J S Chambers

James Esquire, or J. S.  was born in Chambers Hollow near Relfe. He was the son of Frances Marion Chambers and Celeste Thomas Ferrell.  

James Esquire and Nancy  homesteaded 160 acres of land next to Francis Marion Chambers, his father's place, Chambers Valley near Relfe. He  built a house and log barn, then cleared 15 or 20 acres and put up a rail fence around that part.  Their first four children were born there. They farmed 5 years then sold the property to Zackery Ward.  They left MO in early 1907 and went to the Texas panhandle. They went in a covered wagon. It took them 31 days! . They moved several times in the following years. They went to Gunter, TX and were in LA for one year. The went with several families using one railroad car for people and one for the animals and implements.

They went to CO on the train where they worked in the potato and sugar beet fields. The came back from CO in two cars, William Lee Chambers driving one and Charlie Melton, Nancy's brother, the other. Charlie and Robert Earl had gone to CO with them. James had come back earlier to find a house for the family.

James and Nancy were members of the First Free Will Baptist Church at Pryor, OK, Grand River Association. Other church members were the Howard's, Burke's, Wesley's, and the Lester Hensley's. They were later members of the Free Will Baptist Church at Beggs, OK and then were charter members of the church organized at Preston, OK when they moved to that area.

James was a member of the Woodsman Lodge, which used an axe as an insignia, a Christian organization. He knew and used scriptures for healing cuts and burns. Most of the ceremonies and business of the Lodge was kept secret by the members.

All of Franklin's children remember how their grandfather used to worry about his flower beds all the time they were at the house for a visit for they liked to play ball while the grown ups talked and the ball would end up in the flower beds. They always kept one eye on the house when one of them had to retrieve the ball from the flower beds before he saw them.

James liked to hunt, He killed coon and skunk for their hides. In 1936 or 1937 while he was hunting, he chased a possum under a large flat rock over hanging a small den. He crawled under the overhanging rock, removed a smaller rock to reach the animal causing the larger rock to fall on him. he managed to get the rock off and make his way home. He had trouble with his chest after the incident. He used yellow powder that came in a round can for his asthma. He would put a small amount on the lid, light it with a match and breath the fumes. It eased his breathing but smelled like sulpher and medicine.

Remembrances of the children and grand children

They lived in two tents on the Northern edge of Oklahoma after leaving Missouri in 1906 or 1907. They cooked and ate in one tent and slept in the other. It got down to 17 degrees and it snowed. They piled the snow around the bottom of the tent to keep the wind out.- Franklin Marion Chambers

All but James and Franklin Marion had the flu. They survived on 100 half gallons of tomatoes, biscuits, and oatmeal, cows milk and butter, which was all the two knew how to cook.--Madge Chambers

All the children had whooping cough while they were in Louisiana, Mildred, Franklin, Lee, and Fred were in school. They took Madge the last day. They were all given a tube of Coalgate toothpaste and a toothbrush. Madge ate her toothpaste.

They planted sugar cane and made syrup which they put in jugs. When they turned to sugar they set them in the wash tub full of hot water to return it to liquid form.

The home always smelled of Apple butter and spices--remembrances of Paula Sue, Nadine, and Norma Jean.