When the Indian massacre stunned Virginia in 1644, Thomas and William Chamberlain and other Puritans were already preparing to leave. They arrived in Massachusetts Bay Colony a month later. But what happened to Francis Chamberlain, Rebecca and their son? They seemed to have disappeared from the face of the earth. We haven’t heard from them since 1625. This exclusive report is first to give an account of the Francis Chamberlain family after 1625.

Some pedigree charts claim that Francis went back to England and is buried there. This is possible, however, none that I have seen have presented any kind of documentation or even the reason for speculation. The Indian massacre in Virginia gave us cause to worry that they may have been among the casualties. Recently, however, I found evidence that Francis Chamberlain Jr., and most likely his entire family established residence on the Island of Barbados. I will explain why I believe they moved there several years before the Virginia tragedy of 1644.

A brief history of Barbados from 1625 to 1660

May 14, 1625 Captain John Powell landed on an uninhabited island now known as Barbados and claimed it for England.

February 17, 1627  Captain Henry Powell (John Powell’s Brother) landed on Barbados with a party of 80 settlers and 10 slaves. They had captured the 10 slaves from a Spanish ship they met along the way. When they arrived on the island, they began to clear and prepare the land for tobacco and cotton plantations. More settlers followed and the population grew to about 2000 by the end of 1628.¹ 

In 1637, sugarcane was brought to the island by Dutch Merchants that had been defeated in Brazil by the Portuguese. They helped the  English colonists grow sugarcane to make a market for their slaves and sugar processing equipment. Sugar production in Barbados became very lucrative by 1645. By 1650, some described Barbados as the richest location in the New World.²

Slaves were brought in large number from West Africa to work in the sugarcane fields, boiling houses and distilleries . Field slaves lived in huts without floors and worked 12 hours days, six days a week. Skilled slaves such as carpenters, blacksmiths, tailors, and also domestic slaves were treated somewhat better than the field slaves.³

30 Jan 1649  The Parliament tried King Charles for treason, and he was executed in England. Parliament was now in control and planters of Barbados were considered rebels. A fleet of ships under Sir George Ayscue blockaded the island to subdue it.⁴

Jan 1652 The Royalist governor of Barbados surrendered to Ayscue. The blockade was lifted when colonists agreed to recognize the rule of Parliament in exchange for continued self-government, free trade and return of their confiscated property. This formed the basis for the Charter of Barbados which guaranteed a freely elected local government and freedom from taxes without their consent.⁵

July 1660  The news reached Barbados that the Monarchy in England had been restored. Fortunately, the Barbados Charter provided them greater independence from the King than those of other British Colonies.⁶

Francis Chamberlain appears on Barbados Census List in 1679

December 20, 1679 Francis Chamberlain appeared on a census list. According to the list, he owned 20 acres and 16 negros in St. James Parrish, Barbados.⁷ It is highly likely that this census listing is the Francis Chamberlain Jr., the presumed little half brother of Thomas, Edmond and William. Therefore, Francis Jr. would be age 57 at time of the census.

The Chamberlain’s time of arrival on Barbados is a matter of examining available data blended with speculation. We have no information about this branch of the family between 1625 and the Barbados census of 1679. It is highly probable, however, that the family went together to Barbados in the 1630s or early 1640s when the white population of Barbados was rapidly increasing. The following chart shows the increase and decline of the white population and the steady increase of the black population.

Population of Barbados⁸
Year     White       %       Black         %          Total
1629    1,800      97%         50        03%       1,850
1643    37,200    86%     6,000      14%      43,200
1684    23,624    34%    46,502     66%      70,126
1724    18,295    25%    55,206     75%      73,501
1786    16,167    21%    62,115     79%      78,282

The time that the Chamberlains moved to Barbados was likely between 1629 and 1643 when some 35,000 whites stormed the island. If the Chamberlain move happened as late as 1640, the young Francis would be only 18 and very likely living with his parents. If so, of course, the whole family moved there together.

