Sina Margaret (Bryant) Chambers (abt. 1800 - aft. 1871)

Born about 1800 in Georgia

Wife of John Chambers — married 10 Dec 1818 in Athens, Limestone County, Alabama

Descendants

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Biography

Sina Margaret (Bryant) Chambers (c.1800-after 1871)

(Please note that the spelling of her name is uncertain, and various spellings are found in different records: Sina, Cena, etc.)

According to her husband's army pension application from 1871 (for his service in the War of 1812), her maiden name was Sina Bryant and she married John Chambers on 10 December 1818 in Athens, Limestone County, Alabama. (However, no other record of the marriage has yet been found.) The pension application also clearly implies that both John and Sina were still living as of 1871. This tells us that the Margaret Chambers listed in the 1870 census as the wife of John Chambers must have been the same person as Sina (Bryant) Chambers. Presumably, Margaret was Sina's middle name (or else Margaret was her first name and Sina was her middle name).

According to census records, she was born somewhere in Georgia sometime around 1800. (Though please note that the 1870 census lists the birthplace of Margaret Chambers as South Carolina. However, it also lists her husband's birthplace as South Carolina—he was actually born in North Carolina—so there is good reason to doubt the accuracy of this record.)

It appears that she was most likely either the daughter or the sister of William Bethel Bryant, whose family is listed as the neighbor of the John Chambers family in the 1820 and 1840 censuses. A Zachariah Bryant family is also listed as a neighbor of the John Chambers family in the 1820 census, but not in subsequent censuses, so it is possible that this was the father of both William and Sina Bryant. However, at the present time, we have no documentary evidence that would establish with any degree of certainty exactly how these Bryant families were related.

Sina and her husband, John Chambers, lived most of their adult life in Limestone County, Alabama, where they raised their children.

They had several children, including:

• Drury H. Chambers (b. c.1822)
• David B. Chambers (b. c.1825)
• Zachariah R. Chambers (b. c.1828)
• Eliza J. Chambers (b. c.1830) — her married name was Terry
• John G. Chambers (b. 1832)
• Margaret Chambers (b. c.1832) — her married name was Owens
• Mary E. Chambers (b. c.1836) — her married names were Ramsey and Hughes
• Marshall M. Chambers (b. c.1837)
• William B. Chambers (b. c.1840)
• George Chambers (b. c.1843)

Based on the information recorded on her husband's Army pension application, we can surmise that both Sina and John were still living as of 1871. However, neither of them has yet been found in the 1880 census, which suggests that both of them most likely died sometime between 1871 and 1880.

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Census records for Sina Margaret (Bryant) Chambers and her family:

From the 1820 census for Limestone County, Alabama:

John Chambers |1|2|1|2|6|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|

(That is 1 white male over the age of 21, 2 white males under the age of 21, 1 white female over the age of 21, and 2 white females under the age of 21—which amounts to 6 white persons in total.)

Please note that this is the only Chambers household listed in the 1820 census for Limestone County, Alabama.

Also note that the Wm. B. Bryant family and the Zachariah Bryant family are listed as close neighbors of the John Chambers family in the 1820 census.

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From the 1830 census for Limestone County, Alabama:

John Chambers |1|2|_|_|_|1|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|2|_|_|_|1|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|

(That is: 1 free white male under the age of 5, 2 free white males aged 5-10, 1 free white male aged 30-40, 2 free white females under the age of 5, and 1 free white female aged 20-30.)

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From the 1840 census for Limestone County, Alabama:

John Chambers |1|_|2|2|_|_|1|_|_|_|_|_|_||1|1|1|_|_|_|1|_|_|_|_|_|_|

(That is: 1 free white male under the age of 5, 2 free white males aged 10-15, 2 free white males aged 15-20, 1 free white male aged 40-50, 1 free white female under the age of 5, 1 free white female aged 5-10, 1 free white female aged 10-15, and 1 free white female aged 40-50.)

Please note that the W.B. Bryant family is listed immediately before the John Chambers family in the 1840 census.

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From the 1850 census for Limestone County, Alabama:

John Chambers | 56 | m | _ | [Farmer] | North Carolina
Cena " | 50 | f | _ | _ | Georgia
Eliza J. " | 20 | f | _ | _ | Alabama
John " | 18 | m | _ | " | "
Mary E. " | 14 | f | _ | _ | "
Marshall M. " | 13 | m | _ | _ | "
William " | 10 | m | _ | _ | "
George " | 7 | m | _ | _ | "
Josiah B. Pucket | 22 | m | _ | " | "

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From the 1860 census for Limestone County, Alabama:

John Chambers | 67 | M | _ | Farmer | North Carolina
Sina Chambers | 60 | F | _ | _ | Georgia
William B. | 19 | M | _ | Farm Laborer | Alabama
George | 17 | M | _ | Farm Laborer | Alabama
Eliza Terry | 22 | F | _ | _ | Alabama
Zachary | 3 | M | _ | _ | Alabama
Sina E. | 5/12 | F | _ | _ | Alabama
Jefferson Ramsey | 5 | M | _ | _ | Alabama

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From the 1870 census for Limestone County, Alabama:

Chambers John | 75 | M | W | Farmer | S Carolina
" Margaret | 70 | F | W | Keep house | S Carolina

Sources

Her husband's army pension application from 1871 for service in the War of 1812: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X8CN-7ZF

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Census records:

-1820 (family of John Chambers): http://www.trackingyourroots.com/pdf/1820Limestone.pdf (page 141)

-1830 (family of John Chambers): https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHPH-MR2

-1840 (family of John Chambers): https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHTL-6JX

-1850: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MH5S-Y2H

-1860: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHDP-WR4 (note that her name has been mistranscribed as Tena Chambers)

-1870: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHKF-265 (note that her name is listed here as Margaret Chambers)