Isaac Needham Chapman Papers, 1818-1893, undated
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Not requestable
Scope and Content Note
The Isaac Needham Chapman Papers feature the shipping, personal, and family papers of this Salem, Massachusetts, shipmaster.
The shipping papers document Chapman's career as a sea captain from 1833 to 1838. The shipping letterbook and account book document Chapman's later voyages aboard the bark Annie Buckman and the ship Andes (1853-1858). The ships' papers contain the records of 14 vessels which Chapman mastered. These papers include master's and owners' correspondence, financial and insurance accounts, and inventories of ships' stores. Of interest are the ship Argo's warrants for the return of runaway seamen and an 1838 protest regarding an attack made by three seamen of the brig Osage upon their officers. The papers of the ship Nereus contain an 1818 manifest from the brig's first voyage (Chapman's father, Isaac N. Chapman, was master at this time).
The miscellaneous shipping papers include ships' accounts and merchant correspondence, directions for sailing into Port Jackson (Australia) and memorandums concerning trade in Calcutta. Also found here are correspondence and accounts generated from the insolvency case of Calef & Pierson, a shipping firm which was in debt to Chapman and his brother-in-law Joshua Phippen.
The personal and family papers contain personal correspondence and accounts of Chapman, his wives Sarah (Fogg) and Ursula S. (Phippen) Chapman, his son Frances Needham Chapman, his sisters Margaret, Abigail, Augusta, Mary A. (Chapman) Webster, and Elizabeth (Chapman) Grimes, and his father-in-law Captain Hardy Phippen. Of interest is an 1849 Salem East India Marine Society certificate honoring Chapman's gift of a United States Indian pipe (E3492), notes on the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition, genealogical memorandums on the Burroughs and Proctor families, and an inventory of Chapman's house furnishings.
Dates
- Creation: 1818-1893, undated
Creator
Restrictions on Access
This collection is open for research use.
Biographical Sketch
Isaac Needham Chapman, son of Isaac Needham (1776-1844) and Rebecca (Symonds) (1778-1848) Chapman, was born in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1806. He became a sea captain. From 1833 to 1838, he mastered vessels owned by such prosperous firms as P.I. Farnham & Co (New York), R.C. Mackay & J.T. Coolidge (Boston), and N.L. Rogers & Brothers (Salem). He conducted voyages to Europe, the East Indies, Singapore, India, Australia, the South Sea Islands, Hawaii, South America, Nova Scotia, and the northwest coast of the United States. See Appendix I for a chronology of Chapman's career and Appendix II for a list of ships mastered by Chapman.
Chapman first married Sarah Fogg in 1837 and later Ursula S. Phippen (1809-1887) in 1840. He had two children with Ursula: Hardy Phippen Chapman (1846-1924) and Frances Needham (1844-1920).
Extent
1.25 linear feet (3 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Isaac Needham Chapman Papers feature the shipping, personal, and family papers of this Salem, Massachusetts, shipmaster.
Physical Location
Phillips Library Stacks
Provenance
The Isaac Needham Chapman Papers are a reintegration and reorganization of 2 boxes and 1 envelope of manuscript material. The bulk of the collection was donated by Marion U. Chapman in a series of gifts from 1925 to 1955.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Sylvia B. Kennick, July 1985. Updated by Catherine Robertson, June 2015.
Subject
- Chapman, Francis Needham, 1844- (Person)
- Chapman, Isaac Needham, active 1774-1818 (Person)
- Chapman, Sarah Fogg (Person)
- Chapman, Ursula Symonds Phippen, 1809- (Person)
- Phippen, Hardy, 1778- (Person)
- Phippen, Joshua, 1812- (Person)
- Burroughs family (Family)
- Chapman family (Family)
- Proctor family (Family)
- East-India Marine Society of Salem (Organization)
- Aldebaran (Ship) (Organization)
- Andes (Ship) (Organization)
- Annie Buckman (Brig) (Organization)
- Argo (Ship) (Organization)
- Clio (Brig) (Organization)
- Consul (Brig) (Organization)
- Dolphin (Ship) (Organization)
- Gulnare (Bark) (Organization)
- Nereus (Brig) (Organization)
- Osage (Brig) (Organization)
- Rambler (Ship) (Organization)
- Sea Queen (Bark) (Organization)
- Union (Ship) (Organization)
- Washington Allston (Ship) (Organization)
- Calef & Pierson (Salem, Mass.) (Organization)
- R.C. MacKay (Organization)
- J. T. Coolidge (Organization)
- P.I. Farnham & Co. (New York, N.Y.) (Organization)
- N.L. Rogers and Brothers (Salem, Mass.) (Organization)
- Title
- ISAAC NEEDHAM CHAPMAN PAPERS, 1818-1893
- Author
- Processed by: Sylvia B. Kennick; Updated by: Catherine Robertson; machine-readable finding aid created by: Rajkumar Natarajan.
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Sponsor
- Processing and conservation of this collection were funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Repository Details
Part of the Phillips Library Repository