Ancestry of Loyed Ellis Chamberlain of Brockton, Massachusetts

Conspicuous on the roll of the representative lawyers of southeastern Massachusetts appears the name of Loyed Ellis Chamberlain. In no profession is there a career more open to men of talent than in that of the law, and in no field of endeavor is there demanded a more careful preparation, a more perfect appreciation of the absolute ethics of life, or of the underlying principles which form the basis of all human rights and privileges. Unflagging application, intuitive judgment, and a determination to utilize fully the means at hand are the elements which insure personal success and prestige in this great calling, which stands as the stern conservator of justice; and it is one into which no one should enter without a recognition of the obstacles to be overcome and the battles to be won, for success does not perch on the falchion of every person who enters the competitive fray, but comes only as the direct and legitimate result of capacity, determinate effort and unmistakable ability. Possessing all the essential qualifications of an able lawyer, Judge Chamberlain, though yet a young man, has attained a commanding position at the bar of Massachusetts and has gained public recognition of a notable order. He has the highest regard for the dignity of his chosen profession, yet he remains entirely unassuming in his intercourse with his fellow men.

Descended on both paternal and maternal sides from old New England ancestry, his father, though born in Maine, came of Massachusetts antecedents, while his mother was also of the same section, she being formerly a Wright and of Plympton (Mass.) birth, and through the Wrights, Coopers and Sampsons – Judge Chamberlain descended from the “Mayflower” Pilgrims. It will be recalled that William Wright, the ancestor of the Plymouth family of the name, came in the “Fortune” in 1621. His son Richard married a daughter of Francis Cooke of the “Mayflower,” and the son of Richard, Adam Wright, married a daughter of John Soule, of Duxbury. Abraham Sampson, who came from England about 1629, was a brother of Henry Sampson, of the “Mayflower,” and John Cooper, of Scituate, 1634, married in that year Priscilla Wright, widow of William and daughter of Alexander Carpenter and sister of Alice, the second wife of Governor Bradford.

Joseph Chamberlain, of Dracut, Mass., and his wife Lydia had children born there, at least of Dracut town record:

1. Aaron Chamberlain, born Oct. 29, 1719
2. Esther Chamberlain, born Nov. 21, 1721
3. Joseph Chamberlain, born Nov. 17, 1722. The father died Jan. 31, 1759

Joseph Chamberlain (2), son of Joseph, born Nov. 17, 1722, married (intention, Feb. 7, 1755) Priscilla, born Nov. 4, 1729, daughter of William and Tabitha Colburn, of Dracut. Hp died Jan. 9, 1759 (1760?). Their children of Dracut town record were:

1. Abigail Chamberlain, born Dec. 31, 1755
2. Silas Chamberlain, born Feb. 14, 1756 (according to town records)

Silas Chamberlain, great-grandfather of Judge Chamberlain, was born June 20. 1760 (town records Feb. 14, 1756), at Dracut, Mass., and removed to Minot (now Auburn), Maine, where he died Oct. 23, 1813, aged fifty-three years. He married March 29, 1784, Susanna Jones, and their children were:

1. Joseph Chamberlain, born Aug. 22, 1785, who married Lucy Moore, and died at Auburn
2. Susanna Chamberlain, born Sept. 12, 1787
3. Silas Chamberlain, Jr., born Dec. 18, 1789, who was lost at sea June 4, 1811
4. Sally Chamberlain, born Jan. 14, 1791, who married Jacob Bradbury and died at Auburn
5. Aaron Chamberlain, born March 8, 1793
6. Polly Chamberlain, born June 6, 1795, who married James Penley
7. Rachel Chamberlain, born July 25, 1797, who married Jacob Bradbury
8. Nathaniel Chamberlain, born Sept. 1, 1802
9. Almira Chamberlain, born Feb. 1, 1807, who married Parlin Bowker, and died at Auburn

