Homestead act of 1862

It certainly was a great opportunity, but feelings were mixed in the Chamberlain house. On May 20, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act to encourage Western migration. Under this act, settlers were provided 160 acres of public land for a small filing fee. Homesteaders who met the requirement of five years continuous residence, received ownership of the land. When young Harry turned 21 in July 1870, he qualified to apply for his own land.

Alonzo and his son Harry were considering another pioneer adventure, homesteading in Jewel County Kansas.  However, a neighbor in Illinois received some “boom” issues of the Clay County News from his brother George Huggins. Their neighbor’s hot tip convinced them that Clay County, Iowa was their new “El Dorado”!

Harry’s step mother Lydia was skeptical.

On April 18, 1871, the Chamberlains packed up their belongings into two prairie schooners. Harry brought his only property, a horse and buggy. They headed west traveling along side of the Illinois Central railroad through Dubuque. After they were 100 miles into Iowa it began to rain.¹

There were no roads or bridges and travelers faced danger crossing the wet marshy swamps that mired down their wagons. A couple of areas became especially note worthy, Hell Slough and Purgatory Slough. According to rumor, a wagon and team of oxen disappeared from sight as its driver attempted to cross Purgatory Slough, and were never seen again.²

“It rained almost every day,” Harry later recalled. “It was just out of one mud hole and into another… by the time we got to Pocahontas County we were well qualified to tackle Hell Slough and the two Purgatories.”¹

Arrival at the county seat, Peterson, Iowa.

After three weeks of travel through dust and mud they arrived in Clay County where they spent their first night sleeping under a cottonwood tree.³ Their first sight of Peterson did not impress them. There was one store, a small hotel and a blacksmith shop. No problem. They came to homestead the land.

The next morning they drove five miles northeast to see Mr. Huggins. “He gave us a real pioneer welcome.” This apparently included the notice that there were no land claims available.

What? No land claims? All they could see was land in every direction. Nevertheless, all the claims had been filed. They found that “land sharks” had covered up all the vacant homestead claims by putting fictitious filings on them. These filings were good for six months. Then they would relinquish their claim and immediately slap on another bogus entry until they could find some immigrant to sell it to.¹

At this point in his story Harry begins to use the personal pronoun “I” instead of “we.” Alonzo and Lydia came to Clay County with him, but apparently they were now on the road back to Illinois. Alonzo eventually settled on Harry’s homestead, but Lydia returned to, and remained in Shirland.^4,5

The Last Indian Scare

Harry went out, and for the next few days he explored the country to look for land locations. One night at about midnight, when Harry was sleeping alone in his prairie schooner, he was awoken when he heard someone shouting, “Fly for your life, Indians are upon us!”

He poked his head out of the covers and saw a man on a white horse armed with a rifle, knife and ax. “Where are they?”

“No time to visit,” came the reply. “You may be scalped in ten minutes, get on your best horse and go!”

He knew his farm horse would not stand a chance against a horde of Indian ponies. Also, according to family tradition, he was a direct descendant of the Chamberlain who had killed the Indian Chief Paugus at the battle at Lovewell’s Pond. Therefore, he figured, he would get his rifle and shot gun, hide under his schooner and wait for the Indians. The long night wait was tense, but the Indians never came.

It was with feeling of great relief to see the bright and glorious sunrise welcome a new day. He climbed upon his wagon and looked over the horizon. Nothing living or moving could be seen on that whole expanse of prairie. Some homestead seeking families left that night, he was told, and they never returned. He cooked up a pioneer breakfast and continued looking for land.

Finally, he traded his horse and buggy for a claim in Clay Township on section 29-95-ZS.¹

About a year after the Chamberlains arrived, William Warren and Amanda Chamberlain Warren brought their three young daughters, Elnora 5, Florence 4, and Clara 1 to Clay County. They settled on a homestead in Clay Township about seven miles NE of Peterson.⁶

Living off the land

In the Spring of 1871, 2600 emigrants came in to settle Clay County. Six hundred houses were built and 18,000 acres were turned over.⁷ The land only offered the homesteader a place to camp and grass for their livestock. There were no railroads within about 50 miles.

The homestead act required that homesteaders make improvements on the land. Fortunately, the government made an order accepting  the sod house and sod barn as an improvement. Otherwise, compliance would not be possible. The prairie was covered with an abundance of very tough sod.¹

Homesteaders would hitch up a plow and turn a furrow in the sod for a half mile or so. Then the sod was cut with a spade into about two foot lengths. The walls were made about two feet thick by alternately laying the pieces lengthwise then cross ways. They filled the cracks in the walls with grass and soil.

When the walls reached the desired dimension they covered the structure with poles and thatched them with slough grass. They then covered the roof with grass, sod or both. When they managed to get enough lumber they would make window frames, a door frame and a door. One or two small windows were framed and cheap windows were made that would swing on hinges.

The houses were very cheap but quite comfortable. Homesteaders had no other option, since there would be no money until they could raise a crop of wheat.^1,8

Harry related a story of the fuel problem they had the first couple of years on the prairie:

“The fuel question was quite a problem at first, but we so on—regardless of our religious training— learned to—  well, they would call it stealing wood. We did not call it stealing; we just went and took it. But when we were too busy to steal wood we twisted hay and got through that way. it was not a bad fuel. We had one preacher whose conscience hurt him a little to steal wood, and he said that he would either have to stop preaching or quit stealing wood, but I saw him down in the timber the next day just the same.”¹

The first school house in Clay County

There was no public money for a school but they had to have one. They built a respectable sod school house in the geographical center of Clay Township, section 26 about 18 miles southwest of Spencer. There were only three sod houses and two farm houses between Spencer and Peterson at the time. The neighbors came to Harry and wanted him to teach school the first winter.¹

Harry needed to have a certificate to qualify to teach. To take the examination, he traveled to Spencer and then went west down what later became Fourth Street past the cemetery. There he turned off the road and went up the river bottom northwest about a mile. He then forded the river where he found the county superintendent, Charles Carver, out in the field digging potatoes.¹

The school opened on a cold winter day. Harry had to dismiss class so that the neighbors could pile on a few loads of hay and add sod to the roof to keep out the wind.¹ “The school house where I taught had its stovepipe going right up through the thatch,” he later mused, “I don’t know why the roof didn’t burn off two or three times that winter.”⁸

Harry taught every thing from the ABCs up to and including Algebra. His duties for his thirty-seven dollars per month salary also included building the fires to keep the place warm. One morning after a fearful storm, he had to sweep out about three inches of snow. He built a wood fire in the stove and continued sweeping. In a few minutes, he looked over at the stove. The heat had melted the snow from the top and it ran down and froze in a fringe of icicles all around the edges of the stove. It was about twenty degrees below zero that morning.¹

One of the worst blizzards that Harry remembered came in January, 1874. It had been a beautiful forenoon, but the storm hit at about 1 o’clock. Soon people began to come for their children. They all had been picked up but two young men and three small girls. Harry knew that the girls’ father was out working in the timber. He took them out into the storm and somehow got them through to their homes. The young men made two attempts to get a mile to their home. Each time they got lost in the storm and were forced to return to the school where they stayed until the next day.^1,3

Harry later said of his pupils that he never saw any work as hard as they did, and as far as he knew, they did well in the world. One of his students was sixteen-year-old Mary Eva Ellis.⁹

Mary Eva Ellis

Mary Ellis was born in Rising Sun, Polk County, Iowa on December 15, 1855. There she obtained her early education in rural Polk County. She moved with her parents, Walter Ellis and Clarissa Nichols Ellis, to Clay County where they settled on their homestead in Clay Township section 6.

