William J Chamberlain (abt. 1812 - bef. 1869)

Born about 1812 in New Hampshire, United States

Husband of Ann (Jefferson) Chamberlain — married 1842 in Louisiana, United States

Descendants

Died before 1869 before about age 57 in Boling, Leon County, Texas

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Biography

William J Chamberlain, Materialized Man

William Chamberlain apparently materialized from under a toadstool without ancestry or parentage in 1812 in the state of New Hampshire.

Although he led a relatively blameless life, aside from owning slaves and fighting for the Confederacy in the Great Rebellion, I have found no Chamberlain family who will lay claim to him. And thus, as the Great Philosopher Popeye would say, "He was an orphink." Even worse for the researcher, his one and only wife, Ann, (b 1818 in St. John, New Brunswick, Canada), has no recorded surname, and though later records report they were married and lived in Louisiana for at least 17 years as husband and wife I haven't been able to find a single record for them there. They appear to have been testing, very successfully, the Witness Protection Program, which would come in handy for various levels of the US Government 120 years later, but is a great aggravation to me!

A One Day Cruise on a Magic Ship

In fact by the time I am able to find any record of him at all he is 27 years old and taking an overnight ride on the Steamship "Columbia" from Galveston to The Big Easy, aka known among Southern folk as Naw'lins.

The Steam Packet “Columbia”

^[1] The Columbia offered three classes of accommodations for passengers: 1) on deck, 2) in a standard cabin, or 3) in the main cabin, which was described in the journal of Mary Austin Holley, a distant relative of Stephen F. Austin. She described fine linens, silver and ivory utensils, and services of a "French cook" and a "lady-like chambermaid."

The Columbia was configured to accommodate sixty passengers, split between the cabins and the deck. The steamer normally completed the New Orleans to Galveston trip within 35 to 40 hours, which easily exceeded the performance of sailing vessels.

Columbia had two sources of power: steam and sail. Steam power propelled the ship when the wind was not favorable. This was critical while navigating the Mississippi River below New Orleans and the narrow coastal passes near Galveston. Steam power allowed travel along a straight line. Columbia transported most of its heavy freight to the port of Galveston from New Orleans, and hauled cotton and hides out of Texas.

^[2] This is the ship we all want to take. Tickets now selling for the good ship  Columbia for a 40 hour cruise from Galveston to New Orleans, during which you might, if you are as lucky as William Chamberlain, lose two years in age, go from sleeping on the deck to having your own private cabin and rise from being a Texas dirt farmer to a  purveyor of merchandise in the United States of America. It seems a bit unlikely but it's all written down. And there's only one William Chamberlain aboard.   

Departure; 25 May 1838; Galveston TX to New Orleans, LA, 
Ship "Columbia";  Deck Passenger:
  William Chamberlain, age 29, Farmer; of Texas; 

Arrival; 26 May 1838; Galveston TX to New Orleans, LA, 
Ship "Columbia", Cabin Passenger:
William Chamberlain, age 27, Merchant, of USA

Riches to Rags?

^[3] In 1840 we find him living as a bachelor in Washington County Texas, and pretty well off too. He owned a rancho of 4308 acres, six slaves, a fair amount of livestock, and a wagon. His assets were worth close to half a million dollars in today's money. He'd done pretty well for a 28-year-old.

By the following year he owned just 100 acres, and was down to a single teenaged slave. His taxable assets were down to about $250.

^[4]Chamberlain Wm  100 acres,  Value $200, 1 negro under 15, paid $1.00 specific tax  (for the slave), $1.00 poll tax,  and $1.00 state tax for total of $3.00.

What happened? Politics, politics. Turmoil and Texas have always gone hand and hand, or maybe fist-to-fist would be a better description. Texas had declared their independence from Mexico in March of 1836. They set up their new capital in Washington County. The Mexican Government had long been tolerant of American and European settlers, but these newcomers were not content with homes, farms and ranches, they were belligerent and came itching for a fight, and the Mexicans were all, "Mañana mañana hermano." They had no desire to fight. They must have wished these newly arrived Americans and their ideas of Manifest Destiny - "I want it therefore it's mine" -would just go home and resume picking fights with the bears and the British.

