Biography[]
Caroline Margaret Chapman was born 1851 in County Westmeath, Ireland to William Chapman (1811-1889) and Martha Louisa Vansittart (1812-1889) and died 1920 County Westmeath, Ireland of unspecified causes. She married Montagu Richard Chapman (1853-1907) 9 January 1894 in County Westmeath, Ireland.
- 1894-Jan-09 : Marriage to Cousin - 5th Baronet Chapman - Sir Montagu Richard Chapman (1853-1907)
- 1920 - Death - breakup of family estate at Killua Castle per will (see below)
The last part of the history (for Lawrence of Arabia) concerns Thomas Chapman's younger sister, Caroline Margaret Chapman (Lawrence's aunt). She had married her cousin, Montagu Chapman, who became 5th Chapman baronet. He died in 1907 without children, and four years later she drew up a will setting out the terms under which the Killua estate was to be broken up. In this will she arranged to bequeath £20,000 to her brother Thomas (Lawrence's father), making further generous legacies to his daughters in Ireland.
This separate provision for the Chapman s leaves little doubt that she intended Thomas Chapman's £20,000 to pass, ultimately, to his sons. It is not unreasonable to suppose that he knew of these legacies and that he would have discussed them with Sarah Lawrence. If this is the case, it might account for some otherwise unexplained remarks in Lawrence's letters (see below).
Caroline Margaret Chapman was seriously ill for several years: a codicil to her will dated June 1916 was signed with a cross and witnessed by two nurses. She died in 1920, some months after the of Lawrence's father. As he had predeceased her, the £20,000 bequest was passed, not to his sons, but to the residuary legatees under her will: his four Chapman daughters.
Killua Castle[]
Ruins of Killua Castle, County Westmeath, Ireland.
Killua Castle is the ancestral home of the Chapman Family who were granted the lands around Killua in 1667 as payment for services during the Cromwellian invasion of Ireland.
Killua Castle, and the nearby Raleigh Obelisk, are situated near Clonmellon, County Westmeath, Ireland. The present house was built in about 1780 by Sir Benjamin Chapman and consisted of a hall, dining room, oval drawing room, breakfast parlour and front and back stairs. There was also a stable yard, barn and haggard. From here, the Chapmans administered the surrounding farm lands of some 9,000 acres in the 18th century. Left in a ruinous condition, it was renovated in 2006.
Siblings[]
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| William Eden Chapman (1844-1870) | |||
| Thomas Robert Tighe Chapman (1846-1919) | 6 November 1846 County Westmeath, Ireland | 8 April 1919 County Westmeath, Ireland | Edith Sarah Hamilton Boyd (1853-1930) Sarah Junner Lawrence (1861-1959) |
| Caroline Margaret Chapman (1851-1920) | 1851 County Westmeath, Ireland | 1920 County Westmeath, Ireland | Montagu Richard Chapman (1853-1907) |
| Francis Vinsittart Chapman (1850-1915) | |||