SOME IMPORTANT BACKGROUND TOPICS
ADDRESSED ON THIS PAGE:
1 -- The Chapman family
2 -- An Interesting Historical Note
3 -- Harold Chapman and Baseball
4 -- The Yankee Division in WWI
5 -- Specifics of the Harold W. "Bootus" Chapman letter collection

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1 -- THE CHAPMAN FAMILY


Harold's father, Samuel Chapman (1860-1928) was born in Manchester, England. He emigrated to the United States with his parents in 1865 and settled in Massachusetts. He apprenticed and worked in interior architectural ornamentation. He married Mary Louise Bird (1864–1941), and had three sons:

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-- Millard Samuel ("Mil") Chapman (1891 – 1980) married Josephine Irene Brown (1896 – 1983) and lived in Quincy, MA. When America entered the World War, he enlisted with his brother Harold in the Yankee Division (26th Division).

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-- Lester Nathaniel ("Pete," "Nug") Chapman (1895 - 1972) married Jennie Irene Noller and had 1 child [who was also named Harold William Chapman (1924 - 2009)]. Lester volunteered and served in the Coastal Artillery during WWI. In 1920, he graduated from Lehigh University and lived later in Pennsylvania.

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-- Harold William ("Bootus") Chapman (1892 – 1981) wrote most of the letters in this collection. He enlisted in the Yankee Division (26th Division) after America entered the World War. In 1925, he married Ruth Margaret Drew (1902 – 1946).

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2 -- AN INTERESTING HISTORICAL NOTE:


According to research in the Winterthur Library,
Samuel Chapman:

"eventually joined financier C.M. Tyler to form the Tyler-Chapman Co., an interior finishing company. In 1927, Tyler-Chapman Co. contracted to install the interior wood work in two sister ships, the MORRO CASTLE and the Oriente.

Chapman died before these commissions were completed; however, his three sons, Millard, Lester, and Harold, completed the projects with high praise from the shipbuilding company on the designs and quality of the workmanship.

(Unfortunately, the quality and amount of wood used on the interior of the MORRO CASTLE contributed to the disastrous fire that occurred aboard that ship.)"

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3 -- HAROLD CHAPMAN AND BASEBALL


On 14 January 1919, Harold composed one letter in this collection with a rather unique and interesting
BASEBALL THEME

CHAPMAN DESCRIBED HIS EXPERIENCE IN
THE GREAT WAR USING AN ALLEGORY / PARODY OF
PLAYING A SEASON OF BASEBALL
The result was quite witty and ingenious.

READ HAROLD'S
BASEBALL ALLEGORY / PARODY
(LINK)

So, along with fighting in one of the most heavily engaged American units in World War I, baseball obviously played a major role in Harold's life.

Throughout this collection of letters, Harold made occasional allusion to playing Baseball before the War.
He was obviously a skilled and dedicated player.

Harold seems to have attended Syracuse University in 1915-1916, so it is conceivable he played on that college team. Apparently however, he was playing some level of PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL just previous to America's entering the War.

The fact that Harold was playing professional Baseball just before he enlisted in the War is evidenced in a letter that he wrote on 20 January 1918. Here is the illuminating excerpt:

"This weather makes me think of GOING SOUTH FOR SPRING TRAINING. I may not be able to go south this Spring but don't need to as I HAVE MY BATTING EYE WITH ME and if I don't knock a few Germans over the Hindenburg fence it will be because they are running too fast. Where are the rest of our much talked of ball players?
[...]

I was the first volunteer ball player in France, who was
ON THE PAYROLL OF ORGANIZED BALL
THIS LAST YEAR.
[...]

There isn't enough Yankee in most of the ball players."

In yet another letter, Harold refers to TY COBB & CHRISTY MATHEWSON as his “ball friends,” though he was probably only referring to these baseball "greats" in a general & generic sense. There are also minor references to baseball in other letters in the collection.

There does not appear to be much historical evidence that Harold Chapman played baseball in any Major or Minor League. If he did play for any such team, it would most likely have been in the North East region. Perhaps he played in the 1916 Eastern League:
[ https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/league.cgi?id=de4cee91 ]


One Professional Baseball player named "Harold W. Chapman" (but with no further information) is found in the "Register Players Encyclopedia - Professional Baseball Register at:
[ https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=chapma005har ]

Whatever relationship baseball played for Harold Chapman before World War I, his interest in the game continued through his entire life. In 1969, he was scheduled as a guest speaker at a sports banquet held in Quincy, MA.

Shortly after Harold died in 1981, the Quincy newspaper referred to him as "the late and popular old time diamond star Harold (Bootus) Chapman. "

The question of exactly what level of Baseball Harold Chapman was playing before he volunteered to fight in World War I, can probably be answered with further research.

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4 -- THE YANKEE DIVISION IN WORLD WAR I


Harold Chapman served in Company D of the 101st Engineers. His unit was part of the famous "YD" Yankee Division. The "YD" was constituted as the 26th Division on 18 July 1917, three months after the American entry into World War I.

During World War I the 26th Division spent 210 days in combat, and suffered 1,587 killed in action and 12,077 wounded in action. The Division served on the battlefront from February 5, 1918 through November 11, 1918. The division returned to the United States and was demobilized on 3 May 1919 at Camp Devens, Massachusetts.

No other American division saw such long and continuous service on the front. The YD became known as:
SHOCK TROOPS – THE SACRIFICE DIVISION

READ MORE ABOUT THE
YANKEE DIVISION IN WWI
(LINK)

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5 -- SOME SPECIFICS ABOUT THE HAROLD WILLIAM "BOOTUS" CHAPMAN LETTER COLLECTION:


-- This collection consists of about 50 letters and typescripts, most written by Harold back home to his family and friends in Quincy, Massachusetts. It also contains a large folded wartime MAP OF FRANCE (with handwritten annotations of troop movements), a few military documents, and some typed or handwritten essays, songs & stories written about the War.

-- None of the letters have covers. Generally, the collection is in good condition. Most letters are quite legible, however some of the paper is of lower-quality rag content. Some have stains and period damage -- are weak or detached along fold lines -- or there are sections of letters cut-off by ARMY CENSOR, etc.

-- There are five letters written in 1917, twenty-five letters written in 1918, and nine letters written in 1919.

-- Harold wrote most letters addressed to "Ma & Pa" and a few letters addressed to his younger brother Lester Nathaniel Chapman who enlisted and served in a Coast Artillery unit. There are also a few letters to and from other people.

-- Despite being censored during the time he spent at the front lines (most of 1918), Harold's letters contain much interesting and historical information.

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THIS SUMMARY OF THE COLLECTION WILL BE DIVIDED INTO FIVE (5) SECTIONS as follows:

1-- 1914 LETTER & DOCUMENT:
The Chapman family is introduced to the World at War..

2-- 1917 LETTERS:
The Chapman brothers enlist to fight in World War I.

3-- 1918 LETTERS:
The Chapman brothers fight in World War I.

4-- 1919 LETTERS:
The Chapman brothers long for home.

5-- MAP AND MISC DOCUMENTS:
The Chapman brother's experience in World War.

Conclusions concerning the collection.

IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE:

This "summary" of the Chapman Collection is

NOT COMPREHENSIVE.

-- Most quotations are just selected excerpts taken from a letter's full content.

-- Only a few letters are quoted in their entirety.

-- Some letters in the collection are not quoted from at all.

The scan below shows one view of the
total compilation of approximately
50 letters, folding Wartime Map of Europe & documents in the
Harold William ("Bootus") Chapman Collection: