George Chambers (October 31, 1815 Marbletown,

Ulster County, New York Ulster County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. It is situated along the Hudson River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 181,851. The county seat is Kingston. The county is named after the Irish province of Ulster. History ...

– September 22, 1880) was an American physician and politician from New York.

Life

He was the son of Assemblyman Jacob Chambers (1776–1847) and Maria (Hasbrouck) Chambers (1780–1835). His father had served in the New York State Assembly from 1835 to 1836. His sister, Catherine Chambers (1807-1865) married their third cousin, once removed Josaphat DuBois Hasbrouck Jr. (1805-1893). He studied medicine, and began to practice about 1838 in Neversink,

Sullivan County, New York Sullivan County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 78,624. The county seat is Monticello. The county's name honors Major General John Sullivan, who was labeled at the time as a hero in the A ...

. Three years later he returned to Marbletown, and lived in Stone Ridge. On December 5, 1845, he married Sarah Catherine Sahler (1823–1856), and they had four children. On January 28, 1858, he married Mary Esther Westbrook (1835–1895), and they had five children. He entered politics as a Whig; joined the

Know Nothings The Know Nothing party was a nativist political party and movement in the United States in the mid-1850s. The party was officially known as the "Native American Party" prior to 1855 and thereafter, it was simply known as the "American Party". ...

, supporting

Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853; he was the last to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House. A former member of the U.S. House of Represen ...

for President in

1856 Events January–March * January 8 – Borax deposits are discovered in large quantities by John Veatch in California. * January 23 – American paddle steamer SS ''Pacific'' leaves Liverpool (England) for a transatlantic voya ...

; and then became a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

. He was Supervisor of the Town of Marbletown in 1848, 1854, and from 1861 to 1866; and Chairman of the Board of Supervisors of Ulster County from 1864 to 1866. He was a member of the New York State Senate (10th D.) in

1866 Events January–March * January 1 ** Fisk University, a historically black university, is established in Nashville, Tennessee. ** The last issue of the abolitionist magazine '' The Liberator'' is published. * January 6 – Ottoman t ...

and

1867 Events January–March * January 1 – The Covington–Cincinnati Suspension Bridge opens between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Covington, Kentucky, in the United States, becoming the longest single-span bridge in the world. It was renamed a ...

. He was buried at the Benton-Bar Cemetery in Kyserike.

Family

Through his mother, Chambers is a descendant of the

Hasbrouck family The Hasbrouck family was an early immigrant family to Ulster County, New York, and helped found New Paltz, New York. The Hasbrouck family were French Huguenots who fled persecution in France by moving to Germany, and then the United States. ...

, Huguenot refugees who helped found New Paltz, New York. Through his father, Chambers is a descendant of Captain Henry Pawling, a British Army officer who helped capture New Amsterdam for the British in 1664, before the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. He is also a first cousin, once removed of American Naval Officer and Naval Aviation Pioneer

Washington Irving Chambers Captain Washington Irving Chambers, USN (April 4, 1856 – September 23, 1934) was a 43-year, career United States Navy officer, who near the end of his service played a major role in the early development of U.S.Naval aviation, serving as the fir ...

. Known children of Chambers: # Josephine Chambers (1849-1933), by first wife # Jacob Chambers (1852-1904), by first wife # Frank Chambers (1859-1901), by second wife # George F. Chambers (1861-1910), by second wife # Mattie Chambers (1863-?), by second wife # Cora Chambers (1868-?), by second wife # Julian M. Chambers (1872-1945), by second wife His daughter, Josephine, married Hiram Schoonmaker (1836-1910). He was the grandson of Wells Lake, who was a New Paltz Town Supervisor, New York State Assemblyman and New York State Senator, and brother of Wells Lake Schoonmaker, a Marbletown Town Supervisor.

References

Sources

''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough, Stephen C. Hutchins and Edgar Albert Werner (1870; pg. 444)
''Life Sketches of the State Officers, Senators, and Members of the Assembly of the State of New York, in 1867''
by S. R. Harlow & H. H. Boone (pg. 80f)
''Proceedings of the Board of Supervisors of Ulster County for the Year 1863''
(pg. 29)

at Family Tree Maker

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chambers, George 1815 births 1880 deaths Democratic Party New York (state) state senators People from Marbletown, New York Physicians from New York (state) People from Sullivan County, New York 19th-century American legislators