George W. Chapman was an American lawyer and politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Life

George Walton Chapman was born 19 Aug 1832 in

Saratoga County, New York Saratoga County is a county in the U.S. state of New York, and is the fastest-growing county in Upstate New York. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population was enumerated at 235,509, representing a 7.2% increase from the 2010 populat ...

and lived in Ballston Spa, New York where he died 20 Apr 1881. He attended the University of Rochester where he is listed on the Delta Psi fraternity rolls for 1854. In 1860 he published a small volume of poetry that is most notable for a lengthy tribute to the famed arctic physician-explorer Elisha Kent Kane. The poem, which is composed of rhyming couplets in iambic pentameter, runs from pages 1 to 31 of his book and terminates in a two-page "Notes" section which explicates some of the references in the poem. Before and after the discovery of his fate, many lyric poems were penned in memory of Sir John Franklin, (such as Joseph Addison Turner's 1858 "The Discovery of Sir John Franklin"). There was however little poetic literature published on America's arctic hero - Elisha Kent Kane. His premature death from rheumatic heart disease in 1857 at age 37 was unexpected and stunned the nation. Eulogies, orations and short verses were delivered during the obsequies held in his honor, but Chapman's "Tribute" is the only lengthy, 19th-century poetical piece published in hardcover. This slender volume, published when its author was but 26 years-old, was Chapman's only work of poetry. In 1862, he was Supervisor of the Town of Milton. He was a member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

(Saratoga Co., 1st D.) in

1865 Events January–March * January 4 – The New York Stock Exchange opens its first permanent headquarters at Broad Street (Manhattan), 10-12 Broad near Wall Street, in New York City. * January 13 – American Civil War : Sec ...

. In 1869, Chapman was appointed by Governor

John Thompson Hoffman John Thompson Hoffman (January 10, 1828March 24, 1888) was the 23rd governor of New York (1869–72). He was also recorder of New York City (1861–65) and the 78th mayor of New York City (1866–68). Connections to the Tweed Ring r ...

a Canal Commissioner, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of

Oliver Bascom Oliver Bascom (June 13, 1815 – November 7, 1869) was an American businessman and politician from New York. Life He was born in West Haven, Rutland County, Vermont, the son of Josiah Bascom (1786–1863) and Betsey (Bottom) Bascom. The family re ...

. At the

New York state election, 1870 The 1870 New York state election was held on November 8, 1870, to elect the governor, the lieutenant governor, the New York State Comptroller, two Canal Commissioners and an Inspector of State Prisons, as well as all members of the New York Sta ...

, he was elected, on the Democratic ticket, to succeed himself for the remainder of Bascom's term, and remained in office until the end of 1871. At the

New York state election, 1871 The 1871 New York state election was held on November 7, 1871, to elect the Secretary of State of New York, Secretary of State, the New York State Comptroller, State Comptroller, the Attorney General of New York, Attorney General, the New York Stat ...

, he was defeated running for re-election. He is buried in Ballston Spa Village Cemetery, Ballston Spa, Saratoga County, New York.

References

Sources

''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough, Stephen C. Hutchins and Edgar Albert Werner (1867; pages 502 and 509)

Political Graveyard

The state tickets, in NYT on October 30, 1870 *Catalogue of the Delta Psi Fraternity, New York: Privately Published, 1889; *US Federal Census for 1870, George W. Chapman, Milton, Saratoga, New York *Sawin, Mark W., Raising Kane: Elisha Kent Kane and the Culture of Fame in Antebellum America, Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 2008 Year of birth missing Year of death missing People from Ballston Spa, New York Erie Canal Commissioners Members of the New York State Assembly People from Milton, Saratoga County, New York {{NewYork-NYAssembly-stub