William Hayes Chamberlin is not in my direct line but I include him here because I have a copy of his journal to share. He was the nephew of Moses Chamberlin on my husband’s side.

Birth

William was born March 14, 1828, and died August 10, 1876 in Danville, Pennsylvania.

Marriage

He married Emily Berryhill Beaver on January 01, 1863, daughter of Thomas Beaver and Elizabeth Wilkins. She was born October 04, 1840, and died July 31, 1899 in Atlantic City New Jersey.

Children

Children of William Chamberlin and Emily Beaver are:

  1. Jesse Chamberlin, b. March 06, 1864; d. July 09, 1869, Danville, Pennsylvania.
  2. William Beaver Chamberlin, b. August 02, 1865; m. Alice Leslie Rea, December 16, 1891, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; b. January 26, 1865.
  3. Thomas Beaver Chamberlin, b. October 12, 1866; d. May 05, 1867.
  4. John Beaver Chamberlin, b. June 09, 1868; d. September 09, 1868.
  5. Elizabeth Chamberlin, b. June 04, 1870; m. Joseph Seaman Lockwood, January 01, 1903; b. San Antonio, Texas.
  6. Mary Chamberlin, b. August 08, 1871; m. Oliver Hart Bronson, May 26, 1909, “Devon” Torresdale, PA.
  7. Emily Chamberlin, b. October 25, 1872; m. G. P. Marquis, December 06, 1899; b. Chicago, Illinois.
  8. Laura Chamberlin, b. May 10, 1875; m. William DeWolf Dimock, April 21, 1898, 3905 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA; b. Bristol, RI.

The Gold Rush Journal

William kept a journal of his journey to California in 1849. Parts or all of it was published in the Lewisburg Chronicle (Lewisburg, PA) newspaper in 1851. I have a typed copy handed down through the family. I do not know the location of the original journal, or even if it still exists.

Marc Simmons, author of A 49er crosses New Mexico, wrote in 2016 that, “In 1935 New Mexico historian Lansing B. Bloom visited J.V. Chamberlin at his ranch outside of Estancia. He was the nephew of William Chamberlin and gave to Bloom a series of 1902 newspaper clippings of the 49er’s log book or diary.”

For now, here are some links about him:

A 49er crosses New Mexico

13. “Lewisburg to Los Angeles in 1849: The Diary of William H. Chamberlin,” in Ellis, ed. Gold Rush Trails, p. 49.

https://archive.org/stream/newmexicohistori20univrich/newmexicohistori20univrich_djvu.txt