George Chapman George Chapman was a sailor from Whitby, married to a woman named Mary. Their daughter Jane Chapman was born on 26 Jul 1777 and baptised four days later. A number of similar entries in the Whitby parish registers suggest that Jane was one of a family of at least five. There is a certain regularity in the dates of birth which may be coincidental or may indicate George spent significant lengths of time at sea. Birth date Birth place Death date Death place William Chapman 18 Oct 1770 Whitby Elenor Chapman 13 Oct 1774 Whitby 1797 Whitby Jane Chapman 26 Oct 1777 Whitby 1853 Whitby Mary Chapman 11 Sep 1780 Whitby Oct 1781 Whitby Isabel Chapman 14 Oct 1784 Whitby Aug 1785 Whitby There were a considerable number of Chapmans involved in maritime trades in Whitby in the 18th and 19th centuries and it is suggested on some websites that George was descended from a famous Whitby master mariner and Quaker, William Chapman, through Solomon Chapman (b 1684) and Benjamin Chapman (b 1721). This, however, would mean he was born on 6 Dec 1756 and therefore fathered his first child when he was 14 years old and then married Mary when he was just 15 years old. The marriage was legally possible but I am not convinced this line of descendency is correct. There are any number of errors in on-line family trees regarding George Chapman and I would need further evidence before I was happy to go further back in time with this branch of the family tree. It is much more likely that George Chapman was born in Whitby in 1750, the son of Richard Chapman, a carpenter. Again there is no proof of this. Jane Chapman When Jane Chapman was 19 she married John Frankland in Whitby. He was three years older and had come from the Guisborough area of Yorkshire.