| 👶 Birth | abt 1568 | Folkestone, Kent 📍 ⓘFolkestone BDMS |
| 💒 Marriage | 27 Nov 1593 | Elizabeth ROLFE
St Mary & St Eanswythe Parish Church, Church Road, Folkestone, Kent, CT20 1SW 📍 ⓘAncestry.co.ukFirst name: Geo
Last name: Chapman
Residence: Folkestone
Marriage date: 27 Nov 1593
Marriage place: Folkestone, Ss Mary & Eanswith
Spouse's first name: Eliz
Spouse's last name: Rolfe
Spouse's residence: Folkestone
Archive: Canterbury Cathedral Archives |
| 📝 Will | 12 Mar 1624 | ⓘfamilysearch.org |
| ✝️ Death | 20 Jul 1625 | Folkestone, Kent 📍 ⓘFolkestone BDMS 🏛️ Charles I accedes to the throne |
| 🪦 Burial | 05 Aug 1625 | Folkestone, Kent 📍 ⓘfamilysearch.org |
| ⚖️ Probate | 04 Nov 1625 | ⓘfamilysearch.org |
M
b. 1616, Folkestone, Kent · d. 1677, Folkestone, Kent · m. Margaret ELGAR
Notes
From familysearch:
There is a dispute over George's parents. Some have John Chapman (1541-1611) married to Joane Springate (1546-?). Others list George's father as Thomas Chapman (1540-1624) with wife Jane Nightingale (1541-?). Further research is required. One useful route would be to investigate Bishop Transcript (BT) records for Folkestone to see if his parents are named. Shirley Watts, an experienced researcher in Folkestone Chapman genealogy writes, "I get the feeling that they are guesses… From familysearch:
There is a dispute over George's parents. Some have John Chapman (1541-1611) married to Joane Springate (1546-?). Others list George's father as Thomas Chapman (1540-1624) with wife Jane Nightingale (1541-?). Further research is required. One useful route would be to investigate Bishop Transcript (BT) records for Folkestone to see if his parents are named. Shirley Watts, an experienced researcher in Folkestone Chapman genealogy writes, "I get the feeling that they are guesses on his parents which are shown on a number of family trees or often they have just been copied from another family tree without checking the facts. As you say there are some very muddled trees out there."
Fortunately, the Folkestone Chapman family left loads of Wills down the generations which have proved to be very helpful. Some are on the National Archive site and others at Canterbury Archives. From his Will dated 1624 we know that he was a shoemaker.
George Chapman was married to Margaret Rolfe in Folkestone on 27th November 1593. Their children are known from a combination of baptismal records and being named in Wills. Agnes was named in her grandmother's (Margaret Rolfe) Will of 1611 but not in her father's in 1624. Stephen born about 1595 calculated from his age given at the time of his death. Joan, Thomas and Elizabeth named in their father's Will. Anne was baptised in 1596, John in 1597, Jane in 1603, Margaret in 1604, Julian in 1608 and Mary in 1611. Although it is not known when they died Jane and Julian were also not mentioned by their father (George) in his Will of 1624.
Dates of baptisms of children of George and Elizabeth all baptised at Folkestone:
Anne - 19th July 1596
John - 12th March 1597
Jane - 18th March 1603
Margaret - 18th March 1604
Julian - 26th February 1608
Mary - 9th June 1611
It does mean that I'm not sure how all these children fit in between marriage and Anne in 1596 unless they had some twins!
George wrote his Will on 12th March 1624. He died before the date when his Will was proved on 4th November 1625 by his widow Elizabeth Chapman. According to undated notes of Vern Hall: "George Chapman, 8th great grandfather of John C Hall, in his will dated at Folkestone 20 March 1624, gave to his "'sonnes Thomas and Steven, two and a half acres of land within the liberty of Folkestone at a place called Durlex.' This was set on a little ridge below the cliff across, on the north side of the town from Kow Street where he lived. A deed found in Folkestone City Library dated 1707 recorded the sale of a lot in Durlex by James Chapman for 35 pounds. The sign to the right of the arch gate beneath the building left, is labeled 'Durlex Street.' This is located at the south-west corner of a block with homes each facing the streets that enclose it built around 1700-1725. This seems to mark the end of Chapman farming at Durlex. The gate noted is the only opening to the court that serves as a closed backyard for each of the homes in the square. The fact that the gate can be locked was likely a wise provision in Folkestone so near the sea at the crest of a time when law-breakers mingled freely with the adventuresome but honest traders. . . . It was a beehive 250 years ago, not so busy today."
There is a burial of a George Chapman on the IGI in August 1625 but it states it was in Faversham. This is not near Folkestone so needs more research. [Editor note: Shirley Watts makes a good point here. My own experience is that many of the records for Folkestone appearing in the IGI and other sources also have a duplicate indicating Faversham -- not sure why.]
Elizabeth lived for another 10 years. She was buried in Folkestone on 20th July 1635, the widow of George Chapman. This explains the odd entry on the IGI. (It says Elizabeth widow of George Chapman in the parish register.) Show more
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