HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY. 



507 



senate. During his eight years of con- 

 tinuous service in the two houses of the 

 legislature he took an active part in legisla- 

 tion, particularly in that relating to the 

 interests of the farming community. He be- 

 longed to the anti-Quay wing of the party, 

 and helped to defeat the re-election of Mr. 

 Quay to the United States senate in 1900. 

 He was nominated for the assembly in 1903 

 by a fusion with the Democrats, but was 

 defeated at the polls by a small majority. 

 Mr. Rice has always taken an active in- 

 terest in all that pertains to the best in- 

 terests of the local communiLy, has served 

 as school director, and filled other local 

 offices. He is one of the most active mem- 

 bers of the Solebury Farmers' club. He is 

 a member of Doylesto\\ n Lodge, No. 245, 

 F. and A. M. and of Paunaucussing Lodge, 

 K. of P., at Carversville. He and his fam- 

 ily are members of the Society of Friends. 

 He was married January 11, 1881, to Emma 

 L., daughter of Watson and Hannah (Pres- 

 ton) Kenderdine, of Solebury, both of 

 whom are descendants of Welsh ancestors 

 who came to this country in the seventeenth 

 century. Air. and Mrs. Rice have been the 

 parents of three children, only one of whom 

 survives — Marion, wife of, George H. Ely, 

 who has two children, Wilton G. and Helen 

 M. Ely. 



CAPTAIN THOMAS PRESTON 

 CHAMBERS, of Newtown, Pennsylvania, 

 son of Alexander and F"rances Wayne 

 Chambers, was born in Philadelphia, Feb- 

 ruary 20, 1836. His life has been one of 

 varied and constant activity ; he has been 

 a pioneer in many branches of industry, and 

 is today one of the leading and influen- 

 tial citizens of the borough. 



He received a good education in private 

 schools, and in 1855 went West, where he 

 remained two years exploring what was 

 then an undeveloped country, returning 

 again to his fathers home in Newtown. 

 In 1861 he enlisted in Company K, One 

 Hundred and Fourth Regiment Pennsyl- 

 vania Volunteers, (Captain H. Y. Picker- 

 ing), Colonel W. W. H. Davis command- 

 ing, becoming first sergeant, from which 

 position he was promoted to quartermaster 

 sergeant November 5, i86r. After serving 

 a short time he was taken sick with small- 

 pox, and was honorably discharged on ac- 

 count of physicial disability, and was sent 

 home. Upon his recovery he recruited a 

 company of infantry of which he was chosen 

 captain, to repel the invasion of Pennsyl- 

 vania. He started with it to the front, but 

 on reaching Harrisburg was notified that 

 the enemy had retreated. After this he 

 enlisted in the Twentieth Cavalry Regi- 

 ment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, Colonel 

 Jol n E. Wynkoop, for six- months, was 

 commissioned second lieutenant, and at the 

 expiration of six months was mustered in 

 for three years in the same regiment. 

 Shortly before the close of the war Captain 

 Chambers was taken ill with typhoid fever, 



and was discharged on account of physical 

 disability. Captain Chambers participated 

 in the celebrated Hunter's raid in the Shen- 

 andoah Valley, and numerous other import- 

 ant engagements. 



Soon after the close of the rebellion, de- 

 velopments of oil along Oil Creek in the 

 vicinity of Titusville, Pennsylvania, at- 

 tracted the attention of all adventurous 

 spirits. It was not long therefore before 

 Captain Chambers entered the new field of 

 industry, and established at Titusville one 

 of the pioneer oil refineries of the region. 

 In this venture he was joined by his two 

 brothers-in-law, Dr., H. Y. Pickering, and 

 Major Samuel Comfort. Succumbing to 

 the inevitable, the refining business was 

 eventually sold to the Standard Oil Com- 

 pany, and Captain Chambers turned his at- 

 tention to the production of crude petro- 

 leum. He was the organizer of several large 

 and successful oil companies, besides en- 

 gaging m numerous private ventures in the 

 petroleum industry. He was practically 

 a resident of Titusville from 1869 to 1887^ 

 and then returned to the family home in 

 Newtown township. 



In 1898 he removed from there to the 

 borough of Newtown, purchasing the Ewing 

 property, which he has since made his 

 home. He was the promoter and organizer, 

 of the Newtown Electric Street Railway 

 Company, of which he has been the largest 

 stockholder and president since its organ- 

 ization. Soon afterwards he acquired the 

 control of the Newtown, Langhorne & Bris- 

 tol Trolley Street Railway Company, of 

 which he had been a director from its or- 

 ganization, (this was the first street rail- 

 way built in Bucks county) and extended 

 the line of trolleys to Doylestown. With 

 his son Alexander, he has had the active 

 management of the company from its open- 

 ing for traffic February 26, 1899. In the 

 autumn of 1899, while on a trip to Hon- 

 duras, he became impressed with the nat- 

 ural resources of this undeveloped country, 

 and on his return organized the Ulua Com- 

 mercial Company for the purpose of con- 

 necting the Ulua River with Puerto Cortez 

 by a system of canals opening for naviga- 

 tion several hundreds of miles of the inte- 

 rior, and establishing a line of steamers to 

 carry the fruit, mineral and other products 

 of the country to the seaboard. He was 

 also one of the organizers of the Olancho 

 Mineral Company, who are opening and 

 operating gold mines in the interior of 

 Honduras. Captain Chambers and his two 

 sons have spent much of their time during 

 the last years in Puerto Cortez, Honduras, 

 in the management of these companies and 

 the development of their resources. 



Captain Chambers was married October 

 16, i860, to Hannah H., daughter of John 

 and Mary (Hough) Barnsley, whose ances- 

 try is given on another page of this volume. 

 Their children are : Mar}' B., Francis 

 Wayne, married R. E. Hopkins, of Tarry- 

 town, New York ; Alexander ; Helen T., 

 married E. T. Roberts, of Titusville, Penn- 



