Gazlay Family History
James S. Chamberlain
Parents
| Father | [unknown] |
| Mother | [unknown] |
Personal Information
| Record Created: 17 July 2012; Last Edited: 20 November 2021 |
| Person ID | 3936 |
| Name | James S. Chamberlain |
| Gender | Male |
| Born |
| Married | 7 May 1818 in Greenville, Greene County, New York to Cornelia Gazlay1 |
| Died | 25 February 1843 in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio2, 3 |
Biography
James was Foreman of Engine Company 1 (later renumbered to 3), Phoenix Hook and Ladder Company, Ladder 1, in the Cincinnati Fire Department. He is listed as the first fireman in the history of the department to be killed in the line of duty. Chamberlain died on 25 February 1843 in what appears to have been a tremendous backdraft in the main building of the Pugh and Alvords Pork House. The smoke house behind the building was burning and the doors connecting the two were closed to stop the fire. Smoke and fumes built up in the main building and it exploded without warning. The explosion killed Chamberlain and eight others, mostly employees and customers of the pork house.3
Person/Family
| Spouse 1 |  Cornelia Gazlay (daughter of James Gazlay and Huldah Carter) |
| Born | 1 August 1794 in New York |
| Married | 7 May 1818 in Greenville, Greene County, New York to James S. Chamberlain |
| Died | 13 August 1873 |
| Children | of James S. Chamberlain and Cornelia Gazlay: |
| +1. | William Gazlay Chamberlin |
| Born | September 1822 in Indiana |
| Married | 9 September 1852 in Hamilton County, Ohio to Sarah L. Bigler |
| Married | ca. 1875 to Mary E. McIntire |
| Died | 11 March 1912 in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio |
| 2. | Frederick D. Chamberlain |
| Born | ca. 1829 in Indiana |
| 3. | James H. Chamberlain |
| Born | ca. 1835 in Ohio |
Sources
- New York Marriages 1686-1980, available at familysearch.org. James S. Chamberlain and Cornelia Gazlay, married 7 May 1818 in Presbyterian Church, Greenville, Greene [County], New York.
- Gazlay History, written by Spencer G. Kuhn, a grandchild of Theodore Gazlay; undated. This is a typewritten re-compilation of the earlier Genealogy of the Gazlay Family, compiled by Theodore Gazlay in 1890, including the 1852 statement of the family history by Reverend Sayers Gazlay, an elder brother of Theodore. This document re-formats the information in the 1890 work. For example, facts originally shown in list form, such as birth and death dates, are incorporated in the narrative of this later work. Two post-1890 sections are unique to this document: one with additional details about Theodore Gazlay’s family, with dates as late as 1951; and another on the Donaldson family, featuring Jean Gazlay Donaldson and her six marriages, with several dates in 1965.
- Cincinnati Fire Department History, Line of Duty Deaths.