John Chambers (October 6, 1780 – September 21, 1852) was a U.S.

Representative Representative may refer to: Politics * Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people * House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities * Legislator, som ...

from

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

and the second

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of the

Iowa Territory The Territory of Iowa was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1838, until December 28, 1846, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Iowa. The remain ...

. He was appointed by President

William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States. Harrison died just 31 days after his inauguration in 1841, and had the shortest pres ...

Education & early career

Chambers was born at Bromley Bridge, Somerset County, New Jersey, on October 6, 1780, a son of Roland Chambers (1744–1821) and Phoebe (Mullican) Chambers. He attended the public schools and the Transylvania Seminary at Lexington, Kentucky. In 1794 he moved with his father to

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Mason County, Kentucky Mason County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Its county seat is Maysville. The county was created from Bourbon County, Virginia in 1788 and named for George Mason, a Virginia delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention ...

. After studying law he was admitted to the bar in 1800 and commenced practice in Washington, Kentucky. He owned slaves. Chambers served as aide-de-camp to

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

in the

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and was at the

Battle of the Thames The Battle of the Thames , also known as the Battle of Moraviantown, was an American victory in the War of 1812 against Tecumseh's Confederacy and their British allies. It took place on October 5, 1813, in Upper Canada, near Chatham. The Britis ...

. He served as a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1812, 1815, 1830, and 1831. In 1825, Chambers was appointed judge of the

Kentucky Court of Appeals The Kentucky Court of Appeals is the lower of Kentucky's two appellate courts, under the Kentucky Supreme Court. Prior to a 1975 amendment to the Kentucky Constitution the Kentucky Court of Appeals was the only appellate court in Kentucky. Th ...

. He resigned in 1827.

U.S. Congressional career

He was elected as a pro- Adams candidate to the Twentieth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Thomas Metcalfe and served from December 1, 1828, to March 3, 1829; elected as an

Anti-Jacksonian The National Republican Party, also known as the Anti-Jacksonian Party or simply Republicans, was a political party in the United States that evolved from a conservative-leaning faction of the Democratic-Republican Party that supported John Qu ...

to the

Twenty-fourth Congress The 24th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1835, ...

, and reelected as a Whig to the

Twenty-fifth Congress The 25th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 183 ...

(March 4, 1835 – March 3, 1839); chairman, Committee on Claims (Twenty-fifth Congress). Chambers represented the counties of Pendleton,

Bracken Bracken (''Pteridium'') is a genus of large, coarse ferns in the family Dennstaedtiaceae. Ferns (Pteridophyta) are vascular plants that have alternating generations, large plants that produce spores and small plants that produce sex cells (eggs ...

Robertson Robertson may refer to: People * Robertson (surname) (includes a list of people with this name) * Robertson (given name) * Clan Robertson, a Scottish clan * Robertson, stage name of Belgian magician Étienne-Gaspard Robert (1763–1837) Places ...

, Nicholas and

Bourbon Bourbon may refer to: Food and drink * Bourbon whiskey, an American whiskey made using a corn-based mash * Bourbon barrel aged beer, a type of beer aged in bourbon barrels * Bourbon biscuit, a chocolate sandwich biscuit * A beer produced by Bras ...

After Congress

Chambers was appointed Governor of the Iowa Territory in 1841, serving until 1845. He was then appointed commissioner to negotiate a treaty with the Sioux Indians in

Minnesota Territory The Territory of Minnesota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 3, 1849, until May 11, 1858, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Minnesota and west ...

in 1849, and was unsuccessful. He died near

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

Bourbon County, Kentucky Bourbon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 20,252. Its county seat is Paris. Bourbon County is part of the Lexington–Fayette, KY Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is one of Ken ...

, September 21, 1852, and was interred in the family burial ground at

, in

Personal life

He married Margaret Taylor (b. May 22, 1781), daughter of Major Ignatius Taylor (1742–1807), on June 16, 1803. She died on March 4, 1807. They had no surviving children. He married secondly, on October 29, 1807, to Hannah Lee Taylor (January 9, 1791 – November 11, 1832), daughter of Major Ignatius Taylor with his second wife, Barbara Bowie (1756–1805). Hannah was a half-sister to John's first wife Margaret. John and Hannah had twelve children; Margaret Taylor (1808–1863), Joseph Sprigg Taylor, Hannah Lee Taylor, James Taylor, Matilda Taylor, Francis Taylor, Jane Taylor, Mary Taylor, Laura Taylor, John Taylor, James Taylor, Henry Taylor, Lucretia Taylor.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chambers, John 1780 births 1852 deaths People from Somerset County, New Jersey National Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky Iowa Whigs Governors of Iowa Territory Judges of the Kentucky Court of Appeals Kentucky lawyers American slave owners Politicians from Lexington, Kentucky People from Washington, Kentucky 19th-century American judges