Robert Craig Chambers (January 16, 1832–April 11, 1901) was an American 19th-century businessman, minerals miner, banker, politician,

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

, and silver mine supervisor. He had mining investments in many states, and was one of the best-known miners in the west. Chambers was a prominent figure in the formation of

Butte, Montana Butte ( ) is a consolidated city-county and the county seat of Silver Bow County, Montana, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. The city covers , and, according to the ...

, and

Park City, Utah Park City is a city in Utah, United States. The vast majority is in Summit County, and it extends into Wasatch County. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back. The city is southeast of downtown Salt Lake City and from Salt Lake City' ...

; and was named one of Utah's Bonanza Kings because he led the operation of the

Ontario silver mine The Ontario silver mine is a mine that was active starting in 1872, and is located near Park City, Utah, United States. History The lode was discovered by accident on 19 January 1872 by Herman Budden, Rector Steen (Pike), John Kain, and Gus ...

near Park City, from 1872 until 1891. Chambers was a

state senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

for Utah's District 5, starting in 1895 during the early formation of the state.

Early life and family

Robert Craig Chambers was born on January 16, 1832, in Lexington, Richland County, Ohio; to parents Jane (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Foster) and James Chambers. He is sometimes misidentified with the name Richard Craig Chamber, but he primarily used his initials R. C.. He was of Scottish descent. He married Eudora T. Tolles in 1884 in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, California. They never had children. Eudora was from a pioneer family from

Rushville, Illinois Rushville is a city in Schuyler County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,192 at the 2010 census and 2,902 in 2018. It is the county seat of Schuyler County. It was first settled by Euro-Americans in 1823. History Geography Accord ...

; and her sister Mabel B. Tolles Ray was married to William H. Ray, a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from Illinois. In 1893, Eudora survived an attempted suicide by jumping in front of a moving train in San Francisco, she had a history of mental instability.

Career

The California Gold Rush

Chambers was attracted to move west because of the

California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...

, and arrived in

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

, in July 1850. He started mining work at Mormon Island along the

American River , name_etymology = , image = American River CA.jpg , image_size = 300 , image_caption = The American River at Folsom , map = Americanrivermap.png , map_size = 300 , map_caption ...

. A year later he moved to the Feather River Gold Mines in

Plumas County Plumas County () is a county in the Sierra Nevada of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,790. The county seat is Quincy, and the only incorporated city is Portola. The largest community in the county is ...

, where he befriended

The Salt Lake Tribune ''The Salt Lake Tribune'' is a newspaper published in the city of Salt Lake City, Utah. The ''Tribune'' is owned by The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc., a non-profit corporation. The newspaper's motto is "Utah's Independent Voice Since 1871." History ...

newspaper editor Judge Goodwin. In 1858, Chambers was elected sheriff of Plumas County. In 1869, Chambers moved to Nevada to scout mines; followed with a move in September 1870 to Utah because of an interest in the Cottonwood mines.

Career in Park City and Butte, house in San Francisco

From 1872 until 1891, Chambers served as the superintendent of the Ontario silver mine, which was owned by

George Hearst George Hearst (September 3, 1820 – February 28, 1891) was an American businessman, miner, and politician. After growing up on a small farm in Missouri, he founded many mining operations, and is known for developing and expanding the Hom ...

. Chambers had helped facilitate Hearst's purchase of the mine in 1872. Through his relationship with Hearst, Chambers was able to meet other powerful people in mining and finance. In 1877, Chambers had commissioned the

Chambers Mansion The Chambers Mansion is a historic house that was built in 1887, and is located at 2220 Sacramento Street in the Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, California. In 2010, CBS News declared the Chambers Mansion one of the "scariest haunte ...

at 2220 Sacramento Street in San Francisco. His wife sometimes lived in the Chambers Mansion when her husband was working in other states, in order to be closer to her mother; as well as living in Salt Lake City with her husband. In 1882, Chambers co-founded Hoge, Brownlee, and Company, the first bank in

; working alongside

Marcus Daly Marcus Daly (December 5, 1841 – November 12, 1900) was an Irish-born American businessman known as one of the three "Copper Kings" of Butte, Montana, United States. Early life Daly emigrated from County Cavan, Ireland, to the United States as ...

and Hoge Brownlee. In 1899, the business became Daly & Company, and later became the Metals Bank & Trust Co. Chambers. The Chambers Syndicate, a consortium of investors was led by Chambers working under Marcus Daly. The Chambers Syndicate group owned many notable lodes claims. In December 1888, the Hoge Brownlee, Chambers bank loans were defaulted on by the Mountain Consolidated Mining Company (an incident that has been nicknamed the "Mountain Con"). The award of $194,902.20 USD was assigned to Chambers, and the mining operations, valued at more than $116,000, was assigned to the Chambers Syndicate. However Marcus Daly was an original Trustee of the Mountain Consolidated company, as well as a member of the Chambers group. In 1891, Chambers served as the president of the Salt Lake Stock Exchange. When Albion Bernard Emery (1846–1894) died, the former partner in the Mayflower and Silver King Mines, Chambers had sued his estate in claiming that they had a "handshake deal" with an investment, and Emery still owed him money. Chambers lost the lawsuit. Chambers was a states senator for District 5 in Utah, starting in 1895 during the early formation of the state. He served as 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 ...

in the 1st Utah State Legislature from 1895 to 1896, the 2nd Utah State Legislature from 1896 to 1897, and the 3rd Utah State Legislature from 1897 to 1898.

Death

He died on April 11, 1901, of

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a rup ...

at the age 69, in San Francisco. He was initially interred at

Laurel Hill Cemetery Laurel Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia. Founded in 1836, it was the second major rural cemetery in the United States after Mount Auburn Cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts. The cemetery is ...

in San Francisco; when that closed around 1940, he was re-interred to

Cypress Lawn Memorial Park Cypress Lawn Memorial Park, established by Hamden Holmes Noble in 1892, is a rural cemetery located in Colma, California, a place known as the "City of the Silent". History Cypress Lawn Memorial Park is the final resting site for several membe ...

in Colma California. After his death and with no direct heirs, his two nieces inherited his house in San Francisco.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chambers, R. C. 1832 births 1901 deaths People of the California Gold Rush People from Park City, Utah People from Lexington, Ohio Politicians from San Francisco Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (San Francisco) Burials at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park American people of Scottish descent American miners