NORTHWESTERN IOWA ITS HISTORY AND TRADITION VOLUME II 1804-1926 Harry Chamberlain Harry Chamberlain, a widely known attorney specializing in probate cases, has been a resident of Spencer during the past half century and has figured prominently in public affairs as well as in professional circles. His birth occurred in Glover, Vermont, on the 5th of July, 1849, his parents being Alonzo and Betsey N. (Phillips) Chamberlain, who were also natives of that place, the former born May 7, 1818, and the latter in 1824. In the paternal line he comes of English and French descent. He traces his ancestry back to the Chamberlain who killed the Indian chief Paugus in the battle of Lovewell's Pond on May 8, 1725, which so discouraged the red men that they withdrew and left the whites in possession of the field. A great-grandfather of Harry Chamberlain in the paternal line participated in the Revolutionary war. His wife melted and ran into bullets the lead weights of the family clock, replacing the weights with bags of sand. This clock and the old Queen's Arm musket which the greatgrandfather used are still in possession of members of the Chamberlain family in Vermont. It was in the year 1802 that the Chamberlains removed from Keene, New Hampshire, to the Green Mountain state. Spencer Chamberlain, the paternal grandfather of Mr. Chamberlain of this review, served as a soldier of the War o f1812 and participated in the battle of Plattsburg. Most of the representatives of the Phillips family, which is of English and Welsh lineage, still live in Glover, Vermont. Harry Chamberlain was a little lad of less than six hears when his parents removed from Glover, Vermont, to Winnebago county, Illinois, where the family home was established on the 14th of May, 1855. He acquired a common school education in the latter place and there remained until after he had attained his majority. It was in May, 1871, that he came to Clay county, Iowa, and took a homestead in Clay township, where he farmed during the summer seasons and taught school in the winter months until the fall of 1876, at which time he was elected clerk of the district and circuit courts. He then took up his abode in Spencer, Iowa, the county seat, and most acceptably filled the office of clerk of courts until January 1, 1887. In the meantime he had studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1885. Mr. Chamberlain engaged in law practice in association with E. C. Hughes for two years and subsequently was in partnership with Robert M. Bush for several years or until the latter's removal to New York. Thereafter he continued in the practice of his chosen profession independently, also handling loans and insurance. As above stated, he specializes in probate cases and is accorded a most gratifying clientage. He is also deputy auditor of Clay county, Iowa, for his son, Alonzo W. Chamberlain, who has served as auditor for eighteen years. Mr. Chamberlain is a stanch republican and has taken an active part in local politics. In addition to filling the office of clerk of the courts for ten years, as above mentioned, he made a commendable record as a member of the city council of Spencer from 1889 to 1891, inclusive, and again from 1901 until 1906. He served as mayor of Spencer from 1892 until 1896 and again from 1910 to 1912, giving the city a most progressive, beneficial and businesslike administration. During a period of twenty years he was a member of the board of education of Spencer, Iowa. Fraternally he has been affiliated with the Masonic order since 1887, being a member of Evening Shade Lodge No. 312, A. F. & A. M. Since November, 1878, he has belonged to Spencer Lodge No. 247, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and he has held all the offices in the subordinate lodge and camp. His name is also on the membership rolls of the Spencer Commercial Club. He is a consistent member of the Christian church and helped organize the first church of that denomination in Clay county in 1875. Mr. Chamberlain has passed the seventy-seventh milestone on life's journey and can look back over an active, honorable and useful career. Mr. Chamberlain has been twice married. On the 20th of June, 1875, in Clay township, Clay county, Iowa, he wedded Mary E. Ellis, who was born in Polk county, Iowa, December 15, 1855, and came of New England stock. Her father, Walter Ellis, whose birth occurred near Rochester, New York, in 1818, passed away at Rising Sun, Iowa, in December, 1904. Her mother, who bore the maiden name of Clarissa J. Nichols, and who was born near Rochester, New York, in 1820 died at Rising Sun, Iowa, July 2, 1893. Harry and Mary E. (Ellis) Chamberlain became the parents of four children, as follows: Alonzo W., who wedded Lydia Skyles and lives at Spencer, Iowa; Myrtle May, who is the wife of Harry G. Keese and resides at Visalia, California; Ernest C., who married Esther Chapman and died September 21, 1904; and Harry E., who wedded Anna Ankerstrand and makes his home in Salt Lake City, Utah. On the 22d of December, 1918, at Spencer, Iowa, Mr. Chamberlain was again married, his second union being with Ineze. Palmer, who was born at Madrid, Boone county, Iowa, August 11, 1878. Her father, Daniel Clark Palmer, whose birth occurred in Erie county, Pennsylvania, September 17, 1845, departed this life at Spencer, Iowa, on the 6th of September, 1920. He served in the Civil war as a member of Company D, Thirty-fifth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, from January, 1864, until March, 1866, and took part in the siege of Mobile. After the cessation of hostilities between the north and the south he was stationed at Brownsville, Texas, for a year. It was in 1869 that he took up a homestead claim in Lincoln township, Clay county, Iowa. In this county, with the exception of a period of about five years, he continued to reside, most of the time in Spencer, until his death in 1920. His widow, who bore the maiden name of Margaret Elizabeth Lahmon and who was born at Mount Vernon, Ohio, July 4, 1847, is a resident of Spencer, Iowa. Mrs. Enez E. (Palmer) Chamberlain, whose ancestors lived in Connecticut prior to the Revolutionary war, is a member of Lydia Alden Chapter, D. A. R. She also belongs to Rebekah Lodge No. 28. Mrs. Chamberlain was graduated from the University of Iowa with the degree of Bachelor of Arts and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, an honorary scholastic fraternity. Debbie Clough Gerischer Iowa Gen Web, Assistant CC, Scott County http://www.celticcousins.net/scott/ IAGENWEB: Special History Project: http://iagenweb.org/history/index.htm Gerischer Family Web Site: http://gerischer.rootsweb.com/