Told by the Pioneer's - Washington Secretary of State

Told by the Pioneers
cott, direct descendants of the Chambers family, drew aside the veil
of the tablet. A call to colors and retreat was sounded bv
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Stanlev Lil-
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ian, bugler; Mrs. Warren Tolman read a very interesting letter from
Mrs. Wesley Hugh DuBois, state regent. There were many direct descendants
of the Chambers family in attendance at the meeting. Mrs.
Mary Hunsaker, a direct descendant of Andrew Chambers, read a
brief history of the Chambers' family which had been compiled by Mrs.
J. B. Moyer, a member of Marcus Whitman Chapter of the D. A. R. of
Everett. rfhe following is from data obtained by Mrs. Elizabeth
Chambers Hunsaker: Thomas 1\1. Chambers and Letitia (Dalzel)
Chambers came to America from Ireland. Three of their sons were
born in Belfast. Mrs. Chambers was a cousin of Andrew Jackson,
seventh president of the United States; and when the family came to
America Mr. Chambers accepted employment as caretaker of the
Jackson estate in rfennessee. After a time, the family moved to Gibson
County, Indiana, where the fourth son, Andrew Jackson Chambers,
was born in 1825. Later two more sons an two daughters were born to
this couple. The family moved to Kentucky, and then to Missouri; and
in the spring' of 1845 joined the long trek across the plains.
With their nine wagons, and sixty head of cattle, they made an important
addition to the famous immigration of that year.
The start was made on April 1st. The Dalles, on the Columbia River,
was reached October 15th. Most of the family was left for a time;
the father and three of the boys going down the river to explore. At
Fort Vancouver they secured a boat in which to travel np the 'Willamette
and down the Columbia.
The son, Andrew, had been detailed to go back to The Dalles with
wheat; seven days having been deemed sufficient time. Storms on the
ri,-er lengthened it to seventeen days. Years afterwards, ~Ir. Chambers
told his daughters that the only time pioneer hardships brought
tears to his eyes, ,vas on that trip when he thoug'ht of his mother without
food. He arri,-ed in time to prevent starvation, and for some
weeks the family lived on boiled wheat.
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In the summer of 1848, when gold was disco\-ered in California,
Andrew and his brother, Thomas, went to work in the mines. Andrew
remained there until the summer of 1852.
In the meantime the father, Thomas M. Chambers, and family, had
moved to Puget Sound country. He had taken up land on this prairie,
which has ever since borne his name.
He was warned off by the Puget Sound Agriculture Company, but he
stuck to his claim, and in November, 1866, he gave testimony before
the commission to settle the British claim, saying': "I am 71 years of
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