In 1902, entirely unsolicited on his part, the democrats in convention nominated him by acclamation as a candidate for governor, and the ensuing election proved what American history has again and again demonstrated, that the American public will support men of tried political and personal integrity and ability regardless of political affiliation. Oregon was considered a republican state, but at the ensuing election he polled two hundred and fifty-six votes more than the republican candidate, although in the congressional election the republican victory amounted to fifteen thousand. He was again nominated by his party for governor in 1906 and defeated his opponent by twenty-five hundred majority, serving until March, 1909, when he resigned to accept the position of United States senator, to which he was elected in January, 1909, by a legislature overwhelmingly republican. Few men in public office have possessed greater strength among the people. Air. Chamberlain's course, however, has at all times commanded public confidence, for he has wisely and conscientiously used the talents with which nature has endowed him, placing the welfare of the commonwealth before personal aggrandizement or party interests.
Mr. Chamberlain was married in Natchez, Mississippi, May 21, 1879, to Miss Sallie N. Welch, who was born near Natchez, in Louisiana, and is a descendant of New England ancestry represented in the Revolutionary war. Her father, A. T. Welch, who was born in Massachusetts, moved to the south and became the owner of a large plantation in Concordia parish, Louisiana. His family later moved to Natchez, Mississippi, where Mrs. Chamberlain attended school, graduating from the Natchez Institute. She is active in the work of Calvary Presbyterian church, of which she is an honored member. To Mr. and Mrs. Chamberlain have been born seven children, six of whom are now living: Charles Thomson, a graduate of Cooper Medical College of San Francisco and later a post-graduate of New York Polyclinic and New York Ophthalmic. He married Miss Deborah Boatner of Louisiana, and is practicing his profession as a specialist in diseases of the nose, throat, eye and ear at Portland, Oregon. Lucie Archer married George F. Blair and resides at Jackson, Michigan. Marguerite married H. R. Gaither of Natchez, Mississippi, and resides at Portland, Oregon. Carrie Lee, George Earle, Jr., and Fannie W. complete the family.
Mr. Chamberlain belongs to the Commercial Club, the Multnomah Amateur Athletic Club and the Oregon State Historical Society. He is a life member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and has served as exalted ruler of the Portland lodge. He is past chancellor of Laurel Lodge No. 7, K. P., at Albany, and is a prominent Mason, having been initiated into the order in St. John's Lodge No. 62, F. & A. M. at Albany, from which he afterward transferred his membership to Willamette Lodge No. 2, at Portland. He took the degrees of capitular Masonry in Bailey Chapter No. 8, R. A. M., at Albany, and in addition to filling a number of the offices in that organization, is past grand high priest of the Grand Chapter of Oregon. He is also a past eminent commander of Temple Commandery No. 3, at Albany, has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite in Oregon Consistory No. i, at Portland, and is one of the Nobles of Al Kader Temple of Portland. Appreciative of the social amenities of life, Mr. Chamberlain holds friendship inviolable, and throughout Oregon the number of his friends is legion. Public confidence and trust are reposed in him to a notable extent, and even his political enemies never question the integrity of his motives or the honesty of his purposes. His broad Americanism, his sympathetic understanding of the perplexing problems of human society, his abiding sense of justice and his deep insight into the vital relations of our complex civilization have already won him the admiration and esteem of the people at large, while in his own state he enjoys in unusual measure the warm personal regard and friendship of the great majority of those who know him. Mr. Chamberlain has been peculiarly honored in one respect,
