Family Tree Maker's Genealogy Site: Genealogy Report: Descendants of Charles P WEST

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Descendants of Charles P WEST

Generation No. 2

      2. Jane Louanner³ WEST (Charles P², William¹) was born 1801 in North Carolina, and died Bet. 1880 - 1888 in Scott Co TN. She married (1) William Owens. He was born 1801 in TN, and died Unknown. She married (2) Thomas CHAMBERS September 02, 1838 in Campbell Co. Tennessee (Source: Campbell County, Tennessee Marriages 1838-1860.), son of William CHAMBERS. He was born December 1777 in VA, and died June 18, 1871 in Scott Co TN (Source: Chambers Family Cemetery, Buffalo.).

Notes for Jane Louanner WEST:
1850 census gives age as 49. 1860 census gives age as 60. 1870 census gives age as 60. 1880 census gives age as 80.

More About Jane Louanner WEST:
Census 1: 1870, Scott Co TN, 6th District HH# 27
Census 2: 1880, HH of George Washington Chambers

Notes for Thomas CHAMBERS:

It is not clearly established when Thomas came to what is now Scott County. It may have been prior to the formation of Campbell County, when the area was still part of Indian Territory. During the time he lived there, county lines were drawn and redrawn. Ethel Sharp Sanderson says that Thomas first came in 1770. As Thomas was not born until 1777, she may have been referring to his father, William Chambers. Other oral history states Thomas came at age 18, bringing 20 slaves with him to clear the land. This would put his arrival in the area at about 1795.

In 1810 Thomas Chambers of New River is listed in the Fourth Survey District of Tennessee as surveyed by John McClellan. At that time, the New River area was attached to Anderson County.

A petition was filed with the State Legislature in 1815 asking that the area around New River be attached to Campbell County. The signers of the petition complained that they had to go to the courthouse in Anderson County by way of Jacksborough, the County Seat for Campbell County. Thomas Chambers was a signer of the Petition, received in the State Senate on October 17, 1815.

It appears the petition was granted and county lines redrawn in 1817. Thomas, without having moved, pays taxes in Campbell County in 1818. 1818 Tax list for Campbell County, Thomas Chambers 300 acres; 1 free poll.

He is a resident of Campbell County in 1819 when the following act was enacted.

Tennessee Acts of 1819, Chapter 225, Section 1

"Be it hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee, that a precinct election is hereby authorized and established at the home of Thomas Chambers on New River in the County of Campbell."

Thomas continues to appear in records of Campbell County Tennessee until the formation of Scott County.

Thomas was a well educated man. According to the 1850 Census, he last attended school in 1800, at about age 23. This seems to indicate he had a college education.

This lends itself to reexamining the date of his first marriage. To date, no one has been able to document the date of his marriage to Katy Lawson, although the date of 1797 has been widely reported. If Thomas was still attending college, the marriage may have been later. Their first child was not born until 1809. If Katy is the daughter of Randolph Lawson, they may have actually married in Tennessee at a later date.

17 Jan 1855. Thomas Chambers and his (wife) Jane Chambers and Reuben West and his wife Emily West, all of Scott County Tn to Jeremiah J West of Audain Co., Missouri. Consideration (not given) for land in Murcer Co, Missouri designated and Known by the following description to with the South half of the northeast quarter and the west half of the south east quarter south east one fourth of the Southeast quarter of section twenty two and the west half of the south west quarter south west one fourth of the northwest quarter of 1623 and the west half of the southwest quarter of 1625 and the west half of the north quarter of section 22 all in township 65 range No. 25 west containing 480 acres according to the original survey.../s/ Reuben (his X mark) West. Emley (her X mark) West, Thomas Chambers, Jane (her X mark) Chambers.
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COUNTY SCOTT AND ITS MOUNTAIN FOLK

Written and published by Esther Sharp Sanderson, Huntsville, TN.
Printed by Blue & Gray Press, Nashville, TN. 1958

Chambers Family References
[edited by Greg Chambers, October 27, 1998]

p. 17-18 [author relates a bit of folklore she attributes to a book entitled Legion of the Lost Silver Mine by T. H. Troxel]:

