Charles Henry Chapman entered higher education and eventually became Professor of Agriculture at what is now Florida A&M University. A university funeral was held with considerable Fraternity participation when he became the first Jewel to enter Omega Chapter in 1934. Described as “a Brother beloved in the bonds,” Chapman was a founder of FAMU s Beta Nu Chapter. During the organization stages of Alpha Chapter, he was the first chairman of the Committees on Initiation and Organization.
“We must never lose sight of the fact that we must take part in the development, not only of ourselves but of all humanity…
I want you to understand that there never was or has been or will be, in the minds of the founders, including myself, the thought of any reward or any notice coming to us for this experiment in brotherly cooperation and comradeship, which we initiated and which has developed, not necessarily because of any efforts of ours, into one of the best regarded organizations in the Negro collegiate world.” — Jewel Charles Henry Chapman, 1931
Charles Henry Chapman was born in 1876 in Cayuga County, New York. Of all of the “Jewels,” information on his early life and family background have been the most difficult to obtain. What is known is that his early education was obtained at the Old Howard University Academy in Washington, D.C. In 1905, he entered Cornell University and found himself present at the meeting at 421 North Albany Street.
After leaving Cornell, Jewel Chapman did further study at Howard University, Hampton Institute and Ohio State University. During his years at Cornell University, he was a student of agriculture and owned a small brickyard and cafe. But he found time for Alpha Phi Alpha. Jewel Chapman chaired the first committee on Initiations and was chair of the Committee on Organizations.
As the organization began to take shape, Jewel Chapman worked hard for its success. He was responsible for securing the Odd Fellows Hall in which the initiation would be conducted. He also obtained towels for the initiation and did not request reimbursement. At the first initiation banquet, Jewel Chapman spoke on the subject “loyalty.” He also suggested that a program be prepared for the benefit of the society. At the second initiation banquet, Jewel Chapman’s speech was inadvertently omitted from the program, however, he spoke on the subject “The College Man in Business.” When the decision was made to become a fraternity, a committee on the organization of the new Fraternal Organization was appointed and composed of Chapman and four other Brothers.
Jewel Chapman was known to be very frank in his opinions and stringing in his convictions. However, Chapman was also said to be the mediator of the group. He offered the suggestion that the debate concerning the course of study to be pursued during the year be delayed for two weeks. After discussion, he withdrew his motion. As Wesley stated, “apparently to show that he was not entirely opposed to the literary idea,” Chapman made a motion that a Topic Committee be appointed and the seminar method be followed.
He commuted often to Cleveland, Ohio, where his family lived. His wife was Esther Chapman, who worked as a dietitian in the Cleveland Public School system. His journey to the south began with teaching appointments at Jackson State College in Mississippi and Alabama A & M College. In 1924, Jewel Chapman moved to Tallahassee, Florida where he joined the faculty of Florida A & M College and served as the Head of the Department of Agriculture. He was a lover of animals and instrumental in organizing work in animal husbandry on the college level. Professor Chapman was known to have developed prize dairy herds.
At the Twenty second General Convention in Atlanta, Georgia (December 28-31, 1929), Jewel Chapman was the guest founder and delivered the Founder’s Address at the afternoon session. He also attended several other conventions including the Twenty third General Convention in December 1931 which celebrated the 25th Anniversary in Cincinnati, Ohio. At the 1931 Convention in Cincinnati, Jewel Chapman delivered the fraternal address. He remarked about the Fraternity’s purpose:
“I mean by this, that regardless of the many, many purposes each of us may devise as the activating principle in our life and the many goals toward which we may be striving, I can see, nevertheless, that we do have one supreme purpose for our existence as a fraternity, and that is the recognition, as well as the development and thereby the making of better men. You can realize that, Brothers, this can be only accomplished by the raising and elevating the lives of other people. I am led to make this pronouncement because, from time to time, I have listened to the accusation that this group is self-centered, thinking only of its own interests as individuals and as a group.”
A few months following the convention, Chapman helped with the establishment of the Beta Nu Chapter at Florida A & M College in Tallahassee, Florida on April 23, 1932. Certainly the presence of Jewel Chapman added to the sacredness of the initiation and chartering service.
On Sunday, November 17, 1934, following a two week illness, Jewel Charles Henry Chapman died of nephritis. As Wesley stated in the History of Alpha Phi Alpha “the fraternity was totally unprepared for any breaks in the links of the chain for which more than two decades had kept together the founders of the Fraternity.” Funeral services were held on November 22,1934 in the college s auditorium. Jewels Henry Arthur Callis and Nathaniel Murray, at the request of the General Organization, represented the Fraternity. Brother J. Raymond Henderson, pastor of Wheat Street Baptist Church in Atlanta, preached the sermon. Flowers were sent by the Fraternity and Brothers present, gathered around the bier and repeated in unison the Lord’s Prayer and sang the Fraternity hymn. He was buried in Tallahassee, Florida.
In reporting Jewel Chapman’s passing at the Chicago Convention, General President Charles Wesley stated, “He has gone from earthly scenes but he is not forgotten by those who carry on in his place. We shall carry in mind his genial temper, his persistent loyal purpose, his unostentatious service to others and we shall endeavor to have these qualities live again in us.”
In a memorial address at the Silver Convention (December 1935) in Nashville, Jewel Callis had this to say about Brother Chapman:
“Were Brother Chapman to give me instructions for this address today, he would say something like this, Tell the Brothers to forget about me and to devote themselves whole heatedly to the tasks that lie ahead of them…Brother Chapman’s passing serves to contrast and yet link these two periods together. He gave the talent in the building of this foundation. As an older student with successful business ventures, he appreciated the need and the opportunity to maintain kinship with those less favorably placed. At Cornell, both colored and white students benefited from his advice and material aid. In the South, he spent his life building up an intelligent appreciation of the fundamental relationship between our progress and the soil. In death, he desired, not that he should he buried in his native state, New York, but that his ashes should mingled with the soil of Florida. Brother Chapman urged us not to accomplish our own salvation, but to bring a truer freedom and a measured security to this great underprivileged group in America, to whom we belong.”