Ancestor profile · generation 05

Silas Luster “S Luster” Chambers

S Luster has a weathered stone, a pension index card, and an 1860 place in James and Prudence’s household. The census reports Indiana as his birthplace. His connection to James and Prudence is strongly supported by the household, the marriage index, and his sister Cynthia’s death certificate; the marker’s worn letters are a separate question.

Grave marker

A supplied photograph shows a Chambers marker with worn inscription. A prior family reading gives October 24, 1844 for birth and an age at death of 27 years, 2 months, 22 days. Both transcriptions remain provisional pending comparison with the original photograph or cemetery record.

Provisional

Birthplace

The 1860 Daviess County census reports Silas L. born in Indiana. That is the reviewed birthplace evidence for him; Tennessee is not established as his birthplace.

Documented

Parent link

Silas L. is in the 1860 James and Prudence household. Cynthia Ann’s death certificate identifies James Chambers and Prudence Moore as her parents, and the 1840 index records their marriage. These independent pieces make the parent connection strongly supported.

Strongly supported

The person beside S Luster

Matilda Ellen Laughlin — Granny ’Tilda

The pension index names Matilda E. Chambers as Silas’s widow. A family-located December 6, 1867 marriage entry remains to be inspected in its original form. We are pausing the other Matilda leads for now. Widow named in index

Civil War record

S Luster and the 143rd Indiana

You remembered right: the pension index names Silas L. Chambers in Company K, 143rd Indiana Infantry. It also names Matilda E. Chambers as his widow. Silas’s own pension filing is dated October 16, 1869; Matilda’s widow filing is dated February 10, 1873. The matching names, unit, and widow entry make this a strong piece of evidence for his military service and for their connection. Strongly supported

The image is an index card, not his portrait or the complete pension file. We have not yet reviewed his service record or full pension papers, so his enlistment, duties, injuries, and exact service dates remain open questions. Still researching

Silas L. Chambers pension index card, shared by Sandy. Open to read the names, unit, and claim dates. An index points to pension files; it does not tell the whole service story. About these indexes at the National Archives ↗

Supporting image: enhanced copy of Silas’s gravestone photo. Open the image to inspect it. Enhancement can change how faint strokes appear; this is not a verified full transcription.