CHAPMAN, Caroline

Late Monday night Mrs. Caroline Chapman died at her home in Mesquite, at the age of nearly 85 years. She was a native of Henry County, Tennessee, and was born near Paris in 1828, the year before Andrew Jackson of Tennessee became President of the United States. She was born in the administration of John Quincy Adams, the sixth President of the United States. She lived until near the close of the administration of W.H. Taft, the twenty-sixth President.

She remembered well and talked in very interesting manner about the events leading up to and accompanying the Mexican War, the Indian Wars, the Civil War, and was deeply concerned with the courses of the United States in the Spanish War. Yet war was not the reason of her pride to such an extent as the accomplishments of the Nation in peace, and she was intensely patriotic.

From childhood she was a member of the Baptist church and was devout and active in Christian work. With her husband she moved to Texas, settling at Fort Worth, in 1881, leaving Henry County, Tennessee, for the first time except for various short visits. About one year later she went to Mesquite to live, and that was her home until her death. The husband, D.G. Chapman, died in 1881.

Lovingly known as “Grandma” Chapman, she was popular with several generations of persons, who sought her counsel and her comfort, for her devout life made her esteemed of all sorts and conditions of men. Her family grew up about her with grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.

Of her immediate family there survive five daughters and three sons. The daughters are Mrs. W.M. Humphreys of Mesquite, Mrs. M.M. Bennett of Crandall, Mrs. G.B. Gross of Mesquite, Mrs. Alice Thompson of Dallas and Mrs. John T. Lynch of Dallas, the latter the wife of Capt. Lynch of the Dallas Police Department. The sons are J.C. Chapman and Frank Chapman of Mesquite, and R.G. Chapman, a business man of Dallas.

Jack Chapman and Brittania Chapman are deceased children. Active pallbearers at the funeral in Mesquite yesterday were her grandchildren, R.T. Bennett of Lawson, Dick Chapman of New Hope, Clyde Chapman of Mesquite, Ernest Gross of Mesquite, Vernon Thompson and J.Ollie Humphreys of Dallas. Honorary pallbearers were J.C. Rugel, Bee Walthal, Ed Keith, R.W. Boum, tom Dean and M.C. Snyder, all of Mesquite.

Contributed by Denise Burge From the Dallas Morning News (Dallas, Texas), dated January 1, 1913.