Edward Young Chapin (1865 - 1954) , banker; b. Petersburg, Ky., 8 Oct 1865. grad, Univ Cincinnati 1886; Studied law with John G. Carlisle, Covington Administration and Trust Co. founder and pres. 1894; American Trust and Banking Co. with Henry S. Probosco, 1912.
Home Address: 24 Bluff View, Chattanooga d. 7 Mar 1954; bur. Forest Hill Cem., Chattanooga
Mason, Democrat

      "Edward Young Chapin, president of the American Trust & Banking Company of Chattanooga, was born October 8, 1865, in Petersburg, Kentucky, and there acquired his preliminary education, while later he continued his studies at Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Thinking to make the practice of law his life work he later began reading in the law office of John G. Carlisle of Covington, Kentucky, and later entered the law department of the College of Cincinnati, from which he was graduated with the class of 1886. In the same year he opened an office in Covington but in 1887 removed to Chattanooga, where he practiced successfully for a period of fifteen years. Since 1896, however, he has been connected with the financial interests of the city, for in that year he organized the Administration & Trust Company, of which he has since been the president and in 1912, in association with H. S. Probasco, he organized the American Trust & Banking Company, becoming its vice president and Chairman of the Board. In 1919 he was elected to the presidency of the latter corporation and has so continued to this time. In addition to his duties as a banker he is vice president of the Tennessee Furniture Corporation, vice president of the Walsh & Weidner Boiler Company and secretary of the Crystal Springs Bleachery Company. Important business interests thus benefit by his cooperation, sound judgment and capable control.

      He directed a furniture factory, hosiery mill, a spinning mill, and stove works. Chapin Library was donated to the town of Petersburg 10 Sep 1949, and was added to the Christian Church there. The 6,000 volumes donated included his novel A Harvesting of Green Fields.

     In 1890 Mr. Chapin was married to Miss Elise Hutcheson, whose life story follows this sketch. ["Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769–1923: Volume 2, p.291.]

     Mr. Chapin is interested in many projects of public importance. He was appointed a trustee of the Erlanger Hospital in 1902 and continued to fill the position until 1912, when he resigned. He has been a trustee of the Chattanooga Public Library since 1916 and a member of the Hamilton county school board since 1919. He was also one of the organizers of the Chattanooga Tuberculosis Sanitarium Association and continues as one of its trustees. He has written many pamphlets and booklets on financial and fiduciary subjects, which have had a national circulation and he has contributed extensively to various banking and trust company periodicals. The subjective and objective interests of his life have been well balanced. While he has been actuated by a laudable ambition to win success in his business affairs and has made for himself a most creditable place in financial and business circles, he has never neglected his duties nor his obligations to his fellowmen but at all times has stood ready to aid the public in advancing standards of life for the individual and the community.

Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769–1923: Volume 2

     He also donated the organ for the Memorial Auditorium in Chattanooga.

      Elise Hutcheson Chapin, prominent in all public-spirited projects of Chattanooga, especially those which are of cultural value or which alleviate the hard conditions of life for the unfortunate, is well known in this city, where she has made her home since 1890. She was born in Anderson, Grimes county, Texas, April 18, 1868, a daughter of Joseph Chappel and Mildred Lightfoot (Carrington) Hutcheson. Her father was born in Stony Cross, Mecklenburg county, Virginia, and was a son of Charles Sterling and Mary (Moore) Hutcheson, who resided in that county.
     Elise Hutcheson pursued her early education in the schools of Houston, Texas, and afterward attended the Nash School at Hillsboro, North Carolina, and the Huger School in New York city. In 1890 she became the wife of Edward Young Chapin, mention of whom precedes this sketch. She has a daughter and a son: Elise, now the wife of William Deaderick Moon of Chattanooga; and Edward Young, Jr., who married Dorris Carter and also lives in Chattanooga. In many benevolent projects and with many progressive societies Mrs. Chapin is actively connected. She was the first president of the Women's Auxiliary of the First Presbyterian church and she belongs to the Colonial Dames of Tennessee, to the Woman's Club, and the Kosmos Club. She is also a generous supporter of the Old Ladies' Home and is the secretary of the Vine Street Orphans' Home, a position which she has filled for twenty years. She was likewise the secretary of the National League for Woman's Service during the World war and to the fullest possible extent she lends her aid and cooperation to all plans and movements for the general good and for the intellectual and moral progress of the city.

Additional notes:

     John G. Carlisle was a U. S. Senator from Kentucky (1835-1910) and was Speaker of the House 28th, 49th, and 50th Congresses. He resigned from the Senate in 1893 to become President Grover Cleveland's Secretary of the Treasury. (A nice person to know if you are a banker!) Henry S. Probosco was a well-known Cincinnati philanthropist. He donated the fountain that stands on Fountain Square in downtown Cincinnati.

He also donated the organ for the Memorial Auditorium in Chattanooga.

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References:

"Who Was Who in America." Volume 3, 1951-1960. (Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1966), p. 149.
E. Y. Chapin, A Harvesting of Green Fields, Chapin, Edward Young. Published [Privately Printed, 1939] Description 203 p.; rpt. New York: Exposition Press, 1949. Description 213 p. (Novel)
REMINSCENSES OF PETERSBURG Publisher: BOONE CO.RECORDER-HISTORICAL ED. Date: 04 Sep 1930 Subjects: CHAPIN, EDWARD YOUNG PETERSBURG - BOONE COUNTY - HISTORY Page: 1
HON.E.Y.CHAPIN (PHOTO) Publisher: BOONE CO.RECORDER-HISTORICAL ED. Date: 04 Sep 1930 Subjects: CHAPIN, EDWARD YOUNG Page: 7
FRONTIER SEEMS LIKE YESTERDAY - IN HISTORIC PETERSBURG, FAMILIES HAVE STAYED ON SINCE 1700 KENTUCKY ENQUIRER (LIMITED) Date: 17 Sep 1995 Subjects: PETERSBURG - BOONE COUNTY - LIBRARIES CHAPIN, EDWARD YOUNG; DECK, LUCILLE; GRIPSHOVER, GEORGE; SEIBEL, JOHN; Page: B3
Souvenir Programme: Dedication of the Memorial Organ, Chattanooga, Tennessee: Thursday, February 12th, Nineteen and twenty-five. Dedication of the Memorial organ. Press of Dearing Printing Co., 1925 (8 pages). Notes "The Memorial organ by E.Y. Chapin"--P. 2-3. Contains description of organ built by Austin Organ Co. for Memorial Auditorium.