Chambers, Preston

CHAMBERS, WEST, NOLAND

Posted By: Volunteer Transcriber
Date: 11/29/2008 at 16:18:45

CHAMBERS, Preston
Attorney at law; P. O. Pella; born in Monroe Co., Indiana, March 22, 1824; moved to Carroll Co., Indiana, with his parents when 4 years old, moved to Tippecanoe Co. when 7 years old, and to La Porte Co., when 9 years old, where he remained till the Fall of 1855; moved to this county, settling in this township, where he now owns 415 acres of land, valued at $12,000. Mr. CHAMBERS is one of the leading men of this township, and has held the office of Justice of the Peace, Assessor, and from 1856 held some one of the School offices till November, 1877, when resigned two offices which he then held, and moved to Pella, Marion CO., for the purpose of educating his family, and where he still resides; was admitted to the bar in the Spring of 1878, and is now principally engaged in his profession, but has been engaged in the stock business quite extensively since 1863. He married in La Porte Co., Indiana, Rachel WEST, October 21, 1848; she is a native of Pennsylvania; their children are Mattie, Allie and Della. ~ Elk Creek Township Biographies "The History of Jasper County" (Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1878)
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Chambers, Preston

"Man is the noblest work of God," wrote England's great satire poet, Alexander Pope, "and a truly noble man but fulfills the plan of the Creator." The life of man describes a circle. The cycles of existence of different lives form concentric circles, for some are given but a quarter of a century wherein to complete the appointed work, while the span of others varies to the allotted three score and ten But how true and comforting that life is measured, not by years alone, but rather by a purpose achieved, by noble deeds accredited to it. How often we are confronted when a loved friend and co-worker answers the final summons, with the question "Why must he go when there yet remains so much for him to do, when he can so illy be spared?" But the grim messenger heeds not and we are left to mourn and accept submissively. The death of the late Preston Chambers removed from Jasper County one of her most substantial and highly esteemed citizens and the many beautiful tributes to his high standing in the world of affairs and as a man and citizen attested to the abiding place he had in the hearts and affections of his myriad of friends through this locality, and his career, eminently honorable and successful, is commended as an example for the younger generation.

Mr. Chambers was born in Monroe County, Indiana, on March 22, 1824. He was the son of Andrew and Sarah (Noland) Chambers, a worthy pioneer family of the Hoosier state and there the subject grew to manhood and received such educational advantages as the schools of those early times afforded. He was married while living in LaPorte County, Indiana, to Rachael K. West, who was born in Pennsylvania on December 23, 1830, the year of their marriage being in 1848.They continued to reside in Indiana until 1855, when they made the long overland journey to Jasper County, Iowa. Their's was a typical pioneer outfit which wended its prolix way through the winding, rough roads of the forests and across the wide-stretching plains, this move having been accomplished by two yoke of oxen to old-fashioned prairie schooners. They located in Elk Creek Township, and here they entered eighty acres of government land on the prairie, and purchased some timbered land. They endured the hardships and privations incident to life in a new country where neighbors were few and far remote and much work was necessary before the soil could be made produce a harvest; but they were people of courage and did not quail before obstacles and hardships, so they went to work with a will and soon had a good home. Prospering by reason of persistent application and good management, Mr. Chambers added to his original holdings from time to time until he became the owner of eight hundred acres of valuable land, his farm consisting of three hundred and fifty-three acres at the time of his death. He farmed on an extensive scale and was also an extensive cattle and hog feeder for many years. He accumulated a competency and was more successful than the average agriculturist of his times. He certainly deserved the large success which he achieved in a material way, for he hewed out his own fortune without aid from any one, and. too, without any textbook training, for he attended school only forty days in all, and when he was married there were some letters in the alphabet which he could not write. But he was a keen observer and later made up for this lack of boyhood training by home study, miscellaneous reading and actual contact with the business world. In fact, he studied law and was admitted to the bar on the 26th of May 1877. Later moving to Pella, Iowa, he engaged successfully in the practice of law for about eighteen months, then returned to his farm, preferring the freedom of the rural life to the exactions of the thorny life of a barrister; however, he kept up his practice, settling up estates and doing much other work of a similar nature.

Mr. Chambers was a very tall, athletic man and when he first settled in this County he lived in the timber and won the familiar sobriquet of the Big Man of the Woods. He became the leading man of his locality and was frequently sought for advice and help in various ways; this was especially true of the German settlers. He was known to be an obliging, kind, generous and neighborly man, never withholding aid or charity when needed. This excellent citizen was called to his reward on June 9, 1907, after a well-rounded, successful and honorable life.Past and Present of Jasper County Iowa B. F. Bowden & Company, Indianapolis, IN, 1912 Page 872.