Robert Chambers Jr. (1756 - 1819)

Born 25 Jan 1756 in Middle Springs, Cumberland Co., Pennsylvania

Ancestors

Died Sep 1819 at age 63 in Cambridge, Guernsey Co., Ohio

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Biography

Robert was the son of Robert Chambers and his wife, Mary Caldwell Chambers. His father recorded his birth in the family bible as follows: "Robert, January 23, 1756, on Friday eight minutes after 2 o'clock in the afternoon on the 5th day of the moon's age."

In 1780, Robert enlisted in the Army and fought during the Revolutionary War, serving as a private in Overmeyer's company, with the Frontier Rangers. NEEDS CITATION

"Robert died in September of the year 1819. He left three children by his first wife: Elizabeth, who married Joseph Badger and settled in Ohio, Marion County, she died many years since; Rebecca, who married a Mr. Vanvalza, she is also dead; and Robert who died leaving two children, William and Martha, who married (the latter) a Mr. Nicholas Brigg both of whom lived in Franklin County, Ohio."

There is a harrowing story about Robert's second wife, Mary Catherine "Katy" Klinesmith. "When she was young, she and her sister had been captured by the Indians near New Berlin. One day when they were left in a camp with an old Indian who fell asleep, Katy attacked him with an ax, killing him; before he expired, the Indian let out a whoop, which, attracted the other Indians and they pursued the girls. Katy was shot but not killed. She crawled under a log over which one Indian passed but he did not see her."

There is a discrepancy in the date of Robert's death. According to his sister-in-law, the wife of Benjamin Chambers, Robert died September 1819; however, the date on his head stone reads 1825. The 1819 date was given to Joseph C. Clopper by his aunt in October 1855; the headstone was ordered in 1938, so perhaps more credence can be given to his sister-in-law's account.

After his death, Robert's remains were interred in the Lewis Cemetery, Limestone Township, Clarion County, Pennsylvania.

Sources

• Robert Chambers Family Bible Records, as transcribed by Joseph Chamber Clopper: "A true copy from Grandfather Robert Chambers's Bible, taken when on a visit to Buffalo Valley and at the Old Mansion of my Uncle Benjamin Chambers near Mifflinburg, Union County, Pennsylvania in the month of October 1855."
• Birth, Marriage, Death: "A Brief Record of the Descendants of Robert Chambers," by James B. Chambers, 1928.
• Find A Grave Memorial for Robert Chambers, Jr.