Mary attended school in the little sod school house in Clay County, under the instruction of her 22-year-old teacher, and future husband. She also attended for a while at the private school of Mrs. Phoebe Lincoln in Spencer.⁹ After finishing her education, she was hired as a teacher at the Clay Township school.³

She married Harry Chamberlain on June 20, 1875, and they began married life together on the groom’s Clay County farm.

In 1876, Mary’s older brother the Reverend Dennis R. Ellis came from Des Moines to lead in the establishment of the first Christian Church in Clay County.⁵ Harry Chamberlain¹ and William Warren¹⁰ and others organised a Sunday School and built the Church. Mary Ellis Chamberlain became united at that time with this church being baptized by Rev. D. R. Ellis.⁹

Grasshoppers

It looked like a bumper crop of wheat during the spring of 1876. Harry Chamberlain was about to begin harvest in late July when a flight of grasshoppers clouded the sun in Northwest Iowa and Western Minnesota. They then began devouring every vestige of vegetation.¹¹ “We had a wonderful crop but they took it all“, Harry wrote, “They clustered on everything like swarms of bees. Even the dog and the chickens had to stay in the barn. The only thing we had left in our garden was a castor bean. They stayed eleven days. Then the wind changed to the northwest and they all left in two hours.”¹

This was a real disaster for Harry and his young bride. The future looked bleak. This year’s whole crop was destroyed and the grasshoppers had laid their eggs. It seemed likely that next year might be just as bad. There were some who believed that Northwestern Iowa would soon become a desert. On top of this, it was about this time when Mary realized that she was pregnant with their first child.

Political Intrigue

In the early days, Clay County was unified as Republican on national questions, but county politics was a fight between two factions, both of which claimed the name Republican. The main issue that divided the county was the location of the county seat. Peterson took it away from Spencer in 1860 by ten votes. One faction was led by M. E. Griffin. The other was led by Dr. Charles McAllister.

In 1871 Harry Chamberlain, Dr. McAllister and County Treasurer S. W. Dubois fought for Peterson. Generally, the south part of the county was with them. However, Mr. Griffin defeated Dubois for county treasurer, 359 to 200, and therefore, the treasurers office and county seat was moved back to Spencer on January 1, 1872.

The treasurers safe was small enough for one man to carry it, so security precautions were put in place for its transfer to Spencer. John Copper, a public spirited citizen who had been sheriff, was persuaded to guard the safe. After they brought it up from Peterson he vigilantly stood guard protecting the little safe all night. He did not know that it was empty.

Griffin and his associates started The Spencer Reporter in the late seventies because the existing paper, The Spencer News, was controlled by McAllister, and it would not print the Griffin faction’s political arguments. The first Reporter office was on the west side of Main street between Second and Third.

There was a county election every year and the recorder and clerk of courts were elected in the even numbered years. The elections for other county offices were held in odd numbered years. In 1876, after his devastating crop loss due to the grasshopper plague, Harry Chamberlain decided to run for the office of Clerk of Courts.

At that time ballets were not provided by the government. Instead, various party organizations printed their own tickets. It was up to any candidate interested in being elected to personally see to it that the ticket with his name on it got into the hands of the voters. The voters handed in the ticket of their choice as their ballot. They could “scratch” it by crossing out and filling in a different name if desired, but it was the fashion to vote a straight ticket.¹²

Harry Chamberlain explained his political strategy:

“I drove all over the county before election handing McAllster tickets to the voters. I also put barrels of apples and boxes of cigars at strategic points for the use of electors. They ate Chamberlain’s apples and smoked Chamberlain’s cigars and then they voted for Chamberlain.”¹²

Harry Chamberlain served as clerk of courts for ten years, 1877-1886. He began his first term on January 1, 1877.

Who voted for Alonzo?

In the 1884 election, Harry Chamberlain the incumbent ran unopposed for the office of county clerk of courts. There were thirteen hundred and sixty-seven votes cast, of which Harry Chamberlain received 1366. A. Chamberlain received one vote.¹³

Post Office Box 31

When Harry became the clerk of courts he moved into Spencer. In February 1877 he rented Post Office Box 31 which was located in Post Master Jim Haskin’s “Justice of the Peace and Realty Office.”  He  held that box for many years with one slight interruption.

In the late 1880s the Post Masters owned the postal equipment including the boxes. Also, they were directly connected to the national presidential administration. Glover Cleveland won the US presidency in 1884. He was the first Democrat in the White House since before the Civil War. The new Post Master did not buy the PO boxes which were currently in use. Therefore, Haskin’s placed a sign on his PO Boxes: “THIS OFFICE CLOSED DURING DEMOCRATIC ADMINISTRATION.”

When Republican Benjamin Harrison won the presidential election in 1888, Haskins changed his sign: “OPEN FOR BUSINESS.” Thus, Chamberlain once again had his Post Office Box 31.⁸

Law Practice and Mayor of Spencer, Iowa

Harry was defeated in the election of 1886 and succeeded in by A. H. Cheney. However, he had been reading and studying law during his ten years as clerk of courts. He had prepared himself well and was admitted to the Iowa Bar in 1886. On January 1, 1887, Harry opened a law office on the second floor of the Hanson building in partnership with E. C. Hughes.^3,5

In 1892 Harry Chamberlain served his first term as Mayor of Spencer. He served as Mayor through 1896.

Spencer vs Emmetsburg

On Thanksgiving day in 1895 excitement was high in anticipation of the big high school football game between Spencer and Emmetsburg. The Emmetsburg boys arrived on the 10:45 train and were accompanied by a great crowd of Emmetsburg enthusiasts, among them was noticed a goodly number of ladies.

At 12 o’clock the boys entered the field. Spencer’s team captain Hirleman won the toss and judiciously chose the south goal to take advantage of the wind.

The teams prepared for the kick off. As the teams lined up, the superior weight of the Emmetsville boys was particularly noticeable. They were larger and heavier than the Spencer boys.

Freeman’s kick sent the ball flying into the air. It hit well down in Spencer territory, but it was at once carried back to the center and downed. The game was on and for the next twenty minutes the ball was forced back and forth near the center. It was now some fifteen yards into Emmetsburg territory.

