Ancestry DNA results confirm John is son of Thomas Chamberlain of Westmoreland

Six DNA matches of Spencer Chamberlain with his uncles, Jedediah Sr and Increase Sr confirm that John Chamberlain is their brother and therefore, Spencer Chamberlain’s father. John is the son of Thomas Chamberlain and Abigail Pierce of Westmoreland, New Hampshire. Thomas is the grandson of William Chamberlain who immigrated to America in 1635. Thomas’ grandmother is Rebecca Chamberlain, who died in Cambridge prison in 1692 during the Salem witch trials.

The DNA evidence for Thomas Chamberlain as my 5th great grandfather is very strong. My DNA has a match with six others who are also 5th great grandchildren of Thomas of Westmoreland. All of these matches are my 6th cousins, who descend from two children and five different grandchildren of Thomas.

Fourteen DNA Matches with Spencer Chamberlain and Millie French

It is not surprising that I have 14 matches with descendants of Spencer Chamberlain and Millie French. Records and family knowledge are very clear that he is my third great-grandfather. Eleven of the matches are through Amanda Chamberlain Warren and three matches are through John H. Chamberlain and Harry E. Chamberlain.

The problem in our genealogy line is with Spencer’s Chamberlain’s father and mother.

 

Zero DNA Matches for John and Winona

My Ancestry shows no DNA matches with John or Winona, because there are no other Ancestry public trees with linked DNA that trace their Chamberlain line to Thomas of Westmoreland.

The reason for this is that my information is very new. It was not known before 2017, and most Ancestry’s Spencer Chamberlain lines were filled in before this time.

The only thing we knew about Spencer’s father before 2017 is that his name was John Chamberlain who married an Indian woman named Winona, and that their son Spencer was born in Westmoreland, New Hampshire.

Some of the Spencer Chamberlain family held a tradition that Spencer’s father John was a son or grandson of the legendary Paugus John Chamberlain. We all tried hard to prove this connection but it never quite fit. Also, there is no evidence that Paugus John, or any of his family ever came to Westmoreland where Spencer was born.

Others of the Spencer Chamberlain family chose the only John Chamberlain known to live in Westmoreland as the father of Spencer. This John Chamberlain married Eunice Edson and is the son of Henry Chamberlain and Susannah Hinds. However, what appears to be a complete record of the births of John and Eunice’s eight children from 1768-1788 is available.¹ These do not include Spencer.

Also, it has been proven by Y-DNA that Spencer is a descendant of one of the brothers, Thomas, Edmond or William Chamberlain. John, the son of Henry, is from the Henry Chamberlain immigrant line, and therefore, cannot be the father of Spencer Chamberlain.

Ancestry DNA “Thru Lines”

I am very impressed with the feature ThruLines for those who have Ancestry DNA and a publicly available Ancestry family tree. When your public family tree and your DNA analysis are linked together, it has the ability to predict your other relatives by your DNA matches and their tree information.

My family tree was filled out only to my second great grandparents. However, based on my DNA matches, Ancestry DNA ThruLines was able to predict 114 of my 128 fifth great grandparents!

Unfortunately, Ancestry DNA ThruLines was not able to provide information on Spencer’s Indian mother Winona. This maybe because, currently, Spencer’s progeny do not follow the correct biological genetic path from Spencer through John and his father, Thomas of Westmoreland. Nor, therefore, through Winona to her unknown parents.

Filling in the true known biological information is necessary to solve the unknown part of the puzzle. If Winona’s parents are in the Ancestry DNA database through one or more of Winona’s siblings, the progeny of Spencer Chamberlain should provide enough DNA matches to find Winona’s parents. Winona’s parents are my fifth great-grandparents and would, therefore, show up on my Ancestry DNA ThruLines.

Are you a descendant of Spencer Chamberlain?

If so, here is how you can help:

1- Read the rest of this post to see if you agree with the new information published by The Chamberlain Story. If you do, please go to step two.

