Nelson H. Chamberlain was born around 1822 in Pennsylvania. He married Dimis Rowley, and they had at least four children: Orlando, born around 1844; William, born on December 12, 1845; Russell, born around 1849; and Alonzo, born around 1860. They lived in Farmington, Pennsylvania, and Chamberlain worked as a farmer. By 1850, they owned $400 of real estate. They moved to Cameron, New York, in the 1850s, and by 1860, they owned $200 of personal property. By 1870, they were living in Alma, New York, and they owned $2,400 of real estate and $1,900 of personal property. He died in Hambden, Ohio, on November 30, 1891.