William Chambers
William Chambers (1750-1840) was a Revolutionary War veteran from Virginia who moved to present-day Scott County after the war.
See Also: Revolutionary War Veterans
See Also: The Scott County Lineage Project
Biography
Born in 1750 in Culpepper County, Va., Chambers was the son of Scottish immigrant David Chambers (1725-1808). His father, who also fought in the Revolutionary War, was born in the south of Scotland and moved to Ireland before sailing to the American colonies. He landed in Philadelphia in 1743 and later moved to Virginia, then North Carolina, and, finally, Boonesboro, Ky.
William Chambers was one of at least six children. One of his brothers, Alexander Chambers, also served in the Revolutionary War.
Revolutionary War
Chambers was 27 years old when he volunteered for service in the Continental Army. He obtained the rank of sergeant before being discharged in February 1778. He was wounded in action in October 1777 while serving in the 4th Virginia Regiment.
The history is sketchy and some doubt has been cast, but it has been written that Chambers was captured by Indians during the war and moved to Indian territory in Arkansas. There, he was supposedly called “Da-Sti-Sti,” or “Walkingstick,” and married a chieftain’s daughter, named Tar-Chee-See.
After the War
Chambers moved to Buffalo Creek in present-day Scott County. It is now clear when he made the move to Buffalo, but he was living there when the 1830 census was taken. He had at least five children: Thomas (1777-1871), William Cecil (1790-1864), Silas (1802-1861), Edmund and Nancy.
Thomas Chambers appears to have been the only of William Chambers’ children who settled in present-day Scott County. He married the daughter of another Revolutionary War veteran, Randolph Lawson. His son, Riley Chambers, was Scott County’s first Registrar, and was on the committee that chose Huntsville as the county seat after the county was established in 1849.
Chambers died in 1840 and is buried at Chambers Cemetery on Buffalo Creek.
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