2- Update your Ancestry family tree from Spencer Chamberlain to his parents John and Winona, and through John Chamberlain to his parent’s Thomas Chamberlain and Abagail Pierce. If you wish, you may use my Ancestry public tree Dennis Dean Chamberlain, The Chamberlain Family (working).

3- Be sure your Ancestry DNA and Ancestry family tree are linked, and that your family tree is public.

4- Be patient. It will take a full 24 hours for Ancestry to calculate the DNA matches and new information for ThruLines.

5- Please contact me through this post or by my email when you update your information. Let me know any DNA matches that connects you to Thomas Chamberlain.

Click here if you would like my referral for an Ancestry DNA test kit.

Chronology of the new information, published in 2017.

My daughter, Lara, and I worked on the new information about Spencer Chamberlain’s family for seven years before we published it in 2017 in my blog The Chamberlain Story. I have been filling in the new information into my Ancestry family tree The Chamberlain family (Working).

We found numerous, documents, books, letters and emails containing information not found on the internet. This new information unlocked the mysteries from the confusing history of the John Chamberlains of Westmorland and of the census records for the household of Increase Chamberlain Jr.

In June, 2010, I attended The Runaway Pond Bicentennial Celebration, (watch 5 min. video). There, I bought a copy of Glover, Vermont Westlook Cemetery, Gravestone Inscriptions & Other Genealogical Data, Glover Historical Society. This book, which was not on the internet, had tons of information about Spencer Chamberlain’s family.

At the bicentennial, I became acquainted with Joan Alexander, secretary of the Glover Historical Society. She had previously helped me to find information for my book Run Chamberlain, Run! Solving the 200-Year-Old-Mystery of Runaway Pond.

In October 2014, Joan Alexander emailed me a mysterious note from an 1810 Glover town meeting about a “widow Chamberlain” in Glover, VT. Lara and I finally figured out she was the widow of Increase Chamberlain Jr. Joan sent me more notes from town meetings about Increase and Spencer Chamberlain before 1810.

On March 9, 2017, the Historical Society of Cheshire County in Keene NH sent me a packet full of letters and document copies. These had answers to many of my questions about the Chamberlain families of Westmoreland and specifically Increase Chamberlain Jr and John Chamberlain.

The data and references for Spencer Chamberlain’s descendants are not as simple as reading a birth record or grave inscription. It is puzzle with dozens of pieces that fit together.

John Chamberlain was born in Newton, Massachusetts

On June 9, 2017, The Chamberlain Story reported that there were two distinct Chamberlain families in Westmoreland, New Hampshire in 1790. Thomas Chamberlain’s family lived on the west side of town, belonged the Congregational Church and came from Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Henry Chamberlain’s family lived on the east side of town, were Baptists and came from Plymouth County, Massachusetts. Both families had a son named John Chamberlain.

However, the historic record had combined information about the two John Chamberlains, as if they were the same person. By separating the two Johns, new important information was revealed. A decoded paragraph in the1885 Cheshire County, NH Gazetteer should read:

“Thomas Chamberlain was one of several who united in signing the church covenant, September 26, 1764, the first step taken towards forming a Congregational church in Westmoreland. John Chamberlain, one of the original grantees of this town, was born in Newton, Massachusetts.”²  (see chapter 10)

Thomas Chamberlain signed the covenant of the new Westmoreland Congregational Church on September 26, 1764 and officially transferred his membership to the new church on April 7, 1765 from Newton.³

The existence of Thomas’ son John is confirmed in a letter written by Ella E. Abbott to a “Mrs Chamberlain”. She listed John among the other the children of Thomas Chamberlain, It was members of Thomas’ family, that were the grantees of Westmoreland. Referring to the Thomas Chamberlain family she wrote:

