James Chambers (1812 - 1862)

Born 20 Sep 1812 in Ponders End, London, England, United Kingdom

Husband of Catherine (Redin) Chambers — married 6 Aug 1836 in St Mary, Long Sutton, Lincolnshire, England

Descendants

Died 7 Aug 1862 at age 49 in North Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Biography

James Chambers was born in England.

James Chambers is Notable.

JAMES CHAMBERS ^{[1] [2]} (Chambers-8262)

PARENTS. William Chambers & Elizabeth Ann (Wilson) Chambers

BIRTH. 20 Sep 1812, Ponders End, London, England

CHRISTENING. 29 Aug 1819

Name: James Chambers

Event Type: Christening

Event Date: 29 Aug 1819

Event Place: Norfolk, England, United Kingdom

Event Place (Original): Hockering, Norwich, Norfolk, England

Gender: Male

Father's Name: William Chambers

Mother's Name: Elizabeth Anne Wilson Chambers

Record Number: 43

MARRIAGE. 6 Aug 1836, St Mary, Long Sutton, Lincoln, England

MARRIAGE. 6 Aug 1836, Catherine Redin, daughter of James Redin & Frances (Watson) Redin

MARRIAGE. 6 Aug 1836

Name: James Chambers

Event Type: Marriage

Event Date: 6 Aug 1836

Event Place: Long Sutton, Lincolnshire, England, United Kingdom

Event Place (Original): St Mary, Long Sutton, Lincoln, England

Gender: Male

Spouse's Name: Catherine Redin

Spouse's Gender: Female

IMMIGRATION. 1837. On the COROMANDEL. ^[3] From London under the command of Captain William Chesser, arrived Holdfast Bay, Adelaide on January 12th 1837 with 156 passengers (124 adults and 32 children). The first migrant ship to arrive in South Australia, after proclamation of the province.

Children:

(1) Elizabeth Chambers, b. 1837, d. 18 Apr 1882, m (1). 21 Jan 1862, John Holden Newman, son of John Newman & Josephine (Dewdney) Newman, m (2). 29 Jun 1867, Edward John Peake, son of ??

(2) James Chambers, b. 7 May 1839, d. 22 May 1893, m. 1863, Emily Norrell, daughter of Friend Norrell & Louisa Hownsum (Boxall) Norrell

(3) John Chambers, b. 1840

(4) Catherine Chambers, b. 27 Sep 1843, d. 30 Jun 1904, m. 11 Mar 1872, John Barker, son of Alfred Barker & Priscilla (Chambers) Barker

(5) Anna Chambers, b. 9 Dec 1845, d. 2 Oct 1907, m. 25 Nov 1869, Peleg Whitford Jackson, son of Daniel Jackson & Ruth (Carpenter) Jackson

(5) Hugh Chambers, b. 1848, d. 20 Dec 1893, m. 3 Dec 1872, Agnes May Ward, daughter of John Ralph Hansford Ward & Jane (Best) Ward

DEATH. 7 Aug 1862, North Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

DEATH. SA BDM Death Reg: #9/390:1862

Family name CHAMBERS

Given names James

Father --

Mother --

Place of death Adelaide

DEATH NOTICE. CHAMBERS.—On Thursday, August 7, at his residence, North Adelaide, James Chambers, Esq., aged 49.

FUNERAL NOTICE. The friends of the late James Chambers, Esq., are respectfully informed that the funeral procession will leave his late residence, North Adelaide, for the North road Cemetery, on Saturday, August 9, at 2 o'clock p.m.

BURIAL. North Road Cemetery, Nailsworth, Prospect City, South Australia, Australia

James Chambers

BIRTH 20 Sep 1812, England

DEATH 7 Aug 1862 (aged 49)

PLOT VLT B, path 16 South

MEMORIAL ID 122932803

Inscription:

SACRED

TO THE MEMORY OF

JAMES CHAMBERS

BORN SEPTER 20TH 1812, DIED AUGST 7TH 1862

HIS AFFECTIONATE WIFE AND CHILDREN MOURN THE LOSS OF A VERY DEAR HUSBAND AND DEVOTED FATHER.

ENTERPRISING IN SPIRIT AND ENERGETIC IN ACTION, HE WAS A PUBLIC BENEFACTOR AND A WARM AND FAITHFUL FRIEND. IN CONNECTION WITH HIS BROTHER JOHN CHAMBERS AND WILLIAM FINKE HE PROMOTED AND LIBERALLY SUPPORTED THE EXPEDITION OF JOHN McDOUALL STUART TO EXPLORE THE CONTINENT FROM IT'S SOUTHERN TO IT'S NORTHERN COAST.