In 1839 the newly-formed American-Texan government decided to drive out the original inhabitants of the land, the Indigenous people and the "Tejanos", people of mixed Indigenous and Spanish descent. Many of the Americans and Europeans who had settled under the auspices of the Mexican Government were outraged. They refused to fight their previous benefactors. They packed up in disgust and went back to the USA. William may have very well been one of them. Or maybe he just took the opportunity to sell up and go back to Louisiana a wealthy man, look for a wife and wait for a better day to roll around in Texas.

A 14 Year Gap During Which He Married

Ann, Children and Back to Texas

^[5]In 1855, after the Mexican War was over and done with, William and John Baker bought a 320 acre parcel of land in Leon County, and each took 160 acres.

^[6]William and Ann's daughter Mary Jane was born on the 26th of November 1855. In the census documents they report that she was born in Louisiana, but she was christened on the 13th of April 1856 in St. Mary's Cathedral in Galveston, Texas. The record reads: Mary Jane Chamberlain, born 26 Nov 1855, christened 13 Apr 1856 in St. Mary's Cathedral in Galveston, Texas. Parents are William Chamberlain and Ann Chamberlain - alias Jefferson. Her sponsor was Ann Aubeauton (sp?). The officiant was Father Bernard O'Reilly.

^[7] William must have spent the next two years preparing for his family, for we learn through the 1867 Leon County Voter Registration List, that William's wife Ann and their children did not move to Leon County until he could get shelter built and some vestiges of comfort made for them, because it was 1857 before they came to Leon County to settle. Even then it was a hard life, as evidenced by the 1860 Agricultural Census, which recorded how much land each farmer owned, how much of it had been "improved", i.e. plowed and planted, how much the farm was worth, how much machinery and livestock he owned, how much it was worth, and how many bushels of the common exportable grain crops they had harvested in the past year.

His report appears to be pretty sad, but for a man plowing behind a team of oxen, without any modern machinery or conveniences it is a remarkable feat.
^[8]
1860 Federal Agricultural Schedules for Leon, Leon, Texas
William J Chamberlain;
Land: 25 improved acres, 135 unimproved acres, $160 cash value of farm, $5 value farming equipment/machinery
Livestock: no horses, 1 mule, 5 milk cows, 4 working oxen, 6 other cattle, no sheep, 9 pigs, $221 value of livestock.
Agricultural Products: No wheat, 60 bushels of rye, no Indian corn, 3 bushels of corn, no barley

^[9]
In 1860 we find them on the Leon County Census:
Enumerated on: August 30, 1860
35 |88 | 8 | Chamberlain W. J. | 47 M | Farmer | bn NH (bn 1812-13)
36 |88 | 8 | Chamberlain Ann | 42 F| bn St. John, NB Canada (1818)
37 |88 | 8 | Chamberlain Chas H.|16 M | Farmer | bn LA (1844)
38 |88 | 8 | Chamberlain Wm. L.| 14 M | bn LA (1846)
39 |88 | 8 | Chamberlain Angeline 10 F | bn LA (1850)
40 |88 | 8 | Chamberlain Georgiana 5 F | bn LA (1855)
Continued on page No: 13
1 |88 | 1 | Chamberlain Mary J. | 4 F | bn LA (1856)

The Late Unpleasantness

And then there was the Civil War. William and his eldest son Charles enlisted in the 22nd Texas Infantry.

^{[10] [11]} Name: William Chamberlain
Side: Confederate
Regiment State/Origin: Texas
Regiment: 22nd Regiment, Texas Infantry (Hubbard's)
Company: B
Rank In: Private
Rank Out: Private

^[12][13]Two of his Civil War records indicate that he was a POW at some point, but neither are dated or indicate where he was imprisoned, or for how long. Just a very uninformative tick mark on the POW line.

History of the 22nd Texas Infantry

William J Chamberlain and his son Charles H Chamberlain served in Company B of the 22nd Texas Infantry. Company B was made up of men from Leon and adjacent Counties in Texas. Both were paroled by Federal Cavalry units commanded by Wesley Merritt, July 1865 in Texas.

