Chapman, Eichelbaum and Rosenberg families : Papers

Comprises letters, diaries, notes, drafts, cuttings and other papers of the Chapman family, particularly of Henry Samuel Chapman; his aunts; his children, especially Frederick Revans Chapman; his father and grandfather (both named Henry Chapman); his grandaughter, Clara Vera and the the Eichelbaum family into which she married.

Source of title - Supplied

Relationship complexity - See also other Chapman material (Henry Samuel Chapman, Chapman family) separately described.

Arrangement: Divided into series: Papers relating to the Chapman family in general, with seperate series for major writers such as Henry Chapman 1744-1798 and Christiana Fanny 1775-1871; Henry Samuel Chapman; Frederick Revans Chapman; and the Eichelbaum and Rosenberg families. Because of the complexity of the records, there is some anomaly: letters to and from Henry Chapman 1770-1863, known to be a prolific writer, only survive in the papers of Fanny and Henry Samuel Chapman; the division into subseries of the Henry Samuel and Frederick Revans Chapman series follow differing principles; and transcripts of Henry Samuel Chapman's writings and on Chapman family history, organised by Frederick Revans Chapman and by Siegfried and Clara Eichelbaum have been placed in a seperate series.

Henry Samuel Chapman, 1803-1881, son of Henry Chapman, 1770-1863 and grand-son of Henry Chapman 1744-1798, arrived in New Zealand in 1840 and in the same year married Catherine Brewer, 1810-1865. Their son, Frederick Revans Chapman, 1849-1936, married Clara Jane Cook in 1879. Their daughter, Clara Vera, 1885-1953, married Siegfried Eichelbaum, 1884-1952, in 1915. Ann Eichelbaum was born in 1921 and married Wolfgang Rosenberg in 1945.

Quantity: 442 folder(s). 28 volume(s). 1 Electronic document(s). 8 Linear Metres. 1 C60 cassette(s). 1 C90 cassette(s).

Physical Description: Mss, printed matter

Provenance: The Chapman family papers were passed to the Eichelbaum family through marriage. The papers, together with those of the Eichelbaum family, were then passed to Ann Rosenberg, the great-granddaughter of Henry Samuel Chapman. Typescripts and originals of some of Henry Samuel Chapman's correspondence were donated to the Library by Vera Eichelbaum in 1941, and the John Stuart Mill correspondence in 1998. The major and final accession was donated in 2006.

Sir Frederick Revans Chapman and his daughter and son-in-law, Clara and Siegfried Eichelbaum, aware of the historical importance to New Zealand and Australia of the earlier family papers, had most of Henry Samuel Chapman's letters typed for the use of researchers. Later, copies relating to Chapman's activities in Canada were made from papers held at McGill University, Montreal, Canada. These original papers are now held by Archives Canada.

Transfers: Pamphlets and other publications transferred to the Printed Section, while a photograph album and some loose photos are with the Photographic Archive (PA-Group-0067), and a collection of locks of hair of the Chapman family are with the Curios Section. The main collection is with Manuscripts and Archives. Subsequently two cassette tapes relating to Dr Sylvia Chapman have been transferred to the Oral History Centre - To Book Collections - Pamphlets and other publications - To Photographic Archive - Photograph albums - To Other - To the Curios Section, a collection of Chapman family hair samples.