Albert Chapman was born in Massachusetts on August 20, 1796. His family moved to nearby Worthington, Ohio, when he was eight years old. He served his country by fighting in the War of 1812 and then returned to Ohio to work as a school teacher. He used the money he made from teaching to go to Cincinnati to hear lessons on medicine. He also worked with his uncle, a doctor in Worthington, to learn and experience how to care for sick or hurt patients.
In 1830 a terrible disease called cholera broke out and Albert Chapman became Dublin’s first doctor. Dr. Chapman rode horseback to the families’ homes and stayed with his sick patients, taking care of them until they were better. He kept many notes and writings to record how he treated his patients and what helped to get his patients better. He used many plants and herbs grown along Indian Run as medicine, as well as whiskey, to help heal his sick patients.
Dr. Chapman married Lucy Sells, daughter of John Sells. She was much younger than Albert, but John Sells was so happy for them that he built a limestone house with beautiful walnut-lined windows on High Street. The home had a ballroom for entertaining and traveling ministers stayed with the couple, sometimes up to six weeks. Albert and Lucy had five children together.
Dr. Chapman was not only interested in medicine, he also opened the first store in Dublin in 1832. He bought and sold land in the Dublin area and lent money which helped the town to grow. In addition to his medical writings, he kept a journal filled with business transactions, recipes, and even poetry.
Dr. Albert Chapman brought Dr. Eli Morrison Pinney to serve the people of Dublin when he retired from medicine. Dr. Chapman died at the age of 89 in 1885.