Roy Chamberlain

Biography

Chamberlain was born in 1862 in Clarinda, Iowa. He served as Postmaster of Clarinda from 1895 to 1899. He served as clerk and acting collector of customs for the United States Military and Naval Forces in Havana, Cuba from 1899 to 1901. He served as Collector of Internal Revenue in Honolulu, Hawaii from 1901 to 1908.

Federal Judicial Service

On June 3, 1908, President Roosevelt appointed Chamberlain to the Board of General Appraisers via a recess appointment. On December 8, 1908, President Roosevelt nominated Chamberlain to the same seat, which had been vacated by Wilbur Fisk Lunt. He was confirmed by the Senate on January 11, 1909 and received his commission on January 15, 1909. He served on the board until he was removed from office by President Taft on March 3, 1913. He was succeeded on the board by Judge George Stewart Brown.

Circumstances of his removal from office

Chamberlain's removal from office followed an investigation by a commission appointed for the purpose and consisting of Assistant Attorney General Winfred T. Dennison, Collector of the Port of New York William Loeb and law officer of the Bureau of Insular Affairs Felix Frankfurter future Supreme Court Justice. Chamberlain had been accused of incompetence in office. The commission determined on February 13, 1913 that Chamberlain was not an attorney and was not qualified to hold office. The commission further determined that decisions written by Chamberlain while on the Board had actually been prepared by another person. On March 3, 1913, President Taft upheld the commission's decision and removed Chamberlain from office.

Later life and death

After his removal from office, he worked as a grocer in Bradford, Pennsylvania from 1920 to 1930. His date and place of death are unknown.