Captain Hirleman called out, “x, y, z, c, b, m, n, o, p, q, five thousand, seven hundred and eighty-six.” That was it, the signal for the criss-cross. Eckley took the ball and feigned the left end then passed the ball to Chamberlain.

Chamberlain made a desperate run toward the right, and with the aid of interference made it around the right end. The field was now clear except for one man who was brushed off and Chamberlain made the most exciting run of the game carrying the ball over the line and behind the goal. It was the first touchdown of the game scoring Spencer 4 points. The ball was carried out ten yards, Chamberlain kicked a goal and the score stood at 6 to 0.¹⁴

Note: In 1895 the rules for football were different than today (2018). A touch down was 4 points, kick after touch down was 2 points, a safety was 2 points and a field goal was 5 points. The forward pass was not yet a part of the game. It is believed that the first forward pass occurred on October 26, 1895 in a game between Georgia and North Carolina when out of desperation, the ball was thrown instead of punted. It did not become part of the rules of American football until 1906.¹⁵

In the second half, Emmetsburg drove the ball down to five yards from the goal line. However, it was there fumbled and recovered by Spencer.¹⁶ SHS made two touchdowns in the second half, but the kicks after the touchdowns failed. “By this time the ball had become very wet and slippery, which, together with the strong wind made it no wonder Chamberlain missed the goal”.¹⁴

The Emmetsburg paper wrote of the action after the early 20 minutes of stale mate, “then Chamberlain, the star half back on the Spencer team was given the ball and made a splendid run of 35 yards around the end and made the first touchdown for Spencer”.

The final score was Spencer 14, Emmetsburg 0. In Emmetsburg the newspaper headline read:

“A BIG GOOSE EGG- THAT IS WHAT OUR FOOTBALL TEAM GOT AT SPENCER”¹⁶

Alonzo W. Chamberlain, the son of Harry Chamberlain, graduated from Spencer High School in the class of 1896. He was known to all of his friends as “Lonnie”. Perhaps a sign of Chamberlain modesty, I have never seen a write-up of him where he was mentioned as a star high school athlete. My grandfather, Harry Ellis Chamberlain was only 5-years-old at the time and probably didn’t remember Lonnie’s high school days.

Harry Jr. wrote of his brother, “Alonzo belonged to the band and had different instruments he practiced on. Alonzo (Lonnie) was a wonderful brother to me and I love him very much”.¹⁷

1895-96 Spencer High School football, names and team positions: Dubois center, Bitsen right guard, Griggs left guard, Greaves right guard, Hendricks left tackle, Eckley right end, Tryon left end, Hirleman quarter back, Chamberlain right half back, Eckley left half back, Wiesen full back, and substitutes Verharen, Tayler, Crandall and Stokes.¹⁶

The grandchildren of Alonzo Chamberlain

Children of William Warren and Amanda Chamberlain:
1- Elnora Idelia Warren b. 18 September 1867, d. 2 October 1931
2- Florence Elmira Warren b. 15 May 1869, d. 8 February 1957,
3- Clara Edith Warren b. March 1871, d. December 1969
4- Betty Norris Warren b. 16 February 1874, d. 1941
5- Arthur Irwin Warren b. 2 November 1878, d. June 1974
6- William Roy Warren b. 16 August 1883, d. 5 July 1969
7- Nellie Warren b. 14 March 1885, d. 8 July 1979

Children of Harry Chamberlain and Mary Eva Chamberlain:
1- Alonzo Walter Chamberlain b. 6 February 1877, d. 15 November 1930
2- Myrtle Mae Chamberlain b. 22 January 1882, d. 20 January 1928
3- Ernest Clarence Chamberlain b. 2 October 1883, 21 September 1904
4- Harry Ellis Chamberlain, Jr. b. 21 December 1890, d 23 February 1973

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…

Chapter 22- Mary Ellis Chamberlain: The Mormons Return to Iowa

If you got this far, please click Goodbye or Table of Contents. This will simply tell me that someone looked at this post. Thank you! Dennis Chamberlain

© Copyright Dennis D. Chamberlain, The Chamberlain Story, 2018. 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- Harry Chamberlain- Memoir of Harry Chamberlain. (Family copy) published in the Spencer Reporter, December 16, 1985.
2- Cheryl Mullenbach/Iowa History, February 25, 2017, http://www.iowawatch.org/tag/pocahontas-county/
3- Newspaper clipping from Spencer Iowa titled “Harry Chamberlain- Can Recall First Fair Ever Held in County Over Fifty Years Ago”
4- 1880 U. S. Census
5- The Spencer News-Herald, Spencer Iowa, February 1, 1935
6- Obituary Elnora Warren, October 8, 1931
7- The Philadelphia Inquirer, Friday, July 14, 1871
8- Spencer Reporter, Wednesday, December 17, 1924
9- Obituary of Mary Eva Ellis, Spencer Reporter, Wednesday, October 24, 1917.
10- Two Homesteaders of County Die, Spencer News Hearld, Thursday, February 25, 1926
11- The Gazette, Cedar Falls, Iowa, Friday, August 4, 1876
12- The Spencer Reporter, December 24, 1924
13- Clay County News Supplement, November 20, 1884
14- Spencer Herald, December 4, 1895
15- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_American_football
16- Emmetsburg Democrat, Wednesday, December 4, 1895
17- Life Story of Harry Ellis Chamberlain, (Given to Martin and Genene Chamberlain in October, 1972, Unpublished)

 

On May 1, 1855 Alonzo Chamberlain loaded his wife and two children on a stage coach and traveled forty miles to Montpelier. There they caught a west bound passenger train to start a new life on the western frontier in Winnebago County, Illinois, ten miles south of Beloit, Wisconsin. When he arrived he had only $1.75 in his pocket. He bought a $5 cook stove and paid for it in work.¹

Why did Alonzo leave Glover and why was he broke? There are many unanswered questions about Alonzo after he left. However, a sequence of events before he left, may give some insight.

Alonzo had two children, Amanda and Harry when his wife Betsy died April 25, 1852. His father Spencer was living with him, but moved to his daughter Jeanette’s home sometime between 1850 and before the time Spencer died on December 21, 1853.

Alonzo purchased two adjoining  lots in the village of Glover on April 11 and May 5, 1853. Alonzo and his new wife Lydia Blanchard Chamberlain jointly owned this property in town. They sold it to Warren Smith on February 8, 1855 for $500. Then there was a “Transfer of Mortgage” deed from Alonzo to F. M. McLellan for $300 signed on April 12, 1855. This would leave him with only about $200 before he left Glover.²³

His son Harry wrote that Alonzo had “received letters from some friends who had moved to northern Illinois, thought he saw a chance in that new country to build a home and support his family of a wife and two children more easily than he could on the barren hills of his native state.”³

So, Alonzo packed his belongings into some trunks and loaded his family on a stagecoach and headed for the frontier, which “our people then thought was the land of Indians and untold dangers.”³

They arrived at their new home in Shirland, Winnebago County, Illinois on May 14, 1855. He went to work to support his family. “Wages were seventy cents a day, and twenty-five cents a cord for cutting wood… wealth did not pile up much.”³

In the 1860 census the Chamberlain family of four lived in a structure in Shirland Township, Winnebago County, but no value was shown for the property.