Hubbard, Lieutenant Colonel John J. Canon, Lieutenant Colonel Elias E. Lott, and Major Benjamin F. Parkes. The 22nd Texas Infantry was attached to the 1st Brigade, commanded by Colonel Overton Young, 1st Brigade, Walker’s Texas Division, Trans - Mississippi Department. Colorfully known as the "Greyhound Division" for its lean and speedy marches across thousands of miles in three states, Major General John G. Walker's infantry division in the Confederate army was the largest body of Texans--about 12,000 men at its formation--to serve in the American Civil War. Walker's unit remained, uniquely for either side in the conflict, a stable group of soldiers from a single state from its creation in 1862 until its disbandment at the war's end.   This collection of farm boys, store clerks, carpenters, and lawyers became the trans-Mississippi's most potent Confederate fighting unit, from the vain attack at Milliken's Bend, Louisiana, in 1863 during Grant's Vicksburg campaign to stellar performances at the battles of Mansfield, Pleasant Hill, and Jenkins' Ferry that helped repel Nathaniel P. Banks's Red River campaign of 1864.   Walker's enlisted men were somewhat older, more likely to be married, and more often heads of households than their counterparts, both Rebel and Yankee. Although the Confederacy may have erred in not sending the division east of the Mississippi River to fight in larger campaigns, Lowe's book yields the poignant conclusion that the Greyhounds were content to remain where they were to shield their families from an invading enemy and the devastation of war.  The regiment saw action in Arkansas and Louisiana including the battle at Young's Point on June 7, 1863. Young's Point served as a vital supply depot for the Union army. As the Texans advanced across the fields, they saw Federal reinforcements arrive by transports supported by gunboats. Confederate efforts at Young's Point ended in failure.

In March 1864, the 22nd Texas Infantry participated in the operations against the advance of the Federal Army, under General Banks, from Franklin, Louisiana. The 22nd Infantry also participated in the battles at Natchitoches, Louisiana on March 31, 1864 and Wilson's Farm, Louisiana on April 7, 1864. On April 8, 1864, arriving near Mansfield, General Walker formed his division in line of battle and awaited the advance of the enemy. They participated in the Battle of Pleasant Hill, Louisiana on April 9, 1864 against 35,000 Federal soldiers. The Confederate force was under 16,000. The Texans captured 21 pieces of artillery, over 3,000 prisoners and more than 200 wagons. The Confederate loss was severe with over 2,000 killed and wounded.   The regiment participated in operations against Gen. Steele from Little Rock to Camden, Arkansas. The 22nd Infantry participated in engagements at Marks' Mills, Arkansas on April 15, 1864. At this engagement there were about 300 Confederate casualties, including kills, wounds, and MIAs, compared to the 1,500 Union losses. The men of the 22nd Texas Infantry fought bravely at the Battle of Jenkins Ferry, Arkansas on April 30, 1864.   A private in Walker's Texas Division stated, “An incessant roar of musketry prevailed for about six hours. During this time the tide of battle ebbed and flowed, now advancing then retreating, but at no time did the ground fought over vary more than about 250 yards. Owing to the dense fog and dense clouds of smoke which hung in the thick woods, many times opposing lines could only be discovered by the flash of their muskets. Had we received reinforcements we could have destroyed the entire train and perhaps have captured the entire army. The Federal troops fought well and were handled in a masterly manner.”   The dead were buried by Confederate forces. One member of Walker's Texas Division stated, "Soon after the battle ended, a detail of men were employed in burying the dead. Armed with shovel, pickaxe, and spade, they proceeded along the battleground to complete this mournful task, which the enemy was unable to accomplish. The ground was thickly strewn with the ghastly and mangled forms. The effluvium from the swollen, festering forms was too horrible for human endurance. No conception of the imagination, no power of human language, could do justice to such a horrible scene."

The regiment marched to Shreveport, Louisiana and then to Hempstead, Texas. The 22nd Texas Infantry disbanded before General Kirby Smith and General John Magruder surrendered the Trans-Mississippi forces on June 2, 1865 at Galveston, Texas.