Barbados parish records 1637-1887

These Christening, Marriage and Burial records are from the various parishes of Barbados in the 1600s and 1700s.⁹  The Chamberlain name is well represented. I took the liberty to standardize the spelling of Chamberlain. The variations found are: Chamberlaine, Chamberlane, Chamberlayne, Chamberlen, Chamberien.
SM= Saint Michael, CC= Christ Church, SJ= Saint James, SP= Saint Phillip, f= father, m= mother

Christenings/Baptisms
Elizabeth Chamberlain 16 May 1655 f John Chamberlain, m Sophia
John Chamberlain, 6 Sep 1657 f John Chamberlain, m Sophia
Mary Chamberlain, 7 Sep 1659 f John Chamberlain, m Sophia
Butler Chamberlain, 23 Sep 1662 f Edward Chamberlain, m Sarah
Sara Forth, 1 Apr 1663 f Alexander Forth, m Diana
Willoughby Chamberlain Nov 1664 f Edward Chamberlain, m Sarah
Dorothy Chamberlain, 5 Nov 1683 f William Chamberlain, m Dory
Thomas Chamberlain, 7 Feb 1702 f Thomas Chamberlain, m Ellenr

Marriages
Jno Chamberlain & Susan Chamberlain 21 Jan 1649
Stephen Wolridge & Joan 21 Dec 1652
Edward Chamberlain & Mary Scott 31 Aug 1655
Thomas Chamberlain & Elizabeth Harris 5 Aug 1686
Thomas Hewetson & Butler Chamberlain 5 Mar 1690
Wm Chambrlain & Eliza Saunders 2 Aug 1702
Will Chamberlain & Margaret Briggs 24 July 1726
John Robert Rolston & Rebecca Cadogan 24 Apr 1845
William John Chamberlain & Charlotte Louisa Parry 16 Aug 1860

Burials
Thomas Chamberlain 3 May 1643 CC
Edw Chamberlain 24 July 1673 CC
Edwd Chamberlain 19 Aug 1678 SM
Thomas Rolston 7 Oct 1681 SM
Seagrave Chamberlain 24 Aug 1683 SP f Will Chamberlain
Wm Chamberlain 13 Mar 1684 SM
Wm Woolridge 21 March 1685 SM
John Chamberlain 10 Dec 1687 CC
Henry Chamberlain 5 Aug 1690 CC
Thomas Chamberlain 6 June 1691 CC
Thomas Chamberlain 25 May 1692 SM
John Chamberlain 12 Oct 1696 CC
Eliz Chamberlain 1 Dec 1696 CC
Wm Chamberlain 16 Dec 1701 SM
John Chamberlain 4 July 1703 SP
Thomas Chamberlain 29 Aug 1707 CC
John Chamberlain 25 Jan 1707 or 08 SJ f Middleton Chamberlain
Granville Chamberlain 30 Apr 1708 SJ f Middleton Chamberlain
m Dorothy
Elizabeth Chamberlain 30 Mar 1710 SM f Middleton Chamberlain
Tauterville Chamberlain 22 Mar 1712 SM
Ricd Chamberlain 14 Feb 1715 SM
Wm Chamberlain 8 June 1717 SM
John Chamberlain 16 June 1741 SM
Thomas Chamberlain 16 Jan 1791 SM
Thomas Chamberlain 29 May 1810 SM
William Chamberlain 19 Nov 1821 SM
Hester Chamberlain 14 Jan 1828 SM
George Chamberlain 16 Sep 1856 SM

Chamberlain, Burton, Woolridge, Rolston and Forth Surnames

I found no direct connection to Francis in these church records. Nevertheless, I am very confident that Francis Chamberlain, the plantation master of 1679 Barbados, is one and the same person as the three year old child in the 1625 muster in Elizabeth City, Virginia. The reason for my confidence stems from the four servants of Francis Chamberlain Sr. who were also present in 1625: John Forth, William Worlidge (Wolridge or Woolridge), Sionell Rolston and Richard Burton.

Barbados Church records show all four of these surnames. The name Burton is very common. The other three surnames, not so much.

U. S. Surnames Ranked by Quantity.¹⁰
Burton (Rank 227)
Chamberlain (Rank 1,098)
Woolridge (Rank 8,866)
Forth (Rank 12,663)
Rolston (Rank 13,939)

Amazingly, I found all four of the servant’s surnames! There were ten pages of Burtons so I didn’t touch them. However, information about the three very uncommon surnames are included in my list. Undoubtedly, the winning entry of the above list is Wm Woolridge buried 21 March 1685, whom I believe was the servant of Francis Chamberlain. He died at age 81.

