Berkeley County, West Virginia Biography of Rev. Jonas Barrett CHAMBERLIN ************************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: Material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material, AND permission is obtained from the contributor of the file. These pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor. Submitted by Valerie Crook, , March 1999 ************************************************************************** The History of West Virginia, Old and New Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, Volume III, pg. 18-19 REV. JONAS BARRETT CHAMBERLIN, who has given able and successful service as a clergyman of the United Breth- ren Church but who has been identified with business enter- prises in the period of his residence at Martinsburg, Berkeley County, was born at Winchester, Frederick County, Virginia. His father, Abraham Chamberlain, was born in Hampshire County, that state, August 11, 1822, a son of Jonas Chamberlin, born in Frederick County, Vir- ginia, January 13, 1774. The latter's father, Jonas, Sr., was born in England and came to America in company with two of his brothers, one brother, Joseph, having settled in Pennsylvania and the other in Massachusetts, they having been members of an old and prominent family in Birming- ham, England. Jonas Chamberlin, Sr., settled in Frederick County, Virginia, where he passed the remainder of his life, his religious faith, that of the Society of Friends, which is opposed to warfare, having prevented him entering military service in the War of the Revolution. He was a graduate of Oxford University, and after coming to America he en- gaged in the manufacturing of silk hats for the gentry of that period. Jonas Chamberlin, Jr., engaged in the manu- facturing of scythes in Hampshire County, Virginia, where he continued to reside until his death, February 20, 1853. His wife (Ann Bane) was born in that county September 11, 1787, a daughter of English parents who were pioneers of Mineral County. By marriage the Bane family was connected with that of which General Morgan, the Revolu- tionary patriot and officer, was a member. Jonas Chamber- lin and his wife were members of the Society of Friends. Mrs. Chamberlin died June 9, 1825. Their children were: Margaret, Mary, Joseph Morgan and Abraham. Abraham Chamberlin received his early education under the direction of private tutors, and as a man of fine mental- ity and mature judgment he became influential in com- munity affairs and was called to various offices of public trust. In the Civil war period he was sheriff of Hampshire County, Virginia, a position which he held at the time of the formation of the new state, of which he became one of the first county sheriffs under the new regime. He was interested in mercantile business, and he ever commanded unqualified popular esteem. His death occurred June 15, 1907. He married Elizabeth Ann Barrett, who was born in Frederick County, Virginia, where her parents, of English lineage, passed their entire lives. The death of Mrs. Cham- berlin occurred May 20, 1901. Her children were four in number: Jonas Barrett, Mary (Mrs. Joseph Martin), Nancy Jane (Mrs. C. E. Liller) and Joseph. The parents wore birthright members of the Society of Friends, to the gracious faith of which they adhered until the close of their lives. Joseph Barrett Chamberlin attended the rural schools, a state normal school in Virginia and the Shenandoah Acad- emy at Dayton, Virginia. In his youth he became a mem- ber of the United Brethren Church, and after due prepara- tion was ordained a clergyman in the same at Winchester, Virginia, in 1893. Thereafter he held pastoral charges at Winchester, Virginia, and Martinsburg, West Virginia, and in Washington, D. C. In the meanwhile he took a special course in Columbian University (now George Washington University), at the national capital, with the intention of engaging in foreign missionary work, but impaired health frustrated his plans, and since establishing his permanent home at Martinsburg he has been identified with various business interests. He is treasurer of the Farmers & Me- chanics Mutual Insurance Company, a director and a mem- ber of the finance committee of the Old National Bank of Martinsburg, and a trustee of the local Kiwanis Club. At the age of twenty-five years Mr. Chamberlin was united in marriage with Miss Maude C. Earmon, who was born in Rockingham County, Virginia, a daughter of New- ton and Corinne (Sheets) Earmon, the latter likewise a native of Rockingham County. Her father, Strother Sheets, was born in that county, March 10, 1821, and his wife whose maiden name was Frances Shirley, was born in Augusta County, Virginia, July 9, 1822, of Colonial an- cestry. Mrs. Chamberlin passed to the life eternal on the 17th of November, 1917, and is survived by two daughters, Minnie G. and Carrie E.