"There was, living with his wife and their baby on Cherry Fork in what is now Scott County, Tennessee, a young fellow by the name of West; and, two pipefuls away, lived another man, by the name of CHAMBERS, with his wife. They were supposed to be veterans of the Revolutionary War who settled here with land grants for service in the war…. In those days men often engaged in what they called a "friendly fight"; that is, strong and hefty men would pair off and fight with bare knuckles until one or the other became exhausted or was "whooped." When the [Cherokee] Indian Tuckahoe and his [white]bride (Margaret Mounce) arrived hard upon the scene, one of these friendly battles was in progress between the only men of the new community: West and CHAMBERS. As their wives chatted and knitted, the men fought on, without count or referee." The Indian brave was now becoming much interested in the battle; the two white men were becoming angry and red in the face. Their women tried to part them, but they were now fighting in earnest. West had hit CHAMBERS with an unfair punch, to which CHAMBERS had retaliated with a left to the jaw. There was nothing The women could do about it by jump up and down and scream. "Finally one of the ladies prevailed on Mrs. Tuckahoe to have her valiant husband intervene. He very unwillingly consented; for why thought he, spoil a good fight by breaking it up? The mix-up was progressing very satisfactorily, he figured, as neither of the men showed signs of weakening. On and on they fought. At last, in spite of their preoccupation with each other, they discovered the Indian brave standing nearby and, immediately ceasing their own battle, descended on the valiant red man. Tuckahoe welcomed them in his usual style of fighting; that is, by seizing each of them by the back of the neck and slamming them together. When there seemed to be no life left in either, the women again intervened, asking Mrs. Tuckahoe to stop her husband from his cruel method of battling. She needed only tap her intrepid spouse on the shoulder; he let go of his grip on the men. Seeing their husbands so badly bruised and beaten by the red warrior, the wives of West and CHAMBERS became enraged and began to scratch and claw Tuckahoe’s face and eyes. To this the Indian responded by seizing each of the women by an arm and, while holding them away from him, shaking them so vigorously that their eyes looked like two streaks of white and blue."

p. 20 [author’s comment] "According to handed down records there were two men, going under the names of West and CHAMBERS, who settled on Cherry Fork under Revolutionary War land grants. However, available records show that some of the first settlers had land-grants from the state of Tennessee. Tennessee was admitted to the Union in 1796, and some of the first settlers came in about that time."

p. 22 [author’s comment] "People who came over the Wilderness Road into what is now Scott County came through the present sites of LaFollette and Jacksboro, Tennessee, and through Pioneer Gap into what is now Scott County. After leaving the Wilderness Road, two of the first settlers, Isham Sharp and THOMAS CHAMBERS, left their wagons at LaFollette and came through with their families and cattle and with horses carrying their belongings. They made several trips back and forth before they finally got their meager possessions over the mountain trails to the present site of Buffalo.

p. 27 [author’s comment] "The Smiths, Campbells, Carsons, CHAMBERSES, Byrds, Sharps, Slavens, Llewellyns, Cecils, Wests and Lees of Scott County are direct descendants of some of the men who fought in the Battle of Kings Mountain." (a Rev. War battle)

p. 33 [author’s comments] "Close on the heels of Michael Lowe came a group of three men and their families: Isham Sharp, THOMAS CHAMBERS, and Joshua Goad. Sharp and CHAMBERS settled on Buffalo Creek, and Goad on New River, four miles from the present site of Huntsville. These first settlers claimed land under grants from the state of North Carolina."

p. 37 [Greg’s note: In the first paragraph, Helen mistakes Thomas’s birth year as 1750 and his birthplace as NC. 1750 is his father William’s birth year. Thomas was born in Virginia in 1777. She also lists Thomas’ marriage to Katy Lawson as 1790. This may be correct, but others list it 5 to 6 years later] "THOMAS CHAMBERS was another of the real old-timers. Born in North Carolina in 1750, he came to the present site of Jacksboro in Campbell County in 1770, married Katy Lawson in 1790, and they came to what is now New River, Tennessee, with a thousand-acre land grant from North Carolina; they then moved to Buffalo and settled on a 5,000 acre grant from the State of Tennessee in 1812. They had, in 1800, taken up a land grant which included all the land between the mouth of Buffalo Creek to the mouth of Paint Rock Creek. Thomas had brought with him twenty slaves, who cleared the land and remained with him until they were freed by the Emancipation Proclamation. Some of the slaves remained on Buffalo until they died, and were buried in the Buffalo cemetery.