NOT LOST BUT GONE BEFORE

OBITUARY. MR. JAMES CHAMBERS'S FUNERAL. The mortal remains of Mr. James Chambers were committed to the tomb on Saturday afternoon, the 9th inst. The funeral cortege, which was under the management of Messrs. S. Mayfield & Son, started from Mr. Chambers's late residence at about half-past 2 o'clock, and consisted of the hearse, three mourning coaches, and about 45 private carriages and conveyances, besides several horsemen. The mourning coaches were occupied by Mr. Chambers's second son, his nephew (Mr. John Chambers's son), Mr. Finke, and an old and faithful servant who has lived with Mr. Chambers for 18 years; Messrs. E. M. Bagot, E. J. F. Crawford, — Holland, Inspector Hamilton, W. H. Formby, C. Fisher, L. M. Cullen, and E. J. Peake. Amongst the visitors we noticed the Very Rev. the Dean, the Hon. G. Tinline, Mr. W. J. Browne, M.P., the Messrs. Merchant, S. Tomkinson, P. Levi, J. Beck, Captain Douglas, John Newman, J. Newman, Jun, J. and R. Frew, M. Moorhouse, M.P., E. L. Grundy, M.P., H. C. Gleeson, H. Noltenius, Osmond Gilles, J. W. Bull, D. McLeod, P. Cumming, Captain Watts, Dr. Mclntyre, G. James, H. Elliot, W. Rounsevell, B. Rounsevell, E. W. Wickes, J. H. Parr, E. Bowman, E. Stuckey, — Smith, — Stevenson, G. Bennett, L. Barnard, — Goddard, and many others, including several old colonists. The total number present must have been nearly 200, which was increased by several spectators when the procession reached the North-road Cemetery.

The cortege stopped at Christ Church, North Adelaide, where the bell was tolled, and the coffin being placed in the church, the Ven. Archdeacon Woodcock read the solemn and impressive burial service of the Church of England and a portion of Scripture, after which the following hymn was sung— " Beneath our feet and o'er our head / Is equal warning given; / Beneath us lie the countless dead, / Above us is the heaven," &c. The coffin being replaced in the hearse, the procession then moved on to the Cemetery, where the remaining portion of the burial service was read over the grave by the Ven. Archdeacon Woodcock. The vault, the excavation of which was only commenced yesterday morning, was completely finished, and measured 10 feet by 12, and 9 feet in height. The coffin appeared very large and heavy; it was indeed double, one within another, it having been thought at first of postponing the funeral until Mr. Chambers's brother and eldest son could arrive from the country. The inscription on the coffin was — "James Chambers, Aged 49 years, Died August 7,1862."

The following particulars respecting Mr. Chambers's career in this colony have been supplied by an intimate friend of the deceased:—

"Like the early falling leaves of autumn, one by one the men who founded the colony of South Australia are gradually swept away. To-day we have to record the death of another of those energetic men, who nearly 26 years ago landed in a wilderness, and now leave behind them, populous towns and villages—a land teeming with abundance, and inhabited by Christians and civilized men—and he whom death has just taken from amongst us played no insignificant part in promoting the progress of this colony towards the results indicated. James Chambers possessed a sound judgment, and firm will, and unsparing industry. He arrived in the ship Coromandel in the year 1837. Amongst his fellow passengers were the late Messrs. Edward Stephens and Charles Mann. From his first landing in the colony till the day of his death he was ever engaged among the busiest scenes of colonial life. At the outset of his career, we find him organising the means of transport for his fellow immigrants from the place of landing at Glenelg to the centre of operation, where the foundations of the future City of Adelaide were being rudely laid by the first settlers. Later, as the field of enterprise widened before him, we find James Chambers mail contractor for nearly the whole inland mail service of the colony, and the proprietor of the largest livery establishment in Adelaide. A few years of great personal exertion and untiring industry sufficed to place James Chambers in the possession of a fortune. In the year 1852 a man for an emergency was wanted. The gold which rewarded the search of South Australian diggers in Victoria must be conveyed overland to Adelaide. Chambers found the horses and the carriages, and himself took charge of the first gold cart. The day of its arrival in Adelaide is well remembered by every eye-witness. But the exertion of mind and body which James Chambers had, from the day of his arrival in the colony in 1837 to the year 1854, constantly made, at last told on his iron frame, and in the latter year he was obliged to seek rest and health by a trip to his native land; and on his return, in 1856, he appeared restored to his former good health.

