An illustration of Sussex County’s Benjamin Chamberlain, local farmer and supplier to the Continental troops; shown with his pitchfork and shoe for the soldiers. A view of the Sparta Presbyterian Church, of which he was a key member, is behind him.
During this prelude to the actual 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence we are looking at some of our local people who put their possessions and lives on the line for freedom for America.
We speak here about Benjamin Chamberlain.
Benjamin Chamberlain (1747–1816) was a Revolutionary War patriot from Sparta, Sussex County, New Jersey. Here’s a detailed look at his life and contributions. Chamberlain was born around 1747 near Mansfield, Windham County, Connecticut. He moved and settled near Sparta before 1767.
Chamberlain was a farmer and shoemaker. He attended the meeting house church services and then was a member of the Presbyterian Church in Sparta that was built in the 1780s. The building still stands on Main Street in town.
Benjamin Chamberlain supplied materials for the Continental soldiers and also made shoes for the troops. As a farmer, he probably had cattle and grain. The cattle, in addition to providing the leather for the shoes, could also serve as food stuffs for feeding the troops, especially the many men who were encamped at Morristown during periods of the war. The Marquis Du Lafayette was known to have come to the area to aid in foraging for food stocks for the men and the horses in the Morristown area.
Chamberlain chose to defer payment for his goods until after the war. Performing an act like this was considered to be an “overt act” of rebellion against British authority. This would also qualify Chamberlain as a Patriot. He died in 1816 and is buried in the Sparta Presbyterian Church graveyard.
The epitaph on his gravestone:
Now stop and think as you pass by
This is the ground where you must lie
Death and the grave your doom will be
O! Think on death and follow me
Benjamin Chamberlain’s life exemplifies the quiet but essential contributions of local patriots who supported the Revolutionary cause through labor, supplies, and steadfast community presence.
Bill Truran, Sussex County’s historian, may be contacted at billt1425@gmail.com He is the author of Honest Ogden.”
