{{short description|American politician (1811–1880)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2022}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = John Lee Chapman | image = | alt = | caption = | order = 23rd | office = Mayor of Baltimore | term_start = January 6, 1862 | term_end = November 4, 1867 | predecessor = [[Charles J. Baker]] | successor = [[Robert T. Banks]] | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth year|1811}} | birth_place = [[Maryland]], U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1880|11|18|1811||}} | death_place = [[Baltimore, Maryland]], U.S. | resting_place = [[Green Mount Cemetery]]<br />Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | party = [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig]]<br />[[National Union Party (United States)|Union Party]] | spouse = {{marriage|Elizabeth Chapman|1835|reason=died}}<br />{{marriage|Alice Thompson|1871}} | children = 7 | education = | alma_mater = | occupation = {{hlist|Politician|glass maker|railroad executive}} | signature = }}
'''John Lee Chapman''' (1811 – November 18, 1880) was [[List of mayors of Baltimore|Mayor of Baltimore]] from 1862 to 1867. He also operated Maryland Glass Works in [[Baltimore]] and served as president of the [[Western Maryland Railway]].
==Early life== John Lee Chapman was born in 1811, in [[Fell's Point, Baltimore]]<ref name="obit">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108895129/sudden-death-of-ex-mayor-chapman-19/ |title=Sudden Death of Ex-Mayor Chapman |date=November 19, 1880 |newspaper=[[The Baltimore Sun]] |page=1 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=September 4, 2022}}{{Open access}}</ref> or [[Harford County, Maryland]]. He was born to parents with Scottish ancestry. He moved to [[Baltimore]] at an early age.<ref name="msa">{{cite web |url=https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/012400/012476/html/12476bio.html |title=John Lee Chapman |website=Maryland Manual On-Line |publisher=[[Maryland State Archives]] |date=May 20, 2002 |access-date=September 3, 2022}}</ref>
==Career== Chapman worked as a clerk in a drug store at Baltimore and South Street in Baltimore. He then became a proprietor of a different drug store on South Street. Chapman then worked with his brother Jonathan in the glass business.<ref name="obit"/><ref name="msa"/> He took over the business of his uncle George Chapman, Chapman's Glass Works, on Charles Street.<ref name="obit"/><ref name="chapman">{{Cite web |url=http://www.sodasandbeers.com/Articles/ArticleSoda0001/SABArticlesSoda0001_04.htm |title=Early Soda & Mineral Water Bottles |date=August 10, 2019 |website=sodasandbeers.com |access-date=September 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331020926/http://www.sodasandbeers.com/Articles/ArticleSoda0001/SABArticlesSoda0001_04.htm |archive-date=March 31, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> He built Maryland Glass Works at [[Fell's Point, Baltimore|Fell's Point]] around 1847 or 1848. He continued producing glassware until 1862.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/COther.pdf |title=Other "C" Marks |date=January 9, 2015 |page=693 |last1=Lockhart |last2=Shriever |last3=Lindsey |last4=Serr |website=sha.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111212501/https://sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/COther.pdf |archive-date=November 11, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>
Before the [[American Civil War]], Chapman was a [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig]], but he joined the [[National Union Party (United States)|Union Party]] following the war. He served as a member of the first branch of the [[Baltimore City Council]] from 1860 to 1861. After the arrest of [[List of mayors of Baltimore|Mayor]] [[George William Brown (mayor)|George William Brown]], [[John C. Blackburn]] succeeded him as mayor due to his role as president of the first branch.<ref name="msa"/> Chapman was elected to the first branch of the Baltimore City Council again on October 9, 1861.<ref name="msa"/> The role of mayor then passed to [[Charles J. Baker]] in October 1861.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107251478/archivist-clears-space-for-one-of/ |title=Archivist clears space for one of city's forgotten fathers |date=January 3, 1989 |newspaper=[[The Baltimore Sun]] |page=4 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=September 4, 2022}}{{Open access}}</ref><ref name="bio">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/biographicaldict0000unse_r8s1 |title=Biographical dictionary of American mayors, 1820-1980 |year=1981 |pages=13, 64 |access-date=September 4, 2022}}</ref> At the first session on January 6, 1862, Chapman was elected as president of the first branch. He then replaced Baker as [[Ex officio member|ex officio]] mayor of Baltimore. He served the remainder of Brown's term, and served again as mayor for three additional terms, from November 12, 1862, to November 4, 1867. His last term was only one year due to the [[Maryland Constitution of 1867|new state constitution]] adopted in 1867.<ref name="msa"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/speccol/sc2600/sc2685/html/bcmayors.html |title=Historical List, Baltimore Mayors |website=Maryland Manual On-Line |publisher=[[Maryland State Archives]] |date=December 14, 2020 |access-date=September 3, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc2900/sc2908/000001/000705/pdf/am705.pdf |title=History of Baltimore City and County From the Earliest Period to the Present Day |last=Scharf |first=J. Thomas |year=1881 |website=Maryland Manual On-Line |publisher=[[Maryland State Archives]] |access-date=September 3, 2022}}</ref>