Thomas Chambers’ son [by Jane West Owens], F.M. [Francis Marion], was the father of A. J. (Jackson), Michael, George, Jacob, Emily, Nancy, and Louanner. Most of the Chamberses of Buffalo and in Huntsville are direct descendants of Thomas Chambers; the Chambers generation were strong, virile men, prosperous farmers, and good citizens. Three of the boys, A.J., Jacob, and Michael are Baptist ministers. Duncan, Owens, Acres, and Jeffers families came in around 1800 and joined the Sharp and CHAMBERS families to make the Buffalo settlement."

p. 37 "Judge Marion Cordell was the first county judge in Scott County, defeating THOMAS CHAMBERS in 1850 and serving until 1858."

p. 43 "Coming from England in the early part of the nineteenth century were three Pennington brothers who later settled in Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio. Phelan came from Virginia to Smith Creek, Tennessee in 1850. He married a sister of THOMAS CHAMBERS, one of the first settlers in what is now Scott County. To this marriage was born five children, Mart, Andy, George, Tom and Samantha. Mart Pennington married Melda Grant. To this marriage was born one son William Thomas. Mart was killed during the CHAMBERS-PENNINGTON feuds on Smith Creek."

p. 85 THOMAS CHAMBERS listed among the first jurors of the first session of the Scott County Circuit Court in November, 1850.

p. 176 "To the tourists who pass through, or linger for a while, these folkways may seem quaint, decadent ideas; but they are more than that: they are the earthy Scott County of THOMAS CHAMBERS, Isham Sharp, "Grand Mickey" Lowe, Druey Smith and others who first came into the wilderness, bring with them their families. Their habits, customs and beliefs were a carry-over from their Celtic ancestors, the Irish and the Scotch-Irish."

p. 181 "In the settlements of East Tennessee, Colonel John Sevier gathered troops about him who knew how to "travel light" and to fight like Trojans. They joined the forces of Shelby, McDowell, and Campbell and paid the historic call to Colonel Ferguson entrenched upon King’s Mountain, the Southern Saratoga. Those riflemen settled their account with Ferguson in about one hour by destroying and capturing the entire British force. This battle proved to be the turning point of the Revolutionary War in the South. In this peculiar looking aggregation of men clad in buckskin and carrying hog rifles were some men who later pushed farther across the mountains in to what is now Scott County. Among these were two men CHAMBERS and West, who were living on Cherry Fork when the bronze Apollo of the West, the Indian brave Tuckahoe, brought his white bride to this region."

"Descendants of men who fought in the Battle of King’s Mountain were the Sharps, Byrds, Cecils, Lees, Slavens, Smiths, Carsons, Campbells, Keens, Bakers, Walkers, CHAMBERS, Robbins, Pembertons, Wests, and possibly many others."

p. 185 "There were only five families in what is now Scott County who owned slaves. One of the first settlers, THOMAS CHAMBERS, on Buffalo, had twenty slaves."

(NOTE: 1850 Census lists 6 slaves. Thomas was one of 9 slave owners in Scott County.)

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Families of Scott County
Submitted by: Nanna Chambers Lay Phillips

Thomas Chambers was born December ? 1777 in North Carolina, died June 14, 1871 in Scott County. Thomas came from North Carolina at age 18 years and brought with him 20 Negro servants. He came over the mountains by way of Jacksboro, Tennessee to what they now call Scott County.

Isham Sharpe and Mr. Lowe came with Thomas and they all held land grants. Sharpe settled around Pioneer Gap, Lowe settled above Norma, and Thomas settled on Buffalo Creek. I understand they established what is now Scott County. They later brought their families from North Carolina.

Thomas had a land grant of 5,000 acres from the State of North Carolina. He and the Negro servants cleared land and built houses. He bought land and owned so much that he gave each child a large farm when they married.

Thomas Chambers first wife, Katie Lawson was born in Virginia, birth-date unknown. They married in 1796 and had 14 children: Riley, William, Pleasant, Thomas Jr., John, Alex, David, Elizabeth, Luaner, Daniel, Lakie, Joe, Stella Missouri, and James. Second wife, Jane West, no birth-date, married 1835, they had four children, Jerry, Marion, Nancy and George.

The Chambers family and the Negroes worked together. The children attended school together in a log house near the Chambers' Cemetery at Buffalo. When the Negroes were freed, they did not leave the Chambers' farm. Thomas was very good to them. At Thomas death, his son, Alex, took over the farm, and the Negroes stayed on with him. Some of the Negroes are buried at the Chambers' Cemetery.

Thomas brothers Edmond, and William, Jr., came to Scott Co. later. They bought land but were not satisfied here; so Thomas bought them out. They went to Oklahoma and Texas to live.

William Chambers, Sr., also came to Scott County later and am told he is buried in the Chambers' Cemetery (no stone). Alex Chambers, sixth son of Thomas Chambers, inherited the home-place which Glen Allen owns today.
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Land Grants Campbell Co., TN.

