Soon thereafter Margaret married Hiram Chamberlain, a native of Schodack, Rensselaer County, New York.  Their first child was born in New York.  Within the next few years the couple made their way to the Midwest and at the time of the 1860 Federal Census, were living in Fountain Green Township, Hancock County, Illinois.  By then there were two more little Chamberlains and a fourth would be born about 1862.  Hiram's occupation was reported as boot and shoe maker.

A 1921 biography of Frances A. Groat's husband, Robert Miller, stated that in 1854 Mary Ann Groat, widowed, came to Hancock County with three children.  That jibes with the birth locations of Hiram and Margaret's children.  We have not located Mary Ann and two children with the surname Groat in 1860, but the following family group, each shown with Ohio as the birth state, was counted in LaHarpe Township (immediately north of Fountain Green Township): Emily Grout, 50, female; Frances, 15, female; James, 13, male.  Grout isn't a name common in Hancock County, nor is Groat, for that matter.  A thorough researcher would do well to try to rule out this family group being Margaret's relatives.

From 1830 through 1850 there was one Chamberlain family counted in the town of Schodack, New York, and that was the family headed by William Chamberlain.  In the 1850 Federal Census his occupation was listed as shoemaker.  Unfortunately, Hiram was not counted with this family in 1850; we have not been able to locate him elsewhere in that census year.

In the summer of 1862 one Hiram "Chamberlin" enlisted in the Union Army. The following details are from the Muster and Descriptive Rolls compiled by the Illinois Adjutant General's Office:

Name   CHAMBERLIN, HIRAM
Rank   MUS   Company A  Unit  118 IL US INF

Personal Characteristics
Residence   FOUNTAIN GREEN, HANCOCK CO, IL
Age 37   Height 5' 9"   Hair LIGHT   Eyes BLUE   Complexion LIGHT
Marital Status   MARRIED   Occupation   BOOT MAKER   Nativity   SHADOCK, RENSELLAER CO, NY

Service Record
Joined When   AUG 15, 1862   Joined Where   FOUNTAIN GREEN, IL
Joined By Whom   T J CAMPBELL   Period   3 YRS
Muster In   NOV 7, 1862   Muster In Where   CAMP BUTLER, IL
Muster In By Whom   N/A   Muster Out   N/A
Muster Out Where   N/A   Muster Out By Whom   N/A
Remarks   DIED OCT 16, 1863 OF DISEASE AT CARROLTON LA [Carrollton]

We have not found record of Hiram's burial location, one of too many whose final resting places may never be known.

On March 29, 1864, Margaret filed for and subsequently received a widow's pension.

She and her children remained in Fountain Green Township.  The 1870 census reported she was a dress and bonnet maker.  Counted as a member of the household that year was Margaret's mother, occupation "tailoress."  (In the meantime, Fannie A. Groat, 20, had married Robert Miller in 1865.  James E. Groat, age 15, residence - no entry, birthplace - Newark, Wayne County, New York, had gone to Quincy in Adams County, Illinois, and joined the Union Army. He was assigned as a musician to Company E, 84th Illinois Infantry.)

Margaret died early in 1875 and was buried at Fountain Green Cemetery.  On October 11, another pension claim was filed based on Hiram's service.  Without the actual file for proof, we assume the funds were for the benefit of the younger children (Charles, the eldest, was married and in his own home). Usually on pension cards we find the names of the beneficiaries.  In this case Robert Miller was apparently the guardian of the Chamberlain children and it's his name on the pension card.

Hiram and Margaret's known children were:

In 1880 James E. Groat, 33, born in New York, and Mary A. Groat, 70, mother, born in New York, were residing in Elizabeth, Union County, New Jersey.  James' wife, "Agusta", was a native of Germany, and they had three children aged six and under, all born in New Jersey.  In 1892 or '93 James E. Groat of New Jersey filed for a veteran's pension based on service in Company E, 84th Illinois Infantry and later an artillery unit.

Out of hundreds of families and individuals we've traced from both eastern and southern states to Hancock County, Illinois, the Groats are among a minuscule percentage who returned to their home territories.

Jeremiah P Groat, 50, male, c[ommon] laborer, born NY
Marion, 40, female, born NY
Mary J, 19, female, born NY
Margaret A, 17, female, born NY
David B, 14, male, born NY, attended school within the year
Frances A, 6, female, born NY, attended school within the year
James E, 4, male, born NY

Hiram Chamberlin, 38, male, boot & shoe maker, value of real estate 500, value of personal estate 200, born NY
Margaret, 24, female, born NY
Charles, 9, male, born IL, attended school within the year
Jane E, 3, female, born IL
William, 2, male, born IL

Emily Grout, 5, female, house keeper, value of real estate 500, value of personal estate 800, born OH
Frances, 15, female, born OH, attended school within the year
James, 13, male, born OH

Chamberlin, Margaret, 37, female, white, dress and bonnett maker, born NY
Charles, 17, male, white, born NY
William, 11, male, white, born IL
Jennie, 13, female, white, born IL
[continued on next page]
Chamberlin, Lilly, 8, female, white, born IL, attended school within the year
Groat, Mary A, 62, female, white, tailoress, born NY

Griffing, Wm H, white, male, 58, married, sea captain, born CT, both parents born CT
Elizabeth C, white, female, 56, wife, married, keeping house, born NY, both parents born NY
Frank C, white, male, 30, son, single, brass turner, born CT, father born CT, mother born NY
Chamberlain, Jennie [followed by a mark that looks most like a check mark, but could be an A), 23, niece, single, at home, born IL, both parents born NY
(plus one male boarder)

Groat, James E, white, male, 33, married, RR engineer, months not employed - 2, born NY, both parents born NY
Agusta, white, female, 27, wife, married, keeping house, born Germany, both parents born Germany
Anna, white, female, 6, daughter, single, at school, born NJ, father born NY, mother born
Germany
James R, white, male, 2, son, single, born NJ, father born NY, mother born Germany
Charles, white, male, 8/12, born October, son, single, born NJ, father born NY, mother born Germany
Mary A, white, female, 70, mother, widow, born NY, both parents born [no entry]