The Underground Railroad in northern Illinois

Alonzo Chamberlain was an abolitionist. He was known to be a conductor on the Underground Railroad in Vermont. Though we know nothing about Alonzo’s personal activities, the UGRR was very active in northern Illinois.

There were well known stops of the UGRR in Byron, Illinois and in Beloit, Wisconsin thirty miles north. Alonzo Chamberlain lived between these locations. Byron has an UGRR museum known as the Read House which was one of three “stations” in town from 1850 to 1862, where fugitive slaves were hidden.  According to the museum director, “Byron held a large group of abolitionists during that time. Most were members of the Congregational Church and came here from New England”.⁴

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is interesting because his son said Alonzo had been corresponding with friends who had moved to northern Illinois. And, Alonzo’s location in Shirland, Winnebago County, twenty miles north of Byron filled a needed gap between Byron and known UGRR safe houses in Wisconsin.

Also, there is an UGRR museum in Milton, Wisconsin called Milton House. It is near Janesville about thirty miles north of Shirland.

It was built in 1844 and has a distinctive hexagon shaped design and a basement where fugitives were hid. There was a 45 foot tunnel from the basement to a nearby cabin.⁴

 

 

 

 Winnebago County Sheriff John Taylor and Alfred Countryman

The history of Winnebago County can give us great insight into the life and times of the Chamberlain family. As pioneers in this new land, they were certainly affected by both local and national events.

On November 11, 1856, Sheriff John Taylor was nearing the end of his term. A new sheriff of Winnebago County had been elected a few days earlier. Sheriff Taylor was looking forward to spending more time on his farm with his expectant wife and eighteen month old son.⁶

That day, two brothers, Alfred and John Countryman herded some cattle into Rockford from another county. They offered the cattle for sale at such a low price it raised suspicion. The purchasers withheld payment and notified the sheriff. Upon investigation, Sheriff Taylor arrested the men on suspicion of cattle rustling and searched them for weapons. He found a pistol ball in Alfred’s pocket and asked for the pistol, but said he had none.^5,6

Sheriff Taylor assisted by the Constable escorted the prisoners to the jailhouse steps where Alfred broke loose. He leaped the fence on Elm Street and ran down the street to the livery stables. The sheriff pursued and was about to seize him. Countryman drew a concealed pistol and fired behind him striking the sheriff. He staggered a few steps and fell. His last words were “I am shot, catch him!“⁵

Many infuriated citizens chased him to the woods north of Kent’s creek where John Platt caught him. With assistance, he wrestled away his pistol and subdued him. Amid threats of lynching, they took him to jail. Sheriff-elect Samuel Church secured the captive with irons.

Alfred Countryman went to trial on February 24 for the murder of Sheriff Taylor. The prosecution and the defense presented their case and it went to a jury of twelve men. On Friday March 6 they returned with a verdict: “Guilty”. The judge sentenced him to be hanged.

Winnebago County’s first public execution was scheduled for the afternoon of Friday March 27, 1857. It was a major event. People started crowding into town the evening before, coming from as far as Dubuque, Iowa. Two special trains arrived from the west at daybreak. Rockford was packed solid with horses, carriages and people. An estimated 8000 citizens gathered at Sheriff Church’s farm, a short distance from town. (Other newspapers estimated 15,000 and 20,000 attendees).^5,6

The prisoner arrived in a procession of five horse drawn carriages. The last carriage carried the Countryman family, father, brother, and sister. His wife and his mother chose to say their goodbyes at the jail. Two fire companies armed with sabers and carbines accompanied the procession. The armed guard escorted the prisoner safely to the scaffold.^5,6

The Reverend Hooper Crews began the ceremony with earnest prayer. The prisoner then made a short speech and expressed repentance and forgiveness for his crime. At seventeen minutes past the hour of two, the bolt was withdrawn. The trap door fell and Countryman was “swung into eternity”.⁵ The immense concourse of people did not move for some time. Only the sobs of the family were heard above the silence of the multitude.⁶

Before the body was taken down, Sheriff Church addressed the crowd. He praised and thanked them for their order. Then he spoke these words: “These painful proceedings being now concluded, and the sword of justice is about to be returned to its sheath, I hope never again to be drawn with so much severity”.⁵

The new anti-slavery party

In the 1850s, the issue of slavery absorbed the minds of the people, and none more so than Alonzo Chamberlain. We can only speculate on the roll politics played in Alonzo’s decision to move to Illinois. There is no doubt, however, that he was now in the center of the action.

Democrat Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois introduced a bill that would allow settlers to choose whether slavery would or would not exist within a territory. He hoped the bill would satisfy the interests of both the North and the South. The Kansas-Nebraska act dissolved the terms of the Missouri Compromise and allowed slave or free status to be decided in the territories by popular sovereignty. This would likely extend slavery into the newly opening territories.

Douglas’ bill sparked outrage and protests in the northern states.  A small, dedicated group of individuals came together to pledge to fight against the spread of slavery. In a small school house in Ripon, Wisconsin on March 20, 1854, they organized a new party. They chose the name the “Republican Party”.

“A house divided against itself cannot stand”

On June 16, 1858 in Springfield, Illinois, Abraham Lincoln accepted the nomination of the Republican Party to oppose Stephen A. Douglas in the race for the U. S. Senate. In his speech accepting the nomination, he paraphrased a passage from the Bible, Mark 3:25: “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

Lincoln continued:

“I believe this government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved — I do not expect the house to fall — but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other.”

These words obviously made a deep impression on Alonzo Chamberlain as Lincoln’s words from this event were quoted at Alonzo’s funeral forty-four years later. “Like Abraham Lincoln, he (Alonzo) thought and said this nation could not live part slave and part free”²

The Lincoln – Douglas Debates

The Senate campaign of 1858 involved seven three hour debates between the two candidates. Each debate was held in a different congressional district. The format was that the first candidate spoke for one hour, the second then had one hour and a half, and then the first had an half hour to finish. Spontaneous  comments, cheers and laughter from the audience punctuated the debates.

On August 27, 1858 the second debate was held at Freeport, Illinois about twenty miles southwest of Shirland. On a cool, damp day, special trains brought in an estimated 15,000 from all over northern Illinois.⁷ Freeport is the one debate location, if not more than one, that Alonzo would attend if possible.

At this location, Lincoln spoke first and answered the “interrogatories” which Douglas had raised in the previous debate. Douglas then began by complementing the audience for avoiding “vulgarity and blackguardism” while Lincoln was speaking. Douglas then spoke for an hour and a half, often playing the race card with an occasional racial slur and by repeatedly calling Lincoln’s party the “Black Republican Party”.

