Genealogy and Family History Notes
About Bessie Louisa (Chapman) Cunningham
Bessie Louisa Chapman was born on 14 May 1888. The first census in which she has been found is the 1900 United States federal census. In that census, she is shown as the daughter of Howard J and Paulina O (Dunkleberger) Chapman. Howard died in 1906. The 1910 census shows Bessie living with Paulina, but Bessie is identified as Paulina's adopted daughter. Because Paulina is Howard's only known wife, it appears possible that Bessie was actually Howard's adopted daughter as well.
Bessie left two clues as to the identity of her natural parents. First, she identified them as Hugh Chapman and Ida Carpenter when she married John Nelson Cunningham.
Second, in the 1925 Iowa State census, which asked for the names and age at last birthday of each individual's parents, she reported her father to be Hugh Chapman, age 65, and her mother to be Ida Carpenter, age 28.
The people compiling information from the 1925 Iowa State census, took these statements to mean that Hugh Chapman was born about 1860 and Ida Carpenter was born about 1897. It is known that Hugh Chapman was born in 1848 or 1849. A birthdate of 1897 for Ida would mean that she was born 9 years after her daughter.
With the realization that Hugh Chapman died in 1916, well before the 1925 census, it becomes clear that Bessie took the question of her parents' ages at their last birthday very literally. She reported their ages at their last birthday before their deaths. Nothing on the census form clearly indicated what was to be reported if a parent was deceased. Although Bessie was off a bit on the age of each of her parents when they died - Hugh was 68 and Ida, according to her gravestone, was 23 - she was close enough.