Road, Addington, from the Canterbury Association for 150 NZ pounds. When he sold it, (selling off various parcels in the next ten years) he made a tidy profit of 1125NZ pounds.
At the behest of Johnny Jones (NZ pioneer/entrepreneur) in 1861, the Chapmans moved to Waikouaiti, as GP for Johnny Jones' settlement there. Dr Chapman worked there until his death. William and Sarah are both buried in St John's churchyard, Waikouaiti.
Two of their daughters married Johnny Jones' sons and became very wealthy women. William and Sarah's son, John Alwent Chapman, never married and became a businessman, moving to Dunedin probably in the early 1870s. He established himself as a mining agent and sharebroker having dealings with the Jones family. Chapman became the postmaster at Waikouaiti upon lodging of a 200NZP bond made by William Chapman and Johnny Jones.
Source: William Chapman (doctor), Wikipedia, The Free EncyclopediaOther names that sound a bit like Chapman
Family names can get corrupted over time, particularly where literacy was not as good. The following list contains some names that have similar sounds so you may want to also look at one or two of the more likely possibilites.
Capman Caveman Chaffman Chapmond Chepman Chipman Coffman Coopman Copeman Coupman Cuffman





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