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| Benjamin CHAMBERS |
"In lieu of an old debt due Admiral Penn, his son, William Penn, in 1681became the owner of 40,000 square miles in America. He immediately advertised throughout England, Scotland and Ireland for men to join him on a voyage to his new possession. His terms were as follows: "Those who wish to sail on board his vessel, the "Welcome", could have land by paying one hundred pounds Sterling for 5,000 acres, and annually thereafter a shilling rent for every hundred acres. Those who did not have money to pay in this way could have 200 acres at less than the rate of a shilling per acre. "Benjamin raised the necessary money, and sailed on board the "Welcome" in 1682. No doubt he was present when Penn made his famous treaty with the Indians at Chester. Whether Benjamin bought much or little land, will perhaps never be known, but it is established that after a brief stay in America, perhaps two or three years, he returned to Scotland to live." -Trails of the Centuries CHAPTER III: DESCENDANTS OF BENJAMIN Trails of the Centuries As has been previously stated, one of the passengers on "The Welcome" in 1632 was Benjamin Chambers. After his return to Antrim, Ireland, four of his sons (about 1726) embarked for America to live. These sons were James, Robert, Joseph, and Benjamin. This family, being influenced by the Westminster Confession of Faith, carried Presbyterianism into the New World. Landing at Philadelphia, these boys forsook the Delaware and sailed up the Susquehanna to a point one hundred miles to the northwest, where they established a mill with a part of their remaining capital. This mill stood at the mouth of Fishing Creek on the eastern bank of the Susquehanna, a few miles above where Harrisburg now stands. Learning of the opening of the West, these brothers each entered land for himself, as will hereinafter be stated. James, the oldest brother, moved by way of Carlisle to Newville, twenty-five miles inland, where he spent the remainder of his life. Robert moved to a point at the head of Middle Spring near Shippensburg, ten or fifteen miles southwest of his brother, James. Joseph and Benjamin moved fifteen miles further southwest to a point afterwards known as Chambersburg. Benjamin, the younger son, remained here, but his brother, Joseph, returned to their former home at Harrisburg. James had two sons, Ranold and Rowland. Ranold was born in Antrim, Ireland, ten years before their passage, and died at the age of 30, leaving a large grant of land in Cumberland Co., PA, to his son James. There were other children in this family but their names have not been learned. James, the son of Ranold, was commander over three companies of soldiers during the French and Indian War, and fought a hard battle at Sideling Hill in April 1756. James had a son, John, whose home was also in Cumberland Co., who was the father of William, who became a Colonel in the American Revolution. William fought at Trenton and Princeton, and died in 1809. Benjamin Chambers, the younger of the four brothers, made deposition Dec. 8, 1736, that he was a millwright and that he was twenty-eight years of age. He, therefore, was born in 1708. When eighteen years of age he came to America, and in 1730 founded Chambersburg. In 1755 he and others built there a stone fort and stockade. In 1764 lots were laid out and sold to settlers. In 1788 Benjamin died, leaving at and near Chambersburg, a valuable estate.
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