Lincoln then began his reponse:

“The first thing I have to say to you is a word in regard to Judge Douglas’s declaration about the ‘vulgarity and blackguardism’ in the audience- that no such thing, as he says, was shown by any Democrat while I was speaking. Now, I only wish, by way of reply on this subject, to say that while I was speaking, I used no ‘vulgarity or blackguardism’ toward any Democrat.” (Great laughter and applause)⁷

Douglas had long advocated that under popular sovereignty the settlers in each new territory would decide their own status as a slave or free state; and that this would allow northern and southern states to resume peaceful coexistence.

Lincoln, however, responded that the Dred Scott decision sealed the fate of the country with one of only two possible outcomes: the country would inevitably become either all slave or all free. In 1857, the Supreme Court ruled that Dred Scott, a slave who moved to Wisconsin with his master, was not a U. S. citizen even though he was in a free territory. In other words, residence in a free territory did not make Scott free. Also, that Congress had no constitutional authority to prohibit slavery in any territory. The decision effectively overturned the Missouri Compromise, and all of other political compromises negotiated between the North and South over the past 30 years.

At Freeport, Stephen Douglas argued that, in spite of the Dred Scott decision, slavery could be excluded from territories of the United States by local legislation. This became know as the Freeport Doctrine.

The Presidential Election of 1860

Abraham Lincoln lost the 1858 Senate race. However, the debates of 1858 gave him national stature. At the Republican convention, May 18, 1860 in Chicago, Lincoln over took William H. Seward of New York on the third ballot and received the nomination for President. Republicans opposed the extension of slavery into the territories.⁸

Douglas’ Freeport doctrine and popular sovereignty pleased Democrats in Illinois. However, these angered Southern Democrats, and the national Democrat Party was in turmoil. In April at the Democratic Convention at Charleston, SC, delegates from the Southern states pulled out and no nomination could be made. They held a second convention in June at Baltimore, MD. Stephen Douglas got the Democrat Party nomination, but Southern Democrats nominated Vice President John C. Breckenridge, a slave owner from Kentucky. Both Douglas and Breckenridge claimed to be the official Democratic candidates.⁸

The Constitution Union Party nominated John Bell of Tennessee. They, like the Whig Party before them, believed the best strategy was to ignore the issue of slavery.

Lincoln understood the value of unity. He campaigned to keep the Party united. Douglas actively campaigned in both the North and in the South where he gave a passionate defense of the Union and strenuously opposed secession.

On election day, November 6, 1860, Alonzo Chamberlain cast his vote for Abraham Lincoln, as he would for every Republican Presidential candidate for the rest of his life. With about 40% of the popular vote, Lincoln won in all the northern states except New Jersey. This gave him 180 electoral votes, enough to win the electoral college and the election. By the time of Lincoln’s inauguration in March, seven Southern states had seceded, and a month after Lincoln became president, the country became engaged in civil war.⁸

A complete victory in the battle at Antietam Creek might have decided the war, one way or the other

The rebellion of the Southern states and the Civil War opened the opportunity for Abraham Lincoln to free the slaves. President Lincoln first proposed the Emancipation Proclamation to his Cabinet in July 1862. However, his cabinet opposed it. Secretary of State William Seward suggested waiting for a Union victory so that it might be credible that the government could enforce it. Lincoln drew up the document and patiently waited for an elusive Union victory.⁹

In mid 1862, the Union suffered three devastating defeats at Shanandoah, Richmond and Manassas, Virginia. With the War going badly, the Democrats began an anti-war campaign. They saw the opportunity to take over the House of Representatives in the November mid-term election. To make things worse, France and Great Britain were enduring a cotton shortage and were considered legitimizing the Confederacy.^10,11

Confederate General Robert E. Lee, recognizing the dissent in the North, hoped a major battle won on Union soil might topple Lincoln’s congressional support and secure complete victory. His Confederate forces moved into West Virginia where Stonewall Jackson captured Harpers Ferry. Lee then moved his army to Sharpsburg, Maryland.

September 17, 1862, General Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia met Union General George McClellan’s Army of the Potomac at Antietam Creek. The two armies faced each other across a 30 acre corn field. In twelve hours of battle there were about 23,000 casualties. An estimated 3,650 died. It was the deadliest single day in all American military history.

 

To be continued…. Chapter 21 Harry Chamberlain– leaves Winnebago County for Clay County Iowa. Homesteader, teacher, politician, lawyer and family man.

Jeanette Chamberlain Phillips and the anniversary of Runaway Pond

Fifty years had passed since the big flood of 1810. On June 6,1860 county residents gathered to Glover’s North Church to commemorate the historic event. Five surviving participants attended as honored guests.¹  There is no record, but I am quite certain that Jeanette Phillips was there along with her three boys Spencer 16, Alonzo 14, and Franklin 12. After all, she had heard her father tell his experience during this tramatic event many times.

Spencer Chamberlain’s children would often gather together around the fireplace and coax their father to tell them stories. Their favorite was the one about the Runaway Pond. Their eyes would widen as they listened to their father tell of his race to get ahead of the massive flood to save the miller’s wife. Spencer Chamberlain passed away in 1853, but Jeanette had memorized the story and continued the tradition for her children.²

The Reverend Pliny H. White arose to give the keynote address. Would he mention the part of her father in the event? She listened in anticipation. White described the layout of the land and the situation of that day in exquisite detail. Then after about twenty minutes into his discourse he began to describe the flood:

“As the waters rushed impetuously down the valley the trees of the forest fell before them like the grass before the mower’s scythe…”³

She listened intently as he continued:

“Indeed, after the waters had once descended into the valley, their course through the dense woods was no faster than an active man could, and actually did run. Solomon F. Dorr….”³

Solomon F. Dorr??? What??? Solomon F. Dorr???  Jeanette’s mind went numb as White continues to tell of the heroic run of Solomon F. Dorr:

“He increased his speed, again got in advance of the torrent ran rapidly to the mill, crossed the river on the dam, which was an upright dam with a broad flat top, and rushed into the mill, shouting as he approached, with all the breath he could spare…”³

White’s sermon sent shock waves through her family. Jeanette Phillips knew her father’s story by heart, but she had not written it down. She went home and immediately began to write out the story in the form of a poem, “thinking it would be of interest to her descendants as time rolled on. For Spencer Chamberlain, her father, was called the hero on that occasion.”⁴

Her poem was published that year,

There is no public record of the dispute for many years. However, in 1875 the Express and Standard published an article by Judge Parker of Coventry titled “Reminiscences of the Early times in Orleans County”. Again he told the story with Soloman F. Dorr as the runner.⁵ Then in 1887, O. V. Percival published a news article giving credit for the heroic run to Spencer Chamberlain.⁶

By 1889 the dispute concerning the facts about the story of Runaway Pond had reached a fever pitch. At that time, E. T. Wilson sat down with Jeanette Chamberlain Phillips while she related to him in great detail her father’s eye witness account of the flood and his run from the pond to the mill.⁷

Mr. Wilson states that the incidents in his report from the time the party left the mill until it was carried away, “all of which Chamberlain saw,” was obtained from his daughter Mrs. Phillips who was 77 years of age.⁷

For many years, the debate continued as many came forward to tell stories. They had heard these from the perspective of their grandparents who had witnessed the flood. Wayne H. Alexander compiled the written accounts into his book Runaway Pond: The Complete Story. The material was kept in “as close to its original state as possible… We hope that in a particular twist of grammar or awkward turn of phrase, some scholar may find a new window on some of the historical problems created by the pond that ran away.”⁸

Truth and Poetry

The following verse is from Harry Alonzo Phillips’ poem: History of Glover and Runaway Pond.

