During the Progressive period and well into the Depression, Ella Hawley Chapman had a reputation as one of the best caterers in the city of Akron, Ohio. At the time of her death in 1944, she was also the oldest living African-American citizen who had been born in Summit County.
Chapman was an Akron native. She was born on the land where the old Bowen School stood (now the Administration Building for Akron Public Schools) at the corner of Broadway and Perkins.
She went to Bowen School before she started her work life. She worked first for the family of M. O’Neil, owner of a large Akron department store. Once her cooking and baking skills were discovered, however, she started working for the O’Neil’s Department Store as a caterer. Under that affiliation, she catered some of the biggest weddings and social affairs in the city.
Chapman was a member of the Summit County 50-Year Club and the Wesley Temple, A.M.E. church.