Grant No. acres date Book Page

20446 100 Dec 7 1836 20 221

25597 5000 April 20 1846 26 926

26363 5000 Oct 27 1848 27 691

Thomas Chambers East Tennessee Land Grants-All Campbell Co. unless other wise noted

5809 20 May 12 1817 5 310

19846 160 May 11 1836 19 643

19847 500 May 6 1836 19 640

19848 50 May 6 1836 19 642

20595 50 Feb 6 1837 21 182

20635 100 March 23 1837 21 180

21147 100 Sep 15 1836 20 514

21250 15 Sep 28 1837 20 517

27742 500 May 26 1850 28 851

27957 25 April 9 1851 28 1065

28726 50 April 4 1853 29 654 Scott Co

28725 200 April 4 1853 29 653 Campbell Co

28730 25 April 12 1853 29 658

29223 100 Nov 27 1854 29 1152

30157 50 Dec 11 1858 30 887

Total 11,945

1850 Census
69-69
Chambers, Thomas 73 M Farmer 5000 Tennessee
13 ent'd in Color; 1833 ent'd in Mar; 1800 ent'd in Att Sch
Chambers, Jane       49 F NCarolina
Chambers, AD       17 M Farmer       Tennessee
Chambers, David       20 M Farmer       Tennessee
Chambers, Jeremiah       13 M             Tennessee
Chambers, Marion       9 M             Tennessee
Chambers, GW       7 M            Tennessee

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Minutes of the Whitley County Court
August 1857

Fielding Pennington, George Pennington, Alexander Chambers and Thomas Chambers were all found guilty of assault against W R Harmon. A jury trial was held. All were fined.

More About Thomas CHAMBERS:
Census 1: 1830, Campbell Co TN
Census 2: 1840, Campbell Co TN
Census 3: 1850, Scott Co TN HH# 69
Census 4: 1860, Scott Co TN HH# 145
Education: 1800, Left school (Source: Scott County Historical Society, 1850 Census, Scott County, TN.)
Emigration: Bet. 1800 - 1805, Moved to Tennessee
Fact 1: 1850, Farmer, worth $5000 (Source: Scott County Historical Society, 1850 Census, Scott County, TN.)
Tax List 1: 1810, Anderson Co TN
Tax List 2: 1818, Campbell Co TN, 300 acres, 1 free poll

Child of Jane WEST and William Owens is:

Wesley⁴ Owens, born October 03, 1825 in Campbell Co TN (now Scott); died February 06, 1913 in Scott Co TN.

Children of Jane WEST and Thomas CHAMBERS are:

Nancy Emeline⁴ Chambers, born Abt. 1833 in Campbell Co TN (now Scott); died Unknown. She married Claiborne Jeffers May 02, 1867 in Scott Co TN; born June 07, 1847 in Scott Co TN (Source: Scott County Historical Society, Obituaries from the West Union Association United Baptist Minutes 1893-1946.); died September 04, 1927 in Oneida, Scott Co TN (Source: Scott County Historical Society, Obituaries from the West Union Association United Baptist Minutes 1893-1946.).

Notes for Nancy Emeline Chambers:
Nancy Jeffers vs Claiborne Jeffers 29 Sept 1870
Charge: Willful abandonment. The petitioner be restored to her maiden name, Nancy Chambers, and be restored to all the rights privileges and immunities of a feme sole.
Scott County Divorces 1850-1910

Notes for Claiborne Jeffers:
At the time of the 1870 census, Claiborne, age 23, is living in the home of his father. Nancy is not present in the household. She may have died before 1870.

More About Claiborne Jeffers:
Burial: Unknown, Winona Cemetry, Winona, Scott Co TN
Cause of Death: Influenza
Census 1: 1880, Scott Co TN
Census 2: 1900, Scott Co TN
Census 3: 1910, Scott Co TN 11th District HH# 17
Census 4: 1920, Scott Co TN

+	16	ii.	Jeremiah Jackson Chambers, born February 09, 1835 in Campbell Co Tennessee; died December 26, 1857 in Scott Co TN.
+	17	iii.	Francis Marion CHAMBERS, born March 03, 1840 in Scott Co TN; died February 04, 1915 in Scott Co TN.
	18	iv.	George Washington Chambers, born 1843 in Campbell Co TN; died December 09, 1887 in Scott Co TN. He married Nancy Jane Cross March 16, 1867 in Scott Co TN (Source: International Genealogy Index.); born 1846 in Scott Co TN; died Unknown.

Notes for George Washington Chambers:
After George died, Nancy petitioned the ocurt for her widow's dower and homestead. The petition was filed August 6, 1888. Nancy states she is the widow of George W Chambers, who "...departed this life in Scott County Tennessee about the 9th day of December 1887."

More About George Washington Chambers:
Census: 1880, Scott Co TN, 6th District HH# 142

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