The waters sweep the forest dale,
Huge isles of trees begin to sail
Proud woodland kings, erect they stand,
Floating along with no command.
With mighty volume- power of spray,
Half-acre lots are wrenched away,
And borne upon the foaming tide,
With heavy cargos on beside,
With crumbling, soon became a jam,
Of rocks and trees that form a dam.
A lakelet gathers as before,
Then breaks away with fearful roar,
And thunders on down the dell,
A violent monster freed from hell.

The controversy on Runaway Pond continued through the 1910 centennial and into the twentieth century. Harry Alonzo Phillips, the great grandson of Spencer Chamberlain, wrote a poem that told the story of Runaway Pond. His father, Frank Samuel Phillips, signed a notarized document on June 15, 1929, declaring that a poem written about the event was factually correct. This made the poet Harry A. Phillips the third generation to defend Spencer Chamberlain as the hero of Runaway Pond.

His poem was a hit.  It has endeared the story of Spencer Chamberlain’s run to the hearts and minds of many of the residents of Glover and Orleans County. On Glover day each year the story of Runaway Pond is re-enacted in a puppet show to the verses of Phillip’s poem.

Jack Sumberg of Glover also loved Harry Alonzo Phillips’ poem. He knew it was good, perhaps too good to be true!

As the bicentennial celebration of June 2010 approached, Sumberg wrote a blog which revived the questions and controversy of the past.  He implied in the November 22, 2009 post of his blog that the Chamberlain-Phillips version of events may be more poetry than truth.

Sumberg wrote:

“Can we conclude that it was the power of poetry that ultimately caused the Chamberlain-Phillips version of the story to predominate in the public mind? If the Willson-Dorrs had fathered, or mothered, poets would the battle for the hearts and minds of Glover still rage today? Could a new film or TV docu-drama succeed in overthrowing the triumphant story?”²⁴

Sumberg’s blog raised some good questions. Questions that had never been answered to everyone’s satisfaction.

That is when I decided I had to find those answers. After all, there were about twenty Chamberlains of the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh generations planning to make a trek from California, Utah or Connecticut to Glover for the Bicentennial.  Most were just learning the story of their ancestor Spencer Chamberlain. Most had never heard of Solomon Dorr. It would be quite an unpleasant shock to arrive in Glover to find that the 200 year history had dramatically changed over the course of the past year. Or, that the hearts and minds of the citizens of Glover had been persuaded that Spencer Chamberlain wasn’t a hero after all, and that his triumphant story had been overthrown.

All the clues were there in Wayne H. Alexanders resource, Runaway Pond: The Complete Story. I had five months to write and publish my book: Run Chamberlain, Run! Solving the 200-year-old Mystery of Runaway Pond.

The Children of Spencer Chamberlain and Millie French

What we know about Spencer and Millie’s six children and their families.

1- Jeanette Chamberlain, born 13 Oct. 1811
2- Amanda Chamberlain, born about 1813
3- Delana F. Chamberlain, born about August 1816
4- Alonzo Chamberlain, born May 7, 1818
5- Sarah Chamberlain, born about November 1820
6- Melissa M. Chamberlain was born about 1824

While looking for information about our antique family album, I found one similar to ours for sale, complete with (unidentified) photos, for $25.00! That is sad. I am attempting to identify photos of Spencer’s extended family in the Chamberlain album. There is some speculation involved, but I have been able to match most photos with likely family members.

1- Jeanette Chamberlain Phillips

Jeanette Chamberlain married Samuel Phillips in Glover Vermont on November 23, 1842. He was born in Glover, Vermont August 7 1812 and died there on February 4, 1894.⁹ Samuel was the brother of Betsy Phillips who married Alonzo Chamberlain. Therefore, the descendants of Samuel and Jeanette and the descendants of Alonzo and Betsy have both sets of Grandparents in common. I guess this makes the children of Betsy Norris Phillips Chamberlain “double cousins” with those of the Samuel Phillips family.

Their parents, Jonas Phillips and Dorothy Bean were married in Glover November 1, 1802. They had twelve children.

In 1892 three generations of the Phillips family lived together in harmony on their farm in Glover. These included Uncle Samuel and Aunt Jeanette, as they were familiarly called, their sons Alonzo and Franklin and their families. Alonzo and Franklin ran the farm of 15 dairy cows which supplied milk and butter for the multi-family of 10, plus $26 in weekly butter sales. Their large flock of hens supplied eggs for the family plus some 50 dozen per month surplus to sell on the market. They also raised prize winning sheep with wool measuring up to sixteen inches in length. The home was pleasantly surrounded by about 100 pines, lombardy poplars plus many other varieties of trees, flowers and shrubs.¹⁰

2- Amanda Chamberlain Winship

Spencer and Jeanette’s second daughter, Amanda was born about 1813. Amanda married Oliver Winship 26 February 1854 at Lexington Middlesex Mass. He previously had been married to Anna Fisk who died 15 October 1851 at about age 51-years-old. Oliver Winship was born November 12, 1794 and died April 18, 1874. Oliver and Anna had a son, Isaac Augustus Winship, who was born 4 July 1822 and died 12 October 1887. No children are known from the union of Oliver and Amanda.

The 1880 census of Hume Allegany County New York showed that A. Winship, a widow age 67 was living with her brother-in-law and sister Franklin and Melissa Somers. Amanda died in 1888 in Wiscoy, Allegany New, York.

3- Delana F. Chamberlain

Delana was born about August 1816 and died 10 Oct. 1850, age 34 years, 2 months according to Westlook Cemetery records.

4- Alonzo Chamberlain

Spencer and Millie’s fourth child and only son, Alonzo was born in a small log cabin in Glover, Vermont on 7 May 1818. Alonzo’s life in Glover and his activity with the Underground Railroad was covered in the previous chapter. He was married September 27, 1843 to Betsy Norris Phillips. They had two children, Amanda and Harry. In 1850 his father Spencer Chamberlain, age 63, lived with them in their West Glover home. Betsy died 25 April 1852. Alonzo later remarried Lydia Blanchard. He moved from Glover with his family on 1 May 1855. The life and times of Alonzo and his family in Shirland, Illinois 1855-1871 will be presented in the next chapter.

