Sarah Eleanor Grant

Born on 11 Mar 1876 in Cheverie, Hants County, Nova Scotia, Sarah was the second child of Peter Grant and Precilla Glenn.  Before she was a year old her father died and Precilla built a small home next to the homestead in Pictou, NS where Sadie lived for the next eleven years.  This house was just a few hundred feet from the Minas Basin of which Longfellow wrote:  In the Acadian Land, on the shores of the Basin of Minas, Distant, secluded, still, the little village of Grand Pre lay in the fruitful valley.

When Precilla was six her Uncle Edward introduced her mother to Gilbert Gourley, and this eventually led to her remarriage. Sarah was not happy with the marriage.  When she was twelve she left NS to live with her Aunt and Uncle at 136 DeHart Place in Elizabeth, NJ.   There she attended Cherry Street School and Battin High.  After attending the NJ Teacher Training School she spent two years as teacher-principal at Salem School. In order to be qualified for Principal Sarah took extension courses from Rutgers University.  After two years at Salem School, Sarah moved back to Elizabeth to be near her ailing Aunt and taught seventh grade at Cherry Street School. 

In 1901 Sarah experienced love at first sight when she met Will Chapman on a trip to Glen Island.  They spent the summer going to So concerts, the beach and the theater. Sarah broke off the romance when her Aunt showed displeasure with the intensity of the relationship, but after some time apart they met again and when her Aunt relented they planned their wedding for 29 June 1904.  Although her Aunt passed away on the twentieth it was her wish that the wedding go on. This is a general synopsis of Sadie’s life, she has written her own story.(see appendix) Sarah had two poems written for her over the course of her life.  The first was written when she left Salem School and this second was written by Frances Edgar and John Booth when she retired from the Board of Education.

In eighteen Hundred and Seventy Six
Into this world there came
A lovely little baby
S. Eleanor Grant by name.

She left the land of her birth
NS by name
And came to Elizabeth , NJ
to seek out her fame.

She went to State Normal School
A teacher to become
She succeeded in her aim
She helped even those who were dumb

She intended to teach forever

Continuing to live with her Aunt
But along came a dashing young fellow
Changed her name to Chapman from Grant

He earned his living in insurance
That was his forte, you see
Their “love nest” they built in NY
City slickers they thought they would be.

When a boy and a girl came to bless them
A perfect family
Off to the wilds of the suburbs
Came the Chapman family

They came to Peapack-Gladstone
Over thirty years ago
Where S. Eleanor made a name for herself
In civic affairs you know.

Sarah and Greg 1950

On each committee she has served
She worked with all her might
To the library and the VNA
She’s given all her fight

On the school board she has always stood
For fairness for all concerned
From student, teacher, and principal
The respedt of all she’s earned

So at this dinner party
This group of people came
To thank S. ELEANOR CHAPMAN
For all the things she’s done

P.S. the “S” in the name of this lady?
Believe it or not stands for “Sadie”

        Our best regards
                       Frances and John

Sarah died on 17 Oct 1959 at the age of 83 in Morris Plains, Morris County, NJ and  was buried in the Chapman Plot in Sylvan Lawn Cemetery, Arlington, Hudson County, NJ. 

Sarah Eleanor Grant and William Osborn Chapman were married on 29 Jun 1904 in Manhattan, NY County, NY.