Daily Archives: October 4, 2010

An elder from the House of Hope

Benjamin Ogden ChapmanThe work for Christ and His Kingdom has been under-girded and advanced by a wide range of people, some with very deep connections with Wheaton College and the surrounding areas and others who have heard of its work and simply offer support in encouragement. One such encourager was Benjamin Ogden Chapman. A Presbyterian layman, Chapman was known as a “devoted servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. A partner in Ogden, Merrill and Greer, a St. Paul, Minnesota-based pottery and glassware wholesale firm, founded in 1855 by Henry S. Ogden. The thriving concern eventually became Merrill, Greer and Chapman company. Married to Ethel C. Brown, 1905 Carleton College graduate, Chapman was an elder at House of Hope Presbyterian Church, a member of the Minnesota Historical Society and treasurer of the Sons of the Revolution in the State of Minnesota. The generous gifts from Chapman and his family established a memorial scholarship, as well as furnishing a chemistry lab, in Chapman’s memory. The original laboratory was located Blanchard Hall and then moved to Breyer Hall in 1995. Though replete with new furnishings the name has been carried into Wheaton’s newest Science Center.