“William Chamberlain1 first of Woburn, settled in Billerica, wife Rebecca. Daniel2 b. 1671, lived in Billerica, wife Mary. Thomas3 b. 1703, 4th child of Daniel lived in Newton. Was grantee of Westmoreland as well as some of his children. His Children were Isaac, Josiah, Joshua, Jedediah, John and Abigail, and perhaps Job and Increase”.- March 21, 1932⁴

There is no record of John’s birth because of “the destruction by fire of the records of the first church at Newton, Mass. in 1770”⁵  However, Thomas lived in Newton immediately prior to his move to Westmoreland. Therefore, John is his sixth son, born between Jeremiah and Increase. This places John’s birth in about 1739. (not 1734 as previously guessed)

The search for Spencer and his father in Westmoreland

In 1934, my grandfather, Harry Chamberlain hired a genealogist to help find Spencer and his parents in Westmoreland, New Hampshire.  Spencer Chamberlain’s army enlistment papers stated that he was born in Westmoreland.

Merton T. Goodrich studied the 1790 U. S. census record and compared it with known birth records. No records of Spencer nor his father John in Westmoreland could be found. His twenty-two page report came to this conclusion:

“All of these records prove these points. Spencer Chamberlain may have been the son of Amos, Increase Jr., or Job Chamberlain. The name of his father cannot be limited to one of these three until we can prove that his parents remained in Westmoreland until after 1790. It seems most reasonable to assume that they did. If so, Spencer’s father nor grandfather was a John Chamberlain”.⁶

Spencer Chamberlain’s father’s name was John

Harry Chamberlain, knew Spencer’s father’s name was John because he lived with his grandfather Alonzo (Spencer’s son) until he was 14. Also, A. C. Phillips, who lived with his grandfather, recorded in Westlook Cemetery, Glover, Vermont record that Spencer Chamberlain died in 1853 and was the “Son of John E. & Winona”.⁷

What they did not know, however, was that in 1790, Spencer was living in the household of Increase Chamberlain, Jr., his older cousin and stepfather. He was the head of a six member household in Westmoreland NH. The census record showed for his household: (males 16 & over = 1), (males under 16 = 2), and (all females = 3).⁸ This is an impressive family for Increase and his wife Susannah who were both 24 years old. None of these members are known to be their children.

Thomas Chamberlain’s family moved to Stockbridge, Vermont

Thomas Chamberlain’s family left Westmoreland and a large group of them moved to Stockbridge, Vermont sometime between 1795 and 1800.

Mrs Ella Abbott wrote in her letters that the Thomas Chamberlains “were prominent while they lived in Westmoreland but all moved away, left not a vestige behind them.… and after his wife died (Thomas) might have gone to Vermont to live with some of his sons who lived in Stockbridge.⁴

The 1800 census in Stockbridge, Vermont shows eight Chamberlain households. These are Jedediah Chamberlain Sr, his sons Jedediah Jr., and Josiah; and Increase Chamberlain Sr., and his sons Amos, Thomas, Isaac and Increase Chamberlain, Jr.

The 1800 census for Increase Chamberlain, Jr., in Stockbridge Vermont  shows that Spencer Chamberlain, age 14, could be one of the males, and a 45+ female could be his mother. Increase Jr and his wife Susannah were 34 years old and their parents were living in a different household. If Spencer’s mother Winona was still living, we would certainly expect her to be with her young son.

 Increase Chamberlain Jr’s family moved to Glover, Vermont by 1802

Joan Alexander, secretary of the Glover Historical Society, helped me find records about Increase Chamberlain and Spencer Chamberlain in Glover town meeting records. They show that Increase Chamberlain Jr and Spencer Chamberlain lived in Glover, Vermont.

