Memories of an Oklahoma Farm Boy

by Virgle Chappell

OUR FAMILY 
The Chappells

"Mommy, Where did I come from?" This is a question nearly every child asks his mother at some time in his early life. I can remember when I was a child asking both my grandmothers where our people came from. My grandmother Hamilton stated their families came from Scotland and Ireland and grandma Chappell said we came from England. This interest in our origins continued with me through the years and finally in 1954 while attending the University of Oklahoma I began searching for my roots in the library there. This was only a small beginning that has continued through the years until now there are drawers full of collected materials. 

I have been unable to find any Dukes, Duchess', Kings or Queens in our lineage. All have been common people, the solid foundation which really makes up the core of any nation. I'm happy to add there have been no outlaws, murders or bank robbers found but all were medium to lower income people who continued to work for what they acquired and seemed somewhat content with what was theirs. In both sides of my family, we were seldom fortunate enough to be the eldest son and inherit the family holdings, and therefore nearly every family became pioneers, moving to new and often unsettled areas of the nation. During the later 1600s and into the 1700s there was often enough land available for a father to supply each of his sons with a land inheritance but this opportunity ended very soon. It became necessary for the younger sons to move on to remote areas where land was available in order to establish their homes. 

Another interesting trait in our families is they were usually a religious people. We have found documents of home Bible meetings, charter membership in churches, devoted Bible reading, an essay on Baptism and Christian principles which guided their lives.

Our first known (documented) relative on the Chappell side was Thomas Chappell who was born about 1602 in England. He was possibly not the first son of his father and had found it necessary to join the new group of American Pioneers whose descendants would conquer the vast wilderness of America. He is first identified on a ship passage where he is listed with the passengers sailing from Gravesend, England, 23 June 1635. There were eighty-eight passengers on the “America” who set sail for Colonial Virginia on that day. Thomas would settle on the North side of the James River on what was called the Kittawan Creek. There was another Chappell, John, who followed Thomas to the Colonies only one month later, and who settled nearer the coast. These men may have been brothers.

There was a succession of two more Thomas Chappells who were the second and third generations of our family in the colonies. This was a time of great prosperity and both these men were able to acquire sizable estates of several hundred acres and to provide each of their sons with an inheritance of land. 

Robert (6) Chappell located in Prince Edward CO, VA (Shaded area)

Following the three Thomas Chappells, there were three Robert Chappells who completed the first six generations in America. By this time, land was not so plentiful, and our family began second professions and/or began their migration to the south and west. Robert (4) considered himself a “Planter” on his Otterdam Swamp Plantation, but he was also known as the “Merchant of Pertersburg” Robert (5) pretty well followed in the footsteps of his father and remained in the near Petersburg, VA area.

Robert (6) and his wife, Agnes Cross were the first of our family to begin migration away from Petersburg area. About 1767, after more than one hundred years in the Virginia Colony, they move, first to the west into Prince Edward CO, VA, then in 1788 the big move to Wilkes/Lincoln CO, Georgia. 

Jesse Chappell, eldest son of Robert and Agnes Chappell, was born about 1763 in Dinwiddie County, Virginia. When Jesse was still a young child, they moved to an area of Virginia which was still pretty much a wilderness. The first activity for the family upon arriving in the Buffalo River area was to clear some land to build their home. After the home was built the men set to clearing other land for their crops to be planted. Jesse and his father were farmers but Jesse must have developed fine hunting skills. Game was plentiful and much of the food placed on the table was harvested from the woods. When the Revolutionary War came Robert and Jesse both participated to some degree in the effort to free America from England. They were probably not regulars but volunteers who spent a few months at a time in service then returned to their home. 

After the War, on a cold winter day, December 20, 1784, Jesse married Martha Baldwin, a young lady from a neighboring plantation. She was a descendant of an old and respected Virginia family, whose father was Thomas Baldwin. The Baldwins were large land owners in the Buffalo River/Spring Creek area. Jesse and Martha made their home and began their family. Soon after their third child was born, the decision was made to migrate many miles to the south into the newly opened northeast section of Georgia. There was a large group to make this move including nearly all of Robert and Agnes’ family and brothers and sisters of Jesse.This move would have been in excess of 200 miles and through very rough terrain. Though there were trails to follow, rains would have made it impossible to travel and the trip must have taken most or all of the summer months. Upon arrival there was the hasty preparation of shelter for the family for the coming winter. 

About 1802 Jesse moved his family to what was then the Pendleton District of South Carolina. There were other Chappells as well as Baldwins in the SC area where they settled so probably they either followed other family members or joined them in their move. This would have been a move of just a few miles and across the Savannah River. The two older sons, John and Robert were only about 10 years old but would have assisted their father in the building of their new home. Jesse and Martha would remain on their South Carolina plantation until their deaths. Jesse prepared his Will on April 6, 1810 and died before April 18, when the will was filed. Jesse (6) Chappell’s home was located on the Seneca River near the future site of Anderson, Anderson CO, SC 

