When Edwin Willard Chapman was born on 1 September 1842, in Belfast, Belfast, Allegany, New York, United States, his father, Hiram Fish Chapman, was 31 and his mother, Mary Anna Springer, was 29. He married Martha Bristol in 1862, in Michigan, United States. They were the parents of at least 1 daughter. He lived in Wayland Township, Allegan, Michigan, United States in 1900 and Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan, United States in 1920. He died on 23 April 1933, in Mount Pleasant, Isabella, Michigan, United States, at the age of 90, and was buried in Glenwood Cemetery, Flint, Genesee, Michigan, United States.