Individual Details

William Chamberlain of Woburn & Billerica MA is said to have landed at Elizabethtown VA about 1635 and because of an Indian massacre was part of a group which fled to New England by ship. Regardless of whether of not this is true, William was in Boston 1647-1649, Woburn in 1649. He sold his land there by 1651 and moved to Billerica. There were 13 children.

30 Oct 1647, William Chamberlain took a deed of the house and lot of Francis Smith in Boston. It was one the southwest corner of West & Washington Sts. He sold the property 4 Jan 1648/9. Two days after the sale he was admitted an inhabitant of the town of Woburn.

William may have been a son of Francis Chamberly, SR of Narburgh, Norfork, England, whose will dated 1 Jun 1676 named sons William, Clement, Francis & Thomas. Also found in Hotten's "Original Lists of Emigrants 1600-1700" is the entry: bet 21 Aug and 2 Sep 1635 these names are to be transported to Virginia imbarqued in the "Thomas" ....Wm Chamberlin, 16 yeres.

He bought land from Francis Smith in Boston in 1648. He sold this land soon after and two days after the sale was admitted as an inhabitant to the Town of Woburn. 9 Jun 1652, the 1st Church of Cambridge made an agreement for the division of Shawshine [later named Billerica]. All of the church members received allotments, but only a few of them moved to Shawshine. 25 Mar 1654, the proprietors of Cambridge executed deed to the proprietors of Billerica, all rights to the land now called Billerica alias Shawshine.
William bought 11 grants of land from the Town of Billerica. He was constable for the year 1673. He was the last of the original settlers of Billerica to die and was probably buried in the Old South Cemetery.


History of Billerica MA with A Genealogical Register
The Rev. Henry A. Hazen, A.M. member of NEHGS
A. William & Co., Boston, 1883

p.11 William Chamberlin settled in Shawshin, probably a relative of Thomas of Woburn.
p.16 & 17 Petition of Oct 1654 - petition from Shawshin describing boundaries included William Chamberline

During King Philip's War or one of Fr & Indian Wars? preparations
13 6m 1675 Towne Meeting
8 8m 1675 They have ordered sergnt Hill's house to be a garrison for that end of ye towne, taking to it Nathaniel & Jonathan Hill, Tho: Dutton, Junr, Lt Wm French, Willm Chamberline Senr & Isaac Chamberline, & two soldiers; nine soldiers & five houses

p.194 Males & Rateable estate 24 Aug 1688
Willm Chamberlin, 1 p'son
Edmund Chamberlin, 1 p'son & cow

p.195 8 11m 1682 Edmond Chamberlain to submit himself to live with his master, Joseph Walker, for six months after the manner of a Journeyman, to attend family orders and government therin. Not to make any bargain with any man without his master's approbations. At the end of six months to declare to the selectment where he intends to reside & what course of life he intends to lead. [to be supervised by master]

p.196 Deaths of Mrs. Rebecca Chamberline & John Durrent “in ye prison at Cambridge” in Sep & Oct, 1692, suggest the inference of Mr. Farmer, that the charge on which they were imprisoned was probably witchcraft.
No records of witchcraft as such in Billerica survive.


Chamberlain Families of Early New England and of New York
Section Two
Prentiss Glazier, Sarasota FL 1973
Contains as Part 3: William Chamberlain of Billerica
Pedigree Charts, etc. Seems basically to agree with other sources on the family. Taken from Chamberlain Family Association Reports of 198-10, pp.89-147.


Vital Records of Billerica states that William Chamberlaine Sr, died 31 May 1706, age about 86.
He is buried Old South Burying Ground, Billerica, Middlesex Co, MA.


from Wikipedia
In the early 1630s a Praying Indian village named Shawsheen was at the current site of Billerica
Billerica also has a Native American burial site dating back to 1000 B.C.
Billerica was settled by whites in about 1638 when Massachusetts Bay Governor John Winthrop and Lt. Governor Thomas Dudley were granted land along the Concord River in the wilderness the native Americans called Shawshin (one of several old spellings; Shawsheen today; see Shawsheen River.). They called their lands Shawsheen Plantation and by 1650 families moving inland from Cambridge and Charlestown Village (later Woburn) settled in the area. Most of the families that settled at Shawsheen Plantation were from the town of Billericay in Essex, England. The town was incorporated as Billerica in 1655, on the same day as nearby Chelmsford and Groton.
The oldest canal in the United States, the Middlesex Canal, which flowed through Billerica between 1795 and 1852, was used to transport goods between Lowell and Boston. Because of this key transportation corridor, Billerica earned the moniker "Gateway to Lowell.
……..
Billerica borders the following towns: Chelmsford, Lowell, Tewksbury, Wilmington, Burlington, Bedford, and Carlisle. The border with Lowell is at a point in the middle of the Concord River where Billerica, Chelmsford, Lowell and Tewksbury all meet.
The Shawsheen River and Concord River are the two major waterways within the town

http://www.town.billerica.ma.us/
The Town of Billerica is located 20 miles northwest of Boston and borders Lowell to the south. Incorporated in 1655, the town remained predominately agricultural until the mid-nineteenth century when a major mill complex was sited on the Concord River in North Billerica.
Currently Billerica has close to 40,000 residents. The town is within minutes of Routes 3 and 495. The town has bus and train service provided by the Lowell Regional Transit Authority and the MBTA at North Billerica. The remnants of the historic Middlesex Canal, an outmoded mode of transport, traverse the town north to south.
Two rivers pass through town. The Concord River is a major regional water feature while the Shawsheen River rambles through the southerly part of town.

Birth	1619	Essex, England
Marriage	Abt 1648	Rebecca [Chamberlain]
Death	31 May 1706	Billerica, Middlesex County, Massachusetts

Spouse	Rebecca [Chamberlain] (1625 - 1692)
Child	Timothy Chamberlain (1649 - )
Child	Isaac Chamberlain (1650 - 1681)
Child	William Chamberlain Jr (1652 - 1734)
Child	John Chamberlain (1654 - 1712)
Child	Sarah Chamberlain (1655 - )
Child	Jacob Chamberlain (1657 - 1712)
Child	Thomas Chamberlain (1659 - )
Child	Edmond Chamberlain (1660 - )
Child	Rebecca Chamberlain (1662 - )
Child	Abraham Chamberlain (1664 - )
Child	Ann Chamberlain (1665 - 1726)
Child	CLEMENT Chamberlain (1669 - 1741)
Child	Daniel Chamberlain (1671 - )