Pine Grove Cemetery, West Brookfield, Massachusetts
Biography of Daniel Henry Chamberlain
Citizen - Educator - Soldier - Statesman
Chronology:
Born: June 23, 1835, West Brookfield, Massachusetts. Son of Eli F. Chamberlain
and Achsah Forbes of Westboro, Massachusetts, one of ten children.
Education: Worcester High School, Amherst Academy; Phillips-Andover Academy
Graduated: Yale 1858-1862, with Honors and was described by the President
of Yale as a born leader of men; Harvard Law School in 1863
Service: Enlisted on 3/15/1864 from Cambridge, MA. 1st Lieutenant and
Adjutant, Massachusetts 5th Cavalry, Company A; Mustered out as Captain
1865, at Clarksville, Texas.
In 1866, went to South Carolina to settle an estate. He remained and became
a cotton planter. In 1868, after serving as a member of the South Carolina
Constitutional Convention, Chamberlain was elected Attorney-General.
Married: Alice Ingersoll of Washington, D.C. on December 16, 1868. They
had six sons: Julian, Paul, Hugh, Philip, Henry, and Waldo Emerson.
1871 to 1873, practiced law at Columbia, South Carolina.
In 1874, nominated and elected Governor of South Carolina.
In 1875, refused to issue commissions to two judges who had been elected
by the legislature. They had been condemned as corrupt by the best men
of both parties. For this action the Governor was thanked by prominent
citizens of Charleston.
In 1876, suppressed the Hamburg Riot in July. In September, nominated again
for Governor by the Republican Party. Opposed by Wade Hampton, the democratic
nominee. Both would claim the Governorship.
The year,1876, had
been marked by several conflicts between whites and blacks . It was reported
that 'rifle-clubs' had been organized in South Carolina. On October 7,
1876, the Governor issued a proclamation commanding these clubs to disband,
stating they had been formed to intimidate the Blacks and influence the
up-coming election. The Democratic Executive Committee answered this proclamation
by denying the governor's statements. Governor Chamberlain then applied
to President Grant for military aid, and the latter ordered United States
troops be sent to South Carolina. After the election, the returning board,
disregarding an order of the State Supreme Court, whose authority they
denied, declared the Republican ticket elected, throwing out the vote
of Edgefield and Laurens Counties for alleged fraud and intimidation.
The members from these counties were refused admission to the House, whereupon
the democratic members of the legislature withdrew. Organizing by themselves,
they declared Wade Hampton, the democratic candidate for governor, elected,
as he had received a majority of the votes cast in the two disputed counties.
The republican members declared Chamberlain elected, and he refused to
give up his office to Hampton, who had been supported by the majority
of white people in the state. After the inauguration of President Hayes,
both claimants were invited to a conference in Washington. The result
was the President withdrew the troops from South Carolina, and Chamberlain
issued a proclamation declaring that he would no longer assert his claim.
Chamberlain then moved to New York City, where he resumed the practice
of law. He was made Non-Resident Professor of Constitutional Law at Cornell
University. While in New York, Chamberlain enjoyed great success, but
his family fortunes were filled with sadness. Four of his sons died at
an early age, and his wife passed away in 1891, at age 46.
The saddened husband and father returned to West Brookfield to purchase the family home on Birch Hill from his brother. Chamberlain oversaw the remodeling of the house during his retirement in the late 1890's. The town had changed, he saw few familiar faces and once again he was on the move. He traveled to Europe and to Egypt. When he returned to the United States he settled at Charlottesville, Virginia. He died there on April 13, 1907.
Daniel's father, Eli Chamberlain, an Army Lieutenant in the War of 1812, came to West Brookfield from Westboro, Massachusetts with his wife, Achsah Forbes Chamberlain. The Chamberlains settled on a small farm on the knoll of Birch Hill Road.
Daniel and Alice Chamberlain and their four sons are buried in Pine Grove Cemetery in West Brookfield, Massachusetts.
Click
Here for Eli Chamberlain's
gravestone, Daniel's father
Copyright © 2001 West
Brookfield Historical Commission
Last modified:
02/27/2009