Death by November 22 1869

^[14] The 1867-1869 Leon County Texas Voter Registration List allows us to place William's death between June 2, 1865 and Nov 22, 1869. While William J is not on the List, his sons Charles H Chamberlain and William L Chamberlain are enumerated one after the other on Nov 22, 1869: What's more their answers to the residency questions allows us to place their arrival in Leon County to 1857.
Charles Chamberlain bn LA, resident 12 yrs in TX, 12 yrs in Leon Co., 12 yrs in Precinct
WL Chamberlain bn LA, resident 12 yrs in TX, 12 yrs in Leon Co., 12 yrs in Precinct

And the 1870 Census confirms, by his absence in the household, that William has died:

^[15]
1870 Federal Census: State of Texas; Leon County; Boling Post Office
LINE|Dwell|Family Name | Age S C | Occupation |VR P | BP |
22 | 320 381 |Chamberlain A.| 53 F W | Keep House |200 300 | bn NY
23 | 320 381 |Chamberlain W.L.|23 M W | Farmer| 300 100 | bn LA
24 | 320 381 |Chamberlain Georgiana |15 F W | bn LA
25 | 320 381 |Chamberlain M.J. |13 F W bn LA
26 | 320 381 |Chamberlain M.K. | 9 F W bn TX

And next door the couple's eldest son and his family
^[16]
32|331| 393| Chamberlain C.H.| 26 M W | Farmer 300 | bn LA
33|331| 393| Chamberlain S.W.| 21 F W | Keep House | bn LA
34|331| 393| Chamberlain W.C.| 1/12 M W | bn TX
35|331|393 | Garrett George | 15 M B | bn VA

We do not know where he is buried, but it will certainly be close by where he lived in the Boling Precinct, Leon County Texas.

Sources

1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_%281835_steamboat%29
2. ↑ Quarterly Abstracts of Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New Orleans, Louisiana, 1820–1875; Microfilm Publication M272, 17 rolls; 2824931; Records of the U.S. Customs Service, Record Group 36; NARA
3. ↑ 1840 Washington County Texas Tax List:
4. ↑ 1841 Washington Co Texas Tax List 
5. ↑ Texas Land Title Abstracts
   Grantee: Spencer C. Mayfield; Cert: 2000/2001
   Patentee: John Baker; Wm. Chamberlain
   Patent Date: 10 Aug 1855
   Acres: 320; District: Robertson, County: Leon
   File: 2016, Patent Volume: 12, Patent #: 122
   Class: Rob. 3rd.
6. ↑ Film # 007599989; "Texas Births and Christenings, 1840-1981", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VRSP-YTR : 13 February 2020), William Chamberlain in entry for Mary Jane Chamberlain, 1856.
7. ↑ 1867 Voter Registration Lists. Microfilm, 12 rolls, reel 8, Leon County, lines #1292 and #1293; Texas State Library and Archives Commission, Austin, Texas.
8. ↑ 1860 Federal Agricultural Schedules for Leon, Leon, Texas, T1134; Roll:5; Line 28;
9. ↑ 1860 Federal Census Leon County Texas; Centerville Post Office: Page No. 12; Reel no: M653-1299
10. ↑ "Texas Confederate Soldiers 1861-1865". Unit Rosters Vol II Editor Janet B. Hewett; Arranged by Joyce Lawrence; Broadfoot Publishing Co. ISBN-10: 1568373562; 22nd Texas Infantry Co. B; 1862 Company B - Formed Leon Co TX Captain, John T. Nelson 1st Lieut., E. Baker 2nd Lieut., B.F. Rogers 2nd Lieut., Jr., Joseph Henry Muster Roll... Chamberlain, Charles; Chamberlain, William
11. ↑ U.S. Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865; Film Number: M227 roll 6
12. ↑ .US., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865; Historical Data Systems, Inc.; Duxbury, MA 02331; American Civil War Research Database
13. ↑ U.S. Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865; Film Number: M227 roll 6
14. ↑ 1867 Voter Registration Lists. Microfilm, 12 rolls, reel 8, Leon County, lines #1292 and #1293; Texas State Library and Archives Commission, Austin, Texas.
15. ↑ 1870 Federal Census: State of Texas; Leon County; Boling Post Office Sheet No: 42B Reel no: M593-1596 Division: Beat 5 Page No: 48 Enumerated on: July 25, 1870 by: R. B. Wallace
16. ↑ 1870 Federal Census: State of Texas; Leon County; Boling Post Office Sheet No: 42B Reel no: M593-1596 Division: Beat 5 Page No: 49 Enumerated on: July 25, 1870 by: R. B. Wallace

• Acknowledgements

Great Thanks to Wanda Cothran for her research help with this profile