Processed by
Kathryn Wilmot
September 2007
Manuscript and Visual Collections Department
William Henry Smith Memorial Library
Indiana Historical Society
450 West Ohio Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202-3269
|
VOLUME OF |
1 manuscript folder |
|
COLLECTION |
1918–1919 |
|
PROVENANCE: |
Heritage Photo Services, Indianapolis, IN, September 2000 |
|
RESTRICTIONS: |
None |
|
COPYRIGHT: |
|
|
REPRODUCTION |
Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained from the Indiana Historical Society. |
|
ALTERNATE |
None |
|
RELATED |
|
|
ACCESSION |
2000.1204 |
|
NOTES: |
|
Grover Isaac Chapman was born in Indiana on 21 November 1892, the son of William Sylvester Chapman and Lucinda Jane Hively. In 1900, the family lived in Thorncreek Township, Whitley County, Indiana.
During World War I, Grover Chapman served in the U.S. Army with Company K, 336th Infantry, 84th Division and Company G, 360th Infantry, 90th Division. Near the end of the war in September 1918, Chapman left Camp Mills, New York, for service in France. He saw action in the days before the signing of the Armistice, and then returned home in July 1919.
Upon his return, Chapman married a woman named Eva. In 1930, the couple lived in Grafton County, New Hampshire with their children, Margaret and Myron Chapman. The 1930 census indicates Grover was a Methodist clergyman. By 1942, the Chapmans were living in Saybrook, Ashtabula County, Ohio.
Grover Chapman died in Los Angeles, California, on 29 August 1985.
Sources:
Information in the collection.
“LDS Familysearch.” Available at http://www.familysearch.org
“Ancestry Library Edition.” Available online at: http://www.ancestrylibrary.com
“Rootsweb.” Available online at: http://www.rootsweb.com/
The collection contains the diary Grover Chapman kept during his World War I service with Company K, 336th Infantry, 84th Division and Company G, 360th Infantry, 90th Division of the United States Army. Chapman records leaving Camp Mills for overseas duty in France in September 1918, seasickness, guard duty, drilling, hiking, food, Red Cross and Y.M.C.A. services, lectures from soldiers and chaplains, quarantines and soldiers’ deaths from influenza or the Spanish Flu, and news of the war and the surrender of various countries.
From October 22–November 6, Chapman experienced action near the front lines in France. His entries describe the roar of cannons, wearing gas masks, seeing no man’s land, advancing with his company under heavy barrage, and soldiers killed by shrapnel.
After the Armistice was signed on November 11, 1918, Chapman mentions the damage seen in various towns, visiting a graveyard with 40,000 skeletons (perhaps near Marville, France), scenery in France and Germany, tourist activities, interaction with European citizens, meeting students and attending classes, delousing, and the trip back to the United States in July 1919.
The diary also contains the names and addresses of fellow soldiers and a list of the places Chapman visited and/or served while in Europe.
|
CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
|
World War I diary, 1918–1919 |
Folder 1 |
For additional information on this collection, including a list of subject headings that may lead you to related materials:
1. Go to the Indiana Historical Society's online catalog: http://opac.indianahistory.org/
2. Click on the "Basic Search" icon.
3. Select "Call Number" from the "Search In:" box.
4. Search for the collection by its basic call number (in this case, SC 2835).
5. When you find the collection, go to the "Full Record" screen for a list of headings that can be searched for related materials.