Born in Milford Center, Ohio, the son of Norman and Sarah Wilson (Parker) Chipman, he graduated from the Cincinnati Law School in 1859, prior to the school's merger with the University of Cincinnati in its present form.
Born in Milford Center, Ohio, the son of Vermont-natives Norman and Sarah Wilson (Parker) Chipman, his family moved to Iowa when he was young. He graduated from the Cincinnati Law School in 1859, prior to the school's merger with the University of Cincinnati in its present form.