5- Sarah Chamberlain

Sarah was born about Nov. 1820 in Glover, Vermont and died 9 Jan. 1826 at age 5 years, 2 months. She was buried at Westlook Cemetery, Glover, Vermont.

6- Melissa M. Chamberlain Somers

Melissa was born in 1825 in Glover, Vermont. Melissa married William H. Somers on August 7, 1860 in Glover Vermont. After this marriage three more children were born, Frank, Charles, and Amanda.

Census history of the Somers family

In 1860 William F. Somers was living in the home of Lewis and Julia Bernas in Dick Johnson, Clay County, Indiana with his 4-year-old son Willie.¹⁵ William H. Somers was born in Vermont and may be Melissa’s son, I don’t know. 

In the 1870 census William F. Somers 49 and Melissa M. Chamberlain Somers 46  lived in Hume, Allegany, New York with their four children, William H. 14 was born in Vermont, Frank C. 7 was born in Indiana, Charles M. 5 was born in New York, and Amanda 3 was also born in New York.¹⁶

In 1880, the Somers still lived in Hume, Allegany, New York with the three youngest children and Melissa’s widowed sister Amanda Chamberlain Winship 67. The oldest son William H. Somers 24 lived in Belmont, New York.¹⁷

The father William F. Somers died in 1884, Amanda Chamberlain Winship died in 1888 and her sister Melissa Chamberlain Somers died on September 12, 1889. They were buried in Wiscoy Cemetery, Allegany, New York.¹⁸

Amanda Somers married Bert E. Granger April 25, 1899. They had two children Frank Arthur Granger 1904-1976 and Helen L. Granger 1907-1983. Amanda died March 20, 1926 at Silver Springs, Wyoming, New York.¹⁹

In 1900, William H. Somers had been married to Estelle, age 44, for 18 years (since about 1882). Their son Howard L. Somers 11 and daughter Ora A Somers 7 were born in Virginia. William’s brother Frank C Somers 38 was also living with the family in Guilford District Surrey, Virginia. William was a sheet metal worker and Frank was a paper hanger and painter.²⁰

In 1910, Charles M. Somers age 45  had been married to Mary O’ Neill age 44 for about 18 years, (since about 1892). They had a daughter Mildred A. Somers 13, a son William F. Somers 11, a daughter Anna Somers 9, and a son Charles 2.  Charles’ mother-in-law Anna O’Neill 75 was living with them. Mary had immigrated with her mother Anna from Ireland in 1876. Charles was working as a metal shop foreman.²¹

In 1920 William H. Somers lived in Panama City Bay, Florida with his wife Estella 63 and their daughter Ora E. Somers 26.²²

Family of Frank C. Somers and Mary Immel

Frank C. Somers married Mary Josephine Immel an May 15, 1892. She was born in Jay County, Indiana September 19, 1876 and died at the same location March 12, 1900. Their children were Charles H. Somers, Kenneth R. Somers and Grace Naomi Achsah Somers.²⁵

1- Charles H Somers b. August 9, 1893, d. May 22, 1912 Jay County, Indiana.²⁵

2- Kenneth R. Somers b. July 28, 1895, Jay County Indiana, d. August 2, 1983 Jay County. He married Minnie Alberta Trafzer (1901-1980) on July 29, 1916 in Jay Co. Indiana.  Children of Kenneth and Minnie Somers: Robert L. Somers 1917-2008. Everett Leroy Somers 1918-2004. Martha Alberta Somers 1923-2014. Mary Helen Somers 1926-2002. Edward L. Somers 1928-2009. Ester M. Somers 1931-2004. Norma Jean Somers 1932-2004.²⁵

3- Grace Naomi Somers b. October 12, 1897, d. June 1975 McHenry, Illinois. She was married on January 1, 1915, Jay County, Indiana, to Herman Progue Blowers 1895-1972. Children of Herman and Grace Blowers: Murl Blowers 1915-2001, Mary Jane Blowers 1917-2010, Jacquelyne Geneviere Blowers 1919-2000, Herman Blowers, Jr. 1921-1938, and William Martel Blowers 1922-2010.²⁵

Frank C. Somers died in 1923 and was buried in the Wiscoy Cemetery, Wiscoy, Allegany County, New York.  He was buried along with his father, mother and aunt,  William F Somers 1820-1884, Melissa M. Chamberlain Somers 1825-1889, Amanda. F. Winship 1814-1888.

The Children of Samuel Phillips and Jeanette Chamberlain

1- Spencer Chamberlain Phillips was born September 26, 1843 in Glover Vermont.

During the Civil War he joined the 15th Vermont Volunteer Infantry Regiment¹¹ under the President’s call of August 4, 1862. They were mustered into the U. S. service for nine months on October 22, 1862 and left Vermont for Washington on October 23. The Vermont 15th regiment became a part of the 2nd Vermont brigade stationed at “Camp Vermont” near Hunting creek. On December 12 they moved their location to one mile south of Fairfax Court House. At the time of Gen. Stuart’s raid in the rear of Fairfax Court House, Dececember 28, 1862, it picketed all the approaches to Centerville.¹² Spencer Phillips died of illness on April 24, 1863 at age 19. Seventy-eight of the 942 enrolled in the 15th Regiment died by disease. He was buried in Alexandria National Cemetery, Alexandria, VA.¹¹

2- Alonzo Chamberlain Phillips was born September 19, 1845 in Glover, VT. He married Olive Brown in St. Johnsbury, VT., 30 Nov. 1870.

Alonzo C. Phillips wrote Spencer Chamberlain’s Ancestors  where he gave his understanding of family history in about 1927.²

He was the second generation  to defend the legacy of his grandfather. In 1910 he wrote his version of the story of Runaway Pond. Also, in the above 1927 document, he wrote to the Chamberlain family in Iowa:

“And now I wish to correct a mistake made by White at the 50th anniversary address of the letting out of the pond…Mr White was misinformed… not knowing anything about the facts…This mistake was what caused my mother (to write) her piece giving her father the dues that rightfully belonged to him. There were but few that ever knew what ever lead up to this mistake.”¹³

Alonzo’s wife Olive (Dora) died on March 5, 1888. He later married a second wife Eudora Crosby. Alonzo C. Phillips died 10 April 1930.

3- Franklin S. Phillips, the third son of Samuel and Jeanette, was born 18 Dec. 1847. He married Nettie Drew on 1 Jan.1878.

Initials on Spencer’s rifle appear to be “FSP” indicating that he may have given it to his grandson Franklin S. Phillips. It seems likely that Franklin later gave the rifle to Alonzo’s son Mazzini (Zeke) who owned several hunting dogs and loved to hunt and fish. Franklin S. Phillips died 29 Oct.1929 in Glover VT. His wife Nettie was born on 1 May 1856 and died 27 Nov.1935 also in Glover VT.

