Captain Benjamin Chapman (born 1621) was the patriarch of the

Chapman baronets There have been three baronetcies created for persons with the surname Chapman, one in the Baronetage of Great Britain, one in the Baronetage of Ireland and one in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. Two of the creations are extinct while o ...

Killua Castle Killua Castle, and the nearby Raleigh Obelisk, are situated near Clonmellon, County Westmeath, Ireland. The present house was built in about 1780 by Sir Benjamin Chapman and consisted of a hall, dining room, oval drawing room, breakfast parlour ...

. Chapman was a Cornet in the regiment of cavalry raised by Murrough O'Brien, 1st Earl of Inchiquin. He was later promoted to captain, and served in the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. After the conquest,

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...

granted Chapman an estate in the county of Westmeath, at Killua (also known as St. Lucy's), a former preceptory of the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...

s. Chapman's father, William, and uncle, John, had been supported by their maternal first cousin, Sir

Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebelli ...

, who helped them procure land grants in the County Kerry. Due to financial troubles and their patron Raleigh's death in 1618, they were forced to sell the land to

Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork (13 October 1566 – 15 September 1643), also known as the Great Earl of Cork, was an English politician who served as Lord Treasurer of the Kingdom of Ireland. Lord Cork was an important figure in the continuing ...

, for £26,400. Benjamin was William's only son. Chapman married Anne, daughter of Robert Parkinson (esq. of Ardee). They had two sons, William and Thomas. William remained with his father at St. Lucy's and married Ismay, daughter of Thomas Nugent (esq. of Clonlost). Thomas emigrated to America.

Notable descendants

T. E. Lawrence Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916–1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915–1918 ...

("Lawrence of Arabia"), illegitimate son of

Sir Thomas Chapman, 7th Baronet Sir Thomas Robert Tighe Chapman, 7th Baronet (6 November 1846 – 8 April 1919), was an Anglo-Irish landowner, the last of the Chapman baronets of Killua Castle in County Westmeath, Ireland. For many years he lived under the name of Thomas Ro ...

* Welcome Chapman

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chapman, Benjamin 1621 births People of the Irish Confederate Wars English army officers 17th-century Irish people People from County Westmeath Year of death unknown