Robert Chalmers
Republican
| Website: | www.findagrave.com/memorial/5469333/robert-chalmers |
Candidate Biography:
Born: May 24, 1820 in Scotland
Married: Katie Ferrier (m. 1849, d. 1857), Delia Kneeland (m. 1859, d. 1869), Louisa Allhoff (1870)
Children: Six with Katie, three with Louisa
Died: June 2, 1881 in Coloma, CA
1860: Candidate for El Dorado County Treasurer (Lost)
1867-1868: County Treasurer, El Dorado County
1868: Candidate for El Dorado County Sheriff (Lost)
- HAUNTED: According to Dennis William Hauck, the ghost of Robert Chalmers haunts the Vineyard House (in Coloma).
- Mental Health: Chalmers apparently went mad in 1879 and his wife chained him to a brick wall in the basement of the Vineyard House. He starved to death while chained to the wall.
- OUCH: "One day, while operating his new threshing machine, the first in the county, Chalmers suffered a terrible injury that would have devastated many other men. His right hand became caught in the thresher and was crushed so badly that it had to be amputated. Within 24 hours, the determined man was back at work." (See Burkett article; cited below)
- Be Fruitful and Multiply: Chalmers had nine children.
Source: Legislative Guide... of all the State Officers and Members of the Legislature... by Kean & Dudley (H.S. Crocker and Co.; 1871)
Source: Sacramento's Haunted Hot Spots by Dennis William Hauck (p. 4) (LINK)
Source: "Robert Chalmers' life ended in mystery" by Joanne Burkett (El Dorado County GenWeb) (LINK)