It is possible that some of the Chamberlains on the list from the church records are descendants of Francis Chamberlain Jr., and/or perhaps, unknown siblings, considering the possibility that Francis and Rebecca might have had more children.  When we observe the parish records, however, it is apparent that most of the Chamberlain family left Barbados going to locations unknown by the mid 1800s.

The Chamberlain Bridge

This beautiful bridge, located in Bridgetown, Barbados, was originally built between 1865 and 1872 as a swing bridge. A great hurricane badly damaged the bridge in 1898. British Colonial Secretary of State, Joseph Chamberlain generated funds to replace it.¹¹ In 2005, the obsolete steel structure was dismantled and then rebuilt as a lifting bridge with state-of the-art modern technology.

Joseph Chamberlain (1836-1914) was born in London, the son of a prosperous shoe manufacturer.¹²  The relationship between Joseph Chamberlain and the Francis Chamberlain family of Barbados is unknown.

Thomas and William Chamberlain

Thomas and William Chamberlain apparently left England in 1635 on a quest for religious freedom in the New World. Yet, instead of heading directly for the Puritan haven of Massachusetts Bay, they chose to go to Virginia. Why? A possible reason for this choice was to find and get acquainted with their long lost father. (See Chapter 1 The Arrival of Francis Chamberlain in the New World)

We may never know If that connection was ever made, nor how that worked out for them. The only thing we certainly know is that Francis Chamberlain and his possible sons Thomas and William headed in different directions.

The Church of England considered the Puritans religious non-conformists and drove them out of Virginia. Thomas and William Chamberlain, and other Puritans led by Daniel Gookin, arrived in Massachusetts Bay on 20 May 1644. (See Chapter 2- Thomas and William Chamberlain Leave Virginia)

Thomas and William met up with their brother Edmond somewhere along their travels.  Within a few years, all three brothers were married and starting their families. And, for the first time, they were free to worship their God according to their own beliefs.  They were no longer required to following the old litanies of the Common Book of Prayer and other rituals as decreed by the English church and its leader, His Majesty, King Charles 1. Life just seemed to good to be true. (See Chapter 4- The Chamberlains in the Storm of Fire)

In 1680, a massive hurricane hit Barbados. It killed many and destroyed plantations. It was devastating to plantation owners, and therefore, many of them left Barbados at that time. Ironically, this hurricane set off a chain of events that will also spell tragedy for the William Chamberlain family in Massachusetts. Samuel Parris, his plantation destroyed, will leave Barbados with his family and a slave named Tituba to start a new career as a minister in Boston. (See chapter 5- Rebecca Chamberlain and the Salem Witch Trials)

For more Chamberlain history stories see “Table of Contents”, or please click “Good Bye!”

© Copyright Dennis D. Chamberlain, The Chamberlain Story, 2016. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the written content of this site without express and written permission from the author and owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that credit is given to Dennis D. Chamberlain and direction to  www.thechamberlainstory.com.

References:

1. Brett Callaghan, 1625-1627-The Early Beginnings of English Settlement in Barbados, www.totallybarbados.com
2. Elias & Elias, Cultures of the World- Barbados, MC Bench, NY, p. 21.
3. Abid., p. 23.
4. Abid., p. 22.
5. Abid., p. 22-23.
6. Abid., p. 23
7. John Camden Hotten’s Original Lists, p. 501.
8. James H. Stark, Stark’s History and Guide to Barbados and the Caribbee. Boston, p.70.
9. Barbados Church Records 1637-1887, Familysearch.org.
10. http://surnames.behindthename.com
11. http://www.barbados.org/chamberlain-bridge-barbados.htm#.V605VpgrK1s
12. www.britannica.com/biography/Joseph-Chamberlain
13.  Jason W. Warren, King Philip’s War, Encyclopedia Britannica, www.britannica.com
14. List of Atlantic Hurricanes of the 17th Century, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/