Ebenezer Mattoon Chamberlain

Ebenezer Mattoon Chamberlain (August 20, 1805 – March 14, 1861) was an American lawyer, jurist, and Democratic politician who served one term as a U.S. Representative from Indiana from 1853 to 1855. His public career spanned local legal practice, service in both houses of the Indiana legislature, and judicial office before his election to Congress during a period of mounting national tension in the decade preceding the Civil War.

Chamberlain was born on August 20, 1805, in Orrington, Maine. He attended the local public schools and, in his youth, worked in his father’s shipyard, gaining early experience in a family-based maritime enterprise typical of coastal Maine in the early nineteenth century. Seeking broader opportunities in the developing West, he later left Maine and moved to Indiana, where he began to prepare for a professional career in the law.

After relocating to Indiana, Chamberlain pursued legal studies in Connersville. He completed his preparation for the bar there and was admitted to practice law in 1832. The following year, in 1833, he commenced the practice of law in Elkhart County, Indiana. His legal work quickly brought him into public life, and he became identified with the Democratic Party, which was then dominant in much of Indiana and the Old Northwest.

Chamberlain’s political career began in the Indiana General Assembly. He served as a member of the Indiana House of Representatives from 1835 to 1837, representing his constituents during a period of state development and internal improvements. He subsequently advanced to the upper chamber of the legislature, serving in the Indiana State Senate from 1839 to 1842. His growing prominence within the Democratic Party was reflected in his selection as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1844, where he participated in the party’s national deliberations.

In addition to his legislative service, Chamberlain held significant judicial and prosecutorial offices in Indiana. He was elected prosecuting attorney of the ninth judicial circuit in 1842, assuming responsibility for criminal prosecutions in that jurisdiction. In 1843 he was elected president judge of the ninth judicial district, a position that placed him at the head of the district’s judiciary. He was reelected to this judgeship in 1851 and continued to serve until he resigned upon his election to the United States Congress. Through these roles he became a prominent figure in the legal and civic life of northern Indiana.

Chamberlain was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-third Congress, serving as a U.S. Representative from Indiana from March 4, 1853, to March 3, 1855. As a member of the Democratic Party representing Indiana, he contributed to the legislative process during his single term in office. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, as debates over slavery, territorial expansion, and sectional balance intensified. Within this context, he participated in the democratic process at the national level and represented the interests of his Indiana constituents in the House of Representatives.

After leaving Congress at the close of his term in 1855, Chamberlain returned to Indiana and resumed the practice of law. He established himself in Goshen, Indiana, where he continued his legal work and remained a respected member of the community. He practiced law in Goshen until his death.

Ebenezer Mattoon Chamberlain died in Goshen, Indiana, on March 14, 1861. He was interred in Oak Ridge Cemetery. His career reflected the trajectory of many nineteenth-century American public men who combined legal practice, state legislative service, judicial office, and a single term in Congress during a formative era in both Indiana’s development and the nation’s political history.