Aaron Chamberlain, son of Silas, was born March 8, 1793, at Minot (now Auburn), Maine, where his life was spent engaged in farming, and where he died Aug. 17, 1869, in the seventy-seventh year of his age. In 1820 he married Janette M. Dunham, daughter of Jonathan and Hannah Dunham, of Brunswick, Maine, where she was born in 1802; she died Dec. 27, 1856, in Auburn, Maine. She was the mother of the following children:

1. Henry M. Chamberlain, born March 8, 1821, died Dec. 21, 1895; he married (first) Martha Soper, of Gray, Maine, and (second) Ellen Parsons, of Brunswick, Maine
2. Robert M. Chamberlain, born Jan. 27, 1824, is mentioned below
3. Lovisa Chamberlain, born April 8, 1826, resides in Auburn, Maine, unmarried
4. Mary J. Chamberlain, born March 20, 1828, married Robert Duning, and died Nov. 19, 1860
5. Dorcas Chamberlain, born April 23, 1830, married Grosvenor Barrows, and died Feb. 2, 1907
6. Adaline Chamberlain, born July 16, 1832, married Seward Prince, and died Aug. 30, 1888
7. Maria Chamberlain, born June 5, 1834, married Harrison O. Whitman
8. Rebecca Chamberlain, born July 11, 1836, married Jefferson Winkley
9. Elizabeth Chamberlain, born Oct. 26, 1838, resides in Marshfield, Mass., unmarried
10. Susan Chamberlain, born March 3, 1841, married Benjamin Marden

Robert Manlius Chamberlain, born Jan. 27, 1824, at Minot, now Auburn, Maine, learned the trade of carpenter and cabinetmaker, which occupation he followed during the active years of his life. Coming to North Bridgewater in 1858, he was for a number of years in the employ of Marston & Chandler, manufacturers of cabinet organs, and in later years was engaged as a carpenter with John A. Jackson. In disposition he was a quiet, unassuming man, one who devoted his energies to the maintenance of his family, to which he was much devoted. In political faith he was in early life an old-line Whig, later allying himself with flip Republican party. On April 27, 1848, he married Eliza A. Wright, who was born April 22, 1825, the daughter of Barzillai Wright, of Plympton, Mass. Mr. Chamberlain died in Brockton Aug. 20, 1892, aged sixty-eight years, six months, twenty-three days, his wife surviving him until May, 1898. They were the parents of the following children:

1. Priscilla W. Chamberlain, born Oct. 24, 1849, married (first) Henry Otis Wright, and (second) Augustine A. Delano
2. Eveline J. Chamberlain, born Nov. 21, 1853, was a graduate of the State normal school at Bridgewater, and was engaged in teaching in Brockton, where she died
3. Loyed Ellis Chamberlain, born Jan. 30, 1856, is mentioned below
4. Leslie K. Chamberlain died in infancy
5. Minnietta H. Chamberlain, born March 29, 1860, is the wife of V. Harry Fairey, of Brockton
6. Carrie L. Chamberlain, born May 22, 1862, married Charles C. Case, of Raynham, Mass., and they have one daughter, Annie L. Case

Loyed Ellis Chamberlain, son of the late Robert Manlius and Eliza A. (Wright) Chamberlain, was born Jan. 30, 1856, in Plympton, Mass., and was but eighteen months old when his parents moved to North Bridgewater (now Brockton), where in the public schools he had his early educational training, graduating from the high school in 1875. He then took up the study of law in the office of White & Sumner, of Brockton, furthering his studies at the Boston University Law School, from which he was graduated in 1879, with the degree of LL. B. While a student with White & Sumner he also pursued general studies beyond the high school course for two years, and later took the Chautauqua four years’ course in Brockton. In 1877 Mr. Chamberlain was admitted to the bar of Plymouth county, and in 1880 began the practice of his chosen profession in Brockton. In 1882 he formed a partnership with Eliot L. Packard, and until November, 1884, was a member of the law firm of Packard & Chamberlain, after which he was engaged in practice alone, until 1896, in which year he formed a partnership with Elmer H. Fletcher, having since been the senior member of the law firm of Chamberlain & Fletcher, who have a large and growing clientele.