Dickerman family records show that Increase and Susannah’s daughter Tryphena Chamberlain Dickerman was born in Glover, Vermont on June 10, 1802.⁹ Increase Chamberlain took the Freeman’s Oath in Glover in September 1806. And in March, 1808 he was voted in as a Surveyor of the Highways.¹⁰

Increase Chamberlain Jr died in Glover Vermont in June, 1810. In notes from a Glover town meeting held on June 18, 1810 a vote was taken “that there be  a committee of three chosen to take care of Widow Chamberlain and take measure to remove her to Stockbridge if she will go.”¹⁰

Widow Chamberlain was Susannah Chamberlain, the wife of Increase Chamberlain Jr and the daughter of Jedidiah Chamberlain Sr who still lived in Stockbridge, Vermont. She returned to Stockbridge to live with her family after her husband died.

Spencer moved to Glover with Increase Chamberlain Jr.

Spencer Chamberlain was living in the household of Increase Chamberlain Jr in 1790 and 1800, and was 16 when Increase moved from Stockbridge to Glover in 1802.

He took his freeman’s oath on September 1, 1808.¹⁰ The age of 21 was required. Glover town records show that on  March 28, 1809, five men including Spencer Chamberlain were chosen town Haywards.¹⁰

In the packet of information and documents sent from the Historical Society of Cheshire County, New Hampshire in 2017, the most informative were the letters of Ella Abbott to a Mrs Chamberlain and an 1896 letter from Pamela S. Cutler of Randolf, Vermont written to her niece. In this letter Pamelia Cutler wrote:

“Your grandmother Dickerman’s (Tryphena Chamberlain Dickerman’s) father (Increase Chamberlain, Jr.) was my father’s (Jotham Chamberlain’s) oldest brother. He married my grandfather’s (Jeddediah Chamberlain, Jr’s) sister Susan (Susannah Chamberlain). She was my mother’s aunt. They (Increase Jr & Susannah Chamberlain) had five children; Lottz (Charlotte), Spencer, Tryphena, Vilors (Villars) and Milly.”¹¹

Tryphena, Villars and Milly are the children of Increase and Susannah Chamberlain. However, Spencer is not. He is the son of John and Winona Chamberlain. Charlotte may be Spencer’s older sister.

However, it is now certain that Spencer was living with them in Westmoreland when he was four years old as recorded in the 1790 census, and at age 14 in Stockbridge, in 1800.  Pamelia Cutler, in her letter, proves she is speaking of our Spencer Chamberlain when she added: “Spencer married and lived in Glover, Vt.“¹¹

The family of Thomas Chamberlain

*My DNA matches in bold

*Thomas Chamberlain was born August 9, 1703 in Billerica, MA and his wife *Abigail Pierce was born 18 May 1706 in Woburn MA. died 18 May 1769, Westmoreland, NH. They married 10 June 1730 in Concord, Middlesex, MA.¹²

I have done an extensive search for the source records of Thomas and Abigail’s children, their birth order and birth dates. Therefore, there are some differences in my record when compared with the prevailing records on internet genealogies. Joshua was born about 1734, Job about 1736, and John about 1739.

1- Josiah Chamberlain b. 27 June 1731, Billerica, Middlesex, Massachusetts,¹³ d. 1782.

2- Isaac Chamberlain b. 30 October 1732, Billerica, Middlesex, Massachusetts,¹⁴ d. 1783 Westmoreland, Cheshire, New Hampshire.

3- Joshua Chamberlain baptized 22 Sept 1734 at First Church of Lynnfield, Essex, Massachusetts. (This christening date places Joshua, not John, born in 1734)⁵

4- Job Chamberlain born about 1736, location unknown. (I have found no information on the birth of Job. I chose this birth order because he was old enough to sign the petition of Jan. 30, 1750¹⁵ and was considered an “adult male citizen of the town”, as was his 12 year old brother Jedediah.)¹⁵ d. 22 March 1825 Brewer, Penobscot, Maine.

5- *Jedediah Chamberlain Sr christened 12 June 1737 Stoneham, Middlesex, Massachusetts,⁵  d. 1828, Stockbridge, Windsor, Vermont.

