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Note: Note from Lavina Cheadle. Amyson Chapman - 1800-1881 Walked from Conn. to Quincy, Ill. when he was young. Believed in reincarnation. Told grandaughter, Anna, that he would someday turn into a butterfly. Wouldn't allow anyone to kill butterflies. "He died as he lived, an agnostic". In researching the travels of John Droullard it is interesting to see what a prominent role Ammyson Chapman played. Chapman married Droullard's oldest daughter Mary in 1826 in Quincy, Ill. He then moved to Iowa in the early 1830's to Dubuque, Iowa. A few years later Droullard follows with his family to the same town. Then in the late 1840's Chapman moves to Grant county, Wisconsin. Where in the 1850's Droullard moves his family to the same county. A wonderful book to read concerning this time period of the Black Hawk War, is Twilight Of Empire, By Allan Eckert. On pages 131-135, tells about Chapman and his run in with the Indians. Sometime around 1830, John Dixon built a ferry business way up on the Rock River and was having great success. Hiram Sanders and Ammyson Chapman decided to take advantage of Dixon's success and would build a ferry on the Rock River halfway between Dixon's and the Mississippi River. They began their enterprise in April of 1831. They were not careful in choosing their spot however, for they began building it near the village of the Sac Indians called Prophet's Town. Sander's and Chapman lodged themselves in what they thought was an abandoned Indian lodge. Within a few hours the chief, Wabokieshiek, sent a couple of messengers who told the intruding white men to leave in peace. Their reply was for the Redmen to leave, and done so rudely. The Chief returned a couple of hours later with a war party to back him up. Again, Sanders and Chapman were asked to leave peaceably, they refused. The Chief then directed several warriors to toss out the belongings of the white men from the Winnebago lodge. Chapman and his companion got the hint at that point, but they swore an oath that the Wabokieshiek (The Prophet), would pay dearly for his actions. On 11 May 1831, Chapman and Sanders made statements to Justice of the Peace Stephen Dewey, who fired off the letter to Governor Reynolds of Illinois: "State of Illinois, Fulton County Personally appeared before me, Stephen Dewey, an acting Justice of the Peace in and for said County of Fulton, and State of Illinois, Hiram Sanders and Ammyson Chapman of the aforesaid county and state, and made oath that some time in the month of April last, they went to the old Indian Sac town, about thirty miles up Rock River, for the purpose of farming and establishing a ferry across said river, and the Indians ordered us to move away, and not to come there again, and we remained there a few hours. They then sent for their Chief, and he informed us that we might depart peaceably, and that if we did not, he would make us go. He therefore ordered the Indians to throw our furniture out of the house; they accordingly did so; and threatened to kill us if we did not depart. We therefore discovered that our lives were in danger, and consequently moved back again to the above county. We supposed them to be principally Winnebagoes. H. Sanders A. Chapman Sworn and subscribed this 11th day of May, 1831 Stephen Dewey, J.P." (16) (16) Twilight Of Empire, by Allan W. Eckert. Page 135. Bantam Books, New York. Copyright 1988. Note: Stephen Dewey (#1475) was a decendant of Thomas Dewey, the Settler through the Josiah Dewey branch. He was born 5 April 1794 in Turnbridge, VT and died 19 January 1857 at Canton, IL. Ref. Dewey Genealogy, 1898, p. 454. RFD Note: This information was copied from a revised version of The John Droullard Family History prepared by Garry Bryant. (RFD)
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