4- Harry P. Phillips, Samuel and Jeanette’s fourth son was born on 3 July 1851 in Glover, Vermont and died three weeks later on 23 July 1851

Children of Alonzo C. Phillips and Olive (Dora) Brown

1- Gertrude Alice Phillips, born 9 Nov. 1871. Gertrude married Charles Arden Kelton in Glover on June 30, 1894. She died 25 Jan.1927. Her husband was born 24 August 1869 and died 12 Dec 1936. Their daughter Alice Ruth Kelton was born 27 November 1898 and died at age 15 on March 31, 1914. In 1900 Lydia A. Phillips Seaver was a boarder in the Kelton home. Lydia was Gertrude’s great aunt.

2- Mazzini Phillips, born 2 July 1875 married Gertrude Carter on 28 June 1897. They were divorced in 1901, there were no known children. Mazzini married again to Minnie Ella Dexter, 27 June 1906. Wendell A. Phillips 1908-2008 was their only son. 

In 1926, A. C. Phillips wrote: “My son, Mazzini Phillips, has (Spencer’s) old gun in his possession at the present time with the word London on the Lock”²  This is believed to be the rifle used by Spencer Chamberlain in 1814 during the battle of Plattsburgh.

3- Wendell C. Phillips was born 29 Sept. 1879 and died 5 Sept. 1885 at the age of five in Glover, Vermont.

4- Clarence Leo Phillips was born 1 May 1887. Clarence was a taxidermist in Glover. He married Alice Buswell and they had a son Alonzo Buswell Phillips 1914-2000 . Alice was born 20 August 1889 and died 8 Jan. 1939. Clarence died 23 Aug.1953. He and his family were buried in Westlook Cemetery, Glover, Vermont.

Children of Franklin S. Phillips and Nettie Drew

1- Elnora L. Phillips was born September 4, 1880. She married Fred E Simpson September 11, 1906. No children are recorded for Fred and Nora in the U. S. census. She died 15 May 1962.

2- Harry Alonzo Phillips was born 1 June 1883. He had a profound love of nature and loved to study birds and animals. He lived on Pine Shade Farm until he moved to Glover in 1941. His grandfather bought the farm in 1841, but it must have been in the family longer for he had heard stories of his ancestors sitting on the front porch listening to the roar of the running away of Long Pond in 1810. Alonzo was a poet. His most famous poem was “Runaway Pond and the History of Glover” written in 1929. Harry Alonzo Phillips died 10 April 1966.¹⁴

 Jonas Phillips, father of Betsy Norris Phillips

Jonas Phillips was born August 13, 1776 in Athol, Worchester, Massachusetts and was an early settler of Glover. He married in Glover, Dorothy Bean of Sutton NH on November 1, 1802. On March 7, 1808 he was among seven men in Glover who were elected Surveyor of Highways. All of their 12 children were born in Glover, VT.

Jonas Phillips was the son of Samuel Phillips and Joanna Stroud, Samuel was the son of Samuel Phillips and Martha Newton. Martha is the great-granddaughter of Richard Newton and Anne Locke. Richard, born in England, immigrated to America in 1639. It is  believed he was born in 1609, the Uncle of Sir Isaac Newton.²³

Children of Jonas Phillips and Dorothy Bean²³

1- Curtis Phillips born June 18, 1804 – died November 5, 1862. Never married.
2- Jonas Phillips, Jr. born December 2, 1805– died March 6, 1850. Married Hannah Hardy October 11, 1830.
3- Dorothy Phillips born January 26, 1808– died September 9, 1895. Married Rev. Nathan W. Scott.
4- Hiram Phillips  born December 17, 1809– died August 2, 1892. Married Lucy Ann Cook.
5- Samuel Phillips born August 7, 1812– died February 4, 1894. Married Jeanette Chamberlain November 23, 1842.
6- Josiah  Phillips born September 23, 1814– died August 1, 1864. Married Emily Blanchard
7- Rosannah P Phillips born August 10, 1817– deceased. Married Henry Blake III March 27, 1839
8- Charlotte  Phillips born June 7, 1819– died December 23, 1881. Married William Merriam.
9- Lydia A Phillips born January 18, 1822– died December 16, 1905. Married Hyman Dana Seaver 1843.
10- Betsy Norris Phillips born September 27, 1823– died April 25, 1852. Married Alonzo Chamberlain September 27, 1843.
11- Harry Walter Phillips born February 11, 1827– died July 2, 1930. Married Sabra Wilcox.
12- John E  Phillips born January 25, 1830– died March 23, 1907. Married Sarah Paige.

To be continued…..

Chapter 20- Alonzo Chamberlain’s Family Moves to Winnebago County, Illinois 

If you got this far, please click Goodbye or Table of Contents. This will simply tell me that someone looked at this post. Thank you! Dennis Chamberlain

© Copyright Dennis D. Chamberlain, The Chamberlain Story, 2017. 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- Wayne H. Alexander, Runaway Pond The Complete Story, CR 2001, Second Edition, Glover Historical Society, Glover, VT 05839. p. 45
2- Abid…..Alonzo C. Phillips p. 56
3- Abid….Pliny H. White pp. 28-29
4- Abid….Jeanette Chamberlain Phillips p. 32
5- Abid….Judge Parker of Coventry p. 35
6- Abid….O. V. Percival p. 42
7- Abid….E. T. Wilson pp.47-51
8- Abid….The Editors p. iii
9- Descendents of Ebenezer Phillips, unpublished record sent to Dennis Chamberlain from Janice Airola (granddaughter of Mazzini Phillips from the Jonas Phillips’ Bible.
10- O. V. Percival, unidentified Glover news clipping
11- Vermont in the Civil War Search for a Soldier Http;//vermontcivil war.org
12- Fifteenth Vermont Infantry https://vermontcivilwar.org/units/15/
13- Alonzo Chamberlain Phillips, The Descendents of Spencer Chamberlain, unpublished family document
14- People Who Have Made a Difference in Glover History- Harry Alonzo Phillips, Glover Historical Society, Inc. 1994
15- 1860 US Census
16- 1870 U. S. Census Hume Allegany, New York
17- 1880 U. S. Census, Allegany County, New York.
18- Grave marker, Wiscoy Cemetery Allegany, New York.
19- Familysearch.org
20-1900 U. S. Census, Guilford District Surry, Virginia.
21- 1910 U. S. Census Nunda, Livingston NY.
22- 1920 U. S. Census Panama City Bay, Florida.
23- Familysearch.org., all 12 children names have been verified with information found in Jonas Phillips family Bible. Richard Newton, (the third great grandfather of Jonas Phillips), came over from England in about 1639, and he is according to Familysearch the uncle of Sir Isaac Newton. However, I have not verified this information.
24- Jack Sumberg, http//runawayponders.blogspot.com/ (blog dated 11/22/09.
25- MacNaught family tree, Ancestry.com