6- *John Chamberlain was the sixth son of Thomas, born about 1739, Newton, Middlesex, Massachusetts.⁴ However, a fire in Newton destroyed church records in 1770⁵ and no birth records for John have been found. His father Thomas moved from Newton to Westmoreland, placing his birth order between Jedediah and the youngest brother Increase. John did not sign in 1750 but apparently was old enough (12-years-old) to become a grantee of the Westmoreland charter by 1752.

7- *Increase Chamberlain Sr b. 1741 in Westmoreland NH, d. 24 August, 1813, Stockbridge, Windsor, Vermont. (He was claimed to be the first white male child born in Westmoreland.)⁴

8- Abigail Chamberlain b. 31 July 1748 in Harvard, Massachusetts. She was the youngest child and only daughter of Thomas and Abigail.⁵ She married Henry Chamberlain in the Westmoreland Park Hill Congregational Church on February 26, 1767. They had fourteen Children. Abigail died at Panton, Addison County, Vermont in August 1819.¹⁶

Family of Jedediah Chamberlain Sr.¹⁷

*Jedediah Chamberlain is the son of Thomas Chamberlain , b. 1703 and Abigail Pierce b. 1706.^17a Jedediah was christened at Stoneham Congregational Church 12 June 1737. He married Ester Clark b. 4 May 1739. Jedediah and Ester were married about 1758.

Children of Jedediah Chamberlain and Ester Clark:¹⁷

1- Sibel Chamberlain, b. 3 April 1759, Westmoreland, NH.
2- Josiah Chamberlain, b. 20 May, 1760, Westmoreland, NH.
3- Ephraim Chamberlain, b. 23 Sept 1762, Westmoreland, NH.
4- Jedediah Chamberlain, Jr., b. 20 March 1764, Westmoreland, NH.
5- Susannah Chamberlain, b. 8 April 1766, Westmoreland, NH.
6- *Eunice Chamberlain, b. 29 March 1768, Westmoreland, NH. m. E. Twitchell
7- Hudah Chamberlain, b. 9 July 1770, Westmoreland, NH.
8- *Isaac Chamberlain, b. 31 Aug 1772, Westmoreland, NH.
9- Sally Chamberlain, b, 28 Sept. 1774, Westmoreland, NH.
10- Ester Chamberlain, b. 28 March 1776, Westmoreland, NH.

Children of Jedediah Chamberlain and Submit Osgood, b. about 1763. They were married about 1800, Stockbridge, VT.¹⁷

Correction: Some genealogists believe that these children belong to Jedediah, Jr. However, the census records show these are the children of Jedediah, Sr. Also, these were listed as children of Jedediah Sr. by Pamila S. Cutler in her 1896 letter. Her mother told her that Jedediah Sr. had 19 children by his two wives.¹¹

1- Abner Chamberlain, b. about 1801, Stockbridge VT.
2- Daniel Chamberlain, b. 10 January 1802, Stockbridge VT.
3- Asa Chamberlain, b. 15 December 1803, Stockbridge VT.
4- Roxy Chamberlain, b. 1 January 1807, Stockbridge VT.
5- Elijah Chamberlain, b. Stockbridge VT.¹¹

Family of Increase Chamberlain, Sr.¹⁸

Increase Chamberlain, Sr  b. 1741 in Westmoreland, NH, d. August 24, 1813, m Rachel Davis b. 1739, d. 20 March 1813 Stockbridge, VT. Children of Increase Chamberlain Sr., and Rachel Davis:

1- Rachel Chamberlain- b. 15 July 1764, m. Samuel Dean
2- Increase Chamberlain, Jr. b. 22 January 1766 Westmoreland, d. June, 1810 Glover, VT. Married his first cousin Susannah Chamberlain, date unknown.
3- Amos Chamberlain b. 10 December 1767, d. 4 July 1844.
4- Abigail Chamberlain b. 15 September 1769, d. 16 April 1819, m Joseph Packard
5- Thomas Chamberlain b.29 March 1772
6- Elizabeth Chamberlain b. 17 May 1774, m. Nathaniel Whitcomb
7- Benjamin Chamberlain b. 5 April 1776
8- *Azubah Chamberlain b. 10 April 1778, m. Lot Whitcomb
9- *Jotham Chamberlain b. 28 Aug 1780, d. 15 Aug 1847, m. Susan Chamberlain
10- *Isaac Chamberlain b. About 1781, m. Arvilla Bailey

Links:

June 6, 2021 is the 111th Anniversary of Runaway Pond.

