THE STORY OF CLAYTON CHAPMAN
Born to a Mayflower descendant, Margaret Elizabeth Sheets Chapman, who was visited early by tragedy--- widowed while expecting her 1st child. Husband Harvey Clayton Chapman passed away, completely unexpectedly, in his sleep. When he was but a few months old, mother Margie remarried, to Union veteran Thomas McKinley, eventually giving him 2 younger brothers, with a sister in between. Longevity was not in the cards for his mother, either, & she passed away at age 36, never meeting his bride, or bouncing grandbabies on her knee. After living for a couple of years with his maternal grandmother, Edith Lavinia Tilson Sheets Wampler, Clay met & fell in love with Sarah Elizabeth Crye, who'd also lost her mother at a tender age. They married, setting up housekeeping in her native Cumberland County. Their firstborn, son James Harvey, was born & died soon after, in January 1904. Another son, John, would later suffer the same fate, in 1919, but there would be blessings, too. Lizzie & Clay had 5 children who lived to adulthood, eventually having 11 children, themselves, among them all. However, neither Clay, nor his beloved Elizabeth, would see any, save their oldest, reach the age of majority. Clayton, Sr. would be cut down, in his prime, &, cruelly, at the time his wife & children needed him most. He was shot in the back, while unarmed, by C.P. Alley, a disgruntled worker, who was sentenced to the state pen's workhouse, in Nashville, for the murder. The incident occurred in front of his 18 y./o. eldest son, whose eyewitness testimony helped put Alley away. The busy farmer, teamster, & sometime R.R. worker left behind an already terminally diagnosed wife, & 4 younger children ranging in age from 1-12. His wife would join him less than 4 years later, after a long, valiant struggle against cancer. His stubbornness, strong work ethic, & devotion to family live on in his many descendants, even today.
Born to a Mayflower descendant, Margaret Elizabeth Sheets Chapman, who was visited early by tragedy--- widowed while expecting her 1st child. Husband Harvey Clayton Chapman passed away, completely unexpectedly, in his sleep. When he was but a few months old, mother Margie remarried, to Union veteran Thomas McKinley, eventually giving him 2 younger brothers, with a sister in between. Longevity was not in the cards for his mother, either, & she passed away at age 36, never meeting his bride, or bouncing grandbabies on her knee. After living for a couple of years with his maternal grandmother, Edith Lavinia Tilson Sheets Wampler, Clay met & fell in love with Sarah Elizabeth Crye, who'd also lost her mother at a tender age. They married, setting up housekeeping in her native Cumberland County. Their firstborn, son James Harvey, was born & died soon after, in January 1904. Another son, John, would later suffer the same fate, in 1919, but there would be blessings, too. Lizzie & Clay had 5 children who lived to adulthood, eventually having 11 children, themselves, among them all. However, neither Clay, nor his beloved Elizabeth, would see any, save their oldest, reach the age of majority. Clayton, Sr. would be cut down, in his prime, &, cruelly, at the time his wife & children needed him most. He was shot in the back, while unarmed, by C.P. Alley, a disgruntled worker, who was sentenced to the state pen's workhouse, in Nashville, for the murder. The incident occurred in front of his 18 y./o. eldest son, whose eyewitness testimony helped put Alley away. The busy farmer, teamster, & sometime R.R. worker left behind an already terminally diagnosed wife, & 4 younger children ranging in age from 1-12. His wife would join him less than 4 years later, after a long, valiant struggle against cancer. His stubbornness, strong work ethic, & devotion to family live on in his many descendants, even today.
THE STORY OF CLAYTON CHAPMAN
Born to a Mayflower descendant, Margaret Elizabeth Sheets Chapman, who was visited early by tragedy--- widowed while expecting her 1st child. Husband Harvey Clayton Chapman passed away, completely unexpectedly, in his sleep. When he was but a few months old, mother Margie remarried, to Union veteran Thomas McKinley, eventually giving him 2 younger brothers, with a sister in between. Longevity was not in the cards for his mother, either, & she passed away at age 36, never meeting his bride, or bouncing grandbabies on her knee. After living for a couple of years with his maternal grandmother, Edith Lavinia Tilson Sheets Wampler, Clay met & fell in love with Sarah Elizabeth Crye, who'd also lost her mother at a tender age. They married, setting up housekeeping in her native Cumberland County. Their firstborn, son James Harvey, was born & died soon after, in January 1904. Another son, John, would later suffer the same fate, in 1919, but there would be blessings, too. Lizzie & Clay had 5 children who lived to adulthood, eventually having 11 children, themselves, among them all. However, neither Clay, nor his beloved Elizabeth, would see any, save their oldest, reach the age of majority. Clayton, Sr. would be cut down, in his prime, &, cruelly, at the time his wife & children needed him most. He was shot in the back, while unarmed, by C.P. Alley, a disgruntled worker, who was sentenced to the state pen's workhouse, in Nashville, for the murder. The incident occurred in front of his 18 y./o. eldest son, whose eyewitness testimony helped put Alley away. The busy farmer, teamster, & sometime R.R. worker left behind an already terminally diagnosed wife, & 4 younger children ranging in age from 1-12. His wife would join him less than 4 years later, after a long, valiant struggle against cancer. His stubbornness, strong work ethic, & devotion to family live on in his many descendants, even today.
Born to a Mayflower descendant, Margaret Elizabeth Sheets Chapman, who was visited early by tragedy--- widowed while expecting her 1st child. Husband Harvey Clayton Chapman passed away, completely unexpectedly, in his sleep. When he was but a few months old, mother Margie remarried, to Union veteran Thomas McKinley, eventually giving him 2 younger brothers, with a sister in between. Longevity was not in the cards for his mother, either, & she passed away at age 36, never meeting his bride, or bouncing grandbabies on her knee. After living for a couple of years with his maternal grandmother, Edith Lavinia Tilson Sheets Wampler, Clay met & fell in love with Sarah Elizabeth Crye, who'd also lost her mother at a tender age. They married, setting up housekeeping in her native Cumberland County. Their firstborn, son James Harvey, was born & died soon after, in January 1904. Another son, John, would later suffer the same fate, in 1919, but there would be blessings, too. Lizzie & Clay had 5 children who lived to adulthood, eventually having 11 children, themselves, among them all. However, neither Clay, nor his beloved Elizabeth, would see any, save their oldest, reach the age of majority. Clayton, Sr. would be cut down, in his prime, &, cruelly, at the time his wife & children needed him most. He was shot in the back, while unarmed, by C.P. Alley, a disgruntled worker, who was sentenced to the state pen's workhouse, in Nashville, for the murder. The incident occurred in front of his 18 y./o. eldest son, whose eyewitness testimony helped put Alley away. The busy farmer, teamster, & sometime R.R. worker left behind an already terminally diagnosed wife, & 4 younger children ranging in age from 1-12. His wife would join him less than 4 years later, after a long, valiant struggle against cancer. His stubbornness, strong work ethic, & devotion to family live on in his many descendants, even today.
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