THOMAS BALDWIN CHAPPELL, probably the third son was born in Anderson County, Pendleton District, South Carolina. He was born shortly after the arrival of the family to the area and was possibly the first child in the family to be born there. As he grew to manhood, Thomas learned the trade of Blacksmith and cared for those needs of his father. Both of his older brothers had become established in farming near the family plantation but it seemed there was nothing for Thomas. A lottery for new land was soon to be held in Elbert County, Georgia, just a few  miles to the south. This was the time of the Cherokee and Creek Indian removal from the area and the land was to be assigned to new pioneers. Thomas moved there to establish residence and practiced his Blacksmith trade while waiting for the lottery to be held. The lottery was held in 1821 but Thomas was not one of the fortunate ones. After two tries, he finally gave up and soon (abt 1828) moved his family to Bedford County Tennessee. In Bedford CO, Thomas met a man who had served in the Indian Wars and was impressed with the Jackson County, Alabama area. They decided to move to the area and take up residence there. By 1840 Thomas and his new friend, Miles Spurlock were farming neighboring farms in Jackson Co. AL. Thomas later would move to Pope County, Illinois where his wife died and he married a widow by the name of  Sarah Young who remained with him until his death, Mar 31, 1860. The move to Illinois did not prove profitable for Thomas. Times were very hard there at this time and after his death much of his land was sold to cover debts.

JESSE MORDECIAH CHAPPELL was born March 11, 1819 in Elbert CO, GA. He moved with his family to Tennessee and then to Jackson CO, AL. Jackson CO was the area to which many of the Cherokee and Creek Indians had fled to escape the forced march west, the Trail of Tears. Miles Spurlock had some Indian connection so this could have contributed toward the decision for the move to that area. From his earliest years, Jesse was a studious person and later became the family leader in pioneering education for the new nation. There were no schools to attend and throughout his life the family always located in remote and undeveloped areas. Jesse taught himself to read and write, as well as the basic arithmetic skills. His brothers and sisters did not follow his leadership and continued to be illiterate into later life. Jesse married Bethana Spurlock, the daughter of Miles Spurlock, on October 21, 1841 in Alabama. Soon after their marriage, Miles heard of an Indian school in Illinois where his children could receive an education. He decided to move there and Thomas B and Jesse M probably moved with him to the new area. Miles would go further upstate to find the school but Jesse and his father stopped in southern Illinois where other Chappells and Baldwins were already in residence.

Jesse soon began teaching school for the children in the Sugar Creek area of Pope county. Since there were no school buildings the school was held at different parents homes. Jesse's pay was to be in commodities such as pork, wheat or other farm items. Jesse and Bethana would later move to Barry County, Missouri (prior to the Civil War), and later to northern Missouri, Sullivan Co. The strife over slavery not only divided the nation but in border areas such as Barry county, neighbors and families became divided. Murders of neighbors against neighbors and other crimes were common. Jesse was an outspoken advocate for emancipation and one night was forced to flee, leaving his family behind, and soon had his family on it’s way to Sullivan CO. in northern Missouri Jesse M died in Sullivan CO on August 16, 1898 after becoming a very respected citizen of that community. His school, which was formerly held in homes had finally acquired a building of it's own and was called the Chappell School. He also became a preacher as well as a prosperous farmer and many of the young couples made their wedding vows before him.

JOHN ALLEN CHAPPELL was born the first child of Jesse M, in Pope county Illinois the 14th day of March, 1845. When he was 8 years old his father moved his family to Barry County MO. There must have been some frightening times in the strife ridden area for such a young boy. When his daddy was forced to flee from the pro slavery people, John was left to face the mob with his mother and siblings. The incident ended without violence but it must have been an experience which he would never forget. Soon after this incident, John’s younger brother, Jesse I. disappeared and was never heard from again. It is assumed the young man fell victim to the violence directed toward his father, and was kidnapped and perhaps murdered by pro slavery sympathizers. The family moved to Sullivan County, MO and on December 14, 1863 John married Martha Henness who bore him 12 children in the following years. John followed his fathers in farming but soon decided that life was not for him. He became a merchant, property owner and politician in later years. He served several years as "Collector" for his township and one term as Judge. He and his father were of such character the family became very prominent in Sullivan county. John died in Lemons MO June 21, 1937.

CHARLES ELLIS CHAPPELL was born November 25, 1872 the third son of John A. and Martha (Henness) Chappell in Sullivan CO, MO. As a young man, he was attracted to a beautiful young lady, Esther Rosetta Black. They were married 18 Feb. 1897 and Leon Ernest was born within a year after their marriage.

Probably for several reasons, the pioneer spirit entered into the young couple as preparations were made to leave family and friends in the Missouri area. They first moved to Iowa where their second son, Ralph, was born but remained there only a few years. In 1906, Charlie came to Indian Territory to explore opportunities there. He found land in Beaver County and sent for his family to join him. The farm was north of Darrouzett, TX in the Logan, OK area. They lived a truly difficult and trying pioneer life there in the dugout which was their home for more than fifteen years. During this time, three babies were added to the family, all of which died within their first year of life. 

About 1920 my grandfather quit farming and moved to Darrouzett, TX where he and my dad, Leon, operated a dray (freight) service the train station in Shattuck, OK to the new home area. They continued to make Darrouzett their home until the death of my grandmother in 1943. 

LEON ERNEST CHAPPELL, my dad, went back to farming soon after his marriage to my mom, Merl Hamilton, daughter of Harve and Mary Ann Hamilton. 

In 1927 the family was living in Ellis CO. where I was born. We lived through the depression and dust bowl days on farms in northern Ellis CO. Many families were leaving Oklahoma for “greener pastures” in California or elsewhere. My family “stuck it out” and remained in the state until their deaths. 

I guess you could say I’m a native Oklahoman.

Virgle L Chappell

Virgle & Kay Chappell