WCGS Officer and Trustee Biographies..We're Regular Folks..Just Like Yourselves

President

David Lawrence Chamberlain, Member # 485 Born and raised in Orangeville, a small town in north central Pennsylvania. Lived in England, smack dab on the rocky cliffs near Trebetherick, Cornwall. We currently live in southeast Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia, and have a summer campground back on the family farm in Orangeville. Growing up, in the olden times when people could gather in groups and mingle, we grew, picked, and sold the best, fresh strawberries east of the Mississippi. After my first stint at college (4 total), I worked at various jobs including construction, printing press operator, peace activist (my long-ago grandfather, John the Quaker sympathizer, would have approved, I think.), literature manager for AFSC, painter, adventurer, computer scientist, pharmaceutical clinical trial consultant and, when necessary, jack of all trades, now retired. Fun Facts: Guitar player, scuba diver, photographer, treasure (junk) collector and daydreamer. Married to Tomasina (1983) and we have two children, James and Laura. Earliest known ancestor is Henry Chamberlain the blacksmith and the Henry descendant line to me is: Henry the blacksmith, John, Henry, John, Lewis, John, Joseph, Isaac, Silas, Ira, Robert, David (that is me).

Vice President

Paul Richard Chamberlain, Member # 460, a life member, was born in Dallas, Texas, and grew up in the small rural town of Wolfe City, Texas. I am a Vietnam Era veteran serving four years in the United States Air Force assigned to the Air Force's Strategic Air Command (SAC). After the military, I worked in the natural gas industry for over 32 years. After retiring from the gas industry I accepted a position as assistant commissioner of human resources for Georgia. The Texas Gas Association presented me with the 'Life Member Award' and I was the recipient of the Southern Gas Association's CTN's vision award in the innovation of distance learning technology. CTN is a subscriber managed network providing live distant learning in over 30 states. We currently live in Conroe, Texas, a town 60 miles from Houston. I have been married for 53 years to Paula Sue Crowell. We have two sons, Stephen & Justin, and five grandchildren. In retirement, I raise Boer goats and Angus cattle with my son Stephen and three grandchildren. An avid gardener and past Administrative Board Member, Montgomery County Senior Garden. I have spent 30 years researching our family history, currently on my 1st term as Vice President of the WCGS and member of the Montgomery County Genealogical and Historical Society, National Genealogical Society, and the Texas State Genealogical Society. The earliest known ancestor is Henry the blacksmith. I am immensely proud to be a part of the World Chamberlain Genealogical Society (WCGS)

Secretary

Barbara Ellen Ryan, Member # 491, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and moved to Chicago to work for the Social Security Administration after graduating from Wittenberg University. I met my husband, Jack, three weeks later and we were married three weeks short of 55 years. I began researching because I had an unusual maiden name, Von Sick, and only knew my father, grandfather, and uncle with the name. I was the first and fifth president of the Chicago Genealogical Society and have held offices in the DuPage County, Illinois, and Berrien County, Michigan, societies. I belong to the DAR in Three Oaks, Michigan, and Society of Mayflower Descendants in Illinois. I moved from Illinois to Michigan in 2009. I am descended from Edmund Chamberlain the immigrant, John, Jacob, Edmund, David, Hubbard, Edmund, Grace.

Treasurer

Theadore J. Chamberlain, Member # 004 //I am...

Trustee

Dee Schlesser, Member # 538 was born in Evansville, Indiana. Raised all over the world and finally thought I had settled down in 1989 when we moved to Lexington, Kentucky, but that was not the case as I have moved once more in 2021 to Sparta Tennessee. My father and my husband were both Army Retirees. They took me all over the US and Italy, Japan, and three trips to Germany. I served in the Army also and was assigned to Okinawa during Vietnam. My husband David Schlesser died in 1999. I have three children, James, John and Rebecca who all also served in the military. (The boys in the Navy and Rebecca is active duty Army. ) I also have five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. I have held many jobs as we moved so often. Nursing, Tailer and seamstress, Physical Therapy, worked in a special reference lab, editorial clerk, secretary, Patient representative, Machine knitter. I served with the Boy Scouts for 25 years in unit, district, and council levels. I have been a researcher and teacher of genealogy for over 50 years. Until DNA made it available, my oldest confirmed ancestor was George Christopher Chamberlain 1816-1899. Now Richard of Raintree 1620-1674 has been confirmed by Y-DNA. There is still one unconfirmed generation (which son), but it is getting closer to being confirmed. The line: Richard of Braintree, Benjamin, John, John (Old Quail), Joel, (Poss.) Jacob S., George Christopher, George Joel, John Henderson, Genevieve Mae Chamberlain, myself.

Trustee

John G. Chamberlin - Member #316 I just finished my 20th year as a WCGS member and a participant in the Chamberlin DNA project. My Chamberlin line starts with a string of Richard's in Somerset England and leads through Richard of Braintree. Since around 1540 no two generations of this line have been born and buried in the same place, mostly not even one stay put generation. My great grandfather moved one more time after he died, for good measure. Following that tradition, I was born in Humboldt, Iowa nine months after my father John E. Chamberlin returned from WW II. He managed a chicken hatchery and in 1952 after he returned from Korean Era service we moved to Clarksville Arkansas where he managed a hatchery for 10 years and I went through 1st to 10th grades. We then moved to Fort Smith Arkansas for another hatchery. I started working summers in hatcheries when I was 12 and did that until the summer, I was 20 and upgraded to computer programmer for the same company. I learned computing while getting my Ag Engineering degree from Michigan State. I was drafted after my college graduation and fortunately ended up in a headquarters in Germany. I then went to MIT, got a MS and did travelling from Europe to Afghanistan. A little over 50 years ago I got a job with a financial technology startup in Little Rock, which is where I live today. I quit after three years and started my own software firm, Arkansas Systems. We did some work with chickens, but that somehow evolved into ATM management software and clients around the world. We eventually sold the company and I have done a mix of things since, mostly focused on education, environment, and entrepreneurship. My wife Shannon and I have been married 45 years and have three children: John, Mary and Katharyn; and 3 grandchildren. In addition to genealogy, I write, hike, kayak and have backpacked in national parks.