After serving as mayor, Chapman served as president of the [[Western Maryland Railway]] from November 1866. He remained in that role for two years. He was investigated for his role, while mayor, in supporting a rival western railway to the [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]].<ref name="obit"/><ref>{{Cite journal |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2113967 |title=Baltimore's Aid to Railroads: A Study in the Municipal Planning of Internal Improvements |last1=Goodrich |first1=Carter |last2=Segal |first2=Harvey H. |journal=The Journal of Economic History |year=1953 |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=19–21 |doi=10.1017/S0022050700070029 |jstor=2113967 |access-date=September 3, 2022|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108892903/the-city-council-corruption-matter-5/ |title=The City Council Corruption Matters |date=May 5, 1868 |newspaper=[[The Baltimore Sun]] |page=4 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=September 3, 2022}}{{Open access}}</ref> In 1869, Chapman was appointed by President [[Ulysses S. Grant]] as naval officer of the [[Port of Baltimore]]. He remained in that role until 1873 when he was succeeded by General Adam E. King.<ref name="obit"/> He was later appointed by Colonel Wilkins as superintendent of public stores at the Port of Baltimore. He remained in that role until it was abolished in 1877.<ref name="obit"/>
==Personal life== Chapman married his cousin Elizabeth Chapman, the daughter of George Chapman, around 1835. They had six children. He married Alice Thompson, the daughter of William Thompson, in July 1871. They had one son, John Lee Jr.<ref name="obit"/><ref name="msa"/><ref name="bio"/><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108884909/marriage-of-ex-mayor-chapman-12-jul/ |title=Marriage of Ex-Mayor Mayor Chapman |date=July 12, 1871 |newspaper=[[The Baltimore Sun]] |page=1 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=September 3, 2022}}{{Open access}}</ref> His other children included Margaret, Florence N. and George.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108887656/mrs-john-lee-chapman-13-feb-1896-the/ |title=Mrs. John Lee Chapman |date=February 13, 1896 |newspaper=[[The Baltimore Sun]] |page=6 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=September 3, 2022}}{{Open access}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108889626/what-happens-around-us-18-feb-1876/ |title=What Happens Around Us |date=February 18, 1876 |newspaper=Catoctin Clarion |page=3 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=September 3, 2022}}{{Open access}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108891981/trustees-sale-25-jul-1889-the-herald/ |title=Trustee's Sale |date=July 25, 1889 |newspaper=The Herald and Torch Light |page=2 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=September 3, 2022}}{{Open access}}</ref>
In the 1860s, Chapman purchased a tract of land in [[Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania]].<ref name="obit"/>
Chapman died on November 18, 1880, at the house of his niece in Baltimore. He was buried at [[Green Mount Cemetery]] in Baltimore.<ref name="obit"/><ref name="msa"/><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108881315/funeral-of-ex-mayor-chapman-22-nov/ |title=Funeral of Ex-Mayor Chapman |date=November 22, 1880 |newspaper=[[The Baltimore Sun]] |page=1 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=September 3, 2022}}{{Open access}}</ref>
==Legacy== [[Druid Hill Park|Druid Lake]] in Baltimore was originally named Lake Chapman, after Chapman, but the name was changed during the administration of his [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] successor [[Robert T. Banks]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://explore.baltimoreheritage.org/items/show/182 |title=Druid Lake |last=Dennis |first=Eben |website=baltimoreheritage.org |access-date=September 3, 2022}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{s-start}} {{s-off}} {{s-bef|before=[[Charles J. Baker]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[List of mayors of Baltimore|Mayor of Baltimore]]|years=1862–1867}} {{s-aft|after=[[Robert T. Banks]]}} {{s-end}}
{{BaltimoreMayors |state=collapsed}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chapman, John Lee}} [[Category:1811 births]] [[Category:1880 deaths]] [[Category:Glass makers]] [[Category:Baltimore City Council members]] [[Category:Mayors of Baltimore]] [[Category:19th-century American business executives in rail transportation]] [[Category:Maryland Whigs]] [[Category:Maryland Unionists]] [[Category:Burials at Green Mount Cemetery]] [[Category:19th-century mayors of places in Maryland]]