Early Life and Background
Born in 1846, the second of the three sons of William Chapman (1811–1889) and his wife Louisa, daughter of Colonel Arthur Vansittart (1775–1829), of Shottesbrook, and the grandson of Sir Thomas Chapman, 2nd Baronet, Chapman was educated at Eton College.
He was brought up to lead the life of a country gentleman, at a house called South Hill, near the village of Delvin, County Westmeath, Ireland, a modest property of some 170 acres, and also at the family's town house in Dublin. The Chapman family belonged to the higher level of the Anglo-Irish landowning class and for generations its members had married into families of a similar standing in England and Ireland.
Debrett's Baronetage for 1918 says:
This family was originally settled at Hinckley, in Leicestershire; but John Chapman, and his brother William, through the influence of Sir Walter Raleigh, their cousin-german, received large grants of land in Ireland, and settled in that country. Benjamin, the son of William Chapman, was an officer of cavalry in Cromwell's army, and for his services received the castle and estates of Killua, sometime the seat of the family. The 3rd baronet sat as M.P. for Westmeath ... Sir Benjamin James, 4th baronet, sat as M.P. for Westmeath... 1841–7 and was Lord-Lieutenant of that county. The 5th baronet, Sir Montagu Richard, was High Sheriff of County Westmeath.Read more about this topic: Sir Thomas Chapman, 7th Baronet
Famous quotes containing the words early, life and/or background:
“Quintilian [educational writer in Rome around A.D. 100] thought that the earliest years of the child’s life were crucial. Education should start earlier than age seven, within the family. It should not be so hard as to give the child an aversion to learning. Rather, these early lessons would take the form of play—that embryonic notion of kindergarten.”
—C. John Sommerville (20th century)
“The most powerful lessons about ethics and morality do not come from school discussions or classes in character building. They come from family life where people treat one another with respect, consideration, and love.”
—Neil Kurshan (20th century)
“... every experience in life enriches one’s background and should teach valuable lessons.”
—Mary Barnett Gilson (1877–?)