Whilst absent in Europe his mind had not been at rest. He turned his attention to the importation of horses, cattle, and sheep of the best breeds, with a view to improve his own flocks and herds and horse stock in the first place, and ultimately to diffuse similar improvements amongst his neighbors. His connection with the mail service had now ceased, but the scale of his business transactions, on his return to the colony, widened in another direction, and he took the lead among the pioneer squatters of the Far North. About this time (1854) commenced that series of surveys, explorations, and discovery in the Far North, of which Mr. Wm. Finke took the management, with John McDouall Stuart for his assistant. In the year 1858 Stuart made bis first celebrated journey to the westward, at the sole charge of Messrs. Chambers and Finke, the result of which was the discovery, in 1859, of Chambers Creek and other permanent water in the Far North, which gave Stuart the key to the route he has since taken in crossing the centre of the interior of New Holland. Henceforth the crossing from the southern to the northern shore of the island, and the opening up of the shortest available route to India and Europe, and discovering the available shipping port on the northern coast for the site of a new colony became the day-dream of James Chambers's declining years. With this view, as soon as practicable after Stuart's return in 1859, Messrs. Chambers and Finke, at their own cost, despatched Stuart to make another attempt to cross the island. On this occasion Stuart reached as far as Attack Creek, in lat. 17° 30', and was driven back by the natives. In the year 1861 Messrs. Chambers and Finke, assisted by the South Australian Government, started Stuart a third time to attempt the crossing of New Holland. On this occasion Stuart again returned unsuccessful, although he had over-lapped Gregory's farthest camp south, and reached within 100 miles of a known point on the northern coast. On the 5th of December last Messrs. Chambers and Finke again started Stuart to renew the attempt to reach the northern shores of this island, the cost of the expenditure being borne in nearly the same proportions by themselves and the Government of South Australia, as on the former attempt made by Stuart. From this latter expedition Stuart has not returned, and our readers may readily imagine what Stuart's feelings of regret will be on learning the death of the man who prompted, guided, and encouraged him so well with, his superior tact and judgment and means in his great career as an explorer. Our readers will, we think, be inclined with us to regret that James Chambers should have been taken away by death at the moment, perhaps, when the day-dream of his later years is perhaps about to be accomplished, and Stuart on his return to Adelaide crowned with hard-earned and well-merited success. Our readers may judge better of the depth of feeling with which James Chambers regarded his absent friend Stuart when we inform them that whilst absent on the exploration Mr. Chambers evinced the tenderest anxiety about Stuart' s fate and success from the day he left till the day he returned in safety. This anxiety and tender solicitude he guarded jealously from every eye but that of a few personal friends in whom he seemed to rely. From the same friends we have learned how much good Christian spirit he displayed when speaking of his own success in life, and of the manner in which Providence had blessed his exertions and placed means in his hands, as it were, which most fitted him, of all others, perhaps, to promote Stuart's expeditions; and he would remark at times:—"lt is as if I could not get past it, and as if God would oblige me to open the way through this Australian land, that Christianity may hereafter be introduced by wiser and better men." And he would add:—"l seem unable to free my hands of it; and whatever exertion of body, mind, or means it costs me I must accomplish this task, and then I think my course will be run."

"James Chambers will be missed by many friends and dependants. His energy and enterprise set in motion and rewarded the industry of a large number of working men. His many acts of secret and unostentatious charity will cause his loss to be felt by those who were its frequent recipients. Let us hope he will have a successor in the field of colonial enterprise as able and successful as he was.

"Mr. Chambers leaves a widow, two sons, and three daughters, to lament the loss of their father, who is snatched away in the prime of life, at the moment when he was about to gather up the fruit of long years of exertion and forethought. He was three short weeks since on the road bringing horses in from his station ; a few days of severe suffering from a carbuncle on his spine brought his active life to an abrupt, but let us hope to a peaceful close."

Australia, South Australia, Will and Probate Records:

Name: James Chambers

Event Type: Will

Event Date: 20 Aug 1862

Event Place: South Australia, Australia

Event Place (Original): South Australia, Australia

Residence Place: North Adelaide, South Australia

Record Number: 0

Death of Spouse: 20 Jun 1875, North Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Sources

1. ↑ James Chambers "Jemmy" (21 September 1811 – 7 August 1862): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chambers_brothers_(pastoralists)
2. ↑ Chambers family: https://archival.collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/prg/PRG807_Chambersfamily_serieslist.pdf
3. ↑ COROMANDEL: https://bound-for-south-australia.collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/1837Coromandel.htm

• Christening: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NR1L-J8Q

• Marriage: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NVJR-J2X

• Death: SA BDM Death Reg: #9/390:1862

• Death Notice: The South Australian Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1858 - 1889) Fri 8 Aug 1862, Page 2: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/31813415

• Funeral Notice: South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900) Fri 8 Aug 1862, Page 1: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/50180300

• Burial: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/122932803/james-chambers

• Obituary: The South Australian Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1858 - 1889) Mon 11 Aug 1862, Page 3: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/31813488

• Australia, South Australia, Will and Probate Records: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q5HM-L7ZM and https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSNM-QH2?cc=3007557&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AQ5HM-L7ZM