Summary Page 3- Other DNA studies

© Copyright Dennis D. Chamberlain, All rights reserved. The Chamberlain Story, 2021.

References:

1- Willard Bill, History of Westmoreland, received from Alan Rumrill, Historical Society of Cheshire County.

2- Hamilton Child, 1736-1885 Gazetteer, Cheshire County, N. H., 1885 Syracuse, N.Y., p.519 (This is my correction of the paragraph, original paragraph.

3- Westmoreland Congregational Church (Park Hill) records. Email from Alan Rumrill, Historical Society of Cheshire County.

4- Ella E. Abbott, Letters to Mrs. Chamberlain, copies sent to Dennis D. Chamberlain by Alan Rumrill director of the Historical Society of Cheshire County.

5- Mrs Grace E. Chamberlain, Thomas Chamberlain (3) Daniel (2), William (1), Born at Billerica, Mass. Aug. 1703; died in Vermont. (Type written, 7 page document, undated) from The Historical Society of Cheshire County.

6- Merton T. Goodrich, Genealogist, Search for Spencer Chamberlain’s Ancestry, To Harry Chamberlain, November 3, 1934.

7-  Glover, Vermont Westlook Cemetery, Gravestone Inscriptions & Other Genealogical Data, Glover Historical Society, Glover, VT 05839, 2nd Edition, 2002, p46. Remarks from Phillips family records, compiled by Dick Brown, based on information from various family members, Phillips family Bibles, and vital records, etc., unpubished. p.240

8- 1790 U. S. Census, Westmoreland, Cheshire County, New Hampshire

9- Edward D. Dickerman, Descendants of Thomas Dickerman, New Haven, 1897

10- Early town notes of Glover, Vermont. Email from Joan Alexander, Secretary of the Glover Historical Society, October 31, 2014

11- Pamelia S. Cutler of Randolf, Vermont,  A letter to her niece, 1896, Type written copy provided by Miss Etta Chamberlain. From The Historical Society of Cheshire County.

12- James Parker, Thomas Chamberlain’s wife Abigail Pierce, http://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/chamberlain/2676/

13- Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Town Records, 1626-2001, Image 156 Familysearch.org

14- Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Town Records, 1626-2001, Image 207 Familysearch.org

15- History of Westmoreland, Cheshire County, New Hampshire, www.nh.searchroots.com

16- https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/33292999/abigail-chamberlain

17- Jedediah Chamberlain, http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com  Updated 2005-02-05.

17a- CORRECTION of a correction! Source #17 gave a “correction” to the parents of Jedediah Chamberlain which is wrong. It states: “Jedediah’s father was Thomas b. 1714 and his mother was Loes Waters”, yet it gives no explanation, reason or source for this information. Jedediah was the son of Thomas b. 1703 and Abigail Pierce who lived in Westmoreland. Jedediah was with his father and brothers when they signed the petition for the NH grant January 30, 1750. He was about 13 years old, so he should be still living in the same town as his father. Ella E. Abbott knew the Chamberlain’s of Westmoreland and confirmed in her letters that Jedediah was the son of Thomas Chamberlain and Abigail Pierce. (For more information, see Chapter 10 The Chamberlain Families of Westmoreland, NH.)

18- Increase Chamberlain, Sr. Find a Grave Memorial, www.findagrave.com

*DNA matches