Since early in his practice Judge Chamberlain, owing to his capabilities, his thorough preparation, his scholarly attainments and adaptation for public business, has been repeatedly chosen to high official positions. He was appointed to the justiceship of the Police court upon its establishment in 1885, and retained that position until 1897, when he resigned, having been elected State senator from the Second Plymouth district. He served as a member of that body for four consecutive years, during which time he was a member of various important committees, being chairman of the committee on Bills on Third Reading the first year, a member of the committee on Judiciary for three years, a member of the committees on Education and Insurance for two years, and for three years was chairman of the committee on Cities. In 1891 he was chosen city solicitor, and served in that incumbency until 1895, when he resigned the office on account of ill health. In the fall of 1907 he was appointed judge of the Probate court of Plymouth county, to succeed the late Judge Benjamin W. Harris, and has since continued to preside efficiently as judge of that court. Judge Chamberlain’s political affiliations have been with the Republican party, and he has fully performed the duties of a good citizen, believing that politics are to be purified at the caucus. He has been specially interested in municipal affairs and in the movements for good government for cities and towns, and has been for a number of years identified with the Plymouth County Club, a Republican and social organization, serving ‘for several years as its secretary. He was also for a number of years president of the Young Men’s Republican Club. He has taken a deep interest in the temperance question, and for several years was active in the Good Templars organization (serving for four years, up to 1894, as treasurer), having been a delegate to various grand lodges, as representative of Massachusetts at sessions in Toronto, Canada, Saratoga and Richmond, and was a delegate to the international convention which was held in 1891 in Edinburgh, Scotland; this was his first trip abroad. He has also been active in the No-License League of Brockton, of which organization he served as president for a period of ten years, until 1908. He is president of the Brockton Industrial Association, which was formed in 1909 for ? the purpose of advancing and promoting business in the city. Judge Chamberlain has also taken an active interest in educational matters, and for a number of years served as a member of the school committee, and for a period of years was president of the Brockton High School Alumni Association. He has also been an active member of the Board of Trade of Brockton, of which he has served for ten years as president, and is also president of the Massachusetts State Board of Trade. In 1906 and 1907 Judge Chamberlain was a delegate from Massachusetts to the Peace Conference of America held at Lake Mohonk, and in 1906 was a delegate to the Seventeenth Annual Peace Congress, held at Milan, Italy, and again, in 1908, to the Nineteenth Annual Peace Congress, held at London, England. Judge Chamberlain has taken a deep and earnest interest in the advancement of inland waterways, and is vice president of the Rivers and Harbors Congress and vice president of the Atlantic Deeper Waterways Association. Judge Chamberlain is a fluent talker, and in all matters in which he becomes interested makes a study of the subject, and as a consequence is frequently invited to address bodies and associations identified with the same.

Fraternally Judge Chamberlain is a prominent member of the Masonic organization, holding membership in Paul Revere Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of which he is past senior warden; in Satucket Chapter, E. A. M.; Brockton Council, E. & S. M.; and Bay State Commandery, Knights Templar, of Brockton. He is also a member of Massasoit Lodge, No. 69, I. O. O. P., of Brockton. Socially he is a member of the Commercial Club, of which he has been vice president for a number of years, and of the Brockton Country Club. He is also one of the original incorporators of the People’s Savings Bank, of Brockton, of which he is also a member of the board of trustees. For a number of years he has been a trustee of the State Insane Asylum at Taunton.

On Aug. 26, 1890, Judge Chamberlain was united in marriage to Mina C. Miller, daughter of Alden and Caroline (Cushing) Miller of Camden, Maine, and this union has been blessed by the birth of two sons:

1. Leslie C. Chamberlain born July 11, 1891, who attended the Brockton High School, class of 1911, of which class he was president
2. Frederick L. Chamberlain, born July 2, 1899, who is attending grammar school at Brockton.