My Genealogy Hound

ROBERT CHAMBERS. The Chambers family is among the oldest and most highly respected of any in Greene County. The father of our subject was one of its pioneer settlers, and made for himself a good record. The son, of whom we propose to give a brief notice, is more than ordinarily liberal and public-spirited as a citizen, and has had no small share in the advancement of the material and social interests of his township. He is a stockholder and Director of the Osborn Bank, and the Assessor of Osborn Precinct. Financially, he is practically independent, and has accumulated a competence by the exercise of his own industry and perseverance.

The father of our subject was William Chambers, who was born in Ireland near the coast, and was the son of David Chambers, also a native of that country. Grandfather Chambers emigrated to America with his family at an early date, and located in Virginia, where he spent the remaining years of his life. His wife, Eliza, a native of Scotland, removed, after the death of her husband, to Ohio, and died there in the faith of the Presbyterian Church. Their son, William, the father of our subject, was about twelve years old when his parents came to the United States. He accompanied his mother to this State, and they settled on a rented farm in Montgomery County. When reaching man’s estate he purchased one hundred acres of land from which he opened up a good farm, that which is now occupied by his son, Robert. He was a teamster in the army during the War of 1812. Later he resumed farming, and died in 1848, at the age of sixty years. Politically, he was a sound Democrat.

Mrs. Elizabeth (Kirkwood) Chambers, the mother of our subject, was a native of Virginia, born and reared near the famous natural bridge. Her father, Robert Kirkwood, was also a native of the Old Dominion, whence he emigrated to Ohio, and located near the present site of the court house in the city of Dayton, where he spent the closing years of his life. He was a man of decided ideas, and prided himself upon his Scotch-Irish ancestry. The mother of our subject died at the old homestead in 1850. There were born to her and her husband a family of seven children, the eldest of whom, a daughter, Jane, married John D. C. Campbell, and is living in Huntington County, Ind.; David died when about sixty years old; Eliza is living in Montgomery County; Mary, Mrs. Talley, is a resident of Wayne Township; Margaret died when about forty-six years old; Robert, our subject, was the sixth child; Sarah died in Huntington County, Ind.

The subject of this notice was born at the farm where he now lives, October 11, 1827. His early studies were conducted in a log schoolhouse, on the subscription plan, and he attended school about three months in the year, the balance of the time being devoted to farm work. He remained a member of the parental household until his father’s death, and then operated the farm on shares until 1850, when he purchased the interest of the other heirs and set himself about making the needed improvements. Here he has one hundred acres, all in one body and the most of it in a productive condition. He also owns what is familiarly known as the old Kirkwood farm, southwest on section 9, which comprises one hundred and twenty acres, and which is embellished with a fine set of farm buildings. He raises quantities of grain which he feeds chiefly to his stock, the latter being mostly cattle and graded Norman horses. He operates the home farm himself, but the Kirkwood farm is leased to other parties.

In June, 1865, Mr. Chambers took unto himself a wife and helpmate, Miss Malinda, daughter of David and Rachel Snyder. Mrs. Chambers was born in Lancaster County, Pa., and departed this life at her home in Bath Township, in 1870, leaving no children. David Snyder was a millwright by trade, and spent his last years in Medway, Ohio. Mr. Chambers, in 1878, contracted a second marriage with Mrs. Susan Farrer, at St. Marys, Auglaize County. This lady was born near St. Marys and is the daughter of a Mr. Bodkin, who was a native of Ohio. Of this union there are no children. Mr. Chambers, politically, affiliates with with the Democratic party. He has been quite prominent in local affairs, served as Road Supervisor and School Director for a number of years, and in 1888 was elected Assessor of Osborn Precinct, which office he still holds. Socially he belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Osborn, and likewise the Encampment.