bookdealer, publisher, b. Southampton, Mass. He attended New York Univ. In 1841 he moved to Wisconsin, settling at Prairieville (Waukesha) where he served briefly as first principal of Prairieville Academy (absorbed by Carroll College, 1846). In 1842 he moved to Milwaukee where he opened a private school for boys, was co-editor with Harrison Reed (q.v.) of the Milwaukee Sentinel (1842), and publisher of the short-lived Milwaukee Herald (1843). He then turned his interests to book-selling, stationery, bookbinding and printing, at first in partnership with Philetus C. Hale and after 1850 alone. He was best known as a publisher of county, city, railroad, and geological maps. He published many of Increase A. Lapham's (q.v.) early maps, and in 1855 published Chapman's Handbook of Wisconsin. He was Milwaukee school commissioner (1856-1859), and a member of the board of normal school regents (1858-1867). Wis. Mag. Hist., 29; Milwaukee Evening Wis., Dec. 15, 1899; Milwaukee Sentinel, Dec. 15, 1899; WPA field notes.

The Wisconsin Historical Society has manuscripts related to this topic. See the catalog